The Good Heart

Cathy and I participated in a family conference on teen-recovery a few Saturdays ago. The event was held at the Madison Public Library. Used books are sold on the second floor. Books, with all of their pages don't lose value. I bought a bag-full of books for a couple of bucks. They will go into the library of Aaron's House this summer, and first I will read them. Used again.

The first book I read is a hard cover, turned soft from use, The Good Heart, A Budhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus. 1996. The Budhist who gives the perspective is The Dalai Lama. This book is barely held together at the binding. I wonder how many lives have been influenced from the words?

Aaron was interested in exploring the Budhist religion according to his counselor. He had become interested in the Native American traditions while out west. The exploration of culture helped Aaron grow in humilty and enhanced his respect for the environment. Why Budhism was appealing to Aaron, I can't say; we didn't have the opportunity to discuss this topic before he died. Hearing that Aaron had an interest was good news to me. Exploring spirituality is important to recovery and the fact that Aaron was looking into other beliefs tells me he was doing right things with respect to his recovery from addiction. When a person is growing in spirituality it's not what they say that tells the most about the depth of their growth. What they do or don't do might speak the clearest.

The Dalai Lama, in commenting on the Resurection of Jesus, said "As his or her spiritual progress advances, even that person's physical embodiment becomes subtler and subtler." On Faith, he commented "...a beginning spriritual aspirant should be open-minded. ...we can call it a state of healthy skepticism. When you are in the state of opennes, you are able to reason, and throught reasoining you can develop a certain understanding... (the Buddha) suggests that his followers put all of his words to the test."

I understand that putting the teachings of Jesus or Buddha, or Muhammad to the test, we as humans reason and understand the truths. The experiences which test the teachings strengthen our convictions. For example, I now understand the Beatitude, "How blest are the sorrowful, they shall find consolation."

I saw Aaron skeptical and I saw Aaron becoming subtler in his life. While I don't accept that God took my son to heaven because he had reached a certain level of contemplation, I do accept that Aaron was growing through a healthy skepticism. It is probably not unusual for 17-18 year olds to be skeptical. When I see skepticism in young persons I will say, "good for them".

This used book, The Good Heart, is stamped on its ends with two words JAIL COLLECTION.

Whether our prisons have walls of concrete or sorrow, what we do while doing our time makes all the difference.

Tom