Journal no. 3

tagged along with MF to the Buddhist Society of WA on Friday night.
MF goes there every Friday - he's a devotee.

 an old man told us this building used to be an Anglican church 20 years ago but it went "out of business" - just the priest and his 2 dogs.
on the gates are the words "Light of Dhamma".
 this is the recreation building, i think, where the pantry and library are.
"may all beings be happy." good slogan.
 the small library.
 we took off our shoes and sat on the floor in the front. the hall was full by the time the session began.
that night, it was headed by 2 Asian nuns. usually the person in charge is a Caucasian monk, who i heard is very charismatic and well-spoken.

first, we began with an hour of silent mediation. my pants were too tight for me to sit cross-legged so i don't focus on "my present moment of being". i managed to fall asleep during the last 15 minutes. that's probably the best way to spend the time.
then, the nun talked for an hour on the theme of "letting go". she pronounced "okay" as "oh-care", so every time she said that, it sounded like, "who cares", which was distracting.
she mentioned the "sense of self" quite often, which reminded me of my Lacan readings.

anyway, i learnt that "happiness is a state of mind", so as opposed to conforming to the societal norms of trying to be happy by trying to be number one and obtaining material things, one should try to let go of this conditioning and "let it be".
however, letting go is easier said than done, so to actually do it, one needs guidance and practice.
on the other hand, it is not about being passive - one should have a positive attitude and try one's best in everything, including the practice of letting go.

one thing i liked was the notion of being wise and learning from a wise person - will be good to find out more about that.