Re: Experiences with Fasting
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try to keep yourself occupied and it won't be too horrible.
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This makes no sense to me. Like I said, I was brought up Jewish and have a fairly good understanding of it, but Yom Kippur is the day of repetance. Why would you not want to think about your suffering/hunger? That seems to defeat the purpose. And this could easily lead into the Buddhist fasting ideas and principles (actually not just for fasting with Buddhism). By avoiding the pain, you are not experiencing the moment. You are not in the here and now. Which, as Buddhist will discuss, is one of the worst things. By, living in the past and thinking about the future you are not conscious of what is going on around you. Since pain is unavoidable, you need to experience that as well; you need to be conscious of all suffering (of all beings). One buddhist monk (Zen) says that when you leave a house, do not slam the door. Not because slamming the door is in and of itself wrong, but because by slamming it, you are not paying attention. Your mind is somewhere else.
Also, I am not saying I believe all of this, I just understand it. So, I don't know why you would fast if you weren't trying to be conscious of the pain. Which is what I think you are suppossed to be doing on Yom Kippur.
craig.
p.s.Jews make up about 2% of the population of the U.S., but a large majority of American born Buddhists/converts are Jewish. I guess because Judaism is more conducive to Buddhism, since 1) they are both eastern religions at heart 2) very focused on the hear and now 3) as general rules compassion for all beings is held at a very high regard (I am not saying all Jews are compassionate, good people, etc..but I am not saying bad about any Jews becasue I don't want to be kicked out of the Zionist Occupied Government (ZOG). I am just about to be made a producer of some TV show. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
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