Having forgotten the Sunday before, I returned to Dharma Rain yesterday with the coast redwood tree, Sequoia sempervirens, given to me as gift and which I promised Yukyo we would plant on the monastery grounds. Yukyo and I chose a spot that we felt would provide adequate soil moisture year-round, as well as summer shade in the early years. This is our gift to Dharma Rain and the future. [Photos 
Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
PREAMBLE
Having first written the journal entry below, I’m coming back to acknowledge that it may have some value for the uncounted number of people who struggle to create and maintain healthy romantic relationships, but it is myopic at the same time. The greater value in understanding and incorporating unconditional love into our lives is to apply the principles of acceptance and respect to ALL our human relationships! I am reminding myself daily to not judge others near and far, but rather to accept that everyone . . . everyone is involved in their own struggle through life.
JOURNAL ENTRY
The following comes from Psychology Today: ” When love is unconditional, these three signs are usually present. 1) When your partner loves you unconditionally, they love the version of you that’s right in front of them. There’s no secretly hoping that you’ll change with time, no ideal version they’re waiting on; 2) A lot of love is lost in the expectation of having it returned . . . Keeping score doesn’t help . . . this type of love turns bitter and eventually falls apart; and 3) When your partner thinks of the relationship and what would make you happy before their own ego, pride, and selfish desires, it shows more than just commitment. Feeling completely safe to be yourself around your partner and experiencing a deep emotional connection without fear of judgment is one of the biggest signs of unconditional love.”
[Psychology Today continues . . . ]
“A 2020 study published in Frontiers in Psychology proposed a comprehensive theory of love, identifying four core factors— attraction, connection, trust, and respect—that interact to create lasting love . . . Among the four essential components of love, the roles of trust and respect are especially important for creating emotional safety and prioritizing a partner’s happiness.”
[Photo Max Vollmer, Click on image to enlarge]
I spent this past Sunday with my daughter Yukyo at the Dharma Rain Zen Center in Portland, OR. Yukyo (her given name was Emily) is a resident at Dharma Rain and a student of Soto Zen Buddhism. The monestary was co-founded by Kyogen (Gary) Carlson with his wife Gyokuko Carlson in 1986. Kyogen had this to say about his Buddhist practice: “There is so much to learn and so much to know. It’s good to keep moving forward. And yet, whatever we have is, in a very profound way, absolutely complete and always enough.”
Most Sunday mornings at the Zen Center, following meditation, a Dharma Talk (a lesson or teaching) is given by an experienced member of the community. On this particular day the topic was Seeking Refuge. It began with a parable known as the Gift Fulfilling Jewel.
In this parable, two old friends, one wealthy and one poor, are eating and drinking wine together. The poor man drinks himself into a stupor and falls asleep. Early the next morning, the wealthy one must leave on business. Before he leaves, the wealthy friend sews a priceless jewel inside of the robe of his poor friend, who is still asleep. Later, the wealthy man comes across his friend, who is still living in poverty. He points out to his poor friend that all this time there has been a priceless gem hidden inside his robe and that he did not have to be living in poverty.
This parable shows, in simple terms, the principle that every human is endowed with infinite potential and inestimable worth. It teaches us that the key to overcoming the constraints of our present reality, whatever they may be, lies within ourselves.
[Photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
A traditional Irish tune that appeared in the Coen Brothers’ film, Inside Llewyn Davis. [Click on Full Screen icon in the lower right corner to best appreciate the video]
To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk rejection.
To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love. Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave. He has forfeited his freedom. Only a person who takes risks is free.
– Anonymous
Mary’s Peak is the highest point in the Coast Range. The day Kat and I visited, the summit was well above a cloud bank.
[Photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
The saying, “The truth hurts,” is familiar to almost everyone. But how many people realize that we should welcome having our eyes opened. Prejudice dies, knowledge grows, wounds are healed, danger is averted. Living with the truth leads us to a greater understanding of ourselves and others.
[Photo Max Vollmer, Click on image to enlarge]
My trip by train across Canada was a long time coming, but it more than met my expectations. What stands out above all is the courtesy, kindness. and generous spirit of Canadians at every turn. This has been the longest visit I have had with Karl since he was a kid at home and Karl, having become a Canadian citizen, mirrors the character of his adopted country.
Foregoing a return by train, I’ll get on a flight tomorrow morning and be back home in Eugene tomorrow night. I have had a wonderful time in Nova Scotia, but there is much that awaits me back home. I am looking forward as always to what lies ahead.
Clouds will bring rain tomorrow, but this evening there was a sunset that looked like the interior of the island was on fire, and a full moon rose at virtually the same time across the harbor. For me, this signified balance and harmony. I spotted the moonrise on the horizon because a tour ship passing in front of Karl’s house caught my attention just as a slice of moon appeared over the water to the east. Can you spot it? [All photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
Karl and I visited the Maritime Museum on the downtown waterfront today. It has indoor and outdoor exhibits covering virtually every aspect of travel on the water, from the birch bark canoes made by the indigenous Mi’kmaq people long before the arrival of Europeans, up to and including a scale model of an experimental, armed hydrofoil ship built in Halifax for the Canadian navy. (All photos Max Vollmer, Click on any image to enlarge]
Inside, there are full size examples of small, wood, pleasure and working boats that illustrate differences related purpose and evolution over time.
There are also exquisitely detailed, scale models of ships that served Halifax, like the White Star Lines, Mauritania, that plied the North Atlantic in peace and war. It was built for display in the company’s offices. The model is approx. 6 feet long.
Halifax has a historic connection to the RMS Titanic. Although the ship was built in Belfast, Ireland, when she sank on her maiden voyage, rescue ships from Halifax went out to search for survivors. There are two cemeteries in the city where drowning victims from the disaster are interred. Her sister ship, the RMS Olympic, ferried thousands of Canadian and American troops from Halifax to Europe during WW I using the shortest route across the North Atlantic.
