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Rock-covered US Forest Service access road near Cambria, CA, US, January 2020. Photo by Ven. Namgyal.
Land of Calm Abiding is an FPMT retreat center located on 485 acres of pristine forest in central California, US. Director Ven. Namgyal shares a story from January 2020.
We’ve had a very exciting beginning of the year here at Land of Calm Abiding. During a routine bi-weekly shopping trip we found a massive rock slide completely blocking our six-mile long driveway. This driveway, actually a US Forest Service access road, is our only road out of and into Land of Calm Abiding. The road leads to Highway 1 and the nearest fully functioning village, Cambria, fourteen miles south of us.
We were able clear a pathway over the rock slide and then hiked down the rest of the way to where our truck was parked so that we could continue on with our shopping trip. (We were lucky because the truck was parked at Highway 1 and not at Land of Calm Abiding.) Our shopping trip took a bit longer than usual but we made it back and began thinking of ways to clear the rock slide.
We began by viewing the blocked road project as a way to purify karma as well as a way to quite literally remove obstacles to Land of Calm Abiding. In the space of a few phone calls an amazing thing happened: our dilemma was met with spontaneous kindness and generosity. The first example of Dharma in action came from Gene Richeson. (Some of you reading might know Donna and Gene Richeson from our sister centers in the San Francisco Bay Area.) After hearing about our situation Gene offered to come to help us. He would be traveling to us from up north on the California coast, a four-hour drive each way. Gene offered to bring an equipment operator with him, named Justin, and rent an excavator to remove the debris and re-open the road.
Justin clearing rocks using a Kubota Excavator on the US Forest Service access road near Cambria, CA, US, January 2020. Photo by Ven. Namgyal.
The second act of spontaneous kindness and generosity came in the form of an incredible and immensely helpful donation. Our friend heard of the road obstacle as well a rather large deficit in our 2020 budget and immediately made a donation, which will cover any secondary road expenses as well as nearly closing the deficit for 2020.
To say we were completely taken aback by both these amazing acts would be an understatement. Acts of kindness completely shifted what was a very stressful situation into one that was completely manageable. It reminded me of the slogan, “You never know what someone else is going through so be kind.” This is a simple and true statement, and is one most of us recite every day in the form of the Four Immeasurables: immeasurable equanimity, loving kindness, compassion, and joyfulness.
The Kubota Excavator is the little engine that could, US Forest Service access road near Cambria, CA, US, January 2020. Photo by Ven. Namgyal.
We are sharing a few pictures taken before, during, and after the rock slide removal. As you can see, even that two-day process was not without its own obstacles, but Justin handled them with cool and ease. It was Gene’s first time at Land of Calm Abiding, and we had a wonderful time getting to know both Gene and Justin. Hopefully they can return in the future just to enjoy the space. We also had a wonderful four-legged friend of Justin’s named Emmitt. A beautiful border collie/Australian shepherd mix, Emmitt helped by keeping watch for upcoming hikers.
A huge thanks to Justin and Gene for your time patience and confidence with this whole process. Thank you to all for helping Land of Calm Abiding exist so we can continue our legacy of meditation and retreat. We consider ourselves so very lucky to be able to benefit sentient beings.
For more information about Land of Calm Abiding, visit their website:
http://landofcalmabiding.org/
The Practice and Retreat Fund provides grants and sponsorships for students engaged in retreats such as 108 nyung nä retreats, 100 million mani retreats, recitations of sutras, and long term retreat:
https://fpmt.org/projects/fpmt/practice-and-retreats-fund/
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