wesak moon..bleu moon

this is a bleu moon month.
wesak is an auspicious moon;
the veil betwixt worlds
is thin and much Work
is tended to by the
office of the buddha and the office of the christ.
it is a time when the blessings flow.
wesak is always the
full moon of may.

in the east it is said
that this moon celebrates:
the birth of buddha,
the awakening of buddha,
the death or parinirvana of buddha.

i was in retreat on the night
of wesak full moon, may 2nd..
at the vedanta retreat house
in olema.
i would be there for five days..
what a fine way to assimilate
the teachings just received
in s. f. with hhdl!

the grounds have quail by the dozen,
varieties of deer, rabbits, snakes,
mountain lions, ravens galore..
hawks of every flavor..
eucalyptus trees homeopath the breeze.
the rolling hills appear like
a close shave in golden-greens.

mangala was the caretaker
for the days i was there.
she is a spirited, light-hearted
woman open to the magical mystery!
we instantly became friends.

now, retreat is just that..
the backward step that leads one forward..
a time for solitude and inner reflection.

my new merrill boots were itching to be
tested and point reyes station was
three miles up hwy 1.
although it is looked down upon,
it is allowed to go to towne for
groceries, if need be..
i informed mangala that i was
walking in and she informed me
she would like to join me!

we sauntered slow and easy along
the shoulder..where we found
a beautiful fox.. no longer alive..
which we moved into the tall
grasses with prayers and blessings.
the red-wings were out in full throttle,
the buzzards were carousing the light wind.
the sun was brilliant.

the best bakery this side of that..
is the bovine bakery..
i treated mangala to a cheese doodle-le-do
and bought myself a bear claw..
to be eaten one toe at a time!

as we were walking to the chai wallah,
we passed the display window
of point reyes books
and were both drawn
to a title in the window..
the walk

we went in to ask about it
only to find that it was not
what we had in mind..
but dawn led us to another-
walk in a relaxed manner
a book about the camino campestelo.

mangala spilled the beans about my walk.
this led to a bit of interest
and dawn suggested
planetwalk
by the local author,
john francis.
he lives in point reyes
with his wife and two sons.

john has walked around the planet for 22 years
and 17 of those years were in silence!
he travels around the world speaking
on pilgrimage and change.
he is developing planetlines,
an environmental studies curriculum
based on the walking pilgrimage.

the book store called john
to see if we could meet.
mangala gifted me with the two books.
we hopped the bus back
to the retreat house as mangala
was needed to greet new retreatants.
much hustle and bustle for
our solitary refinement!
oops!

the next morning i was out on the hwy
heading toward point reyes.
john met me on the road
in his red prius..
just like sallie's!
we were able to talk for
some time about walking;
the inner and outer journey..
shoes, cars and fierce grace.

john echos the words of many ..
the most important thing is
...kindness ...

the second full moon of the month
is the bleu moon..coming on the 31st.
auspicious!