Chris - thanks for the book ideas, I am going to look into them. I feel like as a family we just need more information. We tend to like to gather a lot.
As for your question about our family ... my husband has been studying Buddhism for several years but on a very informal and sporadic level. I have had interest but have been very wrapped up in being a parent to my six children and maybe was a little nervous about it so it has been pushed aside BUT recently for many reasons, I have a strong pull to learn more. Like I noted we have six children (ages 16 to 2). I would NEVER pressure my children to believe the same as I BUT I do believe in providing lots of information so that they can make an informed decision about the direction of their lives. And of course as a parent I am going to more emphasis on the thing that are morally inline with my beliefs. I recently came across the the book Buddha at Bedtime by Dharmachari Nagaraja and it inspired me that I really wanted to explore Buddhism. I believe greatly in The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path and The Five Precepts ... so it makes sense to learn more. So that is a little more information ... so as a family we are on a journey of some sorts but each on our own paths and levels but I was looking for information that would be good for all of us. Thanks so much. With peace, love and kindness, Amy Lemmon [email protected] Blog: Six Flower Mom ________________________________ From: Chris Austin-Lane <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 12:51 AM Subject: Re: [Zen] Re: Reading and Resources I disagree - in my experience, its pretty clear to me when I'm with my family and when I'm lost in mental abstraction. Certainly its clear to my family. Zen training can help sustain the presence, but it's not an esoteric paying attention; it's just ordinary paying attention; simple to say, but takes a lot of practice to do. PS My acquaintance Karen Maezen Miller, has written two books which I find to be full of the sort of wisdom one gains from paying attention to ones family, and a lot of the humor and profundity of seeing it clearly. "Momma Zen, walking the Crooked path of motherhood," written when she had a young child, and "Hand Wash Cold" written when she had a medium child and a middle aged marriage. She has another book coming out next year. But I'm curious about your family - is your whole family taking this trip into Buddhism/Zen together, or are you wishing to share it with them? If the former, that seems like your family itself would be able to come up with good ideas on what to do. If the latter, then I'll leave you with the general warning on sharing Zen: don't answer any question until it is asked three times. I sit in front of my kids, and they know what it is, and have heard the Heart Sutra a time or two, but I find it benefits them a lot more for me to master my own reactions and be a bit more aware and kind, than for me to talk about Zen to them. blah blah blah. Your milage may vary, of course, --Chris Thanks, --Chris [email protected] +1-301-270-6524 On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 8:53 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > >Hey Bill!, > > >will u please clarify what "being totally with them" means? the mind is such >that your statement could create a myriad of what "just THIS"ness is. for a >beginner or so-believed-mature seeker, your statement is cryptic at least and >false at most... > > >Thank you, >TaoSheiFei > > > >On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 8:43 PM, Bill! <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> >>Amy, >> >>No reading is necessary. When you are with your family just be totally with >>them. That's all you need to do...Bill! >> >> >>--- In [email protected], Amy Lemmon <amylemmon@...> wrote: >>> >>> I am wondering if anyone has any great suggestions for reading and >>> resources for a family (multi-age) learning about Zen Buddhism? Thanks >>> kindly! >>> >>> >>> With peace, love and kindness, >>> Amy Lemmon >> > amylemmon@... >>> Blog: Six Flower Mom >>> >> >> > > >
