Samsara & Nirvana in San Francisco

I'm in San Francisco for a week, taking a break from the winter wonderland that is Canada. Its a harsh climate for this tropical antipodean born human. A primal hunger for Vitamin D and stimulation drove me to take this break from my first full snowy winter!

First shock : The entire North American continent is NOT under snow. Greg's place (where i'm staying) has a GARDEN out back with gorgeous weeds that drew me out like Triffids 10 seconds after arrival. all i wanted to do was get my hands on them. Being in snow and ice everyday, it didn't dawn on me that there are places not so far from Canada that AREN"T!

Second shock : All sorts of my favourite indulgent things endow the city - things i don't get in Cranbrook. Dim Sum! Indian Food! Contact Improvisation, Yoga, Seasides, Cheap chinese foot massages! Broadway! Wierd arty performances! Vintagely fashionable gender benders, funky thrift stores....

Third shock : I don't want to move back to a city, despite the 'trappings' of civilisation. Yoga? Indian Food? Pretty People? So what?? Cities seem so chock full, yet empty. Leah summed it up well last night over tempura soba. Cities are crowded, landscapes are brimming over, people are in close proximity, but, there is such distance between people. In the countryside however, there more space, wild open landscapes, yet, somehow, a closer connection between people.

I'm starting to think that maybe relationships in the city sometimes give the impression of depth and meaning - new age, educated, progressive city slickers know how to talk the talk of emotions and feelings, psychology, liberal politics and to 'be in the now'. People in the country on the other hand might use less words but somehow they know how to BE more authentically...more research and observation required!!

Fourth Shock : Samsara is Suffering, remember? On first appearance, San Fran seems like the realm of the Gods. One can run from one indulgence to the next. However, to use the traditional Buddhist metaphors of the states of being we find ourselves in, the Hungry Ghost and Hell Realms are very visible here too. Cycling round the city i found myself in very pained neighborhoods full of people on drugs, the homeless, destitute, but more than anything material, in such states of suffering. I felt the pain in my body, fear arose. Seeing such extreme states manifesting clearly in districts such as the Tenderloin, or even the violent memories floating through touristy Alcrataz Prison, have helped me recognise the more subtle hell states within my own being - The "tenderloin" of San Francisco also arises in me and i presume in all of beings, whether consciously or not.

As the Buddha tried to tell us, Samsara and Nirvana are one. Suffering is ripe, it is the nature of the world, as is infinite compassionate bliss - ain't that the lesson of the lifetime!!??

Our first summer - Karma Yoga

An excerpt from A SUMMER OF KARMA YOGA AT CLEAR SKY, by Linda Hochstetler.
Linda is Clear Sky's Farm Committee Manager
The full article was published in the Naked Alaya Newsletter - November 2009.

This summer was filled with farming and gardening projects from sun-up to sun-down and often on into the evening. We built a composter to accommodate the new Humanure additions, and tackled endless weeding. I joined in the building project training which produced a garden shed in record time, thanks to 25 people working flat-out for two days. I also assisted Adrian in cooking treats and meals for ravenous builders and gardeners.

As the Saskatoon berries ripened, I wrestled approval from the public health department to sell our jams and jellies at the Cranbrook Farmer’s Market. With our certificate in hand we cranked into production. Every available person picked berries or learned the art of making jams, jellies, and pies. We developed our flagship recipes – Saskatoon berry chutney and an organic low-sugar Saskatoon berry/rhubarb jam. Every conversation I had for the next three weeks CENTERED AROUND Saskatoon berries. They even intruded into my meditations! I can still hear David asking for more Saskatoon juice. We experienced the elation of taking our products to the Cranbrook Farmer’s Market and bringing home an average of $350 every Saturday. Imagine! We had found a way to use free, wild fruit on the property to benefit Clear Sky as well as jam aficionados.

Meanwhile, in the field and Gaia Garden, three large plots produced the best-tasting green beans and peas, not to mention scrumptious raspberries. We improved on the 100 mile diet plan, and were enjoying instead our 100 footstep produce plan! The potatoes were still in the fields as I left, but it looked like they would yield a bumper crop. We ate mounds of spinach, arugula, and lettuce salads all summer, with enough left to sell at the farmers market. We didn’t come close to producing enough vegetables to feed the gang at dinner each night, but we did do an amazing job of beginning to feed ourselves and preparing the fields to produce more next year. It delights me to know that we are well on the way to providing our own food, especially if we ever face a crises in years to come. It thrilled me to see everyone fall in love with our home grown produce and guard it so well, as if every raspberry was a jewel and every bean a gem.

In spite of intense karma yoga, I found time to immerse myself in the powerful wongkurs offered by Sensei each Saturday throughout the summer.

The rest of August offered an intense group experience with nearly daily committee meetings and plenty of productive conflict and confrontation. Luckily there were always plenty of hugs and Saskatoon berry cordials to go around to help smooth the path through difficult discussions. Many evenings ended close to midnight following informal farm committee meetings to reshuffle priorities and juggle competing needs to mulch, weed, and deal with berries. I’m sure I drove other karma yoginis crazy with my rebelliousness and independent impulsiveness. I’d been warned that karma yoga work can be intense and can bring up lots of conflict. Still, I was pleasantly surprised with how well we all got along. Perhaps keeping the purpose of spiritual awakening first and foremost in our thoughts and actions was what helped us in this regard. I made a final promise to stay connected throughout the year and to help out with some of the on-going Clear Sky projects.

My karma yoga experience reminded me of the importance of real life awareness. It doesn’t end when you get up off the cushion, but continues into every aspect of our daily lives. And having experienced awareness, it is nearly impossible to go back to old selfish patterns and to pretend we live in a world of our own.