OK, so it’s really not the center of the universe, and I’m not going to be able to journey there. But Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Florida is the center of the Mets Universe. At least it will be tonight. Pedro Martinez makes another rehab start. It won’t be carried on live tv, not on SNY, the Mets’ network, nor on ESPN — which covered every step of Roger Clemens’ progression before he rejoined the Yankees earlier this season. The best I could find is an audio broadcast of the game, so I guess that’s what it’s going to be for entertainment tonight. The broadcast isn’t even going to be that of the home team, the St. Lucie Mets, but of the visiting team the Brevard County Manatees. But it’s free and it’s Pedro, so what the heck.
I like manatees. I think they’re cute. I saw one once, not far from Port St. Lucie, actually. It was in a canal that snaked through a neighborhood, behind a house where we were staying. It would be pretty cool to live in Florida and have manatees in the backyard. Then again, backyards in Florida also have alligators, and our cats would find that definitely uncool.
Just about all animals are cute to me. I suppose that “cute” isn’t the right word. It’s more like all animals elicit a level of respect from me. All species that have made it this far deserve my respect. Fuzzy and adorable or alien and uncuddly, we share the Big Blue Marble. (As I write this in the backyard there is a praying mantis eating a moth in the fern bed — being eaten alive has got to be last on my list of Preferred Ways to Die. But life feeds life, so as bad as I feel for the moth I cannot rescue it and give the praying mantis a chunk of tofu in its stead.) One of my Buddhism professors stated and restated the Buddhist tenet “compassion for all sentient beings.” I’ve always felt this way — even as a child, even before I had ever heard of Buddha.
Thus I listened with overwhelming incredulity to some athlete on ESPN Radio declare today that “Mike Vick is a good guy.” In my world good people don’t fight dogs and they certainly don’t kill them in the manner described in Vick’s indictment. I can accept that good people are capable of doing bad things. Good people will kill — in war, in self-defense. People will strike out and kill in a moment of passion. But it is beyond my comprehension to understand people who are cruel to animals and children. Not simply mean, but cruel in a planned and premeditated way. “Compassion for all sentient beings” comes to a grinding halt when I consider people who have no compassion.
I don’t think I’m a good Buddhist. I’m not much for chanting or meditating — although I do stare off into space while Thinking About Things, but that doesn’t really count. Renounce attachments? I’m horrible at that. I’m much too sentimental a person — I can’t even throw away a favorite but threadbare t-shirt. (I have t-shirts that are older than Keith’s girlfriend.) Extinguish desires? Well, I don’t yearn for things like high-definition tv’s or iPhones, but Lust and Gluttony are two of my favorite Deadly Sins. (As is Sloth.) I do buy into the “Life is Suffering” dogma, but not in a bad or depressing way. To me it means that life is not easy, and that to make it through you have to persevere. And being a good Buddhist would include compassion for Michael Vick and given that he pled guilty today I do not have that in me right now.
I don’t dwell on this a whole lot, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be reborn for another go-round in the Wheel of Life. I’ve led a fairly good life, but it’s not like I feel terribly enlightened or that I’m knocking on the door to nirvana. I’m also pretty sure that Michael Vick will be reborn, given that his current karmic balance is leaning strongly to the negative. I like to think that redemption eventually catches up to everyone. It’s just that it takes a little longer for some people.
