 Through German Eyes This is an interview with a Mathematics student in Germany, the 24-year-old Anselm Penschinski who experienced the power of the 100-Day prayer. Q: When did you receive Kyudo? A: The end of October 2001. Q: What have you realised about The Way of Heaven? A: It was the first time for me that I found a community that believes in the things I always did and it was more than amazing for me to experience the way that brought me closer to myself. I believe everything that happens to me is a mirror of who I am. I hope that through Sentendaido I can live in a more conscious way. More than that, I hope I can help others find their true selves and realise that life is not just about being born, trying to acquire some material possessions you anyway don't need. And then dying just to be buried six feet under. Q: Why did you decide to become vegetarian? A: I always thought it's bad to kill animals just to eat them. Sometimes I became vegetarian for some weeks or months. For example, when I saw a report on TV some years ago about how some human beings breed fishes just to kill them. It was really horrible to see how much these fishes had to suffer in their basins which were full of bacteria and other sources of illness and just big enough to keep them covered with water. But they could not move. Somehow I always forgot about these things after some time and since I really like the taste of meat, I went back to it. I just didn't think that the meat I ate belonged to an animal. These things were just not connected for me. But Sentendaido made me conscious about it all and it was no problem for me to stick to the belief I already had, even though I like the taste of meat. I'm happy that I can live in a more conscious way and learn about myself. I hope I can use the energy I get from that to help others live more consciously - to be a good "mirror" for them. |
