Today the venerable Buddhist monks from Ft Worth were walking from Pittsboro, NC to Apex and I felt a strong calling to come experience their Walk For Peace in person whilst Alexander was at school.
There aren’t words in the English language that can properly describe just how moving an experience it was and I am glad that I had the opportunity to do so.
I had parked at the Seaforth Landing boat ramp that’s right before the main bridge carrying US-64 eastbound over Jordan Lake and staked out a prime position at the stop sign at the entrance round about 0900.
I’d figured that that parking at the actual lunch stop for the monks at the Jordan Lake visitor’s centre was probably a no-go and that turned out to be the right choice as people who arrived after I did had been turned away from that entrance.
The crowds filled in pretty quickly and the suggestion from the Chatham and Wake County Sheriff’s Departments that people not park on the shoulder was clearly a custom more honoured in the breach than the observance.
There were a few people that asked me from their cars right at the entrance where I was stationed about the parking arrangements and I’ll confess that I was more than a little amused whilst pointing out that the boat ramp car park was certainly the safer option and that I could not guarantee they wouldn’t be asked to move along by the local constabulary.
That being said, the lone park ranger originally stationed at the entrance in his state park truck seemed resigned to trusting that we seemed to be avoiding disorderly behaviour and that we’d continue to do so and didn’t fuss too much at the breach of the parking protocols.
That was a fair cop as everyone was in a right jolly and peaceful mood without the usual argy-bargy one tends to get in large crowds on a parade route. If anything, it was a very friendly atmosphere with many conversations between groups of people who likely never clapped eyes on one another which just goes to show the power of peaceful assembly.
There was one young lady with a purple flower in her hand being carried by her mother across US-64 to join us. It was pretty much a universally held opinion that not only was she seriously rocking the adorable but that whoever she might turn her eye to might well be dueling for the privilege of lacing her sandals. I mention her not only because she was really a cutie as you’ll see in the picture but that you’ll need to look for her flower being handed to the monks as they pass as testament to my one regret in not being able to take off the 2x teleconverter in time and so I could see her handing the flower over out of the corner of my eye but the viewfinder only caught the flower and the monk.
There were more than a few dogs that came along with their humans but clearly the queen for the day was Lucy, a gorgeous orange coloured lady who was not only very chill but also knew she was quite the pretty puppy. I don’t think it’s much of a stretch of the imagination that she was looking to turn a certain Peace Dog’s attention in her direction.
Who knows how many friendships were born in the ninety minutes whilst awaiting arrival of the monks but even if it was just a friendly passing of the time together, the cause of promoting peace and love and allowing for the possibility of friendship in a world in desperate need of them were well served on that overcast morning.
We had a bit of a laugh when the monks were approaching our position that the Chatham unit leading the procession very politely asked us to move back to the grass when the monks arrived at our location. Apparently the people further down US-64 closer to the bridge didn’t take the hint quickly enough as the message went from polite and diplomatic for us to a much more emphatic and repeated “get off the road!” over the tannoy fairly quickly!
When the venerable monks finally arrived, what was quite breathtaking was just how quiet everything was around the space where they were walking.
Even the engine noises of passing vehicles seemed muted and it seemed the universe was holding it’s breath to allow us all to appreciate the historic moment we were all experiencing.
It’s the silence that is critical for it’s only in the silence that we can really hear what the universe is trying to tell us without all of the distractions of the modern life. The universe speaks to us in a language that requires no words but only asks one to listen and to open one’s heart to understand.
What came through loud and clear in the silence was how these gentlemen have experienced and endured so much along their journey including an accident that injured two of the monks where one had to have his leg amputated and yet he not only accepted it with equanimity and grace that is simply mind-blowing, he managed to meet with the procession at his home temple in Georgia and will be with his brethren when they reach Washington DC.
Aloka needed surgery in Charleston and had rejoined the procession only a day or so prior and you know his spirit is such that he’d be all in for walking even though it is better for his recovery to ride in one of the support caravans until he is strong enough to once again lead the procession.
They’ve experienced all kinds of weather along the way and had the prospects of a very nasty ice storm for the legs ahead of them in Raleigh and points beyond and none of the challenges they have faced has deterred them from continuing to walk and promote the message of peace.
Even when they’ve been confronted by people who not only have no appreciation for the tenets of Buddhism and the message of peace and happiness and clearly seem to have little connection between the religious beliefs they profess at the top of their lungs and their behaviour that indicates their heart feels quite the opposite, the monks allowed the hatred directed at them to be returned with a message wishing the person peace and happiness and properly leaving the burden of bearing the load of the hatred with the person being hateful where it rightly belongs.
Right about 2,000 miles into their journey and to look at them and the mixture of kindness and determination etched on their faces to complete this journey come what may, you could be forgiven for thinking they’re making having faith in the journey and the message look much easier than must it be in reality.
No complaints.
Just expressions of peace and joy and a genuine thankfulness that so many have come to share in a small part of their journey.
I can’t speak for everyone else round me in the brief moments their procession spent in front of us just before the Jordan Lake bridge but for me, it was as if time itself slowed enough for me to understand things I’ve always wanted to know but never felt I had the time to truly appreciate.
All of the things that had been vexing me that morning on the way from my home to that spot on US-64 which included wondering how some bills were going to be paid, having great concern over the health of a dear friend who had been taken to hospital the night prior (literally getting this news on US-64 near the Tryon Road exit to head toward Jordan Lake), thinking about the timing to ensure I got back to Enloe to collect Alex in a timely fashion and return him to Clayton, and wondering what tunes I was planning on spinning for the two beer league hockey games I’d be working as the DJ and scoreboard operator near midnight before the nasty weather arrived. All of that seemed to pass into insignificance for at least that brief moment of peace in the presence of these men who to a person radiated a sense that they understood the stress this world can bring and had one desire they wished to bestow upon me as a gift worth more than all of the money in the Two Worlds:
May you and all beings be well, happy and at peace.
Their Facebook posts usually end with that phrase or a variation of it and it’s stuck with me ever since.
In that brief moment and many that have since followed, I was exactly that. Well, happy, and at peace.
What they wouldn’t have known is that the peace they wished upon me and all beings was one I’d only seen very rarely in all my years and it was one my grandfather knew well. I’d always aspired to come close to his sense of peace and equanimity in the twenty years I had the privilege of sharing this planet with him and the thirty-five since he left us.
The gift of the monks to allow me to experience that is not only a gift beyond words but truly one I will never forget nor be able to properly repay.
I know I’m enough fire and air that achieving such peace on a consistent basis will always be a difficult challenge.
But what I can do is at least make the best effort I can to honour the monks and their message by consciously trying to choose peace and happiness toward all beings and then try to do better and keep trying to do so on those occasions I fall short of that mark.
I guess we’ll find out how well that works out the next time I’m on the motorways round here responding to the less-than-stellar quality of driving on offer or dealing with that laughable institution called “customer service” and their latest efforts to provide the exact opposite in a display of bureaucratic excellence. 😉
I suspect I’ll still be sorely tested in those times but at least I can try to approach it from the position of wishing them to be well, happy, and at peace. And laughter…laughter would probably help.
In a span of what felt like long enough for generations of the stars to be born and go nova but was actually a little under three minutes, the monks had passed by my spot on US-64 on their way toward the bridge.
That doesn’t mean that the treats were finished as the final frames caught Aloka the Peace Dog and the direction he was looking from his perch on the passenger seat of his caravan and his mouth being open seemed to suggest that Lucy’s mission of catching his eye was a resounding success! If I might be so bold as to suggest…they would make a truly adorable couple even though I think that her human is going to be some stiff competition to getting them together. Just sayin’…triple word score! 🙂
A brief journey back to the Traverse and a hour making a backup of the photos from the D-850 to the iPhone and iPad later, it was time to brave the traffic heading east and go collect Alex from school whilst the monks were enjoying a well-deserved break on the other side of the bridge.
The crowds were already in place all the way to the Wake County line and almost to Apex itself hours before the monks would come through to their overnight resting place at Apex High School.
I can hope that their experience was as life-altering as it was for me and that they are well, happy, and at peace.