Dear Paul,
Your teacher must be very young, not knowing much about world war II. I do
not feel annoyed about this, no reproaches at all, but I just would like to
explain matters a little. This is very hurtful for those who have lost
family members. I am concerned for their feelings. It is not a subject for
joking.
When my husband was an ambassador in Vienna we went each year to Mauthausen
for the commemoration ceremonies. He had seen to it that also a monument for
the Dutch was built and it was inaugurated by a rabbi and two cantors. When
you would see all those names of those who died in that camp. The cantors
sang the Kaddish (prayer for the dead). You would understand if you heard
once the Kaddish, it is piercing to the heart. All the dukkha of life is
expressed here. I do not want to say more about this delicate matter.
I have more and more respect and admiration for the Vinaya which is also
good for laypeople, to be applied in their own situation. The monks are not
supposed to tease each other or to joke, even when it seems to be very
innocent. It is also frivolous, useless talk. And what do we know about
others' experiences in the past? What do we know about others' cittas? I
know it is tempting to join in a joke, we are laypeople after all, but it is
a small sacrifice to swallow it when considering the feelings of others, the
disadvantages.
Nina.
op 01-04-2004 19:20 schreef paulocuana op paulocuana@...:

> PS: Ok, I found this so funny I have to tell you. I was at a
> retreat at the Bhavana Society this past weekend where a woman made
> the comment that the meditation was so painful that she wondered if
> she was in a "Nazi Concentration Camp". To which the teacher
> replied, "No this is a Buddhist Concentration Camp" :)