I’m not drinking any less either. Just starting earlier so I can catch a buzz before curfew. *ahem*
No official word on when this madness might end, but all indications are at least an additional two weeks beyond the original date of April 19. My patience is being sorely tried. I mean, I get the good intentions behind the idiotic policies, but at some point, someone needs to stand up and admit that maybe these aren’t such good ideas after all. Fat chance of that happening.
Today was grocery shopping day. I can’t get on the old Navy base to shop at my usual supermarket, so I asked my driver to take me into Olongapo City. I had planned on bringing my helper along, but driver Donny said only one passenger is allowed in the vehicle. And I have to ride in the backseat! Jesus, what a bunch of bullshit. So, off we went to the new SM store. The line was out the door. I suggested we continue on to the supermarket I shopped at last week (the old SM) but when we arrived there they line was even longer. Argh! Well, since the new SM was on the way back home I had him take me back there.
I wasn’t impressed with the selection at SM, but I got what I could. After dropping off the groceries I had Donny carry me and the helper to the local Divimart so she could get what she needed for the household chores. When that was finished we exited the store, me carrying a 24 bottle case of water on my shoulder. We were directed to cross the highway and be screened again, even though our car was half a block away on this side of the street. Geez. And then they made us walk through the disinfectant they were spraying on the cars. C’mon, seriously? No idea what’s even in that shit, but glad I didn’t have an allergic reaction.
Is that enough bitching for one day? Alright, I’ll stop then.
Ah, back when my life had some meaning and purpose. And no, I’m not bitching about my retirement. It’s just the current circumstances that are wearing me down.
I have to wonder whether that’s really a quote from one of the sutras. No specific source given, eh? Let’s do some quick research:
Hmmm. I see the quote is also attributed to Tupac Shakur. Heh. Maybe he was quoting the Buddha…? Let’s keep digging.
I see the quote is also attributed to Norman Cousins.
Let’s chalk this one up as “apocryphal.” The expression “dies inside us” sounds more like a phrase from Western culture than from Eastern culture. People pass it off as Eastern because it sounds like the sort of therapeutic mumbo-jumbo that a lot of Westerners are suckers for.
And I just saw another “Buddha” quote:
“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and to give your whole heart and soul to it.” (attributed to the Buddha, no sutra cited anywhere)
Here, too, the notion of “giving your heart to” something sounds far more Western than Eastern. The other tell is the word “soul,” since one of Buddhism’s central doctrines is anatman, often translated as “no-self” (無我 in Chinese), but also as “no-soul.” There is a such thing as a “self” in Buddhism, but it doesn’t exist at a fundamental level because everything is intercausal, i.e., we’re all made up of patterns and forces that interrelate, interweave, and inter-cause. Nothing, in such a metaphysical situation, stands alone. There’s no deep justification for defiantly saying, “I’m me” because your “me” doesn’t actually have fundamental existence. At best, it’s a conventional “me” that is subject to change, impermanence, and interrelationality. This “me” doesn’t stand alone as some solid, incorruptible monad, some bulwark of individualism. It’s woven into the causal network like everything else.
Upshot: it’s highly doubtful that the Buddha would have enjoined anyone to invest his/her “soul” into a particular spiritual effort.
On a more practical note: sorry you had to endure that line. I haven’t shopped anywhere but the local groceries in town here in Seoul, and I haven’t seen much difference in shoppers’ behavior or in the amount/number of stocked items. Situation more-or-less normal. I need to check how the bigger stores are doing—stores like eMart, Home Plus, Lotte Mart, etc. In Europe, they’re painting or taping lines onto the floor to give customers an idea of how to social-distance while in the payment line.
Good luck as you endure all the silliness! Keep practicing darts at home until you can bull’s-eye that target while blindfolded.
It occurs to me that the early curfew in the PI may have the inadvertent effect of deterring burglars: everyone’s guaranteed to be at home, and some of those good folks might even be armed!
But, but, I found it on the internet so it must be true! I’m about as ignorant as they come when it comes to Buddhism so I appreciate your efforts to debunk the quote. Still, the sentiment resonates with me even if it is not Devine in nature.
The stores here remain pretty well-stocked for the most part. They’ve placed purchase limits on some items, but otherwise, it’s business as usual. The lines are caused by limiting the number of customers in the store at any given time. And yes, they have put down markers at the checkouts so folks can maintain social distancing.
That’s a good point about being home at 6 deterring burglars. Also, it forces me to walk home in daylight which should reduce making me a target for armed robbery. Silver linings…