More

On the Vipassana retreat mentioned yesterday

Posting on Cuke New Blog and here both because it's related to both places. Buddhist stuff there and Bali and other nonZen here. - dc

January Vipassana Retreat Report

Led by Ayya Santini

Ant Relations

There are ants in the kitchen but they're polite ants. I tell them to be careful and generally they are. They're pretty small. They mainly stay out of the way. They know their limits. We keep the counter clean but they'll find any tiny bit of something sweet or a spec of dog or cat food. I leave them alone. They're done eventually. And if it's important they leave I just start cleaning up carefully right next to them and they'll back off. There are some teeny tiny ants too and a zillion of them will gather around an almost imperceptible something with a line going to and from where they come from. If Katrinka's getting ready to make dinner, I'll put my fingernail right up next to them and they flee at what must be the equivalent of hundreds of miles an hour. 

polite kids

Kids in Bali are almost always polite and that includes older kids, teenagers, and young adults. But the kids from Java are even more polite, at least in my limited experience. When I meet young people from Java they put out their hand, I put out mine, and they put my hand to their forehead. I just looked it up. It's called Salim. If I met the prez of Indonesia, Jokowi, I'd put his hand on my forehead. I also read or on the nose but I haven't seen that. It's sweet. 

Bali Compost Report

I collect organic kitchen waste in a covered bucket in the small back courtyard garden. About once a week walk it to a big perforated plastic container up front, dump it in, smooth it around so it's level, and put some low grade fertilizer on top. I might pee on it then if I've got the urge. After that I clean out the bucket and wash my hands. Then I wash my hands again. And again. Hard to get the odor of that wet decomposing vegetation off. The reason I use the fertilizer instead of the usual plain ol' dirt is that got to look around for the dirt, go out and get it or have it delivered. There's a guy drives around with bags of this fertilizer and he sells them for less than a couple of bucks each so it's convenient. I got two bags which filled the 50 gal container. Then he came back in a week and tries to sell me two more and I told him I'm using it to make compost and it will be a long time before I need more. So he came back a week later and I explained again I won't need any for months and months. He keeps coming every week. Nothing I say or do can discourage him. I close the gate on him and tell him to go away. No effect. I tell him to give up. He's back in a week. I think now that I'd miss him if he didn't come. 

Bali Warning

Lot of hot pepper here. Penas means hot temperature and pedas means spicey hot. Lot of pedas here. Mostly it's not too hot, sometimes requiring a moment to adjust, maybe wipe the eyes running, tissue for running nose. Sambal is Indonesian salsa and there are many types, various mixes of chopped chili bits and tomato, garlic, fish paste, shallots. A German woman we know who lives half time in Thailand and is married to a Thai, has a small restaurant here that makes great curry dishes for there or delivery and she gave me a tiny bottle of a Thai chile powder she said had garlic and some other stuff in it. It's different and I like it so last night I sprinkled some on the fantastic pizza Katrinka made with pita bread, steamed cauliflower and broccoli, and sharp cheddar. After a while my eyes were watering so I wiped around them with a cloth napkin from my lap. Katrinka asked me to pass the olive oil and vinegar but Ouch! Some of that hot Thai chili must have hit the napkin. I was groaning and laughing and couldn't pass anything to her. It was not subsiding. Went blindly to the kitchen, filled a large bowl, stuck my head in it, and opened my eyes. Relief. Another thing I have to beware of is handling chilies and then taking a pee. I'll keep the details of that to myself.

A New Poem from Bhikkhu Moneyya

Unfinished Symphony