Growing up with Rinpoche: Putting down roots
Tsem Rinpoche drawing up plans for a vegetable farm.
Having had the fortune of meeting Rinpoche when she was just 11 years old, the ‘Growing up with Rinpoche’ series captures Pastor Jean Ai’s growth under Rinpoche’s guidance. In this series, she recounts some of Rinpoche’s myriad Dharma activities to benefit sentient beings.
Rinpoche is never interested in secular activities just for the sake of it, but always uses his knowledge, interest and experience to see how he can improve the lives of those around him and how he can bring Kechara Forest Retreat (KFR) to the next level in terms of serving others. So for Rinpoche, a vegetable farm is not just a vegetable farm, but an activity that can bring Dharma to others.
Oftentimes Rinpoche will personally go around KFR to see what can be developed, improved, updated and sometimes even totally redone. This is so that everyone who comes to KFR, whether temporarily or to live here, is able to maximise the amount of merits they create. So whether it is renovating the Gyenze chapel to expand the amount of space available to make offerings, or conceptualising an entire Buddha outdoor shrine, or starting a vegetable garden, Rinpoche’s goal is very clear. No matter who steps foot on KFR land, they must leave with imprints of the enlightened mind and a sense that Dharma is something positive.
One reason why Dharma is positive is because the Buddha’s teachings can motivate us to get involved in activities we never thought possible for ourselves. One such activity for many of us city folk is farming. Over the years, Rinpoche has often expressed his wish to have a vegetable farm on our land, to cultivate crops we commonly consume in order to become more self-sustaining. One afternoon, the opportunity to start such a farm presented itself.
For those of you unfamiliar with Rinpoche’s biography, Rinpoche was farming even as a child. His adoptive mother, Dana Bugayeff, had a vegetable garden in the half-acre backyard of their house in Howell, New Jersey that Rinpoche was in charge of tending. This meant that along with his homework and the countless other household tasks and chores he was responsible for, the eight-year-old Rinpoche had to till, plant, prune, weed, trim, fertilise and harvest all on his own. You can read more about Rinpoche’s childhood farming experiences here.
More recently, Rinpoche has spoken about Findhorn and his admiration for what their community does to promote alternative ways of thinking, living, learning and healing. In a troubled world that is full of conflict, division and disharmony, communities like Findhorn which espouse values of consciousness, peace and acceptance are becoming fewer and far between. Amongst the many activities and methods promoted by Findhorn is gardening and in Rinpoche’s words, “If they can grow giant cabbages in Findhorn, why can’t we do it here too?”
So a group of students recently got together to work on this farming project. Under Rinpoche’s guidance, 80 plots have been tilled and are being readied for planting. To start with, the group will be planting:
- Okra (lady’s finger)
- Long bean
- Tomato
- Four-angle bean
- Chilli
- Cucumber
- Green / spring onion
- Lettuce
- Eggplant
- Kang kong (water convolvulus)
- Bitter gourd
- Bell peppers
All of the above are commonly-consumed items by KFR residents and visitors, and the aim for the garden is to reduce reliance on external suppliers. Have these students farmed before? No. Are they willing to? Yes. Can they learn how to? Definitely.
In the photo above, Rinpoche is drawing up the location of the plots before deciding what crops will be planted. Not only did Rinpoche design the layout of the vegetable farm, but Rinpoche also considered other future projects that will be taking place in the same location. Hence the layout of the farm also has allowances made for the materials, manpower and resources that will need to be housed there in the future. It will allow for the future projects and farming to run concurrently, so the farm will not have to be relocated until the very last minute. That means planting and harvesting can happen until the absolutely very last minute.
If you get into Dharma, it is because you think that enlightenment is possible. If enlightenment, which is the highest goal of all, is possible then surely everything else in between is possible too. Therein for me lies the beauty of a guru, which is to get you to do things you never thought possible because in doing so, it is a step closer to enlightenment…even if that step is through a humble vegetable farm.
Originally posted: http://wp.me/p3DGTa-1pG
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It has been Rinpoche’s wish to create a spiritual and self-sustaining community here in Kechara Forest Retreat. Rinpoche always come up with new items on how to improve and encourage the community to develop into his vision which is a community like Findhorn.
Such communities are very good for practitioners to be more spiritual and advance in their spiritual practice. It is very important for serious practitioners to dwell in a conducive environment so they have support on their spiritual journey.
These kinds of support are very important to prevent the practitioner from losing focus on their spiritual goal and degenerate. For practitioners who are not so stable in their practice yet, they can have a place where materialism will not be encouraged.
Kechara Forest Retreat is a conscious community where people who live and work here have realised that all of us are inter-dependent and we have to help each other to sustain and grow. Everyone gives and contributes towards the community with the motivation to create an environment with positive energy, promote values such as harmony, care, compassion and generosity.
Rinpoche is very kind to give the opportunity to the students to learn how to farm and provide food to the community. Many of us won’t have the opportunity to learn how to farm as most of us are living in apartments or houses with limited space. I guess the whole purpose of the farming project is more than just producing, but to learn not to give up and learn how to focus out, to think of others first.
All of us are inter-dependent, we have to realise that. Whatever we are doing will affect others. It is important that any decision we made should not be for our benefits, but we have to consider what will be the impact to other people.
Wow….. getting everyone to do farming , to work together for the benefits of all. Well growing of vegetable , for use as own consumption is a wonderful approach as its cheaper and could bring every one of us to do dharma work together. Life on a farm is a school of patience, where the farmer must be patience , hands in the dirt, head in the sun, and heart with nature. It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds , who reaps a harvest. Kechara farming project finally materialized after all the planning by Rinpoche. Rinpoche has always wanted to improve and bringing Kechara Forest Retreat to the next level in terms of serving others. And focusing on determining long-term strategy, bringing Dharma to others. More projects are on the way, wonderful news, having more activities that can bring people together to foster a relationship and learning as well.
The happy faces of those Pastors and Kecharian tells us all, in the recent FB posting by Pastor Adeline.
Thank you Pastor Jean Ai, for your wonderful experience growing up with Rinpoche. Interesting post of what happening in kechara Forest Retreat, Bentong.
Rinpoche is a very well planned lama who is capable to do almost anything. And now Rinpoche is coming up with a vegetable farm in KFR, an activity that can bring Dharma to others. How wonderful!?How fun and cool it would be if i could jump in and join you guys in the vegetables farming activity. ??Thank you Rinpoche and Pastor Jean Ai for highlighting more about what is going on behind the scenes which is able to draw public attention from facebook.????????
Yes Pastor Jean Ai, everything is possible. It’s not just a simple farming and gardening as per see but it offers so much more than we think! Patience, increased general farming knowledge & skills, promote a better health through exercising and sweating, fostering cooperation between Kecharians and others and etc.
I think KFR will be at par with the communities in Findhorn oneday and the produce will be bigger, sweeter and juicier too ? Thanks to Mother Tara maybe ?. I saw the recent postings in FB by Pastor Adeline. I can see the happiness among the Pastors and others. Maybe can get opinions from Bradley too as I saw his little garden has lots of produce as well.
All in all~ I hope Rinpoche’s wishes come true. ? Thank you Pastor Jean Ai.