I come to the Temple

I dont watch Survivor. I never did see the point to reality shows in general. However, when I heard of a particular incident, I headed to CBS.com and youtube for a look. Sure enough, Leslie got upset over a Buddhist ceremony and walked out.

There are so many things wrong with this, Im not sure where to begin.

Worship? What were they worshiping? Honoring...yes. Worship? Not exactly. No one asked you to renounce Christianity and convert. Most consider Buddhism a set of philosophical and spiritual teachings of wisdom than a religion, with huge focus on meditation. Depending on the branch of Buddhism, some just refer to Buddha as a God, but that doesnt mean he's all powerfull. Other branches, such as Mahayana give the Buddha's a little more credit. Its not like you

It doesnt matter if its a church service, a ceremony, a concert, a play...YOU DONT GET UP AND WALK OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT!!!! Its extremely rude to your hosts. The monks have taken a lot of time and effort to do this for the group, to welcome them and THIS is how she shows them her gratitude? I dont know about that particular Temple, or Buddhist Temples in general, but some of those places are very picky about letting the public in. There were so many different ways she could have dealt with this a little more respectfully. The most obvious would be to stand quietly off to the side somewhere. Thats what most people do when confronted with a ceremony or service they arent familiar with. Sit(or stand), watch, learn. People's (such as Leslie) refusal to atleast learn about the chosen paths of others is what causes the vast majority of the problems stemming from religious intolerance. Those who arent Christians arent going to burn in hell for enternity just because they walk a different path. There are many streams, rivers, and waterways (oh...and drains...cant forget the drains) on this Earth, but they all lead to one place.

Why is she even there, anyway? One doesnt travel across the globe and not have some kind of culture crash. Not in the Bible Belt anymore. They are in a place where religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Taoism, and other similar philosophies are dominant. I wonder if this was part of her goal? To proselytize and convert? More than likely, she didnt think she would encounter something such as this. It would be just her and her fellow Survivors in China's wild (and a few campfire devotions).

A few months ago, she was the guest speaker at an event that my church held. I was unable to attend due to work (i think...), but now I wish I could have gone. Maybe seeing and meeting her in person, knowing a little about her wouldnt make me hope that she be one of the first to get voted off.

At this point, I hope she is.

And I hope that the one that kept rolling her eyes all the way through is next off.

Stumble It!

The importance of the headcount

Ive seen and heard the stories where the school bus finishes its round, only to notice the sleeping child in one of the back seats during the final check. It happens. What else are you going to do during a two hour bus ride home? There are a couple blind spots in those mirrors.

One thing I had never (or rarely) heard of were incidents when a child was left behind on a field trip.

Well, until today, anyway. There was a small group of kids doing a Special Olympic thing at the alley. About a minute or so after they all filed out the door and onto the bus, another boy popped his head out from behind one of the video games, and looked around in confusion for his group. The front-desk people and I got outside in time to see the bus pull out the lot and head down the street.

Well shit. This isnt good.

Eventually, someone ended chasing the bus down to get them to come back and get the boy. Other options would be to contact CMS Bus dispatch, or let the cops do it.

How the hell did this happen? Why didnt they do a head-count to make sure they had everyone? I dont suppose they had any idea how the poor kid felt.

They had better not discipline him. No, he probably shouldnt have been messing with the game as they were about to leave, but once those bus doors are closed and the engine starts, the blame is no longer on him. Its the teachers responsibility, and their job to look after the students when theyre on a a trip. And someone failed. Horribly.

Id love to be a fly on the wall when the boys parents confront these teachers.

Stumble It!