Buddha Belly

Lunched at The Little Next Door on 3rd Street (mid-city) somewhat close to work with 2/3 of "Team Cool" (nickname for a group of friends of mine). I'd never been before and now I absolutely love it there. Can't say non to a little French cafe right? Had a deelish Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict. If I could've had a cheese plate and some wine I would've but alas, I didn't want to have to succumb to a food coma in the middle of my work day. But boy was I full! And I definitely want to come by for brunch sometime or after work for a cheese-plate-and-wine-fix.


After le dejeuner I have a little conversation with Dina before heading out. She is sitting at a little table by the door with her green highlighter and latte before her. Dina is reading Breath by Breath by Larry Rosenberg, a book about Buddhist meditation practices. Buddhism has been a passion of hers for the past few years now and she has been engrossing herself in as many books on Buddhism ever since. She used to read fiction alot but admits that it doesn't engage her as much anymore. "Buddhism is my new way of life", she says. I find out that her Buddhist community of friends or "sangha" are the ones who recommend all the Buddhism books, and so do her meditation teachers. "I have 3 of them, actually. 2 teachers in the flesh and 1 online. The one online lives in Northern California." All this talk reminded me of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert so I had to know if Dina had been on a spiritual pilgrimage to another country. She has not but has been to a few retreats here in the U.S.

It was interesting listening to her talk because her voice was so serene and her mannerisms were...delicate but deliberate at the same time. She would pause as if to ensure that the words that came out of her mouth were the right ones. Such a calming experience, if I may say so :-)


When asked what fiction she did read Dina told me the last fictional book she read was The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. It just dawned on me right now that I had watched the movie. I wonder if she's watched it and what she thought.

Her favourite book growing up was Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer's The Phantom Tollbooth! I was so elated when I heard that because it is one of my favourite books, as well, and I don't know many people who know of it. And, coincidentally, I just loaned the book to le mec because I had recently referenced something from the book and it was lost on unknowing ears.

If Dina could write a book of her own it would be about Buddhist poetry.

Later she told me that she heard something interesting the other day. She was talking to a friend and they were talking about how many people are reading books online and how they were discussing how difficult it is to really focus on reading something for so long on a computer screen. I completely agree because I have a hard time even reading long articles or emails online because I just feel so...distracted! (Says the girl who works online/in front of a computer all day long). We discussed how much better it FEELS to read an actual book. The act itself is so relaxing and you take yourself out of your everyday even if for a few moments to partake in this "archaic" (ok, I'm being hyperbolic - or am I? - but you know what I mean) form of leisure.

I asked what her thoughts were on audiobooks, then, since we were talking about digital consumption of reading material. Dina feels it isn't so bad to listen to audiobooks. She does it herself with Buddhism books! "We spend so much time in our cars stuck in traffic that it is a great way to pass time and do something productive while driving rather than, say, talking on the phone like most people do!" True that.



What was the last audiobook you listened to? Did you happen to listen to one because you were traveling? Do you listen to audiobooks during your commute to/fro work or school?