Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery

Golden Highways Revisited: 1998with images of rape in medieval Japan, a screaming Ophelia and the hauntingvoice of Lou Reed singing Perfect Day while an overdosed Renton was hauled intothe emergency room, gazing at the scene from the bottom of his well. “It’s such aperfect day…”The turnout was small for the evening but it was good to see the mix of newand old faces. A talk on inner silence filled the evening and the group energy wasstrong – it is so good to be in the presence of the Dhamma.The travel arrangements for Ajahn Vajiro were severely scrambled so he didn’treturn to Theresa’s with Don until about 1:15 a.m. Energized by the evening I wasinnocent of sleepiness and so had waited up for him – his journey from Chicagohad taken 22 hours, the flight normally lasts three-and-a-half, so he was somewhatgrey-green about the gills when he pulled in.May 7 thDavid de Young came by, as planned, at 8:00 the next morning, and we packedour mountain of gear and acquisitions into the Monastery van. Along the way wepicked up Margot Sangster who, having stayed at Wat Pah Nanachat (the homeMonastery for the Western disciples of Ajahn Chah in Thailand) for some timeand now being resident in the States, was eager to see us all and come to visitAbhayagiri.After initial earnest conversations we all lapsed into deep silence and theroad rolled away beneath our wheels. California is immensely green, the oaks arein lush leaf already and the spring grasses are thick upon the hills and verges.Golden-orange poppies peek out between the tall green stems and there is a denseMediterranean richness in the air. Grey skies encircle the heavens but all aroundis green, green, green.After reaching Abhayagiri, exchanging warm greetings and taking the meal insilence together, most of the afternoon passed by in chatting with the others andopening the mail that had arrived in the last six weeks.It is a great joy to be back in the embrace of this deep valley once again. Ourbuildings are humble: just a small bungalow and the garage that we have convertedinto a meditation hall, plus a scattering of small huts and trailers here andthere through the woods, but to get back here again feels like arriving at a grandand glorious place. This comes not just from the feeling of entering the heart of aplace embodying the Triple Jewel, but more it is from simply being back with thefamily – my closest companions in the holy life.The Monastery has been open for nearly a couple of years now. It’s hard tobelieve that we have already grown used to the immense views spreading to thesouth, down the valley of the Russian River, to the shy families of deer and quailthat tiptoe and scuttle through the undergrowth, to the ground-squirrel city in thebank beside the dirt road that climbs the hill from our main buildings to wind itsway up into the forest, and to the gunning of pickup engines at all hours of the dayand night that signal the movements of the numerous local growers tending theircrops and arranging deliveries.59