Meetings with a remarkable Monk.

Dear Dad,

I always remember you regaling us about Gurjieff's Memoir, 'Meeting with Remarkable Men' and I feel that in many ways your life has been about these pivotal encounters with both remarkable men and women on the subject of the human spirit. How uplifting it is to meet such people. I had a recent encounter with a man that you too encountered in Sydney -  Buddhist Monk and former molecular biologist Matthieu Ricard. But how brief can these encounters be! After hearing Matthieu talk I had the opportunity to offer the traditional Tibetan white scarf to him - notwithstanding that he was flanked by a bevy of admirers - of which I was one - and that he was moving at speed making it difficult to even offer the scarf. One of my friends took this picture. They wanted to capture the moment I offered the scarf but apparently meetings with remarkble men - in this case a remarkable Monk can be very fleeting indeed. I have this post-event photo - a picture tells a thousand words even if it is rather blurry which means it looks like nothing particular happened or something particular happened!

And here is a picture of Matthieu on stage combining his scientific and environmental interests to entreat us to make sure that at least the next 7 generations have a place to call home.

Mattieu also took this opportunity at the annual Buddhafest in Washington DC to fund raise for his charity Karuna-Shechen especially in Nepal at this time to bring resources to those most in need after the devastating earthquakes caused so much death, injury to many, and loss of infrastructure and the basic necessities of life.

It is a long way to go before Nepal recovers - knowing that full recovery is not possible. The other day I encountered a Nepalese husband and wife going for a morning walk. Their son had brought them over to the USA to stay: they had no physical home to return to in Nepal.

What happened next

Well it's been a month or more since I last posted. Life is sometimes a gallop not a canter - not that I do either!  Perhaps I could say I have been trotting not around the globe - but to closer destinations at hand - one of which is upper New York State - in this case our summer retreat place. Here are some sunset pictures of a small lake I walked around and at which I attempted sitting meditation . I meditated in a gentle dawn sitting at the end of the pier but my mind was not clear at all - more like the fog rising from the lake! Oh well. I will keep trying.

And here are some mini-inhabitants of the mini-lake. Can you guess what they are? You may need glasses - or a magnifying glass. The one you really can't see is a turtle's head!

I did go for a row in the boat though with my friend Mary and one paddle. That's a recipe for circling (not rowing). We found a snake skin near where the paddle was resting. Perhaps the snake skin was a symbol of regeneration and letting go old patterns - or a snake simply losing its old skin. The previous day we found a snake mesmerizing this frog. Perhaps it was this snake that shed its skin.

Nothing like to natural environment in a retreat landscape to feel re-connected. I felt rejuvenated by the time I left this part of the country.