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Flowers of Mourning With so many deaths in the Middle East and now in Europe too, and more being planned as the clamour for military action grows, this is a time for mourning and for flowers, not just in Paris, but also in Beirut, in Baghdad, in Kabul and everywhere where this carnage spreads. Around us, here in Europe, we can sense the fear. The fear is not just individuals fearing that a jihadist might appear on the street and injure or kill one with a bomb or a bullet. It is more than that. It is the fear that things are getting worse. There is a widespread suspicion that the events in Paris will not be the last of their kind. Although many people are crying out for an escalation of the bombing in Syria, there are not many people who seem to seriously think that such a course will reduce the number of jihadists. It may change the way they operate. Their present leaders and heroes may get killed, but will that make future jihadist activity less or more? Many people are saying that the recent events are on a par with the 7/11 events in New York and that the response should be similar, but did that response then reduce jihadism? The present manifestation, in the form of IS, appears to be a more potent force than Al Qaida ever was and the Middle East is certainly no safer or in less chaos. Basically, that response failed and did a lot of damage in the process. Will more of the same do the trick now? It seems unlikely.

Seedbeds of Desperation There are currently three problems. One is the rise of IS in Syria. Another is the flood of refugees trying to enter Europe and the third is the bombings in Paris. These problems are related, but not always in the simplistic way that the media project. The events in Paris were not committed by new immigrants, nor by people coming to Paris from Damascus; they were committed by people coming from Brussels. Mostly these are second or third generation immigrants, born and brought up in a European city. Usually, when immigrants come from a poor country to a rich one they try to integrate into the culture of the host country. Their children do so even more. In this case, however, the opposite has happened. Instead of integrating more than their parents, these young people have become more alienated and vulnerable to seduction by militants  identified with an enemy of the country where they live and to which they should, by now, feel they belong. Something has gone wrong. Somehow, we have failed to absorb these youngsters in the normal way. Rather than easing their passage into becoming Europeans, we have driven them to desperation. Dropping bombs in the Middle East is not going to solve this problem. Greater efforts are needed to integrate existing settlers into European society and we must not make the same mistake with the new wave as we have evidently made with the last one. Promoting a wholesome sense of citizenship, opportunity and participation is vital.  Avoiding making the same mistakes all over again, however, is not going to be easy in the current climate of inter-communal hostility and suspicion that is, understandably, growing in Europe.

Flowers Once in a Different Cause At the same time as pondering these difficult questions, my mind also wanders back to earlier in my life when flowers symbolised love and peace and the idealism of young people was not recruited  to acts of hate, but to ones of spontaneity and delight in a widespread movement toward the creation of a more liberated society and culture. It has since become fashionable to ridicule that movement for its wild idealism, but is the present situation better? What does our money and status oriented society offer to alienated young people? Flower power became the slogan of resistance to militarism and, more constructively, of efforts to build a more communal, tolerant, counter-culture. All that was gradually lost as, on the one hand, political activism became sharper and more confrontational, and, on the other hand, the constructive aspects of the movement were largely subverted by consumerism or sapped by the drug culture. Nonetheless, they were heady and hopeful days. They say things go in cycles and, wistfully, I wonder if we might now be on the cusp of a new wave of idealism and the possibilities of a different kind of culture might start to bloom once again as sparks of light amidst the increasingly gloomy shadows of the deteriorating political situation. If this is more than a complete fantasy, then Eleusis will certainly be one of those sparks and one of those flowers.

New Flowers Of course, it such a renewal occurs it will not be for people of my age to dictate what form it shall take. With some perspective drawn from experience we may be able to contribute something, but the impetus, if it comes, will surely come from young people themselves. In every generation there are causes that attract youthful enthusiasm. Many years ago it was the enthusiasm to go and fight in the Spanish Civil War - mostly on the side that lost. Then that wave petered out with the rise of an even more deadly war all over Europe. Then, in the aftermath of that terrible conflict, a generation of hope was born. I was one of that generation. I am still hoping. There is, of course, a certain wisdom in abandoning hope and accepting the world as it is, come what may. I have learnt a little of that wisdom too, but one cannot completely abandon the sense that one was born for a purpose and that that purpose has something to do with creating the conditions for new flowers to grow and thrive and in this I don't think I am completely alone.

Image sources: http://972mag.com/paris-attacks-show-the-interconnectedness-of-our-troubles/113907/ {} http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/flanders%2Btoday/1.702442 {} news picture {} http://mycolorscreen.com/2013/01/13/make-love-not-war/

We Need Restraint Not More Bombs

We are all dismayed by the events in Paris. Yet, have we been equally dismayed by the daily events in the Middle East where our own governments are dropping bombs? I am deeply sympathetic to the French people affected by the recent violence. I am deeply sympathetic to the people in Syria, in Iraq, in Afghanistan and in the whole Middle East Region. I understand why there is hatred. I understand why people want to kill. However, killing more and more will not bring the killing to an end. Only restraint, understanding, wisdom and compassion will do that.

We are caught up in a tit-for-tat world and each retaliation only provokes more of the same. Every bomb we drop generates a new group of people who hate us. Every atrocity increases the likelihood of more. It is like fire spreading. Let us all pray for restraint and ask wisdom of our leaders. 

A Little Political Analysis

Who are Islamic State? They are basically the Sunni Muslims who were driven out of power by the invasion of Iraq. Since we invaded their country, do we expect them to be our friends? They have been more successful than was expected in establishing a new proto-state by becoming the most effective element in the opposition to the Assad government in Syria, but were not our own governments also supportive of that opposition? In effect, there is a civil war going on in the Middle East, mostly between Sunni and Shia Moslems. The West has changed sides several times in its interference in this regional conflict. Sometimes it is anti-Iran and therefore anti-Shia, then it is establishing a Shia government in Iraq and so being anti-Sunni, then it is opposing Assad and being anti-Shia again, then it is dropping bombs on the most effective anti-Assad faction and becoming anti-Sunni again. It is difficult to escape the impression that the basic logic of Western policy is to keep changing sides frequently so as to generate the maximum amount of chaos and ensure that nobody in the Middle East ever become powerful enough to establish peace and order and become a rival to Western interests. If we carry on like this, what can we expect? Do we think that exporting chaos, destruction and death to a whole region is never going to come home? And now that some of it is coming home, do we think that we can re-stabilise the situation by escalating the strategy that is responsible for the trouble in the first place?

What Will Happen?

If we go on like this we can only expect the situation to worsen, both in the Middle East and in Europe. No analyst I have read thinks that Islamic State can be destroyed by bombing alone, even if this were desirable, and no Western country seems likely to commit ground troops, so why are we fighting a war we cannot win? Apart from the horror of the killing involved, it makes little or no political sense. The only power that is at all likely ever to commit ground troops to the defeat of Islamic State is Turkey and the expansion of Turkey in the region would probably only lead to sudden, startled Western suspicion of Turkish intentions and a new arena of conflict. Perhaps the whole region will be carved up by Turkey and Iran. It has happened before.

Alternatively, there will be ever increasing fragmentation, chaos and killing. In the short run we need restraint, but I am pessimistic. The tit-for-tat may continue to escalate. If it does we shall lose civil rights, become paranoid, elect extremist governments and much that has been achieved in Europe in the past generation will be lost. I hope this pessimism is unfounded. All spiritual people should now be urging restraint. Many are doing so. Let us pray that wise voices prevail.

David and I were talking in the car during our 12 hours traveling to Spain. As David has written (see Eleusis Daily) we talked about lots of things.

I told David how I am looking forward to meeting the people of the Amida Sangha. I still feel a deep connection with my own sangha in Den Bosch, in Holland, but I do want to be involved in the Amida Sanga and the Amida order.

I already had the wish to take refuge and I talked about it months ago with my teacher Henk in Holland, but then a lot of other matters in my life happened. ….

Like the fact that I am driving a car to Spain with a Buddhist priest next to me talking about becoming a Buddhist….

We talked about the possibility for me to take refuge in December during the Bodhi Retreat in the Malvern temple. I asked David about the ceremony and the ritual so he explained it to me. I felt that I really want to take part at this ceremony.

I am still a bit worried about my English so I said to David that I want to practise how to pronounce the words I have to say.

So David said the words and I repeat…. Three times…

I took refuge to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha three times while a Buddhist priest was leading the ceremony in the car to Spain…

So I am a Buddhist now!

I do want to confirm my taking refuge in the retreat in Malvern, in December and I am truly looking forward to meeting more members of the sangha.

Namo Amida Bu. 

In the corner of the ‘sun-trap-field you will find the entire universe…

Look at that!

Dragonfly and Blackthorn,

blue sky and butterfly,

greenhills and yellow flowers,

what a treasures in november...

White clouds and forest lining the horizon, endless view covered with a blue cupola…

What a grace in november…

Tiny little human being

sitting on the earth in

November

This perfect little corner,

this warm silent spot, where

dragonfly and human enjoy

the sun together.

And all these tiny, little, big things gives this

tremendous feeling….

that something huge is going on…

A corner full of life, light and love…

a sacred corner…

It feels like a spirit is watching...

watching with friendly eyes… enjoying every little creature…

 just as you are….

My last blog post was back at the beginning of this year. A lot has happened, and yet, in a way, nothing has happened. Life here has a timeless quality. One can feel as if in suspended animation. Every day there is something to do - many things. Yet nothing is pressing. It is a wonderful life in that respect. A change of occupation is always possible. I have somewhat settled into a pattern of writing every morning and working outdoors in the afternoon, weather permitting. Lately it has been more than permitting. the extraordinary warm weather has been inviting.

This year I have spent more time here than in previous years so it has been possible to get more done and keep the place in order. The grass gets cut and we grow some crops. A healthy life.

Much of this year I have enjoyed solitude. Having had the painful break-up of a relationship I needed time to heal. Nowhere could have been better for the purpose. Now I feel more outgoing again. New relationships are forming. I feel more expansive and enjoy people coming. I always have a sense that this place is too much of a gift to simply keep it to oneself and I try to develop it in ways that will be attractive to others. At the same time I am aware that it is a rather primitive setting and not the sort of place that most modern people are likely to choose. An interesting tension exists between the simplicity of relatively primitive conditions and the desire to make people comfortable.

All in all it has been a year of healing and deepening and I now feel refreshed and restored by the energy of the land.

One week at Eleusis

A week at Eleusis… it was quite an experience! I came by train and arrived rather late at the station in St. Amand Montrond Orval. David picked me up at the station and drove me to the house. We drank a cup of tea and then I went to to bed. So, basically, my time at Eleusis started with the morning meditation.

The morning meditation was impressive for me. The meditation I am used to is zen, so I was not familiar with chants and a lot of recitation. I am only used to the heart sutra and a few other sutras.

 My first chant

So at half past seven I walk to the meditation hall where I meet Adam for the first time. He is preparing the zendo. I look around in this big old building. It has walls and a roof, but no doors. It gives you still the feeling that you are outside. There are a lot of Persian style carpets on the ground and several statues of different kinds of Buddhas.  There are little candles already lit by Adam.

 He tells me where I can sit. Very soon David arrives for the morning meditation.I sit, watch and listen and after a while, when I have enough courage I join in, stumbling through my first chant…

 Duet for Buddha

From the first moment I feel very moved by the walking meditation. This slow walking and then our voices chanting, calling the Buddha… I feel a kind of tenderness listening to the voices of David and Adam in this big old meditation hall in the freshness of early morning: these male voices before and behind me while I am walking somewhere in the middle. When you pass each other very close on the route of the walking meditation, for a brief moment, it is if you are singing a duet together… a duet for Buddha.

Tears

Before I know it big tears are dripping around my cheeks. So it was every morning, sometimes because of this chanting, sometimes because of the recitation of the “Summary Practice”, or other recitations. The recitations of the sutras sound to me as beautiful prayers. It doesn’t matter to me that I couldn’t understand every part of it. The energy of all these words reached me anyway. I feel very much at home during the morning meditation.

 After the morning meditation, everyday, there is the delight of breakfast outside in the field in the rising sun: a breakfast prepared by Adam; fresh chopped fruit and homemade bread, and homemade jams, what a treat!

The woods of Eleusis also impress me. All these different kind of areas with their own energies. So many old trees, unexpected open fields, old stone walls and wonderful pieces of rich, soft green moss carpet everywhere.

Friendship with an Oak

I remember the first time I saw the retreat hut. I thought, “Oh, that must be scary, to sleep here several nights all alone by your self in the middle of the woods…” A few days later I am cleaning the hut. I do the job at ease. I take my time and while I am cleaning the hut I also clean a bit of my inner worries with crying.  After a while, chanting “Namo Kwan Shi Yin Bosat”, I discover how beautiful the acoustic is in the hut.

But the crying becomes stronger instead of less… so I take the only chair there is and go sit outside with my tears. I look around and see beautiful golden September light everywhere playing with the leaves and the trees, all the green still very alive. Then I see the big old oak right before me: this old friendly giant looking upon me. He immediately calms me and I feel very safe. Then I realize that this oak must be a very nice friend when you stay a couple of days in the retreat hut all by your self. At that moment, with the friendly oak, I couldn’t imagine I would ever be scared in the hut.

 To do the dishes and fall in love

I noticed there is lots of work at Eleusis and I love this kind of work. Working in the woods, cutting the blackthorn, picking blackberries; these jobs I did. Also, working in the kitchen, making jams and syrups. And, not least, doing the dishes! Even that is a wonderful job outdoors, with a lovely view of the sunset at Eleusis. 

I had a wonderful week…and yes I fell in love with Eleusis…. I hope to return as soon as possible…

The last couple of years I have done a lot of travelling. A few things still got done at La Ville au Roi, most notably the laying of a paving base and putting upon it of a wooden building to use as a store and workshop. This year I shall travel rather less and be here a bit more and it should be possible to get more done as a result. It is a rather wonderful prospect. I love to be here whether in solitude or with companions. the place is magical if somewhat primitive, or is so perhaps, in part, for the fact that it is primitive. The winter months are cold but my woodstore is full, and when it is not, I have copses in which to collect more. I feel a bit like the Chinese hermit living in retirement from the world, greeting the sun each morning and standing in awe before the stars at night.

I like to keep active and I work on a variety of projects concurrently, but they seldom require urgency so I can change my work as suits my rhythm. Perhaps one day requires more physical exertion, then the next i will choose less demanding pursuits. Each evening I cook and my larder is generally well stocked. Then I read before sleeping. I have no regular schedule of devotions or meditations, but they come upon me in the rapture of the natural elements or in the quieter passages of the day, or simply chanting in interludes. It feels like a holy existence and I commune with the goddesses of the place.

I sometimes have days of complete solitude, but often i get visits from neighbours or invitations to lunch or for a cup of tea and a natter. As the year gets warmer there will be more. Then once or twice a week I make a foray into one or other of the local market towns. Ainay le Chateau is the most attractive, St Amand Montrond has the most shops and facilities, and Sancoins has the most colourful street market. Then there is the forest with its lakes and the great rivers Cher, Allier and Loire if I fancy a country walk. It is difficult to imagine a more satisfactory life. Here love's labour brings peace. 

First blossoms of the year and the bees are busy already.

Here at Eleusis there is a long term project for the improvement of some of the old buildings. In order to renovate the big barn there needs to be somewhere to store all the things that have been kept there up to now. After some research a flat pack building was obtained from Leroy Merlin, a big DIY supplier here in France. It arrived on a huge palette all wrapped up in plastic.

The day of arrival was not clement and it was unpacked it between hail storms. Eventually all was under cover. 

The wood, however, all needed treating, so that was several days work.

Now that is all done - very satisfying. However, it turns out to be the case hat the area of paving laid as foundation is not big enough for the frame of the building, so the next job is digging.

It is good to be back in the profound silence of Eleusis. Somehow the silence here is deep, thick, primeval, connecting one with the chthonic bedrock of being. One can experience how it was that the ancients were in awe not just of the sky and the earth, but of an underworld more powerful that what is seen above. The ancient Greeks made offerings to gods above and below. We hear plenty about the sky gods in myth, and to them sacrifice was made on a high altar with fire, but the gods below were spoken on in hushed tones, it was a risky thing to say their names, and their libations were poured into pits. The sense of earth, sky and depth are all present here, the whole pervaded by a sense of timelessness that is a fine remedy for the soul.

Back in Spain, I am realising of the powerful energy of Eleusis, its rythm, its sangha, its spaces, its people... I really think that it is a good place to be for a while. In a short period of time it has triggered many interesting processes in me. Not only this; it has also given a frame of respect and support; it has let those personal processes evolve with their own pace.

I am very thanked to the kindness and generosity to each and everyone that I have met here. Specially the supporters, who make possible a space like this, where so many important things happen for those in quest. And the ordained community, specially Rev. Dharmavidya and Rev. Jnanamati. A smile come to my face when I think in Dharmavidya: his compassion, his humor, his kindness. As for Jnanamati, what to say of that earnest practicioner whose love for the Dharma and the Order is so important. It`s been very nice to be with you this time. Well, now I am quite worried about you because I have been seeing Dharmavidya's photos and, unfortunately... all the area where you did the removing of nettles and weeds  near the Bamboo Grove it's been covered again!! Not everything is not impermanent :)

In a word, THANKS!

Big hugs and hope to see you soon,

José

I am in the Basque country in north central Spain. We have just completed a four day retreat. This has been a success in that the ethos and atmosphere of our spiritual community became apparent and alive in this group who were all new to it. What matters is not so much that people understand a set of theories as that the ethos comes alive for them and this happened here. This weekend I shall be leading a Buddhist psychology workshop and in the next days will travel to Galicia.

Thank you all Dharma companions for these lovely and insightful days. I am sad because of your departure. But I also feel that each space created by each of you will last for long time. May we all remember our morning service "Strive diligently! Attain Nirvana!". Namo Amida Bu. Homage to him, the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Fully-Enlightened One.

Here at Eleusis we have a wonderful community feeling at present. With fourteen people we are about at our capacity. In this case we are four women and ten men. We have had a workshop on Zen Therapy and now one on being a spiritual teacher. We have got quite a lot of physical work done and the place is looking good. The weather was kind to us with pretty continuous hot sunshine until a couple of days ago. Now it is maild and damp. No doubt the sun will be back soon. 

Sentarse en zazen y que un minuto después comience a sonar una melodía inesperada de shakuhachi real... ¿qué más puede uno pedir?
Sorpresas de Eleusis/ITZI

To sit in zazen and just one minute after a real shakuhachi melody starts... what else can one expect?
Unexpected surprises in Eleusis/ITZI

Hola amig@s:

Hace nueve días llegué a Eleusis. Tras un par de días de trabajo para preparar el templo para los talleres venideros, hemos pasado cuatro días realizando un taller de Terapia Zen. Para mí este tiempo, aunque ha sido corto, hasta ahora ha sido muy intenso. De hecho estoy un poco 'puzzled' porque se han despertado rápidamente en mi procesos que en otras ocasiones han tardado mucho más tiempo.

A nivel humano, el ambiente es incomparable. La calidez y proximidad de todos los compañer@s es realmente 'nice', especialmente de los principales responsables, el Rev. Dharmavidya David Brazier y el Venerable Jnanamati.

Gracias a todos.

Hi friends,

Nine days ago I arrived to Eleusis. After a couple of days working for arranging the temple for the next workshops, we've spent four days doing a workshop on Zen Therapy. It's been an intensive time for me (although it's been very short). In fact I am quite puzzled because some processes have been aroused in me that in other occasions have taken much more time.

On the human level, the climate is incomparable. The warmth of all the partners is really nice, specially the main responsibles, Rev. Dharmavidya David Brazier and Venerable Jnanamati.

I am really thanked to all of them.