Pause

Sunday morning of sesshin at the Garrison Institute (see Fall Sesshin, among others). You spend hours sitting, reflecting, observing moment after moment. And then, there are always those times, frequently at the end of sesshin, when your thoughts turn toward "what happens next?"

That's kind of where I am today. Everything is pretty much together for my trip to Italy (see Bellagio) this weekend. And I pause to reflect on the writing project that I will be immersed in over the next six weeks. Not knowing is, indeed, most intimate. [NOTE: Photo by G. DeBrocky (thx, Glynn)]. 

Dendrology/Silviculture Section

Image above shows part of the Dendrology (e.g. Tree Flora of Malaya, The Bamboos of Sabah, Standard Nomenclature of Forest Plants in Burma) and Silviculture (e.g. Forest Stand Dynamics, Silvicultural Systems, Principles of Silviculture) section of the bookcase in my office. Notice the Wilhelm/Baynes (1950) translation of the I Ching sitting on top of the Tree Flora of Malaya. Always helps to bring as much information and insight as possible to every situation.

After taking the picture, I decided to throw the I Ching and post the hexagram that resulted. Didn't really have a question, but the I Ching always gives you something useful (and unexpected) to reflect on. My  six coin tosses produced hexagram 4, or Mêng (蒙)/Youthful Folly. The upper trigram is Kên/Keeping Still, Mountain; the bottom trigram is K'an/The Abysmal, Water.

From the commentaries: "The two trigrams show the way of overcoming the follies of youth. Water is something that of necessity flows on. When the spring gushes forth, it does not know at first where it will go. But its steady flow fills up the deep place blocking in progress, and success is atained". Not surprised that  youthful folly is playing a key role at this stage in my life. [NOTE: The really observant will notice that Red Pine's lovely translation of Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom by Sung Po-jin also, for some reason, has a place in the Dendrology/Silviculture section (far left. second shelf)].  

What About Me? (From The Archive)

I have posted this video by Sakyong Jamgön Mipham a couple of times, but it always seems so relevant to our current situation. Shootings, and election-year politics, and carbon emissions, and unrestrained economic growth at any cost.  Never hurts to hear the words one more time:

You know what? None of it will make you happy unless you do one simple thing: change "me" for "you".

What I Carry

Shown above is the stuff that I carry. Not to the field, but to the office everyday as part of my "going to work" kit. Start bottom left and the move counterclockwise: 1) Timbuk2 Custom Laptop Messenger Bag. Have only had it for 7 months, but it is truly waterproof and holds everything I need. Those bike messengers know how to make bags. 2) BUILT Bento sandwich box. Currently holds a peanut butter (crunchy) and sliced banana sandwich on whole wheat with some mutsu apple slices. Yum. 3) Tom Bihn organizer pouch for flashdrives, and chargers, and cables, and dongles; have tied a prayer flag from Nepal to the zipper (because it never hurts). 4) Apple earpods and carrying case (thx, Josh). 5) Smateria sleeve containing my iPad Air. The sleeve was made in Cambodia from recycled nylon fishing nets (thx, Thibault). 5) ten-trip ticket on MetroNorth and ID's from NYBG and Columbia University. 6) manila folder containing my dharma talk on Case 87 from the Blue Cliff Record for this Sunday at EHZC. Gulp. 7) An assortment of gel pens (Pilot G-2 05 and 0.38 Signo uni-ball), a Sharpie yellow highlighter, and a wooden Faber-Castell mechanical pencil that I have had for 20 years. 8) Field Notes and Moleskine notepads. Can't decide, I carry both. 9) Sunflower yellow, Davek Traveler umbrella. Without a doubt, the best collapsible umbrella you can buy. Only problem is if you ever set it down, leave it in a taxi, or loan it to someone–it will disappear. And, 10) my faithful  iPhone 4, which is not in the picture because I used it to take the picture. Probably use it more for Spotify than to make calls or send text messages, but it has been all over the world with me. Sturdy and reliable.

Long post. Sorry. I carry a lot of stuff.

Main Hall at Garrison

The main meditation hall at the Garrison Institute before the sitters arrive, and the bells sound, and all things get real quiet, and your left knee starts to hurt. I have spent quite a bit of time in this room (see Fall Sesshin 2011, Spring Sesshin, View From The Floor, and several other posts). but I've missed sesshin since Susan passed away. [NOTE: It looks like we will soon have a wonderful new resident teacher at EHZC. Stay tuned].  

Cabin In The Catskills

The little cabin in the Catskills (see Hermitage and Building the Hermitage). The door is always inviting, but especially in winter when it's snowing and the woodstove is fired up and glowing. And then you step in, close the door, start boiling some water for tea, and dig out Red Pine's The Zen Works of Stonehouse: Poems and Tales of a 14th-Century Chinese Hermit. And fluff up the sleeping bag.

Journal

I keep a journal every day that I am in the field. Have done so since the first trip to Myanmar in 2005 (see Hukaung Valley Rattan Survey). Was actually Elysa's idea (thx, Elysa) to keep a record on this trip and she gave me my first journal. I am currently on journal number five. Given time and motivation, the idea is to turn all of these observations into a book at some point. We'll see. [NOTE: As shown above, my journal of choice is the classic 5 X 8.25 inch Moleskine Ruled Notebook. The vintage Cleveland Indians cap is also a classic. Oh, and the Pilot G-2, extra fine point, retractable gel pen is a real jewel].

Teaching Buddha

One year ago today, I was in San Francisco at the De Young Museum standing in front of this exquisite Gandhara, 2nd–3rd century, statue of a Teaching Buddha (schist with traces of gilt and pigment). To point out some of the finer details of the piece: "Holding his hands in the teaching gesture, the Buddha is seated on an inverted lotus throne supported by two elephants and a lion. He is flanked by a pair of columns with bull-shaped capitals that support a balcony of female figures, two figures kneeling by his head, a pair of bodhisattvas in niches on either side, and two parakeets atop the arch".  Lot going on here.

Happy Birthday to HH Dalai Lama

His Holiness the Dalai Lama turns 80 on July 6th and his upcoming birthday was recently celebrated at the Glastonbury 2015 festival. He was brought out as a "surprise guest" during Patti Smith's set. They had a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday and the Dalai Lama said a few words. He was clearly touched. I love his expression (2:27) when he blows out the candles. A very good use of 8 minutes of your day.

Next Steps?

As a follow up to the Pope's recent encyclical on global warming (see Laudato Si), I post the image above. A group of Catholic and Buddhist leaders met at the Vatican on June 24. Go here for more information about the meeting and to view a short video clip of the Pope's words to the group. Pope Francis, smiling beatifically, is shown to the right. To his immediate left, looking on from the background in brown okesa is Hozan Alan Senauke (see Bodhisattva's Embrace and In the Herbarium). The plot continues to thicken.  [NOTE: Image from the RomeReports.com video].