Tell Us! Who will your three dinner guests be?

Everybody’s got a Story.  Tell us yours!

Question #9:  August 15, 2013

Tell us… You have the opportunity to dine with 3 people (living or dead)…who are they and what is your topic of conversation?

Lee’s Story:

 It’s going to be a vegetarian dinner – not because I’m vegetarian…I’m not – but because I don’t want to be trying to figure out each dietary restriction for the people I’m inviting to the dinner. With that being said, I am inviting Jesus of Nazareth, Muhammad the Prophet, and Gautama Buddha. I’ll tell you what we’re going to talk about, but first a little background…..

 

My dinner guests are three of the most impactful people in many religions today. Both Jesus and Muhammad are descendants of Abraham: Jesus descends from Abraham and Sarah’s son Isaac; Muhammad descends from Abraham and Hagar’s son Ishmael. Both Muhammad and Jesus, although many years apart, teach that there is one God. Jesus is seen as the way to God for Christians; Muhammad is seen as the last prophet sent by God for mankind to Muslims. Both taught worship of one true God.

 

Gautama Buddha taught the we are a part of everything and everything is a part of us. That the “Great Law” runs through everything and by living according to its law, this is the way toward compassion and true wisdom that will alleviate suffering. There are also Hindu texts that mention Jesus’ travels to India and inferences that Jesus met Gautama Buddha.

 

All three dinner guests teach many similar things: practice of wisdom, compassion, not to do evil, to cultivate good in self and others. Two of the guests are mortal; one is said to be immortal. So….my topic of dinner conversation is: How each sees the way to end suffering and why there are so many similarities within and between each dogma.

 

Doncha want to join us? Who are YOUR three dinner guests?

 

Barbara’s Story:

I don’t suppose this could be a progressive dinner, could it?

 

I have to go with my gut instinct on this one.

 

One of my favorite dinner parties was put together on the spur of the moment.  A group of family and friends couldn’t decide where to go out to eat, so I said “Oh, just come to our house…I can put something together quicker and it’ll be a great place to talk”.

 

I love to cook and I had a “go to” menu I knew would be perfect.

 

As everyone arrived and had a cocktail or two, we began sitting down at the table and I served, family style, my “go to” menu.  I sat down at the head of the table and watched as everyone began diving into the food on the table.  I watched as they were laughing and talking with each other.  I heard one wife lean over to her husband and say “oh my god, this is good”.  I saw another husband put something on his wife’s plate and tell her, “you’re going to love this”.

 

I enjoyed this sight so much, I didn’t even need to eat anything.  I wanted to watch.  Watch as the people I enjoyed being with enjoyed eating my food and enjoyed the company at the table.

 

When I think about 3 people living or dead at my dinner table, I thought about all the possibilities.  What do I need to hear….What do I need to learn…What do I need to say?

 

Perhaps it’s because we’ve moved away so many times and I haven’t had a dinner party in years, but I really just need my friends and family at my dinner table with a glass of good wine and to watch them enjoying what has been put in front of them.

 

 

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