[Buddha-l] gorgeous sung version of Heart Sutra

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Sat, 2006-01-14 at 10:33 +0100, Joy Vriens wrote:

> BTW I am male.

Joy, it is not often that I feel compelled to step in as moderator, but
I really feel that I must ask you to change your name. It is too
confusing to the readers of Buddha-l, especially those who decide what
to believe on the basis of the gender of the author. 

For years now I have let readers assume that I am a male, since Richard
is usually a man's name. My reason for doing this is that I know that
most people think that males are careless, insensitive, unfeeling, self-
absorbed megalomaniacs with a penchant for physical violence and verbal
belligerence. (Most people believe that sort of thing about men because
most people are assholes, but I am too caring, sensitive, empathic and
altruistic to point that out, especially to people who are likely to
inflict physical violence or verbal belligerence upon me.)

I think you have followed a strategy just the opposite of mine. Whereas
I long to be seen as brutal and dangerous (perhaps even a little
Republican), you wish to come across as gentle and compassionate.
Therefore, you have let people think you are a female, because you know
everyone opens doors for women, listens to them carefully, heeds them as
authority figures and lets them display their independence by paying the
bill at expensive restaurants.

So, given that almost everyone who is not Dutch thinks that Vriens is a
woman's name, I'm going to ask you to change your name to something more
masculine, such as Joy Jaegermeister.

Thank you, as always for your co-operation.

By the way, are you a non-dualist, or just a pseudo-non-dualist? The
real non-dualists among our readers would probably rather know that than
whether you sport a lingam or a yoni. 

Androgynously yours,
Richarda