My OperaOn Lamplighters
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 2:13:04 PM
"To give you an idea of the size of the Earth, I will tell you that before the invention of electricity it was necessary to maintain, over the whole of the six continents, a veritable army of 462,511 lamplighters for the street lamps.
Seen from a slight distance, that would make a splendid spectacle. The movements of this army would be regulated like those of the ballet in the opera. First would come the turn of the lamplighters of New Zealand and Australia. Having set their lamps alight, these would go off to sleep. Next, the lamplighters of China and Siberia would enter for their steps in the dance, and then they too would be waved back into the wings. After that would come the turn of the lamplighters of Russia and the Indies; then those of Africa and Europe, then those of South America; then those of South America; then those of North America. And never would they make a mistake in the order of their entry upon the stage. It would be magnificent."
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince
Would you like to see a picture of a lamplighter?
Here's one: http://home.pacific.net.hk/~rebylee/text/prince/14.html
"It is like we have a lamp . . . called mindfulness and the oil of that lamp is our breathing, our steps, our smile, our working in mindfulness.
We have to light up that lamp. Light up the lamp of mindfulness and the light will shine out and the darkness will cease, will dissipate."
~ Thich Nhat Hanh, dharma talk given oat the New Hamlet in Plum Village on March 26, 1998:
"We are our ancestors and The Sutra on Measuring and Reflecting." Full text available at http://www.plumvillage.org/dharmatalks/html/weareourancestors.html[/URL
Seen from a slight distance, that would make a splendid spectacle. The movements of this army would be regulated like those of the ballet in the opera. First would come the turn of the lamplighters of New Zealand and Australia. Having set their lamps alight, these would go off to sleep. Next, the lamplighters of China and Siberia would enter for their steps in the dance, and then they too would be waved back into the wings. After that would come the turn of the lamplighters of Russia and the Indies; then those of Africa and Europe, then those of South America; then those of South America; then those of North America. And never would they make a mistake in the order of their entry upon the stage. It would be magnificent."
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince
Would you like to see a picture of a lamplighter?
Here's one: http://home.pacific.net.hk/~rebylee/text/prince/14.html
"It is like we have a lamp . . . called mindfulness and the oil of that lamp is our breathing, our steps, our smile, our working in mindfulness.
We have to light up that lamp. Light up the lamp of mindfulness and the light will shine out and the darkness will cease, will dissipate."
~ Thich Nhat Hanh, dharma talk given oat the New Hamlet in Plum Village on March 26, 1998:
"We are our ancestors and The Sutra on Measuring and Reflecting." Full text available at http://www.plumvillage.org/dharmatalks/html/weareourancestors.html[/URL
Here in Alabama, we can already see the signs of Fall coming. The days are getting shorter, and thanks to the drought, leaves have been dropping from trees for weeks now.
I guess that's part of why I've been thinking a lot about lamps lately.
On Monday night, as we sat at St. Francis, I realized something: I never thanked Natalie Goldberg, one of my own "lamplighters."
It started like this: at lunch on Monday I chatted with a guy at work I had never talked with before. It turns out he is from Thailand. A Buddhist, no less. I shared about Thay and the community visiting Thailand earlier this year, and he became very intrigued. He had heard about Thay, had heard about this trip. But how, he wanted to know, did I become interested in such things?
At the time, I shared the usual story. It goes something like this:
My grandmother had died. It was a hard time for me and for our whole family. I went over to a friend's house one day for a visit. She wasn't home, but her mother was. Her mom was a yoga teacher back before yoga was cool, and I knew she meditated. "Teach me about meditation," I said. "I think I need to know."
And so, for the next forty-five minutes or so, she gave me a teaching that set me off on what has now been a sixteen-year journey. For her loving example, for her brief sharing, and for her own practice, I am deeply grateful.
Fortunately, I had many opportunities to thank this lovely woman while she was still living.
But Monday night, as we sat, I thought of Natalie Goldberg.
The year before I had that fateful tea, I had the opportunity to study in England. While there, I met a girl who, at the age of twenty, already considered herself a writer. An aspiring writer myself, I was mesmerized by the sight of her sitting in cafes writing in perfect schoolteacher script pages and pages of whatever her current project was.
A real writer.
Intrigued (and, truth be told, a bit jealous!), I began to ask about her writing.
And she pointed me to a book called Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, by a woman named Natalie Goldberg.
Not only did Natalie Goldberg have a lot to teach about writing, which she did so skilfuly, but she also shared so much about her own Zen practice ~ something about which I knew nothing at the time. Her book was filled with stories of going to sit in Minnesota with Katagiri Roshi at 4 a.m. Becoming intimate with the workings of her own mind through sitting, and through writing. Finding ways to be sane as a writer, to be kind. She told of going to Plum Village after her own teacher had died, and Thay showing her how Katagiri Roshi continued on in the plum blossoms.
So many stories, so much good fuel ~ not just for writing, but for life.
So thank you, Natalie Goldberg, wherever you may be in this moment. Though we have never met, oh, what a difference you have made!
I am wondering this: who are your lamplighters?
The people, places, ideas, experiences, that have helped to kindle, or re-kindle, a spark of awakening, in your heart and mind?
How does mindfulness practice helps us to keep our light ~ and those of others ~ burning, steadily and brightly?
As always, you are welcome to write to share reflections, and all are invited to join us on Monday evening.
Enjoy your week!
Announcements:
- Meditation gathering at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on Sunday, September 23, from 9-12. Visit http://my.opera.com/Firefly%20Sangha/blog/upcoming-events for details.
- Great online resource: "Zencast" with podcasts and direct downloads of dharma talks, meditation timers, and more, at http://amberstar.libsyn.com
-
"Engaged Buddhism: Protecting Ourselves and Our Planet" Retreat at Plum Village, May 4-20, 2008. From the Plum Village website: "In this May 2008 Retreat, we will train together to live our lives deeply. We will have the opportunity to train to be buddhas while walking, drinking, eating, speaking, and acting. We will learn to deal with our fears, anger, depression, and despair with beauty and dignity; thus training ourselves to be in touch with our ultimate dimension while living our ordinary lives. We will train ourselves as an individual cells as well as being a part of a collective body of cells. We will learn to understand the functioning of our mind in order to protect ourselves and our planet.
For more information and registration, please visit http://www.plumvillage.org from November 2007."
