LEE KLINGER LESSER
Newsletter - June 2009
Warm greetings,
Last summer as I was preparing to lead a Sensory Awareness workshop at Tassajara, forest fires swept through the valleys and mountains, almost destroying Tassajara, burning wilderness in all directions. A different kind of forest fire seems to be raging through a broader wilderness this summer as so many people are losing their homes, jobs and a sense of stability. As in most crises, as we face danger and loss, that which is most essential can become more vivid and clear, and we can find connection and joy even in the face of suffering and fear.
Tassajara is a unique place in the world. A Zen Buddhist monastery that opens in the summer time inviting renewal and replenishment for the guests who arrive. Two of these photos were taken last summer along the road into Tassajara. The cheerful fellow on the right usually sits right outside the dining room where guests go to retrieve their cloth napkins before enjoying three gourmet vegetarian meals a day.
Tassajara is in a narrow mountain valley surrounded by wilderness, with a creek running through it and hot tubs and steam rooms heated by the natural hot springs. As we descend down the five miles into the valley, we also have the opportunity to descend simply and deeply into our own lives.
Sensory Awareness is a kindred practice to Zen meditation and mindfulness. The simple connection with our breath and our sensations can provide an anchor in a constantly moving sea.
"Duck, Death and the Tulip," a children's book and a wonderful inspiration about meeting what comes...
I am in love with this book and I don't even know what the words say. Last week, I went out to dinner with my daughter in Japan Town in San Francisco. We went into a bookstore and looked around. As we were leaving, I saw this book standing on the shelf. The writing was in Japanese. The image was of a very unusual duck. It intrigued me. Somehow this duck was poignantly filled with life.
So we opened the book and were stunned by the images....the whole book was a portrait of Duck's meeting with Death and their unfolding relationship. They don't get along at first though Death seems to be exceedingly courteous and patient. Little by little they become friends and they play together.
And then Duck dies. Death seems sad and lays a tulip on top of Duck before sending Duck down a river. After a pause, Death continues on the journey ready for a new meeting. I don't know if I will like this book as much with the words as I do with the images alone. It was actually written in German by Wolf Erlbruch, and translated into Japanese. It is available in English from England. I have ordered a copy and will let you know what I think after I read the words. The images tenderly, and with kind humor, portray meeting life (which includes death) just as it is. Being in intimate relationship with each moment...whether it is discomfort, distrust, resistance, connection, playfulness, dying, grieving, moving on. This is also the essence of Sensory Awareness...being with what is just as it is. Following the changes...slowing down enough to feel our way. Learning and trusting that we have no other choice. Learning and trusting that it is in the meeting that we find our own aliveness, even in the midst of letting go, even in the midst of dying.