It's been slow around here, rolling into Summer heat finally. Mellow hot days. However, this weekend, we're celebrating the Buddha's birthday with some ceremony tomorrow. We didn't announce it, but anyone who is coming up to the monastery today and wants to stay the night can do so for free.

I don't know much about the Buddha nativity, but I put as much credit on it as I do the Jesus nativity. I swear, it takes minimal logic to think about the Jesus nativity and be confounded how people think that was historical fact. I remember a skit on Saturday Night Live with Joseph confiding to a neighbor, dressed in period clothing, but set in a modern, American suburban kitchen, about his suspicions about Mary's pregnancy, that she was cheating on him and got pregnant and is saying God did it. 'Cause he sure didn't. Funny stuff. But that's the least of what's wrong about it.

As for the Buddha nativity, the myth is along the lines that the Buddha was born out of Queen Maya's side, proceeded to take however many steps in each of the directions, and proclaimed that between heaven and earth, there was none who can compare to he. Aren't all kids are like that once they learn to walk and talk?

Apparently the baby Buddha statue being used for the ceremony has one finger up to the sky like John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever". We were joking about a disco theme and changing it to "between heaven and earth, there is none who can dance like me". Irreverence is a sign of a healthy spiritual community.