May 30, 2004
diamond in the rough
I figure I should write about my trip to
I was a little scared when we arrived and Michael, the main caretaker, said to us, “oh, you’re early. We just got the permit for the building yesterday.” Jim and I had talked a bit about what we expected (and didn’t expect) to find when we arrived. We concluded that it would probably be best not to have many expectations at all and our first taste of why came in the first five minutes. We found out that all though we came to build adobe brick, there were plenty of other things to do instead.
Jim is the cook at Vajrapani (amongst other things which don’t fall so nicely onto job descriptions) and Geshe Michael loves his cooking. Once Geshe-la said to him, “you should come cook for me.” So Jim cooks for Geshe-la whenever he gets the chance. He also made these amazing lunches for all of the workers — much appreciated by all. I mostly spent my time putting fill dirt over the top of a newly installed water line. I also got to help do touch up work an apartment for one of the nuns and help install an outdoor shower at the campground.
The second night we were there the book tour folks (including Geshe Michael and Christie) had a little welcome back party. It was very sweet and I spent quite a bit of time just hanging out and talking with Geshe-la and Christie. Even got to see the temple plans and watch them swoon over the cool features like a water heated floor and windows which are perfectly aligned for passive solar. Geshe Michael is very big on “green building” and using energy wisely. It was very nice to see the center being well thought out from the beginning.
Pictures will follow shortly.
posted @ 7:48 AM
May 11, 2004
past catches up (again)
For me the whole situation sucks. Not a single positive thing about it as far as I can see.
I’ve told this story before, but I’ll recap. I had a girlfriend, we broke up. She got a new boyfriend, they showed up on my doorstep. He scared the crap out of me at first, but turned out to be a good friend. I got a girlfriend who joined the Air Force and I moved in with my ex and her boyfriend. All of us got along great and really, truly kept each other alive that winter. My ex made him an ex a while later. I married my girlfriend.
Now Jason is going to be spending the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole. I don’t think what he was convicted of should necessarily go without some for of punishment and maybe life in prison is that form. I was completely in shock when I first heard what he was being accused of. Then to find he was convicted in just an hour and half... It was a horrible crime, one of the worst kind. As I’m about to bring a new child into the world it seems unimaginably horrific.
This weekend Geshe Gyaltsen was at Vajrapani and he got several questions about having compassion for both the victim and the assailant. People were mostly referring to this Iraqi prison deal, but for me it’s now a little closer to home. It’s much easier for me to have compassion towards the perpetrator. I smoked a celebratory cigar with him after the birth of a different child and he was ecstatic. The kind of father you think of when you think of the delivery room. I know he mostly has a good heart and I know life will not be easy for him from now on.
Anyway, I read that news story and just teared up. For Tylin, for Kathy, for Jason. They are all victims. Everybody wants happiness, none of them want to suffer.
posted @ 7:06 AM
May 6, 2004
hypertexting
I struggled and struggled, but could never seem to get anywhere with the hypertexting project. Each time I’d start and then get so frustrated that I’d give up. I finally expressed my frustration to someone doing the project and they gave me the initial text all completed — the one they did. At first I felt like this was cheating and I never even opened it up. For about a year now the whole project has sat untouched on my hard drive.
Then when I saw Geshe Michael he talked about this project he’s going to do starting on September 27th which is translating, online so everyone can see, one of Tsong Khapa’s texts on emptiness. He’ll be translating it and Tibetan and English words will pop up on the screen while you watch him on real time video. As he says, “that way all the scholars can watch and tell me when I screw up.”
Anyway, some little fire was lit inside me and I decided that I wasn’t going to be able to sit down in one session and complete the Long Life Prayer (the first hypertext assignment), but that that was okay. I didn’t need to, because it wasn’t the point. The point was to do it — no matter how long it took. Like Lama Yeshe used to say, “slowly, slowly.” I’ve been plugging away at it, referencing the completed text to make sure I’m not totally off (i.e. having the scholars check me as I go), and nearly finished. Just a couple more lines to go.
Amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t let the larger task intimidated you. I’m getting more mentally prepared to have a child everyday.
posted @ 6:50 AM