Dear Merle,
Just tell her you live far from her, and may not be able to travel to meet her
or practice there with her at either Sydney or the other location.
She may have students who live near you who might visit you to say "Howdy", or
"G'day", and bring you some Diamond Sangha incense (Kobun Boku). We asked
Aitken Roshi in Hawai'i why he adopted this early on, and he gave two reasons:
"Smell; and, price".
Tell her you are a lifelong appreciator of the Zen tradition, but have not
practiced formally. And tell her what your practice is NOW.
Tell her you are an artist, and a teacher, and that you know she is an artist,
and a teacher. ;-)
You might ask her if she has any suggestion for you about carrying on in
practice as you are now.
Then, stand back.
And, enjoy.
I envy you!
--Joe
> Merle Lester wrote:
>
> hey joe...since you are sort of linked with the friendship side of things,
> have teachers in common and have a greater depth of knowledge in all of
> this..why don't you send an email?...
>
> i am still at my wits end as to what to write...
>
> why the hell would the lady in question want to hear from me?...
>
> there is no way i'm trotting to sydney to the smog and noise from my
> mountain retreat to meet up with her and attend any of the activities
>
> so what is the point?...
>
> i suspect she's not looking for a zen email correspondent
>
> ..since her main aim i note is to sustain herself in several activities that
> will bring in the dollar in order that she might live and not be required to
> go to the nightly soup kitchen...
>
> her teachings are "dollar based"..
>
> rightly so we all need to make a quid...
>
> i ask the question again why did jesus christ not ask for money for his
> teachings?...
>
> buddha did he put his hand out for the dollar?..
>
> strange that we now measure the fundamental teachings of life with the
> dollar always in the back of our minds..
>
> commercialisation of what is surely free to all and every human beings birth
> right... merle
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