“The best revenge is to have enough self-worth not to seek it.” ~ Unknown
Furnace Mountain temple
After yesterday’s Death Cafe at the tea house, we took a walk to the temple. Before we left I had the good fortune to meet Zen master and Furnace Mountain co-founder Dae Gak. I asked if it was okay to take pictures, and he graciously said yes. Marcie had already asked on my behalf, but it’s always good to personalize it. Either way, he was very kind. The temple was deliberately built in its location through the act of “geomantic divination.” This is an ancient practice by all cultures around the world, though it is rarely practiced by the wider populace today. In short, it is the reading of the Earth for the preferred location in which the temple would align properly with positive energies. There are many forms of divination. Probably the one most Americans are familiar with, thanks to Hollywood, is the divination for water: the classic Y shaped tree branch that points to water beneath the ground. Geomantic divination is a similar principle.
such beauty
There were stations along the path to the temple. I stopped to photograph a few of them. We stayed on the road that lead us a bit further up the hill when, from behind a stand of cane, there appeared this stunning temple with a blue ceramic tile roof of Oriental stylings. I felt a great calming. I snapped shots of the outside first. I had just gone inside when two of our Death Cafe friends, Kris and Joe, appeared for meditation. I asked if it was okay to photograph them as they sat quietly, and again, I was granted permission. I was as quiet and still as I could be so as not to impede their meditation, and soon, I found myself in a sort of meditative state as well. Though I was moving, I did so with intention, much as I had done the week before at Cane Ridge. It’s amazing how similarly I feel during a church service and during meditation. My motivation is the same (and this is especially true if I’m not photographing anything): To be present, and let the world sink away, listening for God, the Universe, the Creator. There is great peace for me in these moments. I was honored to photograph the temple, and deeply honored that Kris and Joe allowed me to photograph them. It is special to be allowed to document a sacred act.
to be present
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