When to Ask Questions
When I was at the 2010 Blue Bunny Retreat Lamala presented teachings on several topics. Of course many of them were thought provoking. At the end of the teachings there was an opportunity to ask questions but I wondered if they were questions which were appropriate to ask in the group, separately with others members of the retreat, or separately with the lama. Of course if I simply didn't understand some point it would make sense to ask the question before the group to clear up the point. However, many of the points of confusion for me were more about how the current teachings fit with the other teachings which I had received (many from other teachers). In these cases my conclusion is that if I am truly seeking the truth then it is really my own obligation to see what I can get from the current teachings and how they fit with my other beliefs (or truths which I have collected from other teachings). Asking the lama or teacher is not really appropriate as it is my own responsibility to find the truths of value to me in the teachings and resolve any inconsistencies with other beliefs that I have. Further, as the other retreat participants were practicing Buddhists (and I am not sure whether I am Buddhist or not) talking with others about such issues was also not really appropriate (though I do love to get the insights of others as they often expose failings in my own thinking) as they did not share my general world view. To get the insights of the other participants I would need to explain my general world view and various beliefs. While I don't think that my beliefs are fundamentally different from Buddhism, they definitely have a different vocabulary e.g. I have my own distinctive interpretation of karma and hell. There is little point in burdening newer students with other interpretations which might confuse them. Instead, most of such questions I left as an exercise for myself to write up here in these rambling tales where I can consider the implications of different interpretations and glean those truths which are useful to me. Click here to see the next rambling tale.This page was last updated on April 26, 2010