Sitting in Soquel, waiting with Tassajara

All but four of the Big Sur monks are at Soquel, in the redwoods outside Santa Cruz. All are well, including Bernard, who had his eightieth birthday the day they evacuated — with a small cake and a bottle of champagne at dinner. The monks are keeping to their regular practice. The four remaining at the hermitage are there only as long as fire officials allow.

The flames: the good news is that the two burning areas — Indians fire north of Lucia (95% contained, some distance from the hermitage) and the two Basin Complex fires (only 3% contained) are merging, which gives the firefighters a better handle on the situation. As I understand it (with no expertise!), they hope to push the fires up into the wilderness area to let them burn out, thus avoiding further damage to homes and other buildings. But important tourist facilities in the main Big Sur area are still threatened. From Esalen Institute flames are visible, up at the head of Hot Springs Canyon. California is in drought conditions; everything is potential fuel.

I like the Tassajara fire blog: http://sittingwithfire.blogspot.com/. Our monks in Big Sur are keeping the same spirit. We wait together, and learn. We see what really is: suffering and impermanence, along with hope — nirvana means “coolness,” one of the names of the Holy Spirit in Latin (dulce refrigerium).

Today is the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle, whom the majority of historians now agree came to India about the year 58 C.E. A vague collective memory sees him in orange robes, following the custom of Hindu and Buddhist monastics. I sometimes wear these robes myself, although Bede Griffiths suggested that we do so very discreetly, when outside the ashram. I visualize the monastics at Shantivanam, and invoke blessings on them for their life as sannyasis and Benedictines, blessings they share with many, far and near, even with this Thomas in Berkeley.