Before I get too crazy…

…traveling New Zealand and beyond, pushing my limits, bending the mind, seeing unrecognizable things, and meeting unexplainable people, I just want to say, I LOVE YOU GUYS! Friends, family, teachers, and those of you who I put in the “other” category (you know who you are), thanks for your support and your wisdom. When you’re not on my mind, you are in my heart.

Now on to the good stuff: on the 18^th of October, 2010 I moved to Vimutti Buddhist monastery in Bombay, New Zealand. My uncle, venerable Ajahn Chandako, has been the abbot of Vimutti for the past 8 years, and, upon my university graduation, invited me to join the lay community as the caretaker of the 100 acre property. I was all like, “uhhh yea!” So I hoped on a big jet plane for 13.5 hours and arrived bloodshot-eyed and bushytailed. After a jaunt through baggage claim, customs, and McDonalds (I was a bit homesick already), I met up with my transport, Nina, a Russian Kiwi (that is, a New Zealander of Russian origin) friend of the monastery. We loaded my bag into the car and away we went; my head was still spinning, but I was pretty sure I was not dreaming and, in fact, under the down under.

If George and Lenny’s dream farm ever came to be, this would have to be the place… trees, fields, hills, wide open spaces, and yes, wild rabbits hopping all about (we’ll briefly overlook the fact that they are an invasive species). The monastery has everything from a pine forest, to open meadows, to fern gullies, ponds, native bush, views, and valleys. It’s not only an amazing property, but a good way to stay in shape, as there are hundreds of strides and dozens of vertical feet between every feature. You know that “California cows are happy cows” propaganda they feed to us? Those cows are standing on hills in New Zealand. For real, look it up. Think about it: how often are CA hills luscious green like that? 6 weeks of the year, tops, then they turn “golden.” Presently, I am looking out the window here in Bombay and I can see those cows and those luscious green hills. I have to say, though, the cows look just as bored as they normally do, so who’s to say which group is happier. The sheep, however (of which there are 40 million… that’s 10 for every Kiwi), are quite vocal about their existence. The front of the monastery faces a sheep pasture, and all through the morning, afternoon, and evening, it sounds just like this (grab your partner and yell these noises back and forth to each other):

“muhhhhhhhh”

“baaaaaaaahhhh”

“mmaaaahhhhhh”

“bbbbuuhhhhhh”

That’s right, contrary to popular belief, sheep only say “baahh” one quarter of the time or less. Most of the time, they sound like drunk sailors bellowing my name, then puking over the poop deck; this has spawned into a terrible reoccurring nightmare of mine. I don’t know what the sheep are talking about, but sometimes I like to speculate: Being next to a Buddhist monastery, I have to assume they spend part of each day discussing Dhamma; At certain points, I know they’re talking about the weather, as we all do; I’ve read, though, that Kiwis love to talk politics, so I figure the sheep spend most of their time following in the footsteps of their human friends by exchanging political counterpoints… or maybe they are the politicians! Whatever they’re talking about, Jamba, I think you, Bison Bob, and these sheep could have a really nice tea party sometime.

Obviously, living on a monastery allows for a fairly simple lifestyle. There are about 8 huts, or kutis as they call them, throughout the monastery, none of which can be seen from any other, so sweet seclusion is no less than the norm. My kuti is somewhat unique in that, rather than a 2.5m x 2.5m wooden shed like most, I live in a 3m caravan (that’s a 9’ camper trailer, in American speak) near the front of the property. My window faces east, so the sun wakes me up every morning around 6:30 AM, which is nice because breakfast is at 7. My window also faces a horse pasture with two young horses, so I get to watch them frolic about throughout the day; something which I never sought observation, but turns out to be awesome. As caretaker, I work from 7:30 to about 10:15 every morning, usually doing simple chores, weeding, or setting up materials for afternoon work. At 10:15, the monastery’s lay community (that’s the non-monastic residents), which fluxgates greatly from week to week, gathers for a short group meditation, then begins setting up for the meal. The monks only eat one meal a day, and cannot eat after 12 noon, so from about 11 to 12 we eat. Food is brought in every day by different supporters of the monastery, most of whom are either Thai, Sri Lankan, or Malaysian. From 12 to 1, everybody gathers for tea and conversation; generally this is where laypeople can ask the monks questions about Dhamma, meditation, etc, or simply just have casual conversation. 1 to 5 PM is the work day, where the monks, lay community, and I work on major projects. Most days are spent either on construction of simple structures, or planting trees and shrubs throughout the property. Thus far, I have spent the better half of my work days digging post holes or setting 4x4 posts for signs. I come half way around the world and to a whole new hemisphere, and what job do I wind up with? The same one I had at home. Go figure :P

So what’s it like out here? Great! I’m really in awe of the property and the scenery in general. I feel happy and productive, and am surrounded at all times by positive and honest people. I have been having dreams every night (literally, every night) about my friends and family from home, and I miss you all a lot. I wouldn’t say I’m homesick so much as just happy that all my people are such good people, worth missing, but without fear of losing. Stay safe all, hope Halloween was good, check back soon!

And the real thing you all came here to see…Pictures! (Sorry if you have to make an account to view the album. I suggest clicking 'view as slideshow' to see the full captions for each picture)

-Medgar

PS: if any of my links, especially the link to my photo album doesn't work, please let me know in the comments. If anybody knows an unlimited free photo hosting site that is more accessible than snapfish, please let me know...I've had some frustrating experiences snapfish. Thanks!