Unfortunately, I didn't find Nirvana during my stay at
Bhavana Meditation Society. I did, however, make a few new friends. Such as
Mangala who is about to dive into the monastic life through the fiery hoop of
ordination after a year of preparation. And Loi who is on an international tour
of monasteries. Or Andrew, a thick guy with a heavy Russian accent who finally
got his daughter to do a retreat him. At least that's his story. I'm not
completely confident he isn't KGB, but that's a whole other rabbit hole.
Then there are the anchors of Bhavana Society such as Robert
who more often than not can be found in the kitchen making sure all the guests
and residents are well fed. And I must say even though, as is standard practice
no one eats after 12 noon, everyone is well fed with a pretty impressive spread.
I am, however, still trying to comprehend how a meal for 8-10 vegetarians can
generate enough dirty dishes to keep a team of 5 busy washing up for 30-40
minutes. They could seriously use a smart kitchen manager to streamline things.
The true spiritual or educational anchors of a meditation
center or monastery are, of course, the monks. At Bhavana Society there are three resident
monks. The junior most monk is an American born and there is no mistaking that
fact. The next senior monk is, as you might expect, a no nonsense Sri Lankan
named Bhante Seelananda. The Senior monk and founder of the Bhavana Society is
Bhante Gunaratana who is also a Sri Lankan and became a monk at age 12 and took
formal ordination at age 20 in 1947.
One of the perks of doing a casual personal retreat with no
formal retreatants present is that you can do things you wouldn't normally be
able to do, such as work. During a formal retreat there is a strict schedule
and it's all business. Well, actually, no business, just all mediation. During
casual retreats, on the other hand, you are asked to pitch in for a couple
hours each day and help out with things that need to be done. As it turned out they
had some carpentry work to be done and so it was a great pleasure to be able to
contribute in that way.
The day before I was scheduled to depart Bhante Gunaratana
came by while I was working on a project for them and said that he had been
wanting to speak to me all week, but during every opportunity he found me
working so hard that he didn't want to disturb me. He followed that up with an
invite to stay as long as I like. "You scratch my back, and I scratch yours"
as he put it. I was flattered that my actions transcended the need to fill out
the usual paper work and such which is usually necessary to extend ones stay
longer than 6 days, but I needed to keep moving.
Later, after the days meal he told me and Andrew a story of
when he visited Russia as a young man back in the day when the KGB and the cold
war were very much alive and well. A time when he remarked, "Everyone I
met knew my name and I couldn't figure out how." (They were KGB). This
story may well be a meditation subject for me for the rest of my life. He told
how he entered a taxi on his way to start a day of sightseeing when a thief
reached into the window and grabbed his camera. He described the tug of war
that ensued. Him holding on to his camera firmly and the would-be thief hanging
half way into the cab. An apparent stalemate ensued, but neither was giving up.
Then Bhante "G", this sweet, peaceful, frail 5 foot 2 inch, 85 year old who can't be more
than 90 pounds soaking wet says in a Sri Lankan accent "So I took my elbow and smashed it into
his nose! And he ran away.". Not the ending to the story I would have
expected and the only chuckle I had all week.
Lastly, for those of you who don't know what it's like to go
on a meditation retreat I want to paint a rough picture of it for you. Be
prepared to wake up at 4:30 am and get yourself seated in a position which is
comfortable, but one in which you won't be lulled to sleep. Then you'll hear a
soft gong signaling you to close your eyes. Then just be aware of all that is
going on in your body and mind as objectively as possible. Don't plan. Don't peek!
Don't daydream. Don't fidget (and be
thankful it isn't Zen, because then when you fidget, and you will, you get
whacked with a stick!) Do that for an hour and the sound of three gongs signals
the end of the sitting. Get up, stretch and get circulation back in your limbs.
Start over....... and over.... and over.....Reach enlightenment.
Pretty simple really!
For more information on Bhavana Society: http://bhavanasociety.org/teachers/
