Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery

Golden Highways Revisited: 1998liant orange hennaed topknot and the mode of the unfettered twenty-something.Gazing on the street scene from the outside is a little like watching exotic fish in atank: there is appreciation of the many-colored forms and the bitter taste of awaré,the transiency of beauty, ignorant of its own limitation. The painful beauty of plumblossom – because it has its moment and then a long long time of recollecting whatwas lost. Half-amused and half-pained by the excitement and fragility of the scene,we’re glad to be looking on and not hoping to be getting something from it.As we return to 41 st Street Richard Eaton arrives – we have collected Tara fromher school by this time – and we say our final farewells.The bright clear day continues as we barrel our way northwards alongInterstate 5: Vancouver, Kalama, Castle Rock, Chehallis, Olympia, Tacoma andfinally the Emerald City itself. As we go along Richard and I catch up on the lastmonth and discuss the breaking news of Christopher/Catriona Reed and his/hergender issues. For many years Christopher had been leading a Vipassanā meditationgroup in the LA area and had also spent the last few establishing a rural retreatplace, Manzanita Village, out towards Mount Palomar. When I had visited him andhis wife there a few years ago, there had been no sign whatsoever that he had beencontemplating such a radical shift in his life. But then, even in California, the factthat you are pondering a sex-change is probably not something that you are goingto bring up with someone who a) you have hardly ever met before, b) who is anorthodox Theravādan monk and c) who is a fellow Englishman.Richard had spent a year at Manzanita Village, however, and so knew thesituation there more directly – when Chris/Catriona asked him what he thoughtabout his cross-dressing/transexuality Richard had told him straight: “I thoughtthe Buddha’s teaching was about letting go of identity, not grasping an identity wethink will make us happy.” He also said he felt there was massive rationalizationgoing on – first the desired mode of being and then the reworking of the Dharma toback it up. Chris/Catriona had not wanted to hear “that Theravāda crap” but I mustsay I felt Richard had hit the nail on the head. At the very least it would be sensibleto back off from teaching for a while and let the world adjust to the new pattern –better to do that than desperately try to force everyone to affirm what your choiceis. But maybe “being sensible” is just a sign of Englishness (on this point, see BriefEncounter) and is not the main issue at all.We work our way through the streets of Seattle to the house of Stuart Gilbertand his partner John in the northeast of the city. We settle ourselves in their space,rich with curios and beautiful memorabilia from Bali and other parts of SoutheastAsia. Qawali music is filling the air and incense wafts across the verandah as theircats come and introduce themselves.I am left alone for an hour, to sprawl on a pile of cushions and inhale the fragrancesof Agarbathi. Soon the moment comes and we are off for the evening talk. Ithad been two or three years since I last visited Seattle. Now that Tan Karunadhammohas joined us in Abhayagiri there had been no one to arrange visits for us to teachhere, since as a layman he had been our stalwart Seattle contact.83