To: K-list
Recieved: 2000/06/10 13:54
Subject: [K-list] Re: Hello everyone/zen garden/Tibetans
From: Gcwein1111
On 2000/06/10 13:54, Gcwein1111 posted thus to the K-list:
Dear List,
Harsha was kind enough to inquire about my garden on HarshaSatsangh, and
l wanted to share my response with the list. This topic actually occurred to
me several days ago when El, Mia and others shared beautifully about their
homes and places in the natural world, but l wasn't able to participate then.
El, l'm truly sorry to hear that your back has taken you out of your garden
but know that you've created other gardens out of books, manuscripts and
other tributes to your rich inner life.
In a message dated 6/9/00 7:32:06 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
hlutharATnospambryant.edu writes:
<<
Hello everyone. Hope you are all well. Jerry, your Zen garden must be
looking quite beautiful now. Post some pictures of it, if possible.
>>
Thank you for the interest, Harsha. The last couple months have been a
busy time for me. A close friend is involved with a group of Tibetan monks in
Bloomington, lndiana. The Dalai Lama's brother is there along with a sizable
contingent of Tibetans. Since Cincinnati isn't far away they've decided to
come here and locate a center and a Tibetan restaurant in my neighborhood
which is near the university and is a cultural center of sorts.
When she brought them over to my
house they took one look at the garden and the spacious 2nd and 3rd floors (l
live on the 1st floor and rent out the upstairs) and decided they wanted to
move up above me and put their center here! l felt this combination of
excitement and terror over having my privacy compromised, ha ha. l told them
l'd give it serious consideration but was making no promises. ln the
meantime, since l was once in the restaurant business, l've also been helping
them with that, and all this has weighed heavily on my mind for weeks now.
Last week l finally decided l did not want a Tibetan center in
my home. The privacy thing just wouldn't go away for me (even tho their unit
would be seperate), in addition to other considerations and hassels l'm sure
would've plagued me. lt was tempting, because l've been looking to be part of
something like this to focus and energize me, give me more of a sense of
purpose..... but l had to admit to myself that this probably isn't it. l've
long been interested in Tibetan Buddhism, but because of k problems l've
never been able to make it my path, which was a decisive factor. And there
was something disconcerting about a Tibetan center in the middle of a zen
garden! l have to believe it secretly bothered them too, at least a little
bit ..........
So l've been working away at my garden with a renewed
enthusiasm since l made my decision. And as so often happens, a problem has
presented an opportunity. One portion of the garden is shielded by a huge
hedge -- 40 ft long, 7 ft hi, 6 ft wide. lt's the only original plant left on
my property that predated my garden and it's a great screen, but what a bitch
to trim. This year l've had to trim it every day -- it's beautiful but it's
wearing me out. Between trimming it and my bamboo grove and pruning all my
trees, my hands are killing me -- l think it must be k also.
Anyway, l've decided the hedge has to go. l hate to do it, but it frees up
more room and forces me to redesign the entire space, which is exciting! So
l'm out scouring around for new boulders, trees and shrubs again. The only
problem is, it's so hard to find great boulders around here, unlike some
other areas. lt can take weeks of looking at thousands of them before l see
one that l want.
ln Japanese (zen) gardening the terms
*wabi* and *sabi* are used -- among other things, they refer to a quiet,
elegant simplicity. What makes the designing of a Japanese garden so
difficult is the effort to recreate nature -- to make it more like nature
than even nature itself, and in so doing to reveal the spirit intrinsic in
nature. lt occurred to me the other day how creative and fulfilling it can
be just to prune a tree, to recognize its essence and remove what is
obstructing it from expressing its fullest potential, its soul.
My favorite time is late at
night. l stumble outside around midnite, half asleep, intending to be out for
just a few minutes before turning in, only to be captivated: by the
reflection of boulders against raked gravel, the sound of water from the
tsukubai trickling down through pebbles, or the silhouette of bamboo bending
and singing with the breeze in the moonlight. All else is silence. My
energy level immediately picks up and my heart swells in gratitude. l was
thinking last night that strangely, out of all my broken dreams, this is the
one that came true ...
Before l know it,
it's after 1 am and l feel exhilarated with a big smile on my face as l force
myself to go back inside and climb into bed, with 3 or 4 books about Japanese
gardens next to my pillow -- my toys, ha ha. Fortunately, l don't usually
read very far -- maybe just look at some pictures -- before falling asleep.
Harshaji, you asked for photos. My friend, webmaster Bob Boyd, wants
to help me do a website around the garden, and l think it's best to wait till
we get that together. l'll try to do it soon, altho l may want to first
finish redoing the area l mentioned. Hope that's ok ... and that everyone is
having a great summer.
love,
jerry
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