I've participated in two "viral" questionnaires in recent weeks--this one and this one. Quite a few other folks in our Buddhist blogging community participated as well. I really enjoyed reading everyone's answers, and thought it might be fun to initiate a new one. Since I'm a sucker for the Proust Questionnaire section of each month's Vanity Fair (I know, I know...), I thought I might start that around. My answers are below.
To (hopefully) get the ball rolling, I'll tag James, Ven. Loden Jinpa, Tom, Stephen, Sujatin, and James. Of course, I'd also invite you to leave your answers here in the comments.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being completely comfortable in my own skin, without feeling like I need to be this or do that or change this or change that.
What is your greatest fear?
Dying without having felt that way more often.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Tolstoy.
Which living person do you most admire?
Desmond Mpilo Tutu.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I'm often "nice" when I should be real, and "real" when I should be nice.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
I don't like it when people fail to consider or take seriously the feelings of others. The inability to put oneself in another's shoes is deplorable to me.
What is your greatest extravagance?
I eat out a lot and buy too many books. (I need to learn how to cook and use my library card.)
What is your favorite journey?
Kora around the Mahabodhi Mahavihara in Bodh Gaya.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Definitely "niceness."
On what occasion do you lie?
Usually when I'm trying to be "nice."
What do you dislike most about your appearance?
I dunno. I think I'd look kinda goofy no matter what. It's not like there's one thing that's really bringing me down.
Which living person do you most despise?
Despise is a strong word that I'm not terribly comfortable with. (Everybody has buddha-nature, right?) That said, I have little patience for those who oppress or demean others.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
"Um" and the f-word.
What is your greatest regret?
That I'm such a slow learner when it comes to important life lessons.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Ask me when I'm 80.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I wish I had that thing where math, music, and languages made more intuitive sense to me.
What is your current state of mind?
A little blue. Increasingly cynical, and sad about that.
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
A Cousin Oliver might spice things up!
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Any and all of the moments when I have managed to be a fearless, authentic human being.
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
Well, I've taken the bodhisattva vow, so I think part of that means I've made a contract with the universe to come back again as a human being.
If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
A golden retriever.
What is your most treasured possession?
I was given an award by the administration and student government when I graduated from Naropa University. That I was so honored by a community I love and respect so much makes me feel really good. So my answer is that award.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
A broken heart.
Where would you like to live?
Wherever I feel love from others and can give it back to them.
What is your favorite occupation?
I think chaplaincy suits me very well.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I think I'm generally well-intentioned.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
The ability to be real.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
The ability to be real.
What do you most value in your friends?
The ability to be real.
Who are your favorite writers?
Tolstoy, Shakespeare, the New England Transcendentalists, the New Journalists, humorists who write for the New Yorker, Neruda, haiku poets, Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Tony Kushner, Alice Walker, Anne Lamott, Studs Terkel...
Who is your favorite hero/heroine of fiction?
Atticus Finch.
Who are your heroines/heroes in real life?
Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo, Shirin Ebadi, Elise Boulding, Joan Chittister, Cindy Sheehan, Aung San Suu Kyi, Patti Smith, Sister Helen Prejean, Carol J. Adams, Wangari Maathai, Master Cheng Yen, Virginia Satir, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Fr. Mychal Judge, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Maha Ghosananda, Bruce Springsteen, Archbishop Oscar Romero, Dennis Kucinich, Henri Nouwen, Fred Rogers…
What are your favorite names?
I love finding out what people's Dharma names are.
What is it that you most dislike?
Apathy.
How would you like to die?
Perhaps it's a romantic or naive notion on my part, but I think I would like to die slowly. I'd like to experience it. Know it's coming. Work with it.
What is your motto?
"Be excellent to each other...and party on, dudes!" - Bill and Ted
Thursday, January 31, 2008
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5 comments:
I so know where you're at...
Allow me...
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being completely comfortable in my own skin, without feeling like I should have done something in the past that would have made me more comfortable now.
What is your greatest fear?
To be honest, I don't have greatest fears anymore. I feel fear from time to time - especially associated with the question above, but once you really get the Heart Sutra message, you really really really don't have longstanding fears.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
I dunno. I don't most identify with any single one; depending on the circumstances and my mood it might be Hakuin, it might be Henry Miller, it might be Joseph Stalin.
Which living person do you most admire?
Sogen Roshi.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I am a man of huge appetites. Controllable appetites, but geez, the effort required!
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
People who renounce the idea of self-discipline.
I'm part German and a Zen Buddhist. Bad combination.
What is your greatest extravagance?
I eat out a lot, know what good wine tastes like and buy too many books.
And ya know what? I know how to cook. And that makes you want to go out to eat more.
What is your favorite journey?
Tiantonsi in Zhejiang province.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Niceness.
On what occasion do you lie?
Usually when I tell myself something...
What do you dislike most about your appearance?
The orthodontic work never took.
Which living person do you most despise?
Yeah, what you said about despise. Having said that, though, I understand why Sartre called the French conservative bourgeoisie "les salauds".
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
This idea has been evolving over the years. It used to begin with winning an $87 million lotto jackpot. Now the jackpot is up to $300 million. I buy this warehouse in Monterey, CA, and convert it into a vegetarian restaurant, a Buddhism-themed boutique hotel, and Buddhist Online Productions.
What is your greatest fear?
Finding out that some of my stomp-about, mean brashness actually, deeply hurt somebody.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Identify with, eh? Hmm. I'll say Abraham Lincoln which is grotesquely pompous to say, but I'm really only thinking of his sensitivities, and certainly not his IQ. Except for that presidency thing he was truly, consistently a total failure in life. Second choice: Quasimodo.
Which living person do you most admire?
Answering at this time, that's easy: OBAMA!!
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
My meanness. I can't stop. I'm an addict.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
People's obliviousness. Examples in the public sphere: Folks who throw trash out their car window, or park their cart in the middle of the grocery aisle. It manifests otherwise among people I know -- who use paper products in obscene quantities and don't follow through on commitments they've made that I'm counting on.
What is your greatest extravagance?
It used to be books; I have since learned to use the library -- which is AMAZING these days, at least in Sacramento. Due to my current impoverished circumstance, the occasional Starbucks treat is my worst crime of indulgence.
What is your favorite journey?
Taking the Zypher [train] from Sacramento to Denver and back. Both the trainride and Denver are amazing in every way, even when things can be a tad slummy.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Politeness. It should be replaced by bluntness.
On what occasion do you lie?
To save face.
What do you dislike most about your appearance?
My torso. Not that I'm fat, but it could definitely use a Brad Pitt transplant.
Which living person do you most despise?
I don't really 'despise' much anymore. But atop the chart of person who gives me the most grief is my sibling.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Verbally: "Great!" and "Yes!"
What is your greatest regret?
That I fucked up at UCLA.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
I don't really have a sterling candidate for this question. But the answer that I have I choose to keep to myself.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I'd like to be more agile in conversations.
What is your current state of mind?
Outside of what I'm doing at the moment -- that is, answering this questionaire -- stressed out of my mind. My little world is falling apart.
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
I think I already mentioned the sibling. I would like for her to have a job transfer to northern Finland.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Oh, Jeez. I don't know. I was nominated for a Blogisattva once.
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
A non-neurotic Buddhist. I'd have the right attitude, but no way of learning anything.
If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
Aphelocoma Californica. The Western scrub jay. The peanut-lovin scrubbies are dear, dear friends. They are thieves, and they can be naughty, but they're very bright, rather tame and polite to one another.
What is your most treasured possession?
This laptop I'm pounding on.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
When there's no way out.
Where would you like to live?
Colorado, one day.
What is your favorite occupation?
I love the show This Old House. I admire what master carpenter Norm Abrams knows and can do.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I fly off into pretend rages. And I fly off into real bouts of contrariness.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Sympathy for the little guy.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
An absense of sarcasm or irony or game playing.
What do you most value in your friends?
Humor. Cruel, politically incorrect wit.
Who are your favorite writers?
Well, I read a lot of buddhobloggers.
Who is your favorite hero/heroine of fiction?
Owen Meany.
Who are your heroines/heroes in real life?
People who struggle and wouldn't think to complain.
What are your favorite names?
I can't think of anything authentic or funny to say. How about the names of the moons of Jupiter?
What is it that you most dislike?
Manipulativeness, coercion and Brussels sprouts.
How would you like to die?
From a snapped bungee cord.
What is your motto?
From the Armstrong crest, will do: "Invictus maneo" I remain unvanquished.
As per yr request:
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Half-laying in bed reading a Laurie R. King murder mystery (preferably a “Mary Russell” while Jan is sitting next to me knitting and fighting off the cat. Possibly with the TV on tuned into “Good Eats.”
What is your greatest fear?
Missing the moment.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
William James.
Which living person do you most admire?
The Dalai Lama.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Inattention.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Gullibility and certainty.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Restaurants.
What is your favorite journey?
Pacific Coast Highway driving north from San Simeon.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Righteousness.
On what occasion do you lie?
To avoid appearing judgmental when I’m being judgmental.
What do you dislike most about your appearance?
Being an endomorph.
Which living person do you most despise?
I’m ashamed to say there is anyone I despise, but at the moment our American president.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Mystery.
What is your greatest regret?
Not going to school earlier.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Jan Seymour-Ford.
Which talent would you most like to have?
To sing well.
What is your current state of mind?
Moderately happy, slightly anxious about what my next job will look like.
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
That they didn’t have an inclination to kill themselves.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
That I actually wrote a book. Well, two…
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
Actually, I kind of like the hand I was dealt this time.
If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
A better writer. A wiser and kinder person.
What is your most treasured possession?
My mind.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Feeling sorry for myself.
Where would you like to live?
New England is good. California will always be home.
What is your favorite occupation?
Meditation retreat teacher, followed by pastor.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Nosiness.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Kindness.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Strength.
What do you most value in your friends?
That they like me anyway.
Who are your favorite writers?
A few would be Robert Aitken, Barry Magid, Joko Beck, Stephen Batchelor, Sue Grafton, Laurie R. King, Stephen Mitchell, Mary Oliver, Ranier Maria Rilke, Rex Stout, John Tarrant, Edward O Wilson
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Father Zosima in the Brothers K.
Who are your heroes in real life?
Robert Aitken, Susan Blackmore, Mohandas Gandhi, Ruben Habito, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, Jr, Elaine MacInnes.
What are your favorite names?
Never heard one I didn’t like.
What is it that you most dislike?
Certainty, in myself and in others.
How would you like to die?
As I’ve lived.
What is your motto?
Don’t believe anything you think.
Enjoyed reading this! ^_^ Oh, and you might be interested to know we named our youngest Atticus. (Favorite character ever or both da hubby and I.)
Sigh - note to self - edit before publishing - make that *for both of us....
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