Church of the Holy Family UN Service New York City, September 16

I went this Thursday to the service before the first meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN). Bhante from the Queens Sri Lankan Buddhist Vihalra in Hollis HIlls told me ab out it. He is so sweet. I did not see him there. Actually, I saw few Non-Christian clergy. I saw a rabbi. In the seats were a Muslim woma and Asian Indian woman, and in the back of the room stood a Buddhist monk. Attending were the Archbishop of New Tork City Dolan and the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. To my dismay, there were no Greek Orthodox leaders. There were a Russian and Armenian priests.

My first impressions were that it was a pompous ceremony of men in weird costumes. I did not like that there were no female religious leaders. I realized I can have a more positive perspective and switched to that I can make a differece in this, and that people are at least trying to get together for common peace consciousness. I went beyond my resignation and cynicism to join them.

In the reception, I talked to several religious leaders and a graduate student who wants to make a difference in interfaith work. We will team up next week.

Buddhist Vihara Visit

Since 2002, I have been going to the Sri Lankan Buddhist Vihara occasionally to meditate on Wednesdays. The Clintons have been there, and cute balding Bhante represents them at the United Nations. I went this Wednesday, following my intuition. I went into the zone, just a little while, and it was great at the end. I had a slice of pizza going up the hill; I guess I combined the Italian parts and Indian parts of Eat, Play, Love. I thought of this later. Bhante invited me to a September 16 prayer service of different religious leaders to start the year. This is in line with one of my Impossible Promises from the Power and Contribution Course of Landmark Education.

I am Greek Orthodox, not fundamentalist. I think exploring good ideas from other faiths is great. I love the ceiling at the center, full of paper lilies that have faded with time. I went through a rough time years ago, and it’s one of the places that got me through it. Now they rearranged the lilies in a way I don’t like, but they are still great. There is a balcony opening to the back of the center. It is up on a hill, by the side of Hillside Avenue. North of Hillside Avenue, houses are more expenses. South, where I live, they are less expensive. On the balcony, you just see tree tops and water towers, and Grand Central Parkway, a beautiful highway I enjoyed when I had a car. You also see the back yard of the neighboring house, with a beautiful tree house where children play. The overall energy is great.

There was a ceremony upstairs, so he talked in the kitchen. I sat next to Bhante for most of it. I don’t like how faith groups make desire wrong. I see both sides of many areas, and believe in a yin-yang balance. You can be a slave to desire, as alcoholics are, or you can find Truth, Love and Beauty there like in a sacred kiss, or appreciation of beauty. He did make good points, however: We keep pursuing what is beautiful – books, sounds, smells, tastes great, what our mind likes. Rather than desire in a lustful sense, I thought of my subway experience. After interviewing for a job where they had no money to pay me until and if they get clients, and being upset over thinking someone I’ve had feelings for just came back from Europe with someone, I just wanted to nap on the subway. I had in front of me two teenagers talking in a way and about what I did not like, and a woman with a battery-mouth behind me yapping in a foreign language ceaselessly. Finally I saw another seat to move into for a few minutes. In mindfulness, part of what Bhante referred to was accepting, although he said “tolerating” afterwards. I really believe in expressing emotions, and there is nothing wrong with them unless they overtake you for a long time or you hurt someone, I get that I could have been accepting then. Other times I am loving or just neutral o the subway. The key is not to make myself wrong either way or analyze too much.

I also thought that one can have a seventh sense, after sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and the mind as they categorized it: spirit. What do you do if your spirit actually feels or cares for another who is away? Could it all be a delusion as Buddhists say? Could it be too a lot of drama, like in Most Greek songs? I lean toward thinking it is a combination. Sigh. Ah. Silence.