Well, I posted my first short story, "Seeking Nirvana," and so far, the feedback has been kind of mixed. I didn't expect that many people would get the "deeper" philosophical meaning I was getting at, and since it's a subject not too many people are familiar with, I can't say I'm surprised that the number of responses hasn't come close to SOOTB.

At any rate, two of the important things I was trying to get across were: 1) at all the points where Nicky thought he wasn't "getting it," he actually was. His frustration, his doing battle with his own mind, were an important step towards the final result, that being his "awakening" experience. 2) The issue of 'desire,' and what constitutes 'healthy' desire and 'unhealthy' desire, and the difference between learning to 'control' your desire (which is positive) as opposed to 'suppressing' desire (which is negative).

Another issue that has come up, which I was a bit surprised at, is whether or not Buddhism actually is tolerant of homosexuality. Of course, there are some cultures in which Buddhism enjoys a strong popularity, but where homosexuality is looked down upon. Korea and China are two good examples. However, this tends to be for cultural reasons rather than issues with Buddhism itself. In Buddhist scriptures, there is virtually no mention of 'homosexuality.' One of the five major Buddhist precepts forbids one to engage in 'sexual misconduct.' Certainly, one could interpret that to include homosexuality, but when looked at at from the broader perspective of what Buddhism teaches, the main point being universal, unconditional compassion and loving-kindness, judging someone based on sexual orientation doesn't seem to fit. The vast majority of Buddhist scholars and clergy that I have spoken with (and there have been many over my 14 years of practice) all interpret that to mean sex that is non-consensual or in any other way causes intentional harm (physical or emotional) to the other party. I even had a very high-ranking Tibetan lama tell me once at a seminar I attended that he thought that homosexuals by proportion tended to have a higher level of 'spirituality' than others, and he thought it was too bad that he wasn't (re)born as a homosexual. I thought that was pretty cool.

Anyway, in other news, today was a pretty busy day. After chatting online for a bit this morning, I went to run some errands, namely picking up my scholarship money for this month, going by the Chinese department office at school, going to the bank, and finally to the hospital to pick up my sleeping meds. Incompetence reigned supreme at the cashier's office where I had to wait forever to pick up my money. Fortunately at the other places, I just had to wait a while, which I've learned is easy to do when I have music to listen to and can drown out the high volume of noise that is always present here (remember, second most densely populated country on earth?)

I was a little annoyed, though, to find out how much actually goes into getting my M.A. degree. I thought that all I had to do was turn in my application, a copy of my thesis, and then take the oral exam. Well, I thought wrong. I have to turn in the application and three bound copies of my thesis. Then, I take the oral exam in front of a thesis committee (my graduate advisor, and two other professors that she will hand pick). That's no big deal, as she wouldn't let me test yet if I couldn't pass. They will give me my grade right then and there, as well as comments for improvement, and I will know immediately whether or not I passed. However, that is NOT the end ...

Next, I have to make whatever revisions they suggest (very quickly), then I have to take the final draft of my thesis and get three hardback copies made, and one soft-cover copy (which will be quite expensive). I turn one hardback copy into the Chinese department, then the other three to the university's library. I also have to forward an electronic copy of my thesis to the library. Once they have received all of that and it has been confirmed, and my thesis has been uploaded to the internet (at least two working days), then I have to go back to the Chinese department to get my final 'confirmation' of graduation. I then take that to the Office of Graduate Student Affairs where I can get my actual diploma (Chinese and English copies). And, I have only a few weeks to get all of this done, which will be happening in June, when I'm trying to get the last-minute preparations for my move taken care of. June will NOT be a fun month.

Anyway, that's it for now. If you haven't had a chance to read "Seeking Nirvana," I hope you will. Hopefully, the next chapter of SOOTB will be out within a week or so. I'm also finishing up my chapter of "Service: Vampire Jarred 2" ... I'm about 2/3 finished so far. Then I'll send it off to Dan and Dom to go over and see if they want me to make any changes.