Living in Society
When I was relatively new to meditation with maybe five or six months experience, I was invited to an outdoor wedding. The Catholic priest who conducted the ceremony was a gentleman from India who was also a respected professor of Sanskrit in the religious studies department at the university.
The reception was held immediately after in the same location. On principle, as a student of meditation, I turned down the glass of champagne that was offered to me. Shortly thereafter I was talking with the Indian priest. He was drinking champagne and explained to me that at weddings and other social events it is appropriate to follow the norms of society and participate.
Feeling somewhat rebuked, I accepted a glass of champagne and drank it. It was a hot day, and, taken on an empty stomach, the alcohol made me rather ill. I resolved that in the future I would follow my conscience and abstain from alcohol, disregarding the opinions of others.
As the years have gone by I have found it is perfectly OK to be different. Perhaps it is because I respect others for who they are, but I find that no one takes offense at the fact that I do not eat meat, use drugs, or drink alcohol.
I have noticed that sometimes for beginners of meditation, friends and relatives are initially reluctant to accept their practice. If you are consistent in your lifestyle, however, these same friends and relatives soon become your biggest supporters. All our friends and relatives know, for instance, that on Sunday evenings my family and I attend group meditation. They take no offense at this, rather, because of our consistency, they avoid scheduling events that will cause a conflict.
It is important to honor the norms of the society in which you live. At the same time it is important to distinguish between those norms that are positive cultural expressions and those that are detrimental to the expression of higher values in personal and collective life.