About the first half hour of this morning’s session was dedicated to answering my mom’s question. I can’t do it justice here, but I hope to start synthesizing some of this stuff in the near future. I’m up to 50+ pages of notes. Suffice it to say, he broke it down for us.
One question asked today: “What is the distinction between sentient beings and non sentient beings. Is it mammals? Insects? Plants? Where is the line, and why?” This is one that my dad and I have batted around more than a couple of times. He responded that the distinction is at the point where a creature can feel suffering and seek any form of happiness. The difficulty, of course, is in telling whether a very small and simple creature feels pain. He has decided, in talking with many people including scientists, that creatures that are capable of independent motion towards things that help them and away from things that endanger or hurt them are sentient. This means that amoebas are sentient beings. To much laughter he joked, “Yes, even mosquitos and bedbugs are sentient. Most of the time. However sometimes, when painfully roused from a deep sleep, there may be a moment when we forget!”
There were protesters, mainly from a subset of buddhists who say that the Dalai Lama has forbidden them from fully practicing their religion. I don’t understand the details, and I was trying to maintain my equanimity so I didn’t go near the shouting people to get their side. There were also a few Chinese with signs saying “Tibet is and always has been a part of China.” Things remained peaceful and well organized.
We had lunch with a couple of women from Canada who sit behind us. We all buzzed over to the local Whole Foods equivalent and picked tasty things out of the deli and salad bar. The audience really is made up of all sorts. One of these two recently made a formal commitment to become Buddhist, and the other “just is,” rather than being anything in particular. The man behind me recently returned from a year abroad that turned into a year of study and prayer in india.
We made it into the second book today. So, incredibly, we may make it through all the material.
And now, a nap, prior to going to see King Lear with the fam.
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