A Sacred Mountain

By Kittisaro

This evening as dusk was settling and the remnants of a glorious burgundy sunset lingered in the clouds, I set off up the mountain with Jack.  He hadn’t done any walking today, and though he still favoured his back left foot, I thought it would be good for him to get some exercise.  As we made our way up the path by the weir, suddenly Jack was off like a flash.  In seconds he was 200 metres ahead in the valley.  There they were, standing majestically and unconcerned, two eland, the sacred animal of the Bushmen.  They didn’t seem to pay much attention to Jack and his barking, and thankfully he soon made his way back to me.  In the silence as the darkness settled and the subtle illumination of a clear moon cast a silver blessing over the land, we watched the eland gather into a group of five and slowly make their way up out of the valley to disappear into the mountain.

Thanissara and I have been living on this mountain for seven years.  Its Zulu name is Mvuleni – Place of Rain.  The old folk say this has always been a place where the local people come to pray for rain.  According to the provincial Museum, one of the Bushmen paintings on this mountain depicts a shaman’s battle with a rain beast. Here on the lower slopes we are over a mile above sea level situated in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa in the province of Kwa Zulu Natal.  These mountains are powerful.  In the summer season there are thunderstorms almost every afternoon. Roaring rumbling booms of thunder and spectacular purple-tinted lightning flashes evoke the powerful dragon like presence that these mountains are named after.  Interestingly, in Buddhist cosmology the ‘dragon’ is a celestial creature that has power over fire, thunder and rain.  There is a fascinating concord between these names, the Eastern world view, the drama the Bushmen art depicts, and the actual experience of being in these mountains during a storm.

A Place of Rain is a significant spot in the African environment. Without water life is very difficult to sustain.  When we first arrived 7 years ago this province had been having a drought, and many springs and reservoirs were dry. The spring on this mountain, however, was still flowing.  This whole area has been a National Park for a long time, and just last year it was designated a World Heritage Site for its outstanding beauty and its wealth of rock art.  This vital Drakensberg catchment area also provides precious water for a significant portion of  South Africa.

As the winter approaches, however, and the rains subside, the nights become cool and crisp, often below freezing. The days are sunny and clear.  Because there is no rain for several months the green grasses turn subtle shades of yellow, gold, red, purple and brown, leaving a vast pastel panoply in their place.  But this is also the fire season and the season of the great winds.  Though the dry grasses are exquisitely beautiful, they are vulnerable and dangerous.

A careless match can set countless square miles of grasslands on fire.  By law, every property must be surrounded by firebreaks, for its own protection and for the safety of those around it.  A year and a half ago a hurricane force wind propelled a river of fire through our region, burning over 20 square miles, destroying several homes in the area, ripping off dozens of roofs, and even killing a few people in the process. We saw the fire jump the road, race up the mountain, and soon we witnessed a long low and strangely beautiful wave of fire racing toward us.  When it was about a mile away, we knew we had only minutes to evacuate.

Until that moment, five of us had been here on an intensive three month silent meditation retreat, spending our days and nights in efforts to cultivate a steadiness of mind, consciously acknowledging the various swirling currents of desire and aversion, restlessness and worry, sluggishness and paralyzing doubts.  We had marveled at the mysterious alchemy of awareness that transforms these so called hindrances into peacefulness and contentment, patience and clarity, compassion and a quiet confidence.

But now, in a matter of minutes, amidst the relentless screeching howl of the wind, we had to flee our sanctuary and leave everything behind.  We put Jack in the car and evacuated in our vehicles a few miles down the road.  An hour later we drove back up the mountain road, dodging fallen burning trees, not knowing what we would find.  Hundreds of burning logs still flamed on our property.  Amazingly the main buildings were still intact.  The fire had swept right up to and around them, jumping a 200 metre firebreak.  Three metres from the thatch roof of our meditation room, a log still blazed, ignited by the firestorm.  Somehow the buildings were saved.  When the local expert on fire breaks came to inspect our land after the fire, he looked and said, “Why are these buildings still standing?  A miracle has happened here.”    

When we became guardians of this piece of property, we named it Dharmagiri.  Dharmagiri is a Sanskrit word.  Giri means mountain and Dharma signifies the totality of the cosmos, including mind and matter, spirit and form.  It encompasses the natural order of things and is also used to denote the formal teachings that lead onwards to awakening.  Dharmagiri could also be translated as Sacred Mountain.  I think at first we were drawn to this name because of the power of the mountain, its strength and apparent benevolence, and because of our intention to dedicate our time here in devotion to the quest of enlightenment.

I’ve often wondered what makes a mountain sacred.  Is it the miracles that seem to happen there, the special experiences, the blessings that its presence bestows on all who come into her aura?  Many times I’ve noticed that in the process of walking up the mountain, I find myself present, here in this moment. Naturally I come into contact with my body, following each step in between the boulders, alert to the terrain, aware of my breath and weight as I negotiate with the formidable force of gravity.  As I look down and see the tiny boxes we inhabit, I realize we often get entangled in the myriad complications of this and that, good and bad, should and shouldn’t, and lose perspective on our essential spaciousness of spirit. Somehow in the process of simply climbing up the mountain, I get realigned, connected to the reality of the moment, rather than lost in judgments about how it is or should be. The thoughts that tripped me up below still appear, but somehow they are seen for what they are.  When we’re in touch with the true nature of a moment, we see the Dharma and experience the essential beauty of life.

Perhaps a place is sacred when it helps us to trust that it’s OK and important to be here, to be fully here so that we can discover our inherent peacefulness and sanity.  They say these mountains are 220 million years old.  That’s a long time.  And yet the thought of tomorrow can sometimes send us into a spin.  As I open my eyes and sense how fleeting our human presence is here, reflecting on the immensity and timelessness of this mountain, I find a moment of humility.  What delusion to really imagine I own this body, this land, these things.

From a Buddhist perspective the sense of ownership is a false assumption that gives rise to endless suffering. We think we can find security in possessing or identifying with something, and yet whatever we grasp slips through our fingers.  Not realizing the changing nature of things, we continually feel let down.  Our teacher used to tell us that our suffering was like a person upset with a chicken, demanding to know why it wasn’t a duck.  Believing our judgments, expectations and demands about how things should be, we obstruct ourselves from accessing the true sacredness and blessedness of what is actually being offered in any given moment.

On a sacred mountain we didn’t expect to learn about firebreaks or invasive plants that were carelessly planted by settlers earlier this century leading to erosion of the land and depletion of the water resources.  We didn’t imagine we would be spending so much time taking out gum and pine trees and rejoicing to see the indigenous shrubs and grasses return.  We didn’t expect to meet a Zulu woman named Angel who was desperately seeking a refuge and a home, fleeing from political violence, trying to find education for her sons.  I certainly didn’t expect on our sacred mountain to face someone trying to kill another, or imagine I would be sitting with a group of young men discussing violence and where it leads.  I didn’t expect to see a young person we’d tutored get sick and find out he’s HIV positive, leading us into the monumental tragedy of AIDS. I never would have imagined that this magic mountain would one day bring down its steep slopes a tiny puppy.  Separated from an illegal hunting party, Jack found his way to us with a loving, loyal, and fearless heart that has melted our deepest moments of despair.  All these circumstances could be seen as unwanted problems.  In truly receiving what is being offered, however, we can respond with an undivided heart, allowing manifold blessings to emerge in most unexpected ways.

Buddhism teaches that a great source of joy is giving.  Since it is said that the cause of suffering emerges from trying to keep and possess what is not really ours, we discover joy and a sense of communion with all things when we share.  As I look to the future of this country I see that we need to abandon our preoccupation with selfish expectations, and rather cultivate a culture of sharing. After all, as Africa frequently reminds us, none of us are here for very long.

Therefore, the wind does thus when we die, the wind makes dust, because it intends to

blow, taking away our footprints with which we had walked about while we still had nothing the matter; and our footprints, which the wind intends to blow away, would otherwise still show.  For it would seem as if we still lived.  Therefore, the wind intends to blow, taking away our footprints.

Dia!kwain (from the Bushman Xam tribe that is now extinct)

A Simple Cabbage Seed

Food Security in an Isolated Community on the Border of Lesotho and South Africa

Thanissara

During the weeks of renewed racial tensions in South Africa, energized by the murder of Eugene Terre Blanche and ANC Youth Leader Julius Malema’s visit to President Mugabe in Zimbabwe, a more unusual meeting of blacks and whites transpired in a small corner of KwaZulu Natal on the border of Lesotho. Fifteen young black youth from Mquatsheni community and twelve whites from Europe and America put spades to ground and together dug high intensity vegetable gardens for those overwhelmed by the impact of HIV and Aids. This was part of a Food Security initiative undertaken by The Khuphuka Project, a South African Public Benefit Organization that operates under the umbrella of Dharmagiri Outreach. ( www.khuphuka.org / www.dharmagiri-outreach.org )

Those involved spoke of a great joy and of a wonderful sense of goodness as everyone worked together. With every turn of the soil each person felt a decrease of the million different ways that racial division is maintained. For some whites it was literally life transforming as they were warmly invited into the heart of the community. While recipients within the community talked of how healing it was to witness whites literally digging the ground where they lived. This is in the context where almost always it is blacks who have dug the ground on white owned land.

Skhumbuzo Mlibeni from Mquatsheni Community and manager of Khuphuka Project who helped to oversee the work, had the following to say, “My experience with the gardens was very good. I think because those who joined in were doing it from the bottom of their hearts. The households that we dug for are in real need of healthy food. Their situation is difficult because of the impact of HIV and AIDS. I was very surprised by our local youth volunteers. Their attendance was good which shows that they really understood the need for these gardens. A recipient of one of the gardens, Mrs Mthalane said it will make a very big difference for her family; not only the garden but the experience of white volunteers helping them out in such a way.”

In the context of South Africa, young African men do not have a history of digging and planting the land. Their own culture understands it as women’s work, while it also carries the stigmatization of being ‘garden boys’. Digging the ground is often the last thing a young rural man wants to do. Instead he aims for the city where all too often the common fate is to join the hopeless statistics of the unemployed. However the simple activity of creating gardens was experienced as empowering and uplifting. Mlibeni went on to explain:

“It was a different experience but a good one. Besides gardening skills, we learnt a lot from the group that helped us. With these gardens I believe they will make a huge difference to people’s life. Since then lots of people have asked me if it is possible to help them with gardens. To me this shows that they see the importance of vegetable gardens as a response to our food security issues.”

One of the volunteers from the UK, whose mother was originally from Hong Kong, commented on how the land they worked was so fertile and that in China every inch of it would be planted up. With the right kind of support, information and utensils, could a change of perception from work that is deeming to work that is empowering bring about a small garden revolution? A similar initiative was undertaken in another project initiated by Dharmagiri Outreach called Woza Moya which currently operates the Chibini Community near Ixopo town in KwaZulu. After some doubt as to its effectiveness the community now has over 60+ door gardens that significantly contribute towards food security.

However it is still not enough for those families and children left bereft by the sweep of the AIDS pandemic. All too often children go to bed on sugar water and to school on empty stomachs. Even with the most sophisticated Anti Retroviral treatment, now more available in rural South Africa, ultimately people will still die prematurely due to malnourishment.  Anne Brouha, who was part of the vegetable garden initiative, is also a professor of medicine from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Centre in New Hampshire USA. Her experience at Mquatsheni moved her so profoundly that she has volunteered her services for three years at the hospital that serves Mquatsheni which she described as, ‘one of the worst hospitals I’ve ever visited.’ (Although those of us who know rural South Africa, would say it is actually much the same as most others) Anne said the following in regards the problem of malnutrition.

“I am an internal medicine specialist in the United States who is visiting the village of Mqatsheni on a work retreat for the Khuphuka project.  On April 7, I visited a woman in her 40′s, Ms. O., living with HIV/AIDS at her home in the village.  Retreatants and community members working with the Khuphuka project have dug a garden for her household and will plant seedlings next week.  Ms. O. has been treated with anti-retroviral therapy for two years with improvement in her CD4 count.  Despite numerical improvement, she has been persistently malnourished and underweight.  Two weeks ago she became acutely ill with respiratory difficulties, and was found to have tuberculosis in her lungs and liver.  She was started on anti-TB treatment at that time.  Patients in the U.S. with this severity of illness would be hospitalized for several days.  Encouragingly, her respiratory symptoms are improving.  Despite being on the right drugs for her illnesses, she continues to lose weight.  It turns out that because she has no money to buy food, she is eating only three half-portions of cornmeal porridge daily.  She is also responsible for feeding her children.  She is too ill to work or garden.  Malnutrition due to poverty compounded by illness is threatening her recovery from acute tuberculosis.

From a medical perspective, patients undergoing treatment for acute TB need several months of high-quality nutrition including daily protein, fat and vitamin-rich foods.   A main focus of the Khuphuka project is to create sustainable sources of food and income via the gardening project and by providing information and advocacy to assist HIV/AIDS and TB patients in applying for disability payments from the government. However, it will take months for Ms. O.’s garden to grow and for monetary assistance to reach her.  So unless there is a temporary way of getting her adequate nutrition, she could die while waiting for these sustained food sources. Lack of adequate nutrition is a common problem in Mqatsheni, especially in households with ill family members.  The Khuphuka project launched the gardening project this week.  Its information and advocacy officers have successfully brought the HIV/AIDS patients access to disability income from the government.  Khuphuka is supporting Ms. O. in this way. Yet, to treat her malnutrition while waiting for sustainable support to come through, a bridge of emergency food relief may make the difference between life and death.”

At the same time that the gardens were being dug at Mquatsheni, across the globe in a Chinese Monastery near New York, as a director of Dharmagiri Outreach I presented the Khuphuka Project to Buddhist Global Relief (BGR).

BGR subsequently gave a grant of $12,000, with the possibility to renew in six months, towards emergency food parcels. BGR (www.buddhistglobalrelief.org) is an initiative of Bhikkhu Bodhi, originally from a New York Jewish background, who has been a Buddhist monk since 1967. As one of the West’s most renowned Buddhist scholars Bhikkhu Bodhi recently challenged Western Buddhists to move beyond a ‘quietism’ in the face of the enormous suffering in the world, and become more actively engaged. In an article published in a popular Buddhist magazine, Buddhadharma, Bhikkhu Bodhi had this to say:

“Seeing the immensity of the world’s anguish has raised in my mind questions about the future prospects for Buddhism in the West. I’ve been struck by how seldom the theme of global suffering—the palpable suffering of real human beings—is thematically explored. It seems to me that we Western Buddhists tend to dwell in a cognitive space that defines the first noble truth (of suffering) largely against the background of our middle-class lifestyles: as the gnawing of discontent; the ennui of over-satiation; the pain of unfulfilling relationships…our focus on these aspects of suffering has made us oblivious to the vast, catastrophic suffering that daily overwhelms three-fourths of the world’s population.”

To see Bhikkhu Bodhi’s launch of BGR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q4esl0tTak)

The support from BGR will enable food parcels do be delivered each month to the most destitute families, while the Khuphuka Project continues to activate more sustainable solutions.

While presenting the project I was asked about the role of the South African government in distributing food parcels for those families in crisis. In theory this should be happening. However all too often valuable resources that are meant to be distributed to communities like Mquatsheni, which are peoples’ right to receive, get lost under the weight of bureaucracy, inefficiency and sometimes most disappointingly, corruption. This recent email from a friend involved in a Non Profit supporting children orphaned by AIDS gives an insight into how hopeless it can be.

“Much of our Outreach programme has been abandoned, including the feeding scheme, which we are very sad about.  However, the DOSD (Dept, of Social Development) made it impossible for us to continue because they imposed so many rules and regulations. For example we had to get three quotations every week, for every single item needed, such as mealie-meal, bread, and peanut butter, and then these had to be submitted in triplicate in advance of purchase and we had to wait for approval, but then it took them at least a month to respond, and at least twice in any two month period they “lost” the quotations and we had to re-send. (Posted hard-copies as no faxes or emails!) Then every invoice had to be submitted in triplicate to get the money. And even after approval, they were six months in arrears with payment, and we had no money to keep it up.  So, incompetence keeps local children hungry.”

While Khuphuka Project advocates on behalf of those applying for government grants and seeks to alleviate hunger and malnutrition, ultimately there needs to be solutions to ensure food security that are more sustainable. In many countries the growing, harvesting and selling of organic food is not only healthy but also profitable. Could there be any way that a movement towards sustainable food security not only provide for struggling and under resourced families, but also becomes a source of valuable income?  Khuphuka, which means ‘Rise Up’, was the name given to the project by Abegail Ntleko who is a recipient of the Dalai Lama’s Unsung Hero Award in 2008 for her tireless service over 50 + years.

Abegail personally adopted and fostered dozens of children and started a now successful orphanage which houses and educates many children from Mquatsheni, some of whom are now entering university. Abegail deliberately chose the word Khuphuka for the meaning she wished to convey. In community development work, the essential ingredient beyond providing material resources, advocacy and education, is the building of skills and capacity in ways which empowers people to empower themselves. One thing that South Africa has demonstrated in its transition of political power in 1994 is that miracles are possible. It is possible that out of the disaster and dust of AIDS, that a new generation can indeed Rise Up and take their destiny in their hands. Maybe, such empowerment could start with something as small as planting a cabbage seed.

www.dharmagiri-outreach.org

Compassionate Action

Compassionate Action

“I will accord with and take care of many kinds of living beings, providing all manner of services and offerings for them. I will treat them with the same respect I show the Buddhas. I will serve them equally without differences. I will be a good physician for the sick and suffering. I will lead those who have lost their way on the right road. I will be a bright light for those in the dark night, and cause the poor and destitute to uncover hidden treasures. The Bodhisattva impartially benefits all living beings in this manner.” Samantabhadra Bodhisattva “- Avatamsaka Sutra

Since 1995 Dharmagiri Outreach (DGO) has supported rural schools, student scholarships, access to water and computers and the upgrade and building of community facilities. It went on to initiate two projects in response to the HIV/Aids response pandemic in KwaZulu Natal. As an organization DGO is registered in South Africa as a legal charity under the name Dharmagiri. DGO has recently come under the umbrella organization of Sacred Mountain Sangha (SMS) which is now registered as a Non Profit in the States. Although a Buddhist organization, the Outreach work of SMS is non religious and secular. However the Dharma principals of ethics and loving kindness are the bedrock of the work.

After the success of DGO’s first HIV/Aids response project Woza Moya, launched in 2000, it went on to launch The Khuphuka Project in February 2009. This was made possible by financial support from San Francisco Insight, London Insight Meditation, many private donors as well as our skilled Directors and Steering Committee who have professional qualifications in Medicine, Nursing, Human Rights and Legal Advocacy. Currently Khuphuka serves a community on the border of Lesotho which has been marginalized due to its geographical isolation. The Khuphuka Project has engaged the recipient community of Mquatsheni in each step of the projects development. This took the form of a ‘Community Conversation’ which over 6 months involved nine tribal areas and eleven community meetings of traditional healers (sangomas), traditional leaders (indunas), chiefs, social workers, local clinics and community residents.

This approach is resonant with the African tradition of Ubuntu where consensus within community is highly prized. It is also resonant with the intention of the Buddha when he established his community guided by the principles of Sanghakamma which guide decision processes within sangha. Sanghakamma, an aspect of Vinaya observance, dictates that each sangha member should have equal input and that while respect is given to elders, decisions should be consensually based. To maintain harmony in the community great emphasis is put, in both Ubuntu and Vinaya, on listening until the communal wisdom can arise. This is greatly exemplified in the leadership style of Mr Mandela who listened deeply to his people, all South Africans, and in doing so inspired respect and love rather than fear. He didn’t feel the need to control or intimidate as a leader rather he relied on the spirit of Ubuntu to lead.

In the same way our work is informed by the importance of learning from the communities we work within rather than trying to impose an agenda that is insensitive to their own process or needs. In Outreach work knowing when to give and when to maintain appropriate boundaries is a fine balance, which is kept healthy through the process of wise communication. For example Khuphuka employs community members and while taking into account community sensibilities, it can’t show favoritism or be susceptible to those with more power in the community. It’s not easy. Dharma practice helps with holding balance as well as engendering the ethos of selfless giving. People really know whether you are respectful of them or whether you are pushing your agenda. Maintaining openness, discernment and mutual respect is not always easy when issues of money and power are involved. It really requires a daily practice of patience, letting go and the setting of wise and compassionate intention.

This overall approach makes the project a truly community led organization. It is important that the community feels it owns the project and that they are involved in both thinking through the problems as well as naming solutions. It is also important to consider wise giving. It’s not enough to just throw money and resources at under resourced communities. Again Dharma practice helps. Knowing when to set boundaries and how to have transparency and fairness is important. Otherwise trust is lost. In resourcing a community we primarily focus on the transfer of skills.

Dharmagiri Outreach has enabled trainings for driving lessons, literacy and computer skills, diplomas in child and youth care, community care, trainings in advocacy, human rights and gender awareness, certificates in management skills, community development, home based care, counseling, HIV testing, youth facilitation, food security, gardening and others. Basically we have to skill up a whole community so it doesn’t become dependent on intermittent hand outs. We have also had the support of volunteer Dharma practitioners who have offered various workshops and trainings such as MBSR, counseling proficiency, trauma work, various healing modalities, non violent communication, therapeutic skills and basic meditation methods such as mindfulness of breath.

The vision of Sacred Mountain Sangha, which guides DGO, is to help communities empower themselves. With the skills we have learnt these last 15 years, we aim to take the work into other under resourced communities. If you wish to find out more, please visit our web site: www.dharmagiri-outreach.org / www.khuphuka.org