by Ben » Fri Feb 06, 2009 3:06 am
Hi all
Thank you all for your kind thoughts. Its been a really crazy few weeks, the last week in particular.
Last Sunday night I drove the car and the horse float to Station Pier in South Melbourne following a final clean and tidy of our Creswick house in 40+C temperatures. I hadn't been on an ocean-going ferry since a trip to Europe when I was 11 years old, so the experience was partly reminiscent of my childhood and a new experience entirely. I had the good fortune to be sharing it with my two boys. After we drove onto the ferry we put our two pampered and retired greyhounds in the kennels and made our way to our cabin. We had a great night exploring the boat and being out on deck while we sailed towards the entrance of Port Philip. Both boys got to sleep on top bunks and after I put them to bed, I settled down on one of the bottom bunks to meditate. I could tell the moment we passed through the heads and entered Bass Strait as the top half of my body began to swing gently like a pendulum from side to side and forward and back.
On the same day I landed in Devonport, I moved into our new home in Launceston with the first of two shipping container's worth of worldly attachments. The second container has been delayed and won't get here until next week. Our horses arrived today at their agistment paddock, one of which was injured, but not seriously, in transit. The house we are living in is a victorian-era townhouse located less than ten minutes walk from the centre of Launceston. In the other direction, we have my youngest son's school campus less than 300 metres walk away, and another 2km is the senior school campus where my 13 y/o son and my wife will be studying and working. We have enough bedrooms for me to convert one into a mediation room. My youngest son, had great fun setting up a shrine for me and he has recommenced his meditation!
On Thursday I flew back to Melbourne where I went to see Leonard Cohen in concert and I arrived back home this afternoon.
The concert was brilliant and made up for his woeful 45min performance in Sydney in 1985. Cohen was on stage for about 3 hours singing the songlines of samsara. He came back for four encores.
When in Melbourne yesterday I visited the Theosophical Society Bookshop. Historically, the Theosophical Society in Australia were supporters of the Theravada. I noticed that except for a few Theravadin Dhamma books, the remaining collection of Buddhist books were 80 percent Tibetan, and 20 percent Zen oriented. I was delighted to pick up a a copy of Nyanaponika Thera's 'Abhidhamma Studies' and a mala for my wife.
On the way back home this morning , I was selected for a random explosives scan at Melbourne airport. While complying and having my hand luggage explored and scanned, the young Greek-Australian security officer noticed my copy of 'Great Disciples of the Buddha' and began to quiz me on Buddhism and why I was attracted to it and how long I'd been a Buddhist'. Quite an unusual conversation over the ionized particle detector, I thought!
Anyway my friends, there's no rest for this samsaric being. In a few days I hope to upload some photos to share with you. In the meantime, I'll be back to my usual frequency of contributing and quietly overlooking the boards.
Thanks again for your kindness and good wishes.
Its good to be 'home'.
Ben
