GrahamR wrote:Hello everyone,
I'm Graham and I teach in Thailand, though I am from the UK.
It's Theravadan Buddhism here, which I find quite strange
Everyone eats meat and drinks alcohol.
I'm married with two small kids.
Graham
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So you're in Thailand too!
I'm in Bangkok, originally from the east coast of the U.S. (Massachusetts) and am retired in Bangkok now.
Just to be clear though not everyone, especially the monks, eats meat or drinks alchohol.
Bur I'll tell you an Irish story about something like that.
Once there was a Irish Protestant who married a Catholic girl, and converted to Catholicisim.
After he was baptisted a Catholic and all, he admiited to the priest he felt strange about being a Catholic.
"Well father", he said, "I know I was baptised a Catholic and all, but it still seems strange being a Catholic, and I don't know what to do about it"
"Well", the priest replied," why don't you try this? Every time you start feeling strange about being a Catholic then think to yourself...... Don't worry, I'm a only a Catholic"
"Alright, I'll give that a try, then", the man replied.
Now a few weeks later the Priest was making his rounds of the parrish, and he came to that man's house.
Entering the house he saw Mary, the man's wife, sitting and knitting.
"Mary", he asked, "where's your husband?"
She replied, "He's out in the kitchen father, frying up a nice juicy steak."
Well this being a Friday, the Priest was a bit concerned. So he went out into the kitchen to see for himslf.
And when he got there, that man had a big juicy steak in the pan, and was scooping gravey over it, and saying to himself, "Now don't you worry, I'm a Catholic and that there in the pan is only a Fish."
By the way, I practice Zen Buddhisim myself.