This afternoon after going to the post office to mail Jackson a German birthday card, I took a nap. I want to be rested to stay up until 11:30 p.m. tonight (an hour more) to Skype with Kerry and the kids. We will leave about 1:30 tomorrow afternoon to get a ride to the Cologne airport for our trip to Milan.
We ate dinner together in our discussion group for the last time this evening. Then we were to come back for the Tea Meditation. Doug did a great job facilitating this group and they seemed to enjoy him. He explained how important tea was at Plum Village, a way to sit and get to know members of the community. We practiced some of the formalities but in a more relaxed way. Usually there is a “Tea Master” who prepares the tea; we each brought our own cup of tea already with us. Sister had prepared a lovely centerpiece on the floor of a blue hydrangea plant, with leaves just changing color on the floor scattered between tea light candles. Very simple but lovely!
There was a tray of cookies prepared and Doug showed us the formal way of passing the tray, started by the “cookie master”. Hands in lotus, bow to the person, looking them in the eye, take a napkin and cookies, bow again, take the tray and they bow to you, looking into your eyes. Then you go to the next person. It took a long time to get around 30 people! We had a lot of laughs along the way as people turned away when they were supposed to be looking, bowing, etc. Funny!
Doug invites the bell 3 times when everyone is served, and like meals, we drank and ate in silence for a few minutes. Then he “invites” the bell (meaning he clunks it) and we were free to talk. A couple of people had a little song to share, or a poem to share or a story. Doug then closed with teaching us a song from Deer Park everyone seemed to like – about All the Beauty around us – HO! This was a Native American song/chant. It was fun and funny!
The group adjourned around 9:20 to go to the main hall to hear a famous German singer – called an Overtoner, I think it is. I asked someone in the group what this was as I’d never heard of it. It’s a kind of singing/sound with your mouth and cheeks where you sing two tones at once! So I went to check it out. There was a guy and woman singing. He did the overtoning – a low tone with this high sort of melody over it. It was pretty amazing and new to me musically!!
That’s it for tonight. My roommates are already in bed so I’ll have to pack quickly in the morning sometime. At 6:30 some people are taking the Five Mindfulness Trainings. It’s a sort of promise that you sign and agree to try to do. I can’t find them in English but part of it is not to kill any animals – which basically means you become vegetarian. Another is right listening and speech – which means you don’t read books, magazines, watch movies, TV that promote violence, etc. I’ll have to get a copy of what they all are.
Oh, I forgot! There is a restaurant in Wellfleet, Moby Dick's, that posts pictures from all around the world, with people wearing Moby hats! So I brought one and had a picture of me, Doug, another monastic and a nun! Figured 3 bald heads and me might be an unusual picture! They laughed!
More from Italy! Not sure if I will have internet access where we’re staying in Milan.
Ciao!
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