Orientation week: Best and Worst

I like this sharing question - What has been your best experience when teaching about or explaining Buddhism to non--Buddhists? What has been your worst? Describe one of each!

Some very interesting stories have been shared online. I am very used to this kind of interactions so I can jump right in. I think several others are also seasoned online learners. However, I have also noticed that many students are still missing in action. I wondered why. Have they received all the emails sent by Bil? If so, what are the reasons they have choosen to be not active up to this point? I wish there is a way for me to know.

Here is my post to re-shared here

A couple of weeks ago I posted this on my Facebook message

Pain is inevitable; suffering is option by unknown → translation: Pain could be caused by external factors yet suffering is what you do to yourself.

The next day, I went swimming with a friend at the beach. She told me that she is a little afraid to go too deep out to the ocean because she had encountered a sea turtle just 3 weeks ago and she was so scared by that experience. She has been telling me this in the past 3 weeks during our weekly swim. So I looked at her and asked, is it really that little turtle that has caused you all this suffering? She smiled right back at me and said, I know, the turtle might have caused my initial pain but I am doing this to myself.

I laughed so hard. It might not be how I would relate that quote to this situation but I am thrilled that my friend found a way to apply my Facebook message to her life situation.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago.

I had just entered graduate school and people were curious why I am a vegetarian. Innocently I started to say how cows cried before they were slaughtered. I did not even finish the first couple of sentences, my advisor, whom I deeply respect, angrily in almost a yelling way, interrupted me and said, no, they do not and they are meant to be raised and eaten.

What I learned is I have to say to people of what they can accept. My advisor is a farm girl and she raises animals to be slaughtered. What I was about to say completely contradicted her belief system. So the most common answer now I give to almost anyone is – this is trendy, did you know that being a vegetarian can help reduce a ton of carbon foorprint in a year? If you are a vegan, up that to 2 tons! Most people are impressed and then we can have more conversations on how to do it and why.