by Neil Myers
The Mandala Project is an endeavor shared by all of us at Sonoma Mountain Zen Center who wish to protect and maintain the dharma we’ve inherited from so many teachers. The support that sangha members and friends have already shown has been extraordinary, and will continue to be crucial as fundraising continues and the new buildings gradually move from the planning stage to actual realization. This evolving Mandala work, in Roshi’s words, “expresses how we care for our deepest inner selves, our very breath.” This Newsletter issue seems the right moment to give a current overview of this important project. On November 5, I (N) met for a couple of hours with Cam Kwong (C), Mandala Coordinator, to get his perspective on where things stand. My wife Lorna (L) sat in on the discussion. Here are some highlights of our interview. ----------
N. Cam, it’s been about five years since the Mandala campaign began.
Can you give us a general sense of how things are going?
C. The Zen Center actually had done two
earlier campaigns, to purchase the property
in 1973, and for the Restroom Building
in 1994. Our current Mandala campaign,
however, is simply essential to the future
of the Zen Center itself. Roshi and I want
to express our gratitude to the many members
and friends who have supported this effort.
We’re very
optimistic that we will reach our fundraising goal especially in view of
the $1,884,000 that has now been raised.
N. Though you were an architect and not
a fundraiser, you stepped in at a crucial
moment.
C. Earlier coordinators, Carol Lingman,
Zenobia Barlow, and Marvin Bobes, all made
major contributions, and helped establish
a foundation for me to continue to work
from. We’ve continued their
work by strengthening our fundraising foundation, getting such things
in place as the computerized data-base, committees, financial and
construction goals.
L. You said the Mandala is an essential
step for zen center. What do you mean?
C. There are issues involving the Sonoma
County Use Permit we first received in
1984. Originally, when the county allowed
us to be a religious entity in an agricultural
zone, they required that all our structures
comply with the latest building codes,
which involve energy, structural reliability,
access etc. Many years ago we learned that
our existing zendo, housed in a beautifully
rebuilt hundred year old barn, didn’t comply. This was the great impetus for this campaign.
L. From the outside this marvelous place
seems timeless. But if Mandala fundraising
is a necessity, I don’t think you can repeat that often
enough.
C. That’s exactly where we’re coming from. We must fundraise
in order to bring the SMZC structures up to county codes. But
this is also, as Roshi says, an opportunity to establish a firm base to
carry the dharma into the future.
Our fundraising assumes that once we have enough to construct a
particular building, we’ll start on it. Right now the $1,884,000 we
have for the new zendo is around twenty percent --$480,000 -- short
of its estimated cost. If we can solicit the rest, we hope to break
ground in the Fall of 2010. Our long-range fundraising goal, however,
is five million dollars, to include a Kitchen/Dining Hall, an Abbot’s
Study and a maintenance endowment. Once the Mandala Project is
realized it will accomplish two things: it will bring all our buildings up
to county code, and most important, it will provide a place to practice
the Dharma for future generations.
N. Does it look like we’ll get the missing twenty percent for the new
zendo?
C. What’s interesting for me is that it’s difficult to anticipate where
funds will come from. People you assume will donate, don’t, and
those you think wouldn’t, actually do! Contributions are coming in
from various sources right now. But it’s hard to say. Two years ago, I
wouldn’t have predicted that by 2010 we’d have nearly doubled
what we had then, going from one million to nearly two!
N. Can you say something about how the fundraising works?
C. It’s evolved in several important ways and now there are five
avenues of fundraising. We’ve been lucky that Kurt Swenson --
husband of a longtime sangha member, CEO of Rock of Ages
Corporation, and an experienced fundraiser -- came on board to help us.
Kurt made a number of very helpful suggestions that gave the whole
endeavor a clearer direction. Earlier, Marvin Bobes had begun a phone
campaign to reach all Zen Center members and friends. Kurt
recommended that, alongside it, we develop a “quiet campaign” to
identify possible major donors and contact them. These two
components are now the heart of our effort.
The other possibilities include grants, which Deborah Stagg, Christie
Green and Kathy Dennison are now looking into. We’re aware of
several potentially receptive foundations, but there could be others
interested in encouraging art, architecture, or land preservation.
We’re also thinking of doing a mass brochure mailing next year to
further spread the word about the Mandala Project as well as solicit
donations. Finally, there are fundraising events, such as a
reading, a concert, or a meal prepared by a well-known chef. Branching
into such activities requires a larger team than the Quiet and
Calling Campaigns, which actually take the least amount of work.
N. So you’ll probably need a lot of assistance for those kinds of
projects.
C. We can definitely use help there! For a public event, we’ll need
people to manage invitations, send out directions, choose speakers,
locate housing if necessary etc.. We’ll be looking for an Event
Coordinator -- particularly for a possible fundraising dinner in 2010 -- as
well as volunteers for specific tasks. Even if we decide on a mass
mailing, someone will have to compose an appropriate brochure for it.
In short, we would appeciate both skilled and general help in all sorts
of different ways.
N. What should anyone interested in helping do?
C. Well, the first thing is to simply call or email the zen center (707-
545-8105; SMZC@smzc.net), or me (415-388- 9009;
ckwong.kletteney@sbcglobal.net). We’ll list names and preferences,
and if something relevant comes up, we’ll notify them. Specifically,
in addition to what I just mentioned, we would very much like to
have people with graphic arts skills to help create new publicity,
and others who might simply come up for part of a day and stuff
envelopes when that’s called for. Of course there’s our ongoing
fundraising, in which we can use many hands, and eventually
there’s even the possibility of assisting the actual construction when
that begins. The first step, though, is to compile lists of those willing
to aid in absolutely any way.
N. When actual construction of the new zendo begins, how will that
affect the daily routine of the zen center itself?
C. We decided not to merely remodel the present zendo because
that would have put it out of commission for several years, straining
the entire center. So the older zendo will remain in use when, down
the hill behind it, work on the new building begins. Once we start,
we’ll first grade the site, then build the foundation, and
eventually raise the timber framing. That could be noisy, as in any
construction zone, but the crews will be well aware of the Zen Center’s
schedule, and will limit noise during meditation periods and retreats.
Every effort will be made to let basic routines continue during
the 18 to 24 months I estimate it’ll take to complete the new zendo.
N. What will the new zendo look like?
C. We have drawings posted in the Sangha House, but it still may
be hard for some to visualize the result. The feeling, and the actual
materials used, will recall the Restroom Building, which was also
built by Joinery Structures of Oakland. It’ll use traditional Japanese
timber framing, with conventional in-fill framing between the posts
and beams.
N. So it’ll be in some ways a traditional
Japanese Soto Meditation Hall, open and
spacious, with an interior that can accommodate
multiple uses. And yet it’ll be a California
building as well?
C. That it’ll be constructed here in the
landscape and climate of Sonoma Mountain
by an experienced builder like Paul Discoe
will make it an American structure. Certainly
the understanding Paul acquired through
his long training in traditional temple
building in Japan also will be evident
in it. So it’ll have the feeling of Soto
temples, but it’ll have a distinctly local
flavor as well. It’s important to remember
that the present zendo, which was developed
out of an old California barn, now has
a very tangible feeling to it, rooted
in the Zen practice that’s been embodied
there for nearly 40 years. That feeling
is unmistakable, and unique. It’s hard
to describe, but most people sense it
the instant they walk into it. Because
of the practice at the Zen Center, this
feeling will naturally become rooted in
the new structures.
N. We’ve brought many visitors up there, and most of them notice
this luminous mood almost instantly.
C. Yes. Whenever we bring Building Department people there, they
react the same way. I remember a civil engineer who had no idea
what Buddhism was, but felt something, and talked openly about
it. The point is that, in fact, these zen buildings are intimately part
of the practice itself! There’s really no separation between zendo and
zen here. It’s precisely that feeling that we want to carry into the
new Meditation Hall we’re proposing.
N. Roshi has said that he hopes these Mandala structures will be
able to shelter the dharma for three hundred years. He talks about
how important this will be in a time of deep uncertainty, such as the
world is experiencing now. Can you say something further about
this? Enduring as a vital spiritual source for so long sounds visionary,
although, in fact, if you look at the history of Zen temples in Japan,
it’s not unusual.
C. When we first started on the Mandala, I was struck by a letter
Carol Lingman found, that Dogen Zenji had written in the middle
of the 13th century, when he was soliciting funds to build a temple
of his own. In it, he said that it’s essential to build these structures
primarily because they house the dharma. This made me feel ok - if
Dogen could do it, so could we!
When I think of the buildings we’re proposing, I’m not necessarily
thinking of three hundred years, but I do know what the dharma
has done in the thirty five years we’ve been here. I know that raising
these new structures will certainly enable the practice to continue
through the generations. These buildings may last three hundred
years, or eight hundred, or a thousand. It all depends on
everyone’s participation in making it happen. And I think this has a
lot to do with why the zen center feels as it does. A lot of intention,
a lot of effort and love have gone into creating what’s here. If we
can continue this through the Mandala project, I think it could
anchor the dharma for many generations past our own particular
lives.
N. So in a sense there’s urgency about the fundraising we’re doing,
but there’s also a patient confidence that in time the whole Mandala
will manifest itself.
C. What I’ve learned is that, if I’d initially begun by assuming that
in three years we would raise X amount of dollars, it might have
been very disappointing to get there and not have it. Of course you
certainly need to start with some specific intention. But I also think
that in the context of this zen center, what we’re doing almost parallels
the way a life may be lived. There are things that happen in life,
to which people gradually learn how to respond. If our fundraising
efforts seem to be taking a long time, it may be partly because we
simply weren’t initially trained in doing any such thing. We’re all
learning on the job.
Of course, we’d all like it to happen quicker. If we got $480,000 next
week, we’d begin building right away. But when I look at what
we’ve done so far, that makes me feel positive about future possibilities.
I think this is what Roshi feels as well. Sometimes I call him
when I’m not feeling very confident, and he says, “well, you
know, there’s a bigger picture out there!” In other words, we can do
it! It’s a matter of acknowledging the goal while not being entirely
sure of the little turns the path is going to take.
L. Can you talk about the fact that the whole economy collapsed a
year ago, and since then most fundraising has, if not ground to a
halt, certainly declined?
C. I’m not sure what we could do now that’s different from what we
did when we started the campaign in 2004. We’re still fundraising,
though in a very difficult environment. People seem more selective
now, but they’re still donating to the Zen Center. Roshi said that
this difficult economic time, when many are suffering worldwide, is
a particularly good moment to donate to places like the Zen Center,
because the practice and the dharma simply are needed. They’re
necessary.
N. You’ve taken on a very large job, and you’re doing it part time.
How has this affected your family life, and your work life?
C. First, the zen center has been my home for a long time, and as I
get older I understand more of how essential the dharma and practice
are. Now that we have Grace, our little one, I can’t get up here
that often. I could easily spend forty hours each week on the Mandala,
of course, but since I have only two days each week, I just
have to be patient, and do what I can manage at this point. But I
believe that too is an integral part of balancing one’s life. As I said,
so many people -- especially Carol Lingman, Marvin Bobes and Kurt
Swenson -- have worked hard to establish a firm fundraising base
for the Mandala Project. I must continue to do my best each day,
and begin to attract a larger group to help.
Working on the Mandala demands real dedication, over a long period
of time. I know that at the moment I can give only what I can
give, but I’m dedicated to the zen center, because of my connection
with it, the practice, and the dharma. I know how this place has
helped me in my own life, and how it has helped others.
N. What would you most like to tell the zen center community, as
well as donors and friends?
C. That if the zen center means anything to them, if something
about it reaches them, then they can help by donating or volunteering
for the Mandala. This is a way of expressing gratitude, and of
sustaining what the Zen Center is doing. And since it’s going to be
a long road, then a sense of patience must be involved also. If people
want to see it happen faster, we need more active support.
I was willing to follow Marvin as coordinator because I know that
this place is meaningful for everyone, whether they come just once,
or stay on as three year residents. And even if people simply hear
about zen center from a friend, it can touch them in many ways. I
know that Sonoma Mountain has had an impact on many people. I
hear the most amazing stories. Most of those who come here can
recognize that they’re receiving something crucial both for their own
life, and the lives of everybody around them. It has a ripple effect. It
helps them, it helps communities, it helps the entire world.
So, to put it simply, I’d ask them to support the Mandala. Find a
way; donate, help coordinate an event, volunteer in some capacity.
N. Anything else?
C. This whole process has been interesting for me, because, as I’ve
said, I was an architect not a fundraiser. As in everything I’ve learned
that fundraising is a practice in itself, and that has shed light on many
things, for one it’s helped me recognize my hesitation to ask for what’s
needed. I’ve found that best way to accomplish things is to be direct.
You have to directly request donations, and call directly on people to do
particular tasks. I‘ve also found that I can’t accomplish everything by
myself; that I can be more gentle with myself, and delegate more. I was
a little fearful at first, and in a way I still am. But I know that if you do
as much as you can with your full attention, you’ll get to a point where
you can see a much bigger picture. You take little steps with confidence
that they’ll eventually take you to the entire vision. That’s the surprise
outcome of this whole process.
by Neil and Lorna Myers
For our second interview with Paul Discoe, the designer of the Sonoma Mandala, we visited him at his Live Edge Studio in Oakland. From the moment we drove through the gate of an abandoned oxygen plant, we found ourselves surrounded by huge logs. burls, tall piles of planks, and mountains of chips. We waited in a showroom filled with striking tables, chairs, bowls, bookcases, objects made from local distressed wood, Paul later explained. He showed us into his office, and we began to talk.
N. It’s been a couple of years since our last interview.
I’m wondering what may have changed in your thinking about the Sonoma Mandala.
P. Well, I’m waiting to see what happens. I’m still
happy to be involved, on whatever level works.
L. One of the interesting things in the beautiful book
you recently published is your comment on the importance of blending the traditional and the contemporary.
Do you have further thoughts about this in regard to the
Sonoma Mandala project?
P. Well this is an age-old question, that’s come up many
times, about how much of the Asian tradition to bring
into zen practice, and how much of new American zen. I
quote Suzuki-roshi in my book about avoiding overpruning the tree that you transplant. No matter how traditional you try to be, just the fact of moving the
dharma to California is going to affect it radically anyway. So you don’t actually have to put extra effort into
making Zen contemporary or site-specific or appropriate
for the new generation, since those things will inevitably happen. Basically you’re best off trying to capture as
much of the traditional ritual spirit as possible, since it’s
going to get rearranged at its own pace. If you try to rearrange it first, however, the result may not even be recognizable.
L. Can you give us a few examples?
P. One is the decision over whether to have
a raised tan (meditation platform) in the
zendo. The tradition of the tan is there
for a number of reasons. Originally Japanese
zendos weren’t enclosed structures, in contrast
to what we expect in the west. The first
zendo floors, as at Eiheiji [a large 13th
century training temple in the hills near
Fukui, Japan], were dirt, so what was required
was a raised sitting area, as if outdoors,
with the building itself an umbrella overhead.
By eliminating the tan, the zendo becomes
a more flexible space, which can accommodate
chairs for lectures, or be used as a yoga
center, or a site for a modern dance performance.
On the other hand, once other things creep
into the way a zendo is used, the feeling
of traditional monastic training, even if
it’s only done for the day, is much more
difficult to conjure up.
So it’s always a trade-off. Eiheiji has three traditional
buildings, a Buddha Hall for chanting,, a Dharma Hall
for lectures, and a Zendo for meditation. Sometimes,
however, you simply can’t afford to build all these. At
Sonoma Mountain we need to develop a single building
to support all these services. This will alter the experience you’d have if the zendo was exclusively devoted to
meditation.
Of course those things that can’t be done traditionally,
because of circumstances, have to be done in a new way.
Still, I think you should make every effort to sustain the
warm continuity evident in phases that were developed
over the centuries. A lot of the way that Eiheiji was
built came from China. You can see examples of similar
construction and use of architectural space in the arts of
the Han dynasty, going back to the second century BC.
That tradition has a certain power that’s useful to transmit to the future. Buddhism is so much of a holistic
teaching, that in it body, mind, physical environment,
voice, breath and all the elements of human activity are
interrelated and play off of each other in a way that can
be at once a distraction and a help. You need to take in
the visual, the audial, and the physical, the tactile, so
that they all aid each other in forming the zazen mind.
N. In the sense of the presence of the past?
P. My experience, both in Japan and at Tassajara, was
that listening to lectures about people of the 7th or 9th
centuries, while sitting in meditation just as they did --
and in a space like Tassajara, so isolated that it’s not
plugged in to any particular period -- then time becomes
totally irrelevant, and you’re no longer merely in the
21st century. I found experiencing such timelessness
highly illuminating. Basically I think that the physical
environment makes a difference, that people look at
things differently when they wake up in the morning
and can’t simply go to the refrigerator for a glass of orange juice.
N. In the last interview you said very eloquently that
“the existence of these buildings is a teaching in itself.”
Can you say anything further about how the specific
buildings proposed for the Sonoma Mandala might
demonstrate this?
P. Well, that’s what I’m saying. The physical environment forms the mental and emotional environment as
well. Creating a space that makes a harmonious visual -
audial-emotional environment is very conducive to putting you in the mind of the Buddha’s teaching, and is a
teaching in itself. In contrast, I think that more grandiose structures like Odiyan, near Salt Point, go too far.
Odiyan strikes me as so precious and yet so powerful,
as well as withdrawn from the rest of the world, that
somebody going there might have a very strong experience, which afterwards would simply be too hot to
carry, to bring back to the normal world.
So it’s important not to go too far. Not
that I think this would ever happen at Sonoma
Mountain Center, because that’s not the nature
of the practice there. But it’s
important not to become so esoteric, cultish
and sectarian that you make it impossible
to relate to the world around you. On the
other hand, if you don’t make your
temple distinctive enough, then the effect
is lost, and you might as well rent a hall
in downtown Santa Rosa. It’s important to
find a middle ground, to developing a special
space that’s encouraging without overpowering.
N. Roshi talks about constructing a set of buildings
which will transmit the dharma for 300 years.
P. Well, that’s a good start! Such buildings need enough
gravitas, enough weight, enough intrigue to capture
people’s imagination for 300 years. They musn’t be too
trendy or specialized. They have to be as timeless as
possible, rather than express some particular mode of
the moment.
N. You talk in your book about the elements of water,
fire, air, stone and wood.
P. Well, that of course is more of a Taoist than strictly
Buddhist, understanding, but of course zen in many
ways is the marriage of Taoism and Buddhism in China.
There certainly has been a mixture of those understandings over the years. For me, incorporating earth elements is simply part of the tradition that I studied. I’ve
never heard any zen person say that you have to consult
astrology, but a lot of teachers have emphasized how
important it is to include water, fire, wood and stone in
Buddhist architecture.
N. When I visualize the temples we saw in Japan, I
think of the presence of wood, seemingly unchanging
but still organic, and welcoming.
P. I think so too. These buildings could have been done
in masonry, more or less as Chinese temples were, and
still convey powerful feelings, but in the lighter, more
open Sonoma County environment, I think that wood
is probably the best material. I’m a big devotee of trees,
I think they’re great teachers, so that’s the element I
gravitate towards. But here again, it’s good to have as
much balance as possible. It’s important not to exclude
any element, or let one become too dominant.
L. I was going to ask you, if you had your ideal choice,
what wood would choose for Sonoma Mountain?
P. Well, I think on Sonoma Mountain it’s oak, fir and
redwood. Those are good materials for that site, and it’s
not too difficult to come by them.
L. You also write of the value of re-used wood.
P. Yes. Unfortunately since re-used wood
has recently become fashionable, it’s also
rather expensive, but what I’m putting my
energy into now is taking on abandoned trees,
killed for whatever reason, old age, disease,
wind damage, relocation of buildings or
urban expansion. That’s the wood that I’m
using nowadays. It’s not always
totally available, but there’s a great deal
of it, along with forest wood that’s grown
sustainably. Despite what people think,
wood is definitely a renewable resource,
and in the process of renewing itself it
also cleanses the environment. So the more
wood we use the better off mankind is. As
long as we’re careful to be al-
ways planting and nurturing more trees.
L. That idea is different from the usual environmental
perspective.
P. I think it’s a misunderstanding. If you use steel or
concrete or glass or any of those more readily available
modern materials, you do more damage to the environ-
ment, and create more turmoil, than by using wood.
L. You also write about “mismatched” wood. There’s a
photo in your book of a door made that way, almost as
if it’s patchwork.
P. You mean “contrasting”? Of course, there again, you
can get carried away. Still, I think it’s important not to
have everything so homogenous that it’s all the same,
since different activities have different weights. You
don’t want your shoes to resemble your eating bowls, or
clothes you sleep in to be like what you wear to work.
It’s important that different facets of existence harmonize together, so that some things are smooth and polished, some rough, some plain, some ornate. It’s good to
incorporate all of that together, & to see it not as a jumble but as a diverse whole.
N. Finally, you write in your book about the importance of working as a team. Can you talk about this in
relation to the Sonoma Mandala?
P. Well, in order for a team to coalesce,
you have to have a shared vision, and that
can come from chanting a sutra that’s been
chanted for several millenniums, or from
following the rules to a game that’s been
played for years, or it can be the result
of vision that encourages a practice. In
every case you need a framework for the group
to coalesce within. I think that’s why it’s
important to have a master plan, a focal
point that people can understand and come
to terms with. Just sitting together is
a lot different than sitting by yourself,
just as chanting in a group is different
than chanting by yourself. Of course there’s
value to doing it alone, but something very
different comes out of a group sharing a
larger activity.
N. Do you think a construction team needs to be all
dharma practitioners?
P. A team of all practitioners would be a
great teaching for people, but it’s extremely
difficult to pull off. I think it would
be nice if possible. That was how most things
were done at Tassajara in the early years,
but now people are hired from the outside.
Maybe it’s just a matter
of youth versus maturity, or just a different
way of dealing with tasks. I find youthful
vigor appealing, but others find it uncomfortable,
and not conducive to mental health.
N. Here’s an off-the-wall question, about “jumping off
the hundred foot pole.” How would you say this is
manifested in traditional zen influenced architecture?
P. In the architecture! That’s a good question.
That may be more a matter of a personal state
of mind than an architectural concept. I’ve never thought of it that way!
I’m a big believer in hundred foot poles, however. Certainly they’re a little scary. At this moment, I’ve started
a new business, and at my age that’s pretty much like
jumping off such a pole. And since somebody took the
net of an over-rich economy away, I’m now in free-fall,
and wonder what’s going to happen. Though I wouldn’t
have done it any other way!
But I really don’t know how the hundred foot pole
would relate to architecture except in the sense of
‘build it and they will come’ -- meaning that you can’t
worry too much about whether or not it’ll be useful for
anyone in the future, you just do it and let whatever
happens happen. And again, there’s the issue of how
cautious to be. As far as the Sonoma Mandala is concerned, I understand waiting to start until the money’s
all there, and I would probably do it that way myself,
but I also think that acting immediately on a big vision
through a master plan would be jumping off a hundred
foot pole, in a way that doesn’t jeopardize the sangha
but would demonstrate a vision to the world, and create
positive energy.
N. Is there anything else you’d like to share with the
sangha now, regarding the Mandala Project?
P. It’s just that I think there’s a resource here that’s very
special, and that it would be good to proceed, and move
ahead. There’s no reason to force it, of course, but on
the other hand, it’s fine to stretch and take a bigger step.
One of the things I found in Japan that enthralled me
during my temple building apprenticeship years ago
was their approach to teaching. They would constantly
give me tasks that were just a little beyond my capability, so that I had to keep reaching toward the next step.
They hung me out a few times, but mostly this made it
possible for me to see and learn without pushing me
past the point of failure. They kept encouraging me to
do just a little bit more. So I think it’s always good to
encourage the sangha to think about doing a little bit
more --to keep the growth pressure on!
On the morning of July 31, Kwong-roshi,Shinko
Kwong and ten members and friends of the
SMZC sangha met with Christie Green and
Richard Jennings of Santa Fe, New Mexico,
here for a two-day visit to consider landscaping
and water management plans for the Mandala
project. Cam Kwong, who chaired the event,
comments that “what was
exciting was the presence of so many people
representing so many interlocking specialties
-- architecture, hydrology, electricity,
trees, ponds, landscape design, resources
conservation, grant proposals, dharma
practice and management -- to discuss the
actual nuts and bolts of the project.
Clearly everyone there was clearly committed.
The energy in the room was palpable.”
Kwong-Roshi began the meeting by describing
the origins of Zen Center in the early seventies,
when, after a failed attempt in Calistoga,
he recognized the “sacred”nature of the
land on Sonoma Mountain, and despite limited
funds established a thriving zen center
through an intense effort shared by the
entire sangha, continuing today in the
Mandala Project. A vivid, spirited discussion
of the intimate connection of land and
dharma on this site followed.
Christie Green, founder of Down to Earth,
based in Santa Fe, spoke appreciatively of
the resonant spiritual beauty of Zen Center
grounds. Using an extensive slide show, Green
presented the innovative, ecologically appropriate
gardens and environments she has fashioned,
which offer aesthetic richness and biodiverse
stewardship together. She has offered to
design landscaping honoring local plants
and conditions for the new zendo and other
structures as a personal contribution to
the Mandala.
The second speaker was Richard Jennings, founder of Earthwrights
Designs, a Santa Fe company in the forefront of configuring and
building ecologically sensitive systems to use water most efficiently by
creatively cooperating with nature. After hearing an extensive
discussion of water issues at Zen Center, he offered a survey of
pioneering, low-maintenance ways of husbanding usage, utilizing runoff and sewage in harmony with local soils, nutrients and the habitats
of the plants, animals and bacteria that compose a livable environment.
Mr. Jennings will consult on a proposal for a relatively inexpensive,
state-of-the-art water system to serve Zen Center and the new Mandala
buildings alike.
There was also discussion of many other Zen Center property features,
including the now disused vineyard, the vernal pond, the wisteria used
in the SMZC logo, the Asian feeling of the landscape style, the use of
solar energy, tree health, legal easements and the restoration of the
redwoods that had once been characteristic of the area.
Later in the afternoon the team walked SMZC property, and looked
closely at the layout of the new zendo, the proposed kitchen, and other
buildings. There was some discussion about the zendo site, the
extensive grading and moving of wells that would be necessary, and of
the recent history of the Lotus Pond filling with sediment. After taking
the road back toward the Sangha House, they also examined the most
down-slope wells and pumps near the creek (which was flowing).
Finally, at Suzuki Roshi’s memorial, the visitors offered water.
Afterwards, Cam Kwong remarked that “this was the first time we had
discussed the Mandala project as a concrete event, with its own set of
technical challenges and probabilities. There was an invigorating sense
of discovery throughout. These two who came so far to meet with us
reminded us that something innovative and exciting is going to happen
when, if fund-raising continues at its current levels, we break ground
for the new Zendo next spring.”