Preferences

This month we met at Mary Beth's beautiful (and art filled) home out by the Yadkin River. Thank you Mary Beth for opening your home to us.
The topic generated a lot of personal-experience conversation (rather than referencing articles or books that we had read). In the end I think we all agreed that it is futile to fight against having preferences, it is our human nature. The thing to pay attention to, is our tendency to cling to those "preferred" experiences and to resist the "un-preferred". By all means, delight in the things that bring you happiness, and then be open to the change when it inevitably comes.
We all struggled with how to deal with preferences when it came to things that seem morally black and white - murder, rape, incest etc. Bob shed some light by reminding us that the Buddha's teaching were about the present moment. What is happing right now. We can be activists against injustice and still live in equanimity with the present moment. Holding one's preferences loosely is about the NOW rather than in reference to a concept (such as incest) which is separate from our immediate experience.

If you haven't already, I suggest a read of Bob's latest post on Preferences and Equanimity. It expands on several of the things that came up at the Book Club today.

Check back for information about September's topic and location.