yes joe i have been to china..and to the temples...
i tell you again..there is no travelling any more... you know i have lost the balance in my left ear hence my magic monkey stick. .new environments test my balance...crowds "freak me out"... my temple is here on this mountain top..i saw it as thus in may 1967... this is my spiritual home as well as physical.. let the teacher come to the mountain top... the wind, the trees the sun and the moon and all creatures great and small are my teachers... peace be with you joe..your thoughts are good and i appreciate your concern for my need for a teacher however... as i say again.. who is the teacher and who is the student?... surely at 67 i have reached "somewhere" "somehow" something akin to enlightenment eh?... i will check out the website you provide.. thank you... merle Merle, I think you've already traveled to China. But you don't have to go *THAT!* far to visit accomplished master teachers in your own country, and have an interview or two with them. There is a fine Zen group in Melbourne, and I have friends, there. There is one (or more) in Sydney, too. And there may be one on the W. coast in Perth. Plus, there may be others! I have not Googled "Zen groups, Australia" in a long time. Try it? At ANU (Australian National University) there is my friend Dr. Matthew Ciolek, who has a great site devoted to Zen lineages in the world today. Maybe in your gathering Summer, or in the height of your Summer, you'll do a road-trip and see some of these fine folks of yours! I know some of them -- both the teachers, and some sangha members -- and have sat long, LONG retreats with them at our place in Arizona. I predict you might "click" especially fine with Subhana, who is based in Sydney and teaches at both Sydney and Melbourne. She is also an artist, a Painter! Go visit! Bring some of your work to her, and have Tea. Send her an email, and be in touch. She is Internet-savvy. See her Site?: http://www.subhana.com.au/zen/ All Best, --Joe PS *DEFINITELY* bring your broomstick: Zen centers always need help with their sweeping. They'll put you to work. No free lunch! Merle Lester <merlewiitpom@...> wrote: > > who is enlightened and who is not...is the burning question!... > > no teacher worth their weight in gold me thinks would say so however they > demonstrate by being thus > > joe too far to travel. > > .to where will i go from this mountain top with my magic monkey stick and all > eh? > > i have been known to use a broomstick ... is that a no no in zen?
