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Heng sure
March 22, 1978
"What do you do when the road is too narrow? Do you fudge a little in the vow?" some people watch us carefully, count our every step and bow, noting logistical details as we progress.
"Do you cheat and cut steps or bows when there's no shoulder or the traffic gets too heavy?" they ask.
No. With safety in mind for the motorists and monks, we devised an expedient called "bowing and place." The road past San Simeon is too narrow to bow safely. I counted one bow for every third step as I walked the road. Keeping the total on my recitation beads, dodging the fat recreation vehicles that squeezed by on the highway, I pulled my precept sash free from a spider-webbed manzanita, adorned with winking dewdrops. I added ten percent to account for the bowing-in-place expedient and then set to work bowing. We take stones and bottle caps lined up on the ground. Superstitious people think we are worshipping the rocks or doing divination.
Overhead while we bowed in place yesterday:
"What are they doing Harry?"
"Oh, they're kissing the ground and praying to some little stones, Ruth."
"Oh, how nice. Bless their souls."
Heng Chau
Wednesday
March 22, 1978
Take car into San Simeon for "pit stop." Gas, oil, water, air in tires, steering and brake fluid and battery fill up.
Lunch: fruit, crackers, hot porridge, and peanut butter.
Heavy rainstorm all night. Again clears 20 minutes before we start bowing. Blue doughnut appears in clouds overhead.
Strange couple returns. Dave, Cortina, their daughter tiffany, and mutt dog. They want to make an offering, so they show is how to select and gather wild, edible mushrooms.
"There are two kinds of mushroom gathers: old ones and bold ones. But there aren't any old, bold ones," says Dave leaning over to slice a big white mushroom.
"Conversation with a highway Dharma protector"
The Mckenzies from Morro bay drive out with fuel, fresh water, food, maps, and lots of encouragement. John, the forest service ranger, has checked out routes.
"Stay on highway1," they say. "You can't even take a 4-wheel drive back there. The road is closed in parts and the bridge is out. You'd have to bow through a live rifle range, too. It would be '3 crawls and 1 bow' and you'd never get back up."
As they prepare to leave Mrs. Mckenzie says,
Mckenzie: "I've had the impulse to come out and bow with you in the fresh air and all. I need to get away from my family and job and take a quiet look at things."
Monk: "You could bow at home."
Mckenzie: "I tried it and fell asleep. Two jobs has got me really running. I cant talk to most people about this but I feel you understand. (i.e. about bowing to benefit world and returning one's own light)."
Monk: "That's why we left home."
Mckenzie: "Yes, and your teacher look deep and wise, very wise. You need a good helmsman."
"It's also good that you don't go inside people's homes. That way spend less time talking and staying up late at night and then it will rain less on you when you bow during the day. Right?"
Monk: "Right."
Mckenzie: "Have you got the Laundromat situation under control? I didn't see a laundry in San Simeon."
Monk: "We are okay."
Mckenzie: "How? Are there Laundromats in the woods around here?"
Monk: "We make do."
Mckenzie: "No, you know, do you need to wash you clothes. We've got a machine, you don't."
Monk: "Monks have gotten by for centuries without Laundromats."
Mckenzie: "You'll end bowing where?"
Monk: "The city of ten thousand Buddhas."
Mckenzie: "Oh boy, home! When do you think you'll arrive?'
Monk: "Don't know".
Mckenzie: "That's good. Don't let the schedule get in the way of what you are doing. It's important for everyone."
"I like people, but I have to get with the birds and trees and get together with myself every now and then. I often think of the city of ten thousand Buddhas and remember all those pictures and I can almost see myself finding a quiet place there".
The kids finish pouring gas into the tank. This is their last trip out.
"I'm sure our paths will cross again," says Mrs. Mckenzie. "There's a little verse I want to give you. You may think it's kind of silly but it's helped me through many a difficult time. It goes,
"Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered: There was no one there."
"We will do whatever we can to make bowing easier. That's the most important," they said.