Krishna Das at the Zen Peacemakers

Finally! A bit of free time to post about my afternoon with Krishna Das and Bernie Glassman at the Montague Farm Zen House on Saturday.

It's strange, but before I attend events like this I'm a nervous wreck — afraid I'll get lost, afraid I'll arrive and then feel like an outsider. J gives me a pep talk and sends me on my way, and within a few miles it's inevitable that the beauty of spring in Western MA will distract me from my unnecessary fretting. Thanks to the GPS the Maezumi Institute was easy to find, and after being greeted with a big smile and enthusiastic "namaste" as I pulled into the parking lot I began to fully relax. Inside I was pleasantly surprised to see lots of familiar faces from both my Kripalu retreat and weekly kirtan in Northampton, and by the end of the day I'd made several new friends I'm sure I'll see again at future events.

The afternoon session was relaxed and informal, Krishna Das and Bernie Glassman talking to about 75-100 of us about service, devotion, meditation, attachment, non-duality — Bhakti yoga integrated with Socially Engaged Buddhism. The day unfolded gracefully with personal stories, chants, and time for a question and answer session while the rain poured down on the green hills surrounding us.

Having the opportunity to spend a day with two wise, thoughtful, spiritual teachers in beautiful surroundings — does it get any better? They had so much to share, especially about service to others — service to oneness really.

You stop thinking about yourself when you start thinking about others.

The way you can tell the depth of a person's enlightenment is how they serve others.

Drop your attachment to your own bag of bones and ask 'how am I going to serve?'

Krishna Das spoke of his guru, Neem Karoli Baba, and how he fed people, instructing his devotees to do the same. Bernie Glassman described the Zen Peacemaker's Street Retreats, in which participants live on the streets without money, bedding, change of clothing, books or watches. From the website: We will panhandle for bus fare, eat in soup kitchens and intimately and vividly come to see how our cocoons have insulated us from our groundlessness. We will meet three times a day for meditation practice and sharing in Wisdom Council, often joined by other homeless, giving us the opportunity to see ourselves as Other, to recognize our commonality, and to renounce habitual concepts that foster aversion, rejection and separation.
There's a fascinating account of street retreats from a minister who been doing them yearly here.

Bernie also encouraged us to come and be a part of the family-oriented community meals that the Zen house serves.

Jizo, the bodhisattva who plunges fearlessly into any place or situation to help those in need. His qualities include unflagging optimism, fearlessness, and gentleness.

After dinner I walked the grounds. The sun was making a brief appearance before setting, and a mysterious river, hidden from sight by trees and underbrush, was roaring as it wrapped its way around the property.

Before long many more people (200 I would guess) began to arrive for the evening kirtan, streaming in with the light. Kirtan with Krishna Das is incredible, and time seems to stop while it's happening. Two hours go by in a heartbeat, and suddenly it's time to head home again.