another entry from work

[percival]

I don't like open-plan officees. Not conducive to concentration.
whew, that's off my chest :)

Had a great time in Bristol, where I sat (=meditated) with Mike Luetchford,
a down-to-earth teacher in the Soto Zen tradition and made friends with
Hugh, a Buddhist that meditates with Mike every day. Hugh has taken the
precepts. This means that he strives to adhere to Buddhist principles in his life.

This is also a step that I will want to take some time - I'm shying off for fear
of hurting my parents, who find it very difficult that my spiritual path is not
fully compliant with Roman Catholicism (hello bucketgirl.
But the spiritual path that I will mainly follow is Buddhist. This much I know now.

On the subject of communities: There is a surprising amount of strife and factionism
in Buddhism. Even enlightened teachers don't shy away from slagging off each other.
They are human, after all. What do I do against it? Welcome other traditions, tolerate them,
even though I might snigger at some features which I might judge to be somewhat baroque -
but I fully accept that to others, these features might be crucial to their spiritual life.
And stay within communities - Sanghas - that are welcoming and open to other influences.

The same applies to the Fandom: I'm staying in a warm and welcoming community that
reflects my preferences.

I'm also a fan of the British comedian Chris Morris. But the main fansite, cookdandbombd.co.uk, which also has forums, is peopled by people who think they're funny,
edgy and "independent" just because they scatter swearwords throughout their posts.
If that's the sort of interaction they like, fine by me, but I will never de-lurk there.