August 22, 2012

Big doings at EIAB!

I was very lucky that Doug invited me here this week! We had a regular sitting meditation, exercise (I took a walk up towards the woods as my shoulder was still hurting a bit – walked barefoot through the wet grass in this orchard! Lovely!)

 and then breakfast.

But at the dharma talk, Phap An, head honcho here and director of EIAB introduced honored guests. The burgomeister of Waldbrol, who has been very helpful in this renovation/purchase was here, along with some other dignitaries for the ribbon cutting of the Asoka Monastery first floor (the one I scrubbed yesterday!).

Going to try posting this to see if it works with pictures. I’ll finish later.

Didn’t work so I’ll work on pictures later.

Anyway, after the morning dharma talk,Thay led a walking meditation, again with the children and then the rest of us following, down to the park where they sat on mats and there were some chairs for guests (and a few at the back). Doug pointed the chairs out to me so I was able to get one rather than sit on the ground which was great! He gave me his camera with this huge lens and his bag to watch, briefly showed me how to use the zoom on the camera and left. Turns out he was performing, but I didn’t know it.

First there were introductions by Phap An of the special guests including the architect of Asoka and the architect of the new Stupa and garden. A model of this was presented to Thay.

Then there was a lovely concert by the “PV Chamber quartet” which was really five – Phap Linh, or Dylan, on the cello; Sr. Trai Ngiem on the violin; another young lay woman on the viola, I think, a former member of the Munich orchestra, now married to a famous conductor living in Spain and she teaches (someone told me); another young woman on a violin; and then a young Vietnamese man who was introduced as Thay’s great-nephew, on the violin as well. They played a number of beautiful pieces.

They cleared to the side and the kung fu presentation began. There was Doug, with a red belt, hopping around with the best of them! It was really well done! He said they’ve been practicing for a couple of months.

After that, it was the sisters’ turn. The quartet played Pacobel’s canon, while maybe 10 sisters, with beautiful flower wreathes on their heads “danced” in, in a line with a little step. I was told they were honoring all the various sites connected with Thay’s teaching. I wasn’t sitting near the English translation so I couldn’t hear but the German. I did hear them mention PV, Deer Park, Blue Cliff, EIAB, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as some other sites. Oh, yes, Maple Forest/Green Mountain in Vermont, not far from Dartmouth, which is how Doug got in contact with this order initially, after he’d graduated and was working in a bookstore in Hanover. Three of the sisters came forward and did a little skit related to each site. Sr. Juwel was in one where they removed her wreath and cap and mimed shaving her head! I asked Al, her father, later whether she had choreographed this whole thing. She said “everyone did a little” but he said her masters after Stamford was in some kind of specialized ritual/dance from African (she is ½ African-American; her dad I think she told me was a former Baptist minister, lived in Houston, now Atlanta).

Then the special surprise was a lion dance, like they have at Tet or Chinese New Year, with 3 lions (with 2 monks inside) and two comic characters that did tricks! Everyone loved it and it was very colorful! Then the crowd walked up from the park to cut the ribbon and enter the Asoka Hall first floor where a gorgeous display of Thay’s calligraphy, with amazing Ikibani (Japanese-like flower arrangements on the floor in front of each) were on display. In a side room was a well laid out display of Thay’s books in many languages under glass displays, with an explanation in each.

I needed a break so I walked into town to find a birthday card for Jackson from Germany and bottled water.

Dharma discussion with my Ananas group takes place at 4:30 each day. Doug is facilitator and if the German monk is there, I know what’s going on. The Sister is too soft-spoken (yes, K, I’ve had my hearing aids in all the time, but she’s STILL too soft. People the first discussion could bring up whatever they wanted – whatever is said there, stays there! Tonight we have a special Tea Ceremony where we are supposed to each sing a song, recite a poem, share something! Aargh! I think I’ll stick with the Family Song – I see the Moon!

There was a “hiking” meditation up into the forest hills behind the center for a couple of hours. There was a shnell (fast) group, a medium group and I went with the langsam, or slowly, group. I saw Doug standing around with Phap Xa and then the two of them took of alone – for a fast run/walk!! He said they planned it!!

My group headed up into the dark forest on miles of trails. We stopped at a stream where water comes down from above and I heard the monastics climb up and bottle it for themselves – with no chemicals added to it! Pure mineral water, I guess. I didn’t try it. Have too long a trip ahead, in case it doesn’t agree with my system. We also stopped for a quiet sit deep in the forest for maybe 10 minutes. Lovely!

On the way down, I met one of the hikers, Marlis, from Basel, Switzerland, who has two sons living in US, one in NY in Finance in Greenwich (he does a reverse commute). The other son, Lucas Ettlen, I think it is, is a film director in LA. We had a lovely chat on the way down and will keep in touch with e-mail. She comes for a couple of months at a time to visit her sons. The uncle of her daughter-in-law from NY, who used to give her an apartment to stay in while she was in NY, recently moved to P’town so she might get to the Cape.

All for now!