Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery

Golden Highways Revisited: 1998Rinpoche. Apparently it was a phrase that Khema Ānanda (Tan Punna’s teacher)used frequently – we’ll get some mileage out of these two before we’re done.Resurrection day comes and goes – Vitamin P for early cocktail, does the trick.Each day at breakfast, tea and the meal different folks appear for a chat. We see alot of Jan Angevine and Libby, but most others pop in here and there. Edwin andMyoshin have both put their backs out moving into their new accommodations byGaston Pond – Goose Landing.Still morning and clear skies, the forest path is cool under foot. Squirrels scurryand squeak their mysterious chatterings to each other. Bird calls rebound from thesilent pines.Night arrives – time for Dependent Origination and the three great questions:a) where did I come from? b) where am I going? c) what am I supposed to do now?Shamelessly ripped off from Brother David but adapted to the new context of theFour Noble Truths and paticca samuppāda. We’ll see how everyone took it.April 13 thAnother bright day. Joseph Kappel joins us at the mealtime and takes part in the Q& A session in the late afternoon. It has a good energy and the whole body of theretreat seems in good shape – keen, energetic and good-humored. At teatime wetake a walk along one of the nearby roads, the sun is dropping and the light turnsto a softer shade of gold. We talk of mutual friends and the state of his life, his relationshipto the Sangha and the need to boost the monastic presence in the USA.Come the evening he gives the Dhamma talk and, weaving it into his ownsaga, speaks to the same issue: how monasteries function, the power of the FivePrecepts as a guide for life and his own finding of his feet outside institutional life.He speaks with power and conviction – it’s good to see him so confident in himselfagain. The crowd obviously appreciates what he has to say, and also the processof his journey. Post facto he comes to my room and gives a foot massage – we getonto the subject of MIA/POWs and Kiss the Boys Goodbye. He had never heard of thebook so I went into some detail recounting some of the particularly startling factsthe author presented on how and why the US Government wants us to believe allthe Boys who are alive are already home…It’s late by the time we finish – it has been a good day – the heart glows athaving had the chance to repay some of Big Joe’s kindnesses by giving him thefloor and publicly acknowledging him as my first Buddhist teacher.April 14 thTuesday comes and goes – blue blue skies and warm earth underfoot – we startthe interviews and folks seem quite shy. Sharon came by at tea (Joseph Goldsteincried off, being too busy with his samādhi) and we spent an hour together on themysteries of the book tour and some conversation on her experiences of teachingin Russia. I told her I expect to be there for Christmas and offered to give a talk orsomesuch for the group in Moscow. How it will all take shape remains to be seen.She seemed in very good spirits and, along with most other people, asked how the42