Dear Friends, Colleagues, and all others:
 
Last year we read a gem of a book about Suzuki Roshi called To Shine One Corner of the World -- moments with Shunyru Suzuki edited by David Chadwick. Some of you may have read his earlier book Crooked Cucumber about the life of Suzuki Roshi. If you have not read either book we would highly recommend both.
 
To Shine One Corner is a slight book consisting of about 130 pages of short recollections of moments with Roshi recounted in no more than 2 - 3 paragraphs each. Sometimes less. The stories are delightful and profound and manage to communicate the pith and humour of Roshi's teachings.
 
Inspired by this book, and by the Chronicle Project being spearheaded by Walter Fordham and Andrew Munro, we have begun collecting brief stories of encounters with the Vidyadhara which we intend to publish in a format similar to To Shine One Corner -- short, pithy, penetrating........and humorous.
 
For those of you who had the good fortune of meeting the Vidyadhara (and even those who did not) we would like to collect your memories of this living Buddha in order to pass them on to future generations so that they can experience him in all of his unpredictable splendour.  No recollection is too big or too small. One size fits all as we say in our tradition. Indeed, the simpler the better.
 
So please join in and share the experiences you had with this remarkable man. We would ask you to jump in and type out your story now. This is a not-for-profit venture. It is a venture to share our experiences before they fade.  Proceeds will be donated to a combination of The Chronicle Project and  another needy Sangha program or project. If the stories are long we will try to extract the pith and then pass the complete version on to Walter Fordham at The Chronicle Project.
 
Stories should be sent to: jgavras@eastlink.ca
 
We would like to share a sampling of some stories already collected. Who knows, they might hit home with you.
 

Indian Giver

I was participating in the first Bodhisattva Vow at Karme Choling. I happened to be right behind Thomas Rich [the Vajra Regent]. I was feeling quite righteous with just the right blend of humility and purpose. I was offering back to Rinpoche something that he had given to me earlier as it was the most precious thing I owned. Apparently, Thomas Rich was doing the same thing. After he made his offering, Rinpoche leaned over to Thomas Rich and, with a big grin on his face, said "Indian giver!". I burst out laughing.
 

Many times before

I was a new student and was sitting my first dathun [month long sitting]. I was feeling very emotional and kept crying about the futility of repeating over and over all of my mistakes. Each participant had an interview with Rinpoche and when it came to my turn I was not sure what I was going to ask him. When I sat down in front of him I started crying and blurted out "If we can see what we keep doing, why do we keep doing it over and over again?". Rinpoche looked down at me and said with a gentle smile in the kindest voice "We have all been here many, many times before."
 

Not for sale

I was in  a relationship as someone's mistress and it was causing a great deal of pain and confusion in my life. I did not feel that I was strong enough to strike out on my own and yet I did not feel that the relationship was healthy for me. I was a new student and was having my first interview with Rinpoche.  I felt very badly about myself but was hopeful that he might give me some direction in this relationship. When I met with him, I poured out my situation with tears running down my face. When I looked up at him he replied with a warm smile but a firm voice "You are not for sale". I felt that my direction was immediately clear. I returned to my apartment, packed all of my bags, and moved to Karme Choling.
 
You are part of the family
 
I was a young college student and was experiencing a great deal of loneliness and uncertainty in my life. Someone had given my friend and I the book "Meditation in Action" and told us that this high lama was coming to speak and that we should go to hear him. I was expecting an old, wise lama like I had seen on the movie Shangri-La. Much to my surprise a young Tibetan man dressed in a blue blazer hobbled out very slowly and sat down. From the moment he sat down I remember feeling this incredible gentleness almost like he was a bare nerve ending sitting there. The whole evening was very powerful. The next night he was on a radio talk show and I called in thinking that I would ask him a traditional spiritual question. When he came on the phone I blurted out that when I saw him the night before everything immediately became clear. I was very embarrassed and thought that I sounded crazy. At the other end of the line came the nicest voice saying "It is so good to hear your voice. You are part of my family, come and study with me." Two months later my friend and I both quite university and moved to Tail of the Tiger [Karme Chöling].
 

So, we hope that these stories are of some value to you and that you will share yours. We would like to share many more of these with others.
 
Yours in the Dharma,
 
 
Jason Gavras                            Dan Meade
Halifax, NS                                Halifax, NS     
2005/05/09  |   jgavras@eastlink.ca