Life: too busy to blog!

Too busy, too lazy, I’m not sure which really. In any case I’ve been doing a lot lately and haven’t had time to blog. So I’m posting a Blogmandu inspired weekly Roundup.

Sunday, the 9th I found my way to Ali’s for the last game of the World Cup, and also found an article saying that Tibetan Buddhist monks would be rooting for Italy (so I naturally did likewise). I only really caught the last 5 or so minutes of overtime and the penalty kicks, but it was exciting nonetheless – and nice to spend time with folks at my future home.

Monday I found out that I WILL be teaching Buddhism this fall! It has been a slow build-up, so the excitement (and the nervousness) has been fairly well contained, but I’ll have my own classes, the introductory course with 100+ students and a meditation course with around 20. Monday night I had an adventure with Tim, a fellow philosophy student and ardent Nietzschian, tracking down a playable version of Axis & Allies – which didn’t end up working out. Instead of playing the game we had a couple beers, played some music, and called it a night.

Tuesday a Zen Buddhist monk (Rev. Master Zensho Roberson of the Serene Reflection Meditation Soto Zen tradition) arrived at my house to stay for a couple nights. We ate together and then I went to a presentation by Global Warming Solutions.org, which had been advertised at Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth. I had ‘pledged’ to see the movie openning weekend, but it didn’t make it to Missoula until a couple weeks ago. It is very, very, very much worth seeing!

Wednesday I spent the day driving a hybrid Ford Escape to and around Bison Range, MT for a field trip with The Center for Ethics. The Native American tribes in the area have been in negotiations for a while now to get the land back, which the federal government decided to ‘give’ itself (taken as a chunk out of the reservation) almost 100 years ago. Hearing the litany of crimes against the native peoples of America reminded me of a bumper sticker I was given a couple years ago which read: “Why free Tibet when America’s own Natives are not free?” It’s a tough question, and a good one…. After the field trip I made my way to Rev. Master Zensho’s evening talk on “Practical Buddhism” and ensuing meditation period.

Thursday I took it easy, making my way through most of Victor Frankl’s book “Man’s Search for Meaning: an Introduction to Logotherapy” – which I’ve just finished. It is a thoroughly remarkable book on the ability to find meaning in even the most difficult of circumstances (Frankl spends much of the book telling of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps).

Friday I found my way to the International Choral Festival for performances from groups from Wales, Missoula, and Taiwan, though I must say that none were as great as those featured on the Thursday night radio broadcast (the Lawrence Kansas children’s choir and the one from South Korea). I attended with Ali and afterward we made our way to a local hotspot for some (less classical) music and beverages.

Today… I’m trying to catch up with people’s emails that I’ve ignored for the last 2+ weeks… And probably then off to the grand finale of the Choral Festival… busy busy fun fun. 🙂