[Buddha-l] Being in Love

[Jackhat1 at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/19/2008 12:35:27 P.M. Central Standard Time,  
stefandetrez at hotmail.com writes:

> My  wife and I will celebrate our 40th anniversary this year, and if 
>  Buddhism did not affirm those 40 years (which have been wonderful and 
>  not-to-be-missed), then so much the worse for Buddhism.

Studying  cannonical texts, I sometimes get the impression that as a person 
the Buddha  must have been quite emotionally unstable. His story of going forth 
in  particular is exemplary of someone not being able to cope with life's 
less  beautiful aspects as death and disease. Eventhough the abandoning of his 
wife  was regarded as a religious ideal, the case of the Buddha seems to be one 
of  someone's incapacity to deal with emotional turmoil. Life has beautiful 
things  and ugly things, but why throw away the whole world to avoid emotional  
distress for me is one bridge too far. 
===
Exactly. The Buddha's inability to deal with life's problems prompted him  to 
find an answer, which he did. That's the whole point.Only after he  learned 
the answer could he fully enter into life's 10,000 joys and 10,000  sorrows. To 
me, this is a religious ideal.
 
Jack



**************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living.      
(http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/
2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)