Noble truths
My day began a difficult one.
We still have hoards of tradesmen (and women..) traipsing through the apartment at unexpected times.
Today I was feeling ill and the weather was warm and muggy, not really a day that would put me in the best mood to begin with, then the tradesmen (and women) arrived.
Whenever a new trades-person (that’s the word I was after..) arrives, they tend to be a little overwhelmed by my presence and stand about and stare for a few minutes before getting on with their work. One man got such a surprise when I opened the door one day that his jaw actually dropped and he stood in the doorway for a least a minute unable to move.
When we get the same trades-people back a few days in a row, they tend to not notice me so much and I can blend back into my sofa and not be stared at.
Today I met the most irritating woman yet, who refused to give up the staring for the entire afternoon. If the stares were followed by smiles, I might be able to deal with them a little better, but this was definitely not a friendly stare.
I washed the dishes under her surveillance, then put on a load of washing while she silently examined my every move. I sat at my computer with my headphones and pretended she wasn’t there as she peered over my shoulder.
I tried a bit of staring back but just got caught in a very long mutual stare that I decided was even less comfortable than the one sided one. I stomped about and slammed a few doors, all to no avail.
Eventually I retreated to my room, closed the door and refused to come out until she was gone.
As I hid in my room I wondered if I was overreacting by being really angry with this woman, or if it was fair enough behaviour in a city like Hefei and I should just learn to deal with it.
I still haven’t quite worked out if staring is considered as rude to Chinese as it is to an Australian. If it isn’t, then I really do have to just deal with it, as I can’t possibly go about pushing all my expectations on everyone else.
THAT would be rude.
I have been looking up information on Jiu Hua mountain this evening as Ashley and Ches are arriving tomorrow and I want to be at least a reasonable guide.
Jiu Hua mountain is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China, so information on the area often includes information on Buddhism.
Here I found the four noble truths of Buddhism and my answer to my staring-trades-person problem.
The third noble truth (cessation of suffering is attainable) held my answer. We attain the end of suffering by abandoning our expectations of how things should be. Ha! kind of what I had planned, it must be the way to go.
I must now lower my expectations so much I will be pleasantly surprised daily by my trades-people when they arrive and don’t do anything positively revolting.
Wish me luck!
Comments
Post a comment