Buddha Zhen
Buddhist Scientist,
American Philospher,
Poet, Novelist, Essayist,
Composer, Musician,
Kung Fu Shifu,
Tai Chi Master,
Freemason

Tai Chi Magic 1
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BUDDHISM BASICS page 40

I've just traveled this path again, with my children.

Everyday we read these, on Sundays at 11:00am, it seemed my children got a little bit smarter. They realized it too.

These were our last 'get-togethers,' for us.

We discussed the pages. Young Rory, only in the first grade, needed a lot of explanations, but that was good for his older sister. It also let me know what she knew.

It's one thing to READ something. It's another thing to UNDERSTAND what you read.

It's another other thing to incorporate the understanding into a WISDOM.

You're not any wiser, unless you use what you know. Knowing it is not good enough.

Using what you know is what Buddhism is all about.

Unfortunately, this brings us back to personal effort. My own children have shown occasional enthusiasm for self-improvement, but the TV and laziness win most of the time.

Each of us controls our path. At the end of my children's path with me, I look at what became of what I taught.

You're expecting me to say I'm really proud of myself, aren't you.

Well, I was expecting to say that. I want to say I'm proud of what I did, shared, and taught -- but I'm not.

Ouch.

Surprised?

Me too.

I discovered with my children, that Buddhism may not have been the best way too raise them. At least, not as an exclusive religion.

That's why some sects have demons, monsters, 11 Hells, the Luohan archangels...

I deprived my children of the fairy-tale religions.

Most importantly, I didn't inspire the 'fear of God' that I was raised with, as a Catholic.

I used to believe that God saw whatever I was doing, and even if no one saw me steal something or do something wrong -- God saw me.

That belief in the 'all-seeing eye' kept me in line to some extent.

I'm sure all kids lie, steal, and make mistakes on purpose -- even if they believe in the omnipotent God. But it helps.

Hey, my kids turned our really good. But I have high expectations (yeah, that definitely leads to disappointment!) of everyone, and especially my children.

Perhaps that is the biggest way that I counteracted their lack of God-fear -- they had me watching. As a Mr. Mom, I watched them closer than most moms.

The point is: everything here in these Buddhism Basics inspires better behavior and improved morality -- however, adding some old-time fear-of-God religious fairy tales would probably be very helpful.

Buddha Zhen Shen-Lang
"Spirit Wolf of Truth"
Patriarch of Shaolin Zen

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