My friends: Buddhas in disguise!

OK, so yesterday I felt like I was losing the plot (see blog post before this one).

I had a big rant and yelled (at the wall), cried a lot and wrote some angry and confused things on my blog and on the Buddhist internet forum I belong to.

I partly did this to elicit a response from people, particularly the Buddhists amongst my friends and acquaintances, to see what they'd say. I feel like a prize twat now for being so self-indulgent, but I guess it's done now.

And I got lots of responses.

Every single one of them was extremely nice and thoughtful and each person was more concerned in giving me some good advice based on my current situation and state of mind, rather than trying to defend Buddhism or advise me to go and live in a monastery or something.

I feel extremely grateful to those people, and I feel that this kind of genuine, honest, compassionate conversation is far more Dharma-esque and Buddhist than anyone who would ever quote a Buddhist scripture at me or tell me that I'm just deluded and that I should meditate more. Those things may be true, but saying something like that would just not be helpful right now.

So - thank you people, and thank you world.

I often think that close friends, parents, and even strangers from internet chat forums (!) can be far better teachers than Buddhist monks living across the other side of the globe with no idea of the problems faced by lay Buddhists in the western world.