A few weeks ago, my husband and I had the opportunity to open our lives to the universe by becoming a Bed and Breakfast for five days. Thanks goes to my husband for agreeing to go along with yet another of my “bright” ideas.
It just so happened that a lovely lady in our neighborhood was hosting eleven Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery to come to our city through a cultural grant. The grant was to create a sand mandala and to perform lectures and ceremonies connected with the mandala. Our neighbor asked if anyone was interested in providing beds and breakfast for some of the visiting monks.
Are you kidding me? Of course I would love to have the chance to do that, though I didn’t have a clue how things would go. I eventually figured out the bed situation but what does one serve six Tibetan Buddhist monks for breakfast?
I finally decided on the yummy oatmeal recipe that my cousin, Kathy, had shared with me a few months ago (made with milk and prepared in the microwave). I also found some Naan bread at Whole Foods I could warm and on which they could spread butter or peanut butter. Fruit, of course, would be good so I filled a large bowl with various whole fruit.
I had been informed that they drink “lots of black tea” with butter, salt and yak milk. I don't think I know anyone with a yak and even if I did, I'm not so sure I would want to milk it. I compromised and would offer them cream.
I was more than a little nervous the first morning. However, the monks provided a sense of calm, mindfulness and joy as they entered the kitchen. The kitchen became filled with the sounds of their deep and resonating chanting prayer followed by a brief silence. As they each mindfully selected their breakfast foods, their attitude of “It Is Enough” was pervasive. They declined oatmeal if it was not already prepared because the food already prepared was “enough”. They selected a few slices of banana rather than select an entire banana from the fruit bowl. Each monk would select one or two slices of apple as biting into a whole apple seemed unthinkable.
Surrounding the dining room table, they mindfully began to eat. When one of them (the drummer) stepped on the Butler’s Button the architect had installed in the floor under the table, the fun began. As the buzz from the weight of the monk’s foot on the button continued, my husband told the monk that spoke the most English, “You will need to ask him to lift his foot. He is summoning the servant.” As they all began to understand what was happening, laughter rippled around the table. These were laughs that arose from deep within each of us at the absurd thought of a Buddhist monk summoning a servant. Each morning I began looking forward to spending some time connecting, laughing and sharing with the monks. After breakfast was finished, two or three of them washed the dishes and helped put away any food that had not been eaten. The kitchen sparkled when they were finished.
They spent a few minutes each morning learning about items we have in our home that were unfamiliar to them. These artists were most interested in the various patterns and designs on the Native American baskets we have collected. They were also fascinated by the cactus collection in our garden room.
After an opening ceremony which included their multiphonic chanting and playing of instruments, the Sand Mandala of Wisdom was started.
The mandala was started by a monk dropping a chalk line on a black table. White lines were then placed using rulers and other instruments of measurement as guides for the creation of the mandala. monks worked for four days placing beautifully colored
grains of sand in an amazing three-dimensional design of the mandala. The focus, mindfulness and patience with which each grain of
sand was placed was inspiring.
Shortly after the sand mandala had been created, the closing ceremony began. It included more chanting and music followed by the ceremonial sweeping of the grains of sand into the center of the table. This is a symbolic representation of the impermanence of life. Half of the sand was then placed in little baggies and given to each person attending the closing ceremony. This was followed by a trip to the river where the remaining sand was released into the river to bless the environment. (There was such a strong south wind, most of the sand blew back onto the bank, blessing those attending as well as the environment.)
The fifth morning, after saying our blessings and good-byes
to each other, the monks gathered their duffle bags and walked away. Our sweet dog, Bella, sat on the front walkway and watched them walk down the driveway, out of the gate and along the street until they went out of sight. She doesn't make friends easily but had made new friends with the monks.
After their leaving, the house was so quiet, almost as if they had never been there. However, there was still the sense of their gentleness, laughter and sense of other-worldliness that remained. It was as if their presence had helped open the universe in my mind.
How is it that they have nothing and yet they have enough? There are people like us who provide for the simple needs of these monks yet what they give in return is truly remarkable.
If you are interested in knowing more about these monks, please look at their website (yes, even monks have websites these days!) www.mysticalartsoftibet.org
I have so many photographs I would love to share but this entry is already longer than any I have ever done. I will put together a separate blog entry to specifically include more of these photos.
Thank you for your patience in reading this and in allowing me the chance to share this experience with you.