zanwat. just a weblog.: lists

February 13, 2004

Christina and I start our vacation on Wednesday. We are going to spend a couple weeks back in Montana and Spokane. I think it will be good to leave Vajrapani and go “out there” again. Like the Buddha when he was a child... His father made him stay within the royal walls. Then when the young prince finally made it out into the city he saw (for the first time) real suffering, old age, sickness and death. It made him want to seek out a solution to avoiding all of those things. Perhaps it will do the same for me. At the very least it will likely be nice to return to Vajrapani.

My dad told me the other day that I should be sure to look up my grandparents when I’m in Spokane. I should, I agree. He says I should do this because, “they might only be with us for another day or it could be another ten years — we just never know.” The implication is that some how this isn’t true for me or for him, my sister, Christina and every single other living being. We are exempt from death because we’re not yet 70 years old. My response was, “well, this is true for all of us.”

Anyway, I think it will be a good break. I’m looking forward to the drive. Hoping the roads won’t be too terrible and we make it there (and back) in one piece. I’ll have access to a DSL connection when we’re in Montana, so I’m creating a list of things to download. And a list of things to take. And a list of things to do before we leave. A list of things to do once we get back. A list of 51 mental factors. A list of nobel truths and a list to get out of suffering. I feel like I’m forgetting something...

Sign on a church in Boulder Creek recently: To have more, desire less. (I added that to my list.)