More Mandalas

I was playing around on Photoshop yesterday and got really into making some mandalas. Here's the result of my work.

Flower Art #1



Flower Mandala #1



Forest Mandala #1

A Row Boat to Nowhere

"Truth be told, I don't really care.... 'cause we're all on a boat to nowhere." - Adyashanti

I had a friend visit me in Felton last week, and we listened to some Adyashanti together. I think we both agreed that the above quote was one of our favorites from what we listened to. Although I don't remember getting on this boat of life, I'm really enjoying my ride to nowhere, and I hope you are too.

It seems I've started to get into my rhythm now with my new California life. And even though I'm not going to be traveling again anytime soon, I must say that I enjoy my weekly drives through the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains down the coast to the rolling hills and flat fields of Wattsonville's farmland and then up the east side of the bay to Berkeley and the wooded hills of Montclaire.

On the meditation front, I continue to learn about myself and about what it means to be human. I had some really intense dreams last night, many of which were quite lucid. At one point, I found myself in a room, but quite certain that it was a dream. I couldn't recall what my actual waking life room looked like, but knew that I was in a dream room instead. It was quite real however, and quite lucid - as real as any dream usually is. So, I began contemplating, "this is all a mental creation. I'm creating all of this right now. There is no substance to it, and no existence to it outside of my mind." It was cool to experience something so real and so external, yet to know it as pure mental formation... fabrication. It was vibrating and morphing quite a bit, as dreams usually do, but I just stayed in that dream room in fascination and awe. There was another dream in which I saw my own face, and I was speaking the words coming out of it, and thinking it's thoughts, but clearly observing it as "me outside of me" - all still quite lucid that this was conscious dream creation.

Like I said, it was a wild night. Recently, a friend suggested I write about my dreams here, so there ya go. Remaining conscious, mindful, and aware throughout the dream state definitely seems like a meditation for me, however I don't put too much importance into the content. Preferably, I would simply try to observe the physical and mental sensations that make up the dream-state itself, while allowing meaning to arise naturally if and when it may arise.

I'm planning to take the next couple days for meditation retreat at home here, so I'll be off-grid until Friday.

Be well.

ps. the photo above is the chair on my porch where I do meditation, eat meals, or just sit and listen to the birds.

"Trees and Vines..." - Ajahn Chah

"Trees and Vines can reveal the nature of reality to us. With wisdom there is no need to question anyone, no need to study. We can learn everything from Nature to be enlightened."

- Ajahn Chah
(quote painted on wood and nestled trail-side in the hills at Abhayagiri Monastery)

My India Mandalas

I drew these two Mandalas during my last couple days in India. I thought it'd be a nice way to capture the essence of my four month India experience. I can't say there's any "meaning" to them, but I can say that when I drew them I was really feeling the depth of my experience in that moment. Anyway, it's nice to show a little more of my artwork here.

India Mandala #1



India Mandala #2

The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

I feel blessed that I got to tag along with Robert as he gave a ride for Ajahn Amaro on the way out of the Monastery last week. Ajahn Amaro is the big cheese for Western Theravada Buddhism in the tradition of Ajahn Chah and the Thai lineage. He is moving to England soon to be the Abbot of Amaravati Monastery - the center branch of this school of Buddhism. He is incredibly highly regarded amongst monks and lay people alike. Robert referred to him as one of the best "monk trainers" around, and having met the monks he has trained, I'd have to agree.

Ajahn Amaro needed a ride to Novato, with a quick stop at The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas on the way out of town. The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas ("The City") is the largest Buddhist monastery in all of North America! Cool! Who knew I would get a chance to visit! It's from the Chinese lineage of Master Hua who developed quite a following in his lifetime. There are a couple hundred permanent residents in the city, about a third of whom are monks and nuns.

Ajahn Amaro was giving the keynote address at the graduation ceremony for Developing Virtue Boy's Secondary School. The City runs 5 different schools for a few lucky children who get an education based on virtue and goodness more so than book smarts and the ability to pass a test. From the brief glimpse of the graduating class, it did look like these boys had been instilled with virtue. The City is bilingual (Mandarin and English) which seems to cause some challenges of communication, but it still seems to be thriving, and one of the speakers at the graduation was an successful alumni who still comes back to give his time to The City.

Inside the main Dhamma Hall of The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas - you guessed it - Ten Thousand Buddhas! If you look close at the photos, the walls are stacked with small Buddha statues, each one carved by Master Hua himself. Ten thousand in all, believe it or not. The property itself used to be a home for the criminally insane, and the Dhamma Hall is actually the old gymnasium for the insane asylum. Once you walk inside, all of that is forgotten, and the peace and sense of community is immediately apparent.

Some buildings are a bit creepy still, but spiced up a bit with cute street names like "Joyous Way."

Ajahn Amaro's talk was inspiring and to the point. He made a cool suggestion that might be good for young boys (or for any of us for that matter.) His suggestion: If you can't keep up your 2 hours of chanting and meditation each morning, take on something more bite-sized. Try just to spend at least an hour per day doing only one thing. Not skyping while texting while emailing while listening to music while tevo-ing while eating chips, etc... Rather, if you're emailing for an hour - just do your email - and nothing else. Brilliant! Mono-tasking! I don't know if it would sell on Wall Street, but who cares.

The car ride back with the Ajahn was also fun as we had a chance to talk casually about some other topics of life. I don't remember much of the conversation, but I do remember him as a very enjoyable and wise man. May he have safe travels to England and a smooth transition into his new position there.

Staying at Abhayagiri Forest Monastery

Following the tradition of many Thai Buddhist Forest Monks of the past, a small group (mostly westerners) is living and practicing in the hills outside of Ukiah, CA. They call their sanctuary Abhayagiri Monastery. I've known about this place for a couple years now, but seeing how Ukiah isn't the most accessible place to travel to without a car, I had to wait for a ride. Luck had it that a friend, Robert, was going my way. In fact, he was giving a ride to a couple of the head-honcho monks at the monastery (more on that in a bit.)

The schedule is the same everyday at the monastery. Robert said "like Groundhog's Day." Yup. And, it was surprisingly a lot of work. It's not meant to be a retreat center, though... so it's not a like a nap in the park. Other than helping with dishes after every meal, and cleaning the toilet in the morning, I also was asked to do a couple of hours of trail maintenance work in the morning between breakfast and lunch. I got my workout! My back and shoulders were sore for a few days from all the swinging of a pick-axe.

After lunch, personal time begins, and I made use of it to sit in my humble cottage (called "The Bumblebee," and photo shown here) which was right next to a little babbling brook. My meditation practice was incredibly strong and deep, and I can't help but think that it was in part from the powerful energy of this monastery. From the moment I got there, I felt the peace overcome me. And, I had a wild dream on my second night there in which the entire universe exploded into shimmering lights of bliss, and I could see with incredible perspective on the total totalness of existence. It was cool, although I don't want to make too much a big deal out of it. The next day it was back to shoveling and breaking rocks. A flickering moment in time.

The trails (of which I helped work on) run for miles around the hills, which are mostly steep so provide ample exercise. I spent my last day running around taking photos and checking out the nooks and crannies.

They also have a pretty stellar library with a wide selection of Buddhist books and also some poetry, psychology, and even a cool book on old school etiquette.

The etiquette is another important point. When I first heard about Abhayagiri, my friend told me, "they are so careful with their vinaya there, it's impressive." The Vinaya is the monastic code of 227 rules governing all manners of morality and etiquette. I didn't really think that this could be impressive until I saw it! Yes, it is impressive!

It's not that they have really good rules, or that they are really good at keeping people from breaking the rules, or anything like that. In fact, most of the time it doesn't even feel like they are "rules" at all. Rather, it feels like an incredibly conscious community in which the monks take such care in all their actions. And with meticulous care, they cultivate a lifestyle which is incredibly pleasant to be around, peaceful, and joyful. Sure, there were a couple who seemed a little over-the-top with it, kinda like trying to be "good boy scouts." But, for the most part, it didn't seem contrived, forced, or oppressive at all. In fact, it felt freeing, open, and spacious. And, so many smiles too! The monks smile a lot.

The food is all donated (alms food), and it's not entirely vegetarian. The feast was quite large on Friday (the lunar celebration day) and I always made away with some very tasty dishes on my plate. Part of the practice is to only eat for health and not for pleasure, but it's a little counter-productive with all the cookies and dumplings, etc.

I made some good friends while there, and really enjoyed the company. I can see what a magnet this place must be for those who are willing to take the time to seek out such rare sanctuaries like this. I got to hear a couple short Dhamma talks from Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Sucitto - two highly regarded long-time monks. The Dhamma talks brought me joy.

One reason I went was to see if I might someday want to become a monk. I must say that the trip brought me mixed thoughts on the topic. On one hand, I found the rules and monastic discipline to be more inspiring than what I'd thought. Also, the monk lifestyle seemed beautiful and very tempting. So, in some sense, I'm more interested now than before. While on the other hand, there was some thing about it also which pushed me away (and I'm not sure I can put my finger on it.) One of my friends noted that I'm a little too raw and unrefined for monastic life, and I think that may be it. I'm not a very "traditional" kind of guy, and I'm not a very good "Buddhist" either. But, we'll see. I have no idea what my future holds. I'm starting to think that I like my future like I like my coffee - with nothing in the cup. (I don't like coffee.)

I only stayed at Abhayagiri for three nights, as this was the plan with Robert and his driving schedule, and they limit your first stay to seven days max, anyway. I would like to go back at some point and stay for a longer time, perhaps. But, I'll be sure to be ready for some work!

First Batch of Pesto

All settled in and back to work, I'm finding my pace here in Felton, CA. I made my first batch of summer pesto, and it's delicious! (Maybe a little too much Parmesan, as it's got bite.)

I've also got my stuff from storage and having an emotional ride going through all those memories and working on my discard pile.

I had planned to take time while here in this peaceful forest setting to do as much meditation as possible (yes... I'm still blabbing on about meditation, but that is the point of this blog). I just took the last two days on retreat here, just for meditation. It was a bit of a struggle, but a fruitful use of time. After a nightmare on Wednesday night about a cobra, I decided to make an offering of incense to the forest creatures the next day. I think if I'm taking refuge in their forest home as a bit of an uninvited guest, then I ought to do my best to win them over. May it be a sanctuary of peace for all those who wish to pass their days in these woods.

Work seems to be going well, and if anyone wants to visit me: I'll be at the Downtown Berkeley Farmer's Market on Saturdays, and the Montclair (Oakland hills) Farmer's Market on Sundays. See you there!

Time to go now and cook up some beets. 'Til next time.