Chapter 2
Silent people drifted out, one or two at a time, and made their way to the main building for a meal prepared by the Abbot. Francis believed that he got off easily just cooking on Sunday mornings. He typically alternated between making Cream of Wheat and Quaker Oats. When he was especially motivated, Francis would make whole-wheat pancakes, rationalizing that perhaps the whole-wheat in the pancakes helped to balance out the syrup that usually bathed his creations.
The community and guests ate in silence, each filling his or her plate and finding a place to sit. Some remained at the table while others wandered out onto the porch, or even a little further down the steps and onto a bench next to a little fountain trickling with water which glistened in the sunlight. When most of the people were finished with their breakfast, hellos were exchanged and animated conversation followed as the dishes were washed and food put away.
The community tried very hard to keep Sunday as a true day of rest. No shopping was done and no laundry was washed. Sometimes one member or another would go off to the woods to spend some quiet time hiking and praying, another person might visit a friend in the area, and perhaps Brother Francis would choose to visit his Tibetan Buddhist friends in New Jersey. Whatever was done was for the refreshment and renewal of the members of the community. Guests living there for retreat would continue their silence, perhaps taking a long walk in nature or sitting outdoors with a spiritual book, luxuriating in the fact that they had a little time and space in their busy lives to do such a things.
As for Francis, he went over to his white mobile home Hermitage on the monastery grounds and changed from his blue scapular and cowl and gray tunic into a red tee shirt complete with a gold dragon painted on the front. A pair of black Asian pants that looked much like sweat pants but were made of light cotton rather than a heavier material completed the change.
The Catholic monk with Eastern training made his way around to the back of the Hermitage which made up his office, waiting room, and cell, and knelt down on the ground, touched his forehead to the earth, then lingered there for a moment. Francis stood up and began shaking his left arm and shoulder all the way down to the fingertips. He then willed his right arm into that same kind of activity. Next he raised his left foot off the ground and began shaking his left leg, loosening it up from the hip joint down to his toes and then, after putting his left foot back on the ground, began shaking the right leg in a similar fashion.
It was a fall day and the sun was warm and refreshing to him, and created a beautiful harmony with the gentle breeze that was blowing. The yang of the sun and the yin of the breeze fashioned a vibrant, life giving balance within the heart, mind, and body of the monk. Brother Francis continued this first part of his practice, called “Shaking the Tree,” for a good ten minutes. This was one of the many simple exercises he often did to warm up for his qigong practice.
Loosening up the body in this way is akin to a farmer plowing the field in preparation for planting. The physical body becomes loose and receptive to the simple, choreographed movements that make up any of the thousands of forms of qigong that are done in a more systemized fashion. If anyone sees me, I hope he or she doesn’t call the rescue squad, he thought.
Francis had made an offering of his practice when he touched his head to the ground, giving it to God to be used for the highest or greatest good of all creation. Having warmed up, he now he extended his arms in front of him, brought his hands together palm to palm in front of his heart, and thought of all of creation surging within him. He was now the “Meditating Buddha.”
The series of qigong exercises he was doing is considered by the Chinese to be a means of cleansing the body, mind, and spirit, even to the very core of one’s being, even to the very marrow of the bones. Francis stood in a standing meditation pose and then let himself be absorbed by the power of all of creation crackling to life within him. He let his arms relax at his sides and then extend upwards, floating up until his arms were parallel to his shoulders and next moved his hands so that the palms of his hands faced outward so that his body formed a cross. In this standing meditation posture, Francis became a “Cosmic Being.”
He next used his mind’s eye to go “beyond the beyond.” Francis experienced infinity reaching into his spirit beyond horizons, beyond all that is. The monk experienced the endlessness of creation flowing through him, all around him, entering one hand and exiting the other, entering up through one leg and exiting out the next, coming down through the top of his head, and moving out to his tailbone. Every aspect of his being was caught up in this vortex of creation that God had manifested by uttering the Hebrew scriptural word ruwach when God created everything in the Genesis story--and saw that it was good.
Francis now cleansed his bone marrow, as the Chinese see it, by placing the back of his left hand at his kidneys and letting his right arm float up his side and eventually letting the palm face down over the top of his head, the bai hui in Chinese. Then his hand floated down in front of him in a cleansing motion, as if he were pushing all the negative or contaminated qi within him into the earth to be recycled.
He reversed his arm movements and did the same movements again, completing one set. Francis did three sets of “Cleansing the Bone Marrow with one Hand” before he completed the whole process by placing both hands in front of him, palms facing upward and moving up the trunk of his body, flipping the palms around to the heavens when they got up around his chest he continued up above his head, connecting his palms with the sky, turning them down and letting them both slide down in front of him for one last movement known as “Cleansing the Bone Marrow with both Hands.”
Francis was now ready to do a full form of qigong. He knew a number of forms and often rotated them, partially to keep himself fresh and alive, and partially to remember the forms for teaching. Today he chose one of the forms he learned long ago when he first started practicing qigong. This form has a movement for each of the five elements or energies that make up the blueprint of Chinese medicine.
He moved his body and mind in a way meant to invite fire into his being. He then moved in a dance-like fashion, creating a circle of the earth. Next he moved in a manner that obviously indicated that his arms were inviting air into his being. This was followed by a movement designed to draw water from the heavens, not so much physical water, but the very energy or quality that water shares as it brings life to others. He stood as if he were hugging a tree or holding a large pot in front of him, to evoke the qualities of wood in his being.
Having done this once, Francis turned his feet a quarter turn to the right and did the same set again. That completed, Francis turned another quarter turn and did the same set again. Francis turned another quarter turn and did the same set for a fourth time, and with one more quarter turn was back where he started and did a final set of Five Element moves.
Francis felt invigorated and cleansed. He also experienced a renewed sense of balance and harmony in his life. All of the five elements he had just thought about and tried to evoke with his qigong movements surrounded him, moved with him, and lifted him to an altered state. Francis knew well that the marriage of science and spirituality was doing far better these days than in the past. He had been invited to give a one week graduate course on science and spirituality at a graduate school of theology in Oklahoma and had concepts related to these topics churning in the back of his mind. He was trying to prepare a good experience for his future students and had been gathering notes and materials for some time now.
The monk sat down in a white vinyl lawn chair--this item from K-Mart--not Staples. He joined the thumb and first finger on each hand together, thus creating a circle or circuit of energy in each hand. He then lightly touched the tip of his tongue to the back of his upper front palate to make another inner circuit or connection, and let the bulk of the qi or life force within settle into his lower abdomen, the dan tian in Chinese and the center of the human person in Chinese medicine.
After meditating in this fashion for about twenty minutes, Francis returned to the front of the Hermitage and went inside. In medieval times monastics used quill pens to illuminate manuscripts, but today they use computers. He was about to check his e-mail, but before he could the telephone rang. This was somewhat providential because he had only one telephone line, which was shared by e-mail, phone, and fax. If he were on the Internet, the caller would get a busy signal.
On a personal level, Francis had little desire to use modern technology, but as a doctor he knew its value. Each of the members of the community did what he or she could to support the monastery and his contribution was through his clinical practice. Thus, most of his income was derived from the health insurance carriers of his patients. When patients were without health insurance, he lowered his fee to accommodate them. The computer helped with this also, handling electronic claims and printing paper claim forms for those companies still in the dark ages. Managed care insurance plans were his biggest burden. The paperwork was overwhelming and many times the payment was far from equitable.
The Abbot picked up the ringing telephone that sat on the left side of his desk--very convenient for a lefty. He gazed out of the window above his desk and look beyond the driveway to a little grove of trees across from the Hermitage, and to the barn-like Oratory just to the right of his field of vision.
As he lifted the phone, Francis was hoping that it would not be one of his patients. He gave to them everything he could but didn’t have an answering service to screen patient calls, so there were times when they would catch him, even on the day of rest. Certainly if it were an emergency it would not be a problem for the doctor; if it were not an emergency such a call triggered mild irritation. Francis tried to work mostly with chronic conditions. He was not in a situation to make regular rounds at the hospital or to be able to drop everything at a moment’s notice to deal with an illness.
The monk was too good at multi-tasking. As he was saying “Hello, this is Brother Francis,” he was also scanning his desk, piled with work that needed to be done, while his mind assessed ways to do that at the same time.
On the other end of the line he heard a voice bursting with energy exclaiming, “It’s Krishna. I’m so glad I got through to you this morning. I was on call last night and had to go out two times to the clinic where people who were very sick awaited me. Anyway, both are stable and I am ready to go back to bed. We don’t have a temple nearby so I did a pujah here in my house. I did the prayer service to Ganesh. You know, he’s the elephant-headed representation of God who is prayed to in order to remove obstacles. Without sounding disrespectful, I think he’s a little like your St. Anthony and finding things.”
“Krishna, it’s wonderful to hear from you! Maybe St. Anthony found you for me. You’ve been on my mind. How are you doing, my friend?”
Krishna responded, “I’m doing beautifully. My life is like yours—too busy, but happy. But on to more important things. I’m calling because I had an exciting idea. A few of us got together and decided it was time for a great adventure and I am creating one for us--which includes you.”
“Interesting you should say that, Krishna. I was just thinking that life has been rather calm for me of late--and thanking God for that with mixed emotions. Underneath I must admit to a little restlessness. As long as this great adventure does not involve dead bodies, kidnapping, being called to the Bishop’s office, or anything like that, I may consider it.”
Krishna stated very simply in response, “It’s time for us to go to Tibet.”
“Tibet?” responded the Abbot. “Why in the world would I want to go to Tibet?”
“Why would you want to go to Tibet? Come on Brother Francis. You know very well why you would want to go to Tibet. You are an Asian medicine specialist. You are also a bridge between Eastern spirituality and Western spirituality.”
“Some might call me more of a ‘missing link,’ but you’re right, Krishna. I do stay deeply rooted in my own Christianity and monastic life, but also find that Eastern approaches deeply enrich me and my relationship with Christ. This is consistent with the teachings of the Church. Also, the Dalai Lama says ‘don’t put a yak’s head on a sheep’s body.’”
“You don’t need to convince me of your orthodoxy or authenticity, Francis. I don’t think you have to convince anyone who really knows you about that either.”
“Right again, Krishna. I guess it’s just an old habit that once in a while creeps back up on me. Most people understand very well what I’m about. You understand the Asian medicine side of my life because of your background as an allopathic physician. You are a traditionally trained Western MD and I am a traditionally trained naturopathic medical doctor specializing in Chinese medicine. You’re the one born in India with the dark skin and I’m the one born in the States who sometimes has to act like a vampire so that he doesn’t get sunburned. What an interesting combination of East and West in both of us. You’re East and West and so am I.”
“So, we have an allopath, a naturopath, and we are both psychopaths! I love it when you tell people we are twins, Francis. It always gets a surprised look at first and then a laugh.”
“Speaking of surprises, how in the world would I ever be able to go to Tibet? You’re a little different from me, Krishna. They could drop you anywhere in the world and, one, you’d enjoy it, and two, you would eventually find your way home. You work in clinics, Krishna, for a fraction of what you would get paid in private practice and the good side of that is that you do get some time off. I am in private practice and have to kind of carve out time away from my case load.”
“Francis, you need to do exactly that, it’s good for you and good for others. Just because you’re in private practice doesn’t mean you’re earning the big bucks. You give away so much of your services every year. You could be a very comfortable person at this point in your life, but you’re not, especially when considering finances.”
“I’m comfortable enough, Krishna. We all are in this monastery. So many people have so little. My comfort is largely within as you know. You know that very well, my friend, because you’re the same way. One difference between us is that people don’t presume that ‘the Church’ supports you. Sometimes I need to clarify that monks and nuns live buy the work of their hands like everyone else. There is no collection plate. One man from another country actually thought that the government subsidized us!”
“Frustrating I am sure, but don’t let me get off track, Francis. I haven’t had much sleep. The point is, I’ve been talking with our old friends Dave and Chantal. It sounds like their marriage is going very well and that they’re very happy living in north Jersey, commuting to the Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania area. They have some interest in Tibet, mostly because they want to get to understand you, our deceptively simple and complex friend, even better. They say they would consider going to Tibet if you would go.”
“Wow, that involves a lot of time and money, Krishna.”
“I know someone in the travel business; we can book our own flight with the help of the Internet and I think we can do it at a very reasonable price. Besides, you know that you are required by law to attend continuing education courses periodically. Now is your time to do it. Instead of driving to Lancaster, or flying to Chicago, you’ll simply be going to Tibet. What’s the difference?”
“Oh, just thousands of miles and lots of jet lag—little things like that.”
“Come on, Francis, admit it. You know you would love it. Jet lag has never stopped you before. Besides, you have that gadget you wear around your neck. What do you call it--a ‘Chionizer?’ It creates negative ions or something, isn’t that it?”
“That’s right, Krishna, and it cuts my jet lag down by at least half. The owner of the company that sells them says that it helps to clear away stagnant qi.”
“Anyway, Chantal has been plotting and scheming with Flo and Mani about the trip too. They are into it, Francis. What a team we would have--David a detective, Chantal a forensic psychologist, Flo a Cracker Jack nurse, and Mani, who has her own healing energy business. I’m not sure about all of that but I’m sure it’s fascinating. Finally there is me, a Board Certified Family Practice Doc, and you a clinical psychologist, Board Certified in Behavioral Medicine, naturopathic Doc specializing in Chinese medicine, and above all a Christian monk!”
“Just saying all that, Krishna, is probably enough to get us arrested. I mean who would believe that conglomeration of people, backgrounds, interests—not to mention the ‘colorful personalities.’ They’d think we were making it up.”
“Francis, we have been in some horrendous scrapes together and no one ever thought that we were making them up--but a few did wish that they were fairy tales.”
“Well, everything worked out pretty well in our other adventures. You weren’t geographically close by for some of them, but Dave and Chantal and I have gotten a bit of a reputation for sleuthing and healing.”
“Dear Brother Francis, I know what you will say next. You have to take this to Jesus in prayer and see what insight you might get into making such a decision. You have to do Discernment of Spirits to see where this is coming from. Whatever you call it, I reverence it and ask you to do that. Will you at least do that much?”
“You know me like a brother, Krishna. I will do that. I believe that God’s will is manifested not only through the duties of our state in life but also through friends, family, opportunities that arise, and more. I will definitely consider it. Tibet is a land of mystique and intrigue and you’re beginning to whet my appetite a little bit. Why don’t you get some sleep now, Krishna?”
“I sure will. Thanks for chatting with me and for being my most unusual friend.”
“I am the one who is gifted by our relationship, Krishna. Goodnight and good morning. Bye.”
Francis hung up the phone with a smile on his face and turned around in his swivel chair away from his desk. He was now facing the back wall of the Hermitage and in front of him was the computer. With a few keystrokes the computer was dialing the Internet. He had some incoming mail to look at. Actually he receives dozens of e-mails every day, lots of it junk mail, but some of it very interesting and important information.
Oh-oh. Red alert. There’s a message from Chantal here. I think they’re ganging up on me. He clicked on her electronic message and opened up a post from his old friend from graduate school. She was someone with whom he joined forces on occasion and together helped life situations to resolve themselves, or come to a better conclusion than they might have by individually working on them. In other words, they were a good sleuthing pair.
Some say that he and his friends don’t always solve mysteries but rather guide them through a process so that they’re forced to open up, much the way a flower opens up in a hot house. With a last name like “Fleur,” flower in French, what more would one expect of Chantal? Whatever their supposed skill level is, his relationship with Chantal was extremely life giving and balancing for him. He sometimes compared it to the loving friendship of his founders, St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal. They loved God first and one another within that context. Although Chantal considered herself a hopeful agnostic, she was raised in a French Canadian family with strong Catholic roots. Her faith, Francis mused, was deeper than she realized.
There she was, yakking on about Tibet in the e-mail. Not only Tibet, Francis read, but there will also be some time in Nepal and Bangkok. This is getting more and more involved. Maybe I better just pull back right now. Another part of him, however, said that maybe I do need some time away. Besides, anything I can learn there might be helpful to my patients. I’m also deeply interested in bridging gaps between the great world religions. Perhaps if we reverenced more of what we hold in common and respect what is different between religions there would not be any more terrorist attacks.
After Francis surfed the net for a while, going into the time warp often associated with that type of concentration, he found that his mind was overflowing with thoughts of Tibet, Nepal, and Bangkok. What lands of mystery and intrigue! What places of ancient spirituality and healing--along with a tremendous amount of suffering.
He remembered that some historians teach that the two major experiences with contemporary spirituality are Vatican Council II, which changed the Church more in a few years than it had changed in five hundred years, and the occupation of Tibet by the Communist government. The invasion of Tibet forced millions of Tibetans out of their homes, but along with that exodus came teachings about Tibetan spirituality, culture, and medicine that were disseminated throughout the world. These age-old secrets would never have been dispersed so broadly had not the invasion occurred. Maybe there was some wisdom to this idea of going to the source of that ancient wisdom. Perhaps he might even be able to help one or two people along the way on such a journey.
Francis would certainly be praying over the matter. Perhaps one way to gather more information and see if the idea is any way affirmed by others would be to drive over to the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center near Washington, New Jersey this afternoon.
Francis often took a hike or went to the Learning Center on a Sunday afternoon as a way to refresh himself. He sometimes felt like staying home and taking a nap, or getting caught up on a little reading, but when he did so he’d wind up at his desk, puttering around with what amounted to work. If he pushed himself to go out, he always came back refreshed and ready to move into another week.
His surfing on the computer was interrupted by the sound of the Oratory bell calling him to Midday Prayer. He logged off and walked over to the Oratory. He sat quietly in his choir stall as the others gathered in silence to consecrate yet another phase of the day to God. As he had done hundreds of thousands times before, Francis rapped on the wooden wall next to him and everyone stood for the opening verses of this part of the Office.
The first Psalm to be chanted was Psalm 23: “The Lord is my Shepherd, how can I lack anything?” Francis’ mind thought about the ways he had been shepherded by so many other people throughout his life and how God had always remained faithful to him and was not about to desert him now. He wondered if his shepherd would encourage such a major trip at this point in his life.
Midday Prayer is by design the briefest part of the Liturgy of the Hours, taking only about eight to ten minutes to pray. In larger monasteries, the monks or nuns would stop in the fields, the bakery, or the kitchen, and celebrate this brief prayer service and then continue on with their work. In the Salesian Monastery, after this part of the Office is completed, the community members help themselves to a noontime collation, a snack.
Francis bowed to the altar and left the Oratory to eat some peanuts, have a piece of fruit, and get on the road to Washington, New Jersey. He mentioned to the others that they all might want to gather in the evening for a mystery video, a favorite recreation for the community. Having organized things in that way, Francis set out for the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center.
The trip was the usual forty-five minute journey; the monk listened to audiotapes from a two-year course of studies in Chinese medicinal herbs that he had completed some years prior. This was his third time listening to those tapes and he continued to learn each time he listened. As he passed through the magnificent cleft known as the Delaware Water Gap, Francis began thanking God for the beauty of nature and for his wonderful family, friends, and community.
His mind having been fed with ancient medical information, and his senses having been nourished with the beauty around him, he arrived at the Learning Center in what seemed to be a matter of minutes. A little Tibetan dog, a breed known as Lhasa Apso, greeted him with barking and a wagging of his bushy tail. Francis called the little animal a dust mop and then deigned to give him a little pat on the head before he moved on up to the temple to reverence the beliefs that his friends here held at this place of learning.
The temple had only a very slight scent of dampness but Francis had begun to associate that scent with quiet and prayerfulness. As soon as he entered into that atmosphere he rejoiced in the teachings of Jesus and also the Medicine Buddha--an Asian tradition that celebrates the healing of all people through prayer, meditation, and a balanced diet.
Francis had come here without eating lunch on a few occasions and coveted some of the fruit and peanuts that graced the altar in front of the Buddha placed there as offerings. He certainly would never touch them but it was comical to think of sharing lunch with the Buddha in that way.
Having completed a little period of silence, Francis left the temple, retracing his steps through the outer courtyard, past a splashing fountain, down some steps, and over to a building that the people there referred to as the schoolhouse. He took off his shoes in the foyer of the schoolhouse and ascended a staircase, entering a room with an eight foot by twelve-foot tonka on the far wall in front of him.
This tonka was a large painting on cloth in which was depicted the Tibetan Buddhist lineage through thousands upon thousands of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, moving back in time to prior teachers and enlightened masters. It evoked in Francis’ mind times when he had been to Bar / Bat Mitzvahs of children of his friends. The rabbi would take the scriptural Torah scrolls out of the Ark containing the Torah and hand it to a grandparent who would then pass it on to a parent who would then pass it on to the young person. That type of lineage in the Judeo-Christian tradition was also celebrated in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in its own unique way.
The married couple who runs the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center are very wise and learned people. They are also very simple and humble. This couple has spent most of their lives at the Center, meeting there in their twenties and now being in their fifties. The Dalai Lama has stayed at the Learning Center on several occasions. The neighbors are very aware of his presence because what is normally a quiet, peaceful road on a mountain becomes flooded with travelers for a few days.