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Andrew
pawo
14 November 2006 @ 08:33 pm
my nominee for coincidence of the year  
My grandfather used to wear an Irish woolen cap. When he died, I inherited it. It quickly became my most prized posession, and I wore it everywhere. About a year ago, it disappeared one day while I was working as a substitute teacher at Coventry High School. I checked all the rooms I worked in that day, and couldn't find it. I checked in at the school's "lost & found" repeatedly for weeks if not months afterward. It never turned up, and I finally gave it up for lost.

Today was my last day working at CHS -- I start my new job in Providence tomorrow. But what did I see sitting on the couch in the Science department faculty lunch room today, but my grandfather's hat! It looks a bit more worn than it did when I lost it, it's badly in need of cleaning, and it's got a little rip that needs repair, but it's definitely the same hat.

It's possible it turned up in some obscure place in the science department, and the person who found it left it out for the owner to find. It's also possible that one of the students I recently told about how sad I still was a year later about having lost my grandfather's hat knew where it ended up and got it back for me. I'll probably never know, but I'm glad to have it back.
 
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osmium_ocelot[info]osmium_ocelot on November 15th, 2006 02:09 am (UTC)
I have a question as this relates to buddhism.

In the pursuit of the buddhist path, is it a goal to release worldly connections or am I confusing buddhism with something else?
Andrew[info]pawo on November 15th, 2006 02:48 am (UTC)
I doubt you're confusing it with something else. One of the key points raised in Buddhist teachings is "renunciation of attachment." The translation is a little clunky; renunciation in this case is not so much giving up worldly things as getting fed up with letting your thoughts, feelings and actions constantly be controlled by them.

The fact that I was still mourning the loss of a piece of cloth a year after it left my posession and that I was elated to get it back does illustrate a bit of attachment on my part, yes. :)
Andrew[info]pawo on November 15th, 2006 03:02 am (UTC)
On the other hand, enlightenment is not Kolinahr. We're not trying to purge ourselves of emotions. As I understand it the point of renouncing attachment is not to keep us from experiencing life's ups and downs, but to get away from the tendency to try to manufacture our mental environment rather than simply cultivating our minds' innate good qualities.
osmium_ocelot[info]osmium_ocelot on November 15th, 2006 06:00 pm (UTC)
So, essentially, the goal is to be conciously (I can't spell) aware of your own emotions and what causes them, and in so doing give yourself control over your reactions to them?

It sounds very similar to some kabbalistic teachings an associate of mine used to talk to me about. Do you suppose either one influenced the other, or do you think they came about seperately?

Either way, I think it's a very good way to go about things. Controlling your reactions to your emotions, rather than allowing them free reign over your actions goes a long way to avoiding a lot of trouble and promoting peace.
Andrew[info]pawo on November 16th, 2006 01:44 am (UTC)
I think your description, though a bit simplistic, is correct as far as it goes -- there's a reason enlightenment is also referred to as "liberation."

I think that all the mystic traditions have their roots in the same basic human experience, and in the absence of evidence I see no reason to suppose that the traditions influenced each others' early development. It seems just as plausible that the same truths were discovered independently in different places and times.
Z-Gryphon: angry Scotsman[info]z_gryphon on November 15th, 2006 05:30 pm (UTC)
Well, gosh, thanks for that little buzzkill, Big Chief Rains-on-Parades. What do you do for an encore? Maybe kick some puppies? Cripes. It's his grandfather's hat, not an ostentatious display of wealth.
Andrew: Boltzmann[info]pawo on November 16th, 2006 01:37 am (UTC)
I'm saving the ostentatious display of wealth for a separate entry.
Nicole[info]naweiner on November 15th, 2006 04:05 pm (UTC)
glad you got it back. :)

how did your new job go?

best wishes for a smooth transition. :D
JP[info]travellinjp on November 15th, 2006 09:44 pm (UTC)

You're fortunate to get the hat back -- it's interesting how those coincidences work out.
I'm (in a small way) hoping that my revisit to Hampshire this weekend might produce a result you had, after having personal valuables disappear the last time I was there, especially since an identical backpack has just been stolen out of a different campus apartment, but we'll see.
It was good to see you on Saturday and I hope the new job goes well. I was amused when Mom was introducing us as if we hadn't met before. :P