Male

40

There is a famous image in the East called the "Vinegar Tasters." It's an ubiquitous image, sort of like the "Madonna & child" image in the West. In the image, you see 3 old men standing around a large vat of vinegar, each with his finger in his mouth, tasting the vinegar. The first has a sour look on his face. The second has a bitter look on his face. And, the 3rd has a smile. It's said that the 1st man is buddha and he tastes the sourness of life. Life for the Buddha is a constant series of denials of temptations and ignored disappointments. The second man is Confucius and he tastes the bitterness of life. For Confucius, life is an endless set of rules, an endless series of tests. Finally, the last man is Lao-Tzu and he tastes the goodness of life. For Lao-Tzu, the Universe is fundamentally good. Yes, the vinegar the tastes sour and bitter, but these are just particular aspects of a fundamentally good universe.

I'm not sure why I just told that story, except for the fact that many of my friends don't understand that image, but they like it when I tell them. It's just one interpretation, but I like it.

One note: many of my Buddhist friends would disagree with the above interpretation, and I would agree. The interpretation of Buddhism that I've since learned involves transcending the suffering of life. Perhaps the Buddha shouldn't have a sour look on his face as much as an observing, accepting one...

I agree that the universe is a fundamentally good place. As it says in Genesis, God saw that it is good. The universe is fascinating, and I seem to enjoy exploring new stuff: new cities, new ideas, whatever. Some of the things that I've run across that I love are astronomy, archaeology, martial arts, languages (Korean, German, Mandarin French, Russian.. would like to learn Spanish and Sign), micro and nanotechnology, the question of consciousness, cooking, ultimate frisbee. I'm a NPR junkie, and love the Economist magazine.

Everywhere that I've travelled around the world, I've met beautiful men. We're just blessed with a world like that. One pattern is that I tend to like well-built guys. I also seem to connect with people who are funny and intellectual and have an international outlook.

Men who have found a passion or passions for which to live intrigue me. It is wonderful to find a soul who has found something other than himself for which to struggle. There are so many problems in this world. A noble guy who wants to give the world a gift is truly sexy...

Persons who contemplate moral obligation fascinate me.

Finally, I like people who say hello. The world is a friendlier place when people say hello to eachother, even just in passing...