A Gift is a Letting Go
Tibetan Forest Monks live on Reche Rd at a monastary called Wat Santi, in between the Integratron and the Marine Base, wrapped in ochre robes and singing. On Satudays the public is invited to serve them rice in a gift giving ritual, as they are alms monks, and exist outside of the dominant mode of exchange- capitalism. We stand in a row, each with a bowl of forbidden rice and a small spoon, and scoop a bit into their large brass orb bowls as they walk by. We bow to eachother. The forest monk tradition of Buddhism began in the wilderness of Thailand, and spread to San Diego several years ago, and then to here, where four monks now live. Forest monks believe in a sense of being one with the wild things, with nature itself, and that only through an understanding of ones self in realtion to all parts of the ecosystem, can enlightenment be reached. We must realize that we are all connected. The household life is close and dusty, the homeless life is free as air. It is not easy, living the household life, to live the fully-perfected holy life, purified and polished like a conch shell. What if I, having shaved off my hair & beard and putting on the ochre robe, were to go forth from the home life into homelessness?
After the ritual rice is placed in their bowls, we all go inside to the meditation and chanting room, and we chant as the monks eat their breakfasts, which also consist of the freshest fruit and eggrolls, beef soup, and salad. The monks tell us “let go of suffering through letting go of a perception of self…” They have a calm and strong energy and their eyes are so clear. We chant as they eat: “Consciousness is inconstant….Form is not-self…..Feeling is not-self……perception is not-self…..”
Wat Santi is open to the public with morning and evening meditations and chantings, everyday at 6am and 6pm. Meditations last an hour and a half.
Katie Bachler was our first HDTS Scout, and was in residence from 2012-2013.
The HDTS Scout Residency is dedicated to learning more about the people and places that make up our diverse and ever evolving community.
During Katie’s residency, visitors were invited to drop into the HDTS HQ, the Scout’s home base, to meet Katie, who could be found making maps, hosting conversations, and baking bread – in between her off-site adventures around town and out in the field.
Katie had a lot in store during her time here, including:
- a series of talks featuring local experts
- joining together to create a web of knowledge
- a research library and archive documenting the many spaces, places, plants, and people that make up this special region
- casual conversations with drop in visitors over tea
- site visits and field trips around town
Katie engaged the community by instigating map-making and rag-rug braiding workshops, the Scout’s Book Club, Art in the Environment classes for desert kids, casual conversations, site visits and field trips—all shared in her Scout’s blog, which serves as the foundation for her book.
