Sunday, January 13, 2008

Buddhist monk on the World Service...

Hi dear people. 'The happiest man in the world' is being interviewed on the BBC...he's the Dalai Lama's French translator: he gave up a privileged life in Paris and so on. Mathieu Ricard is his name. He chats animatedly about meditation and finding contentment and peace within. He has something of the Dalai Lama's ebullience about him.

Had a chat with my Mum today. She was telling me about her philosophy discussion group: they were discussing Richard Dawkins' 'The God Delusion' and she told me about the 'militant' and 'resentful' atheists present, who seemed uncomfortable with anyone else having any beliefs! I felt a connection with her over this. She was brought up strictly Catholic, mostly in boarding schools run by nuns, and turned her back on that form of religion when she was 22. Yet she is not at all militant about it. It hasn't closed her mind to all spirituality and religious faith. It was really good to talk to her today. Something I need to record, for all the other times when I can be irritable with her verging on mean.

I would have liked to be able to give her news of Jasper but as he still hasn't phoned (only the answerphone message last week) I can't. However I did try to be reassuring about him. 'He's probably just going through a phase'. I believe it...most of the time.

Richard and I had a lovely weekend together. We got on really well. His presence is calming and comforting somehow. We didn't do much. Went to the Farmers' Market, and I made beetroot coconut and lime soup which he loved...he pronounced it 'probably the best soup I've ever had!' Praise indeed! Good old Leith's Vegetarian Bible.

Mood definitely more down-to-earth. Take care all...lots of love, Zoe.

1 comment:

Adfero Affero said...

Mum might like the s set video discussion between Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchins and Sam Harris, all having written unGod books:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869630813464694890

which might be easier to get by going straight to Google video and searching Four Horsmen (2 parts, 1 hour each)