Oscar Meyers Part 2: Academia By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2005 Chapter 31 Following a yellow robed young man with a shaved head, Oscar entered the temple and looked around. The highly polished wood gave the room a rich luxurious feel. The scent of incense filled the air. The low chanting of Monks in another meditation area carried into the room. The effect was to create an ambiance of peace and contemplation. The young man pointed to an elderly man seated in the lotus position. The elderly man, despite being shaved bald, had gray bushy eyebrows. He was wearing the yellow robe of a Buddhist monk. It was obvious the man was meditating. The young monk said, “He will be with you in a minute.” “Thanks,” Oscar said before discovering that the young man had already walked out of the room. He shrugged his shoulders before turning to examine the elderly man. Bending down, Oscar tried to look under the man. He frowned and shook his head. The elderly man opened his eyes and watched Oscar for a minute. Curious, he asked, “What are you doing?” “I heard that you guys could float in the air when you did that,” Oscar answered. Although most people would have discounted such stories, Druids did many things that were just as unbelievable. Raising an eyebrow, the elderly man smiled at Oscar. He had more than one American ask him if that was true. He said, “I do not float in the air when I meditate.” “Pity,” Oscar said with a shrug of his shoulders. He added, “I was hoping that you would teach me how to do that.” “I’ll be more than happy to teach you all about it, though.” “Great.” “You are Oscar Meyers,” the elderly man said. His tone conveyed equal parts of statement and question. “Yes. I take it you are Prajak,” Oscar replied looking at the piece of paper on which he had written the name of the man under whom he was to study. “It is customary to address a monk who has been ordained for more than ten years with the title, Ajaan,” said Ajaan Prajak wondering what he had gotten into by agreeing to teach this young man Buddhism. The title meant teacher. “I didn’t know that. Druids don’t usually go much for titles. I suppose we could insist that folks address with a title. I’d probably laugh the first time someone called me Druid Meyers though,” Oscar said with a friendly grin. He sat down on the floor and looked around the room. In a soft voice, he said, “Nice place. It’s really tranquil in here.” “It was,” Ajaan Prajak said. It had been a long time since anyone had treated him with such disregard to the respectful customs normally afforded the Abbot of a Forest Tradition Monastery. “So when do we begin?” Oscar asked. “First you must learn patience.” “I’m ready when you are,” Oscar said with a smile. “I shall have to see how much patience you have.” “I’ve got to warn you that I’m a very patient man,” Oscar said getting comfortable. He was more than willing to wait for as long as it took. Satisfied with his position, he looked up at the elderly man with a small smile. “We shall see,” Ajaan Prajak said. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing to return to his meditation. An hour later, Ajaan Prajak opened his eyes prepared to discuss the achievement of the kind of inner calm that was a necessary precursor to meditation. To his surprise, Oscar had not moved a muscle and was watching him with that same small smile on his face. He studied the young man recognizing that there was nothing indicating discomfort or impatience. The hours passed as the old man watched the young man while receiving the same examination in turn. In a way, it was a very remarkable demonstration of patience. After eight hours, he asked, “How long are you willing to wait?” Shrugging his shoulders, Oscar answered, “I’m supposed to leave in three months.” “What about food?” Oscar was dressed to travel. The only thing missing in his robe was his pistol. Oscar reached into the pockets of his red robe and pulled out two MREs and a bottle of water. Holding them up, he said, “I can last a week at least.” “Stay here and I will return in a week,” Ajann Prajak said. He rose and left the room. At the door, he looked back at Oscar and shook his head. He had heard of Druids, but his ignorance of them appeared to be as great as Oscar’s ignorance of Buddhist Monks. His first impression of Oscar had been that the young man lacked discipline. His second impression was that the young man had great discipline. He wondered what his third impression of Oscar would be. Three days later, Oscar was in the room practicing his martial arts. It wasn’t that he found it necessary to practice, but that it helped pass the time. He had already examined every little part of the room. Despite its splendor, sitting around doing nothing was boring. It also gave him too much time to think about his future. Ajann Prajak, from behind a semi-transparent screen, watched Oscar as he moved in slow motion around the room. A Buddhist Monk in Thailand was a very different Monk than those found practicing Shaolin Buddhism. There was absolutely no martial arts tradition in the Buddhism practiced in Thailand. When Oscar finished practicing, he looked over at the screen and asked, “Did you enjoy watching me?” “Yes, it is a lot like a dance,” Ajann Prajak answered surprised that Oscar had known he was watching. “It is a very dangerous and deadly dance when practiced for real,” Oscar said. “Have you danced the dance for real?” Ajann Prajak asked. One of the 227 rules governing being a Buddhist Monk was a prohibition against taking life. Life of all kinds was revered. From the larva of a mosquito to the life of a man, they were not to take life. “Yes,” Oscar answered with a nod of his head. He opened his bottle of water and took a single small sip. Ever after three days, the bottle of water was more than half full. “You have killed?” the elderly man asked having expected the answer to be no. “Many times,” Oscar answered. He screwed the top onto his water bottle and checked the level of water. Satisfied, he slipped the bottle back into the pocket of his robe. Concerned by what Oscar was admitting, Ajann Prajak asked, “How many times?” “Do you want to know how many men I’ve killed?” Oscar asked cutting to the chase. “Yes,” Ajann Prajak asked with a lump in his throat. “Over a thousand,” Oscar answered looking in the direction of the screen behind which Ajann Prajak sat. Disturbed by what he had learned, the elderly man said, “I must think on this.” “What is the matter?” Oscar asked. He had assumed that Ajann Prajak knew about his past. “What you have done is a great crime. Murder is one of the Great Defeaters,” Ajann Prajak answered. “What is a Great Defeater?” Oscar asked ignoring for the moment that the older man had called his actions murder. “A Great Defeater is an act that throws a man from the path of enlightenment. There are four Great Defeaters – sexual intercourse, murder, major theft, and falsely claiming supernormal abilities,” Ajann Prajak answered. “Well, I wouldn’t say that I’ve done the any of them except sexual intercourse. It’s not murder to kill someone in battle or in defense of others. I’ve never stolen anything unless you count taking weapons from the enemy that I was fighting. Any supernormal abilities that I’ve claimed are real,” Oscar said. “Murder is taking a life intentionally. If you are fighting with intent to kill, then you’ve committed murder. There is no excuse that prevents taking a human life with intent from being a Great Defeater. Sexual intercourse is a Great Defeater. If those weapons were worth more than a twenty-fourth of an ounce of gold, then it is major theft. You claim supernormal abilities and that is a Great Defeater.” “So I guess you are saying that according to Buddhism, I’ve broken all four of the big rules. I suppose you are going to tell me that I’m a bad guy,” Oscar said looking over at the screen. He scratched his cheek and asked, “What does that mean in terms of learning about Buddhism?” “It is wrong to teach the Dhamma to a man who is not Bhikkhu, but your actions are not those of a Bhikkhu,” Ajann Prajak said. He studied Oscar for a moment and asked, “Are you willing to give an oath that you will put that kind of behavior behind you?” “It is not my place to give oaths of that nature,” Oscar answered. He would act as the Gods and Goddesses demanded. He could not swear to any constraint that would require him to violate the two rules. “It would seem that I can not instruct you.” “Oliver is not going to be happy about this,” Oscar said thinking that he was going to get sent home without learning about Buddhism. “This Grand Druid of yours, he said that you are a holy man,” Ajann Prajak said. He was having difficulty with understanding what Oliver had told him about Oscar in light of what Oscar said about himself. “I suppose you could say that I’m a holy man. We don’t really say that we’re holy. Druids serve the Gods and Goddesses. They choose us for service. I serve the God and will soon serve the Two- Sided One,” Oscar said. There was a slight noise as Ajann Prajak stood. Turning to the screen, he said, “I must think about this.” The world went double on Oscar. Swaying, he listened to a conversation that would happen in the future. In a quiet voice, he said, “Ajann Prajak. Watch out for the Black-and-yellow Broadbill.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the world returned to normal. Oscar sat down on the floor and closed his eyes hoping that he wouldn’t get sick. A minute later, Ajann Prajak entered the room and stared at Oscar. He asked, “How did you know about the bird?” “What kind of bird was it?” Oscar asked following the conversation that he had heard previously. “It was a Black-and-yellow Broadbill just as you had said.” “Just before you left, I saw you and me having this conversation about the bird. What happened?” Oscar said holding his head and rubbing his temples. He was beginning to get a headache. The little short episode of experiencing the future left him feeling worse than the longer sessions. “I stepped outside and heard a bird make a noise above me. I looked up and saw a bird falling from the sky. I was able to step out of the way before it landed upon me,” Ajann Prajak answered staring at Oscar. The young man looked very ill. In a quiet voice, he asked, “Did you cause that to happen?” “No. I had a small glimpse of the future. I saw you asking me a question and then answering mine,” Oscar said. “You claim supernormal gifts?” Lying down on the floor, Oscar tried to relax. When a minor wave of nausea passed, he answered, “The Two-Sided One has been giving me little glimpses of the future. I’m experiencing two versions of the world, one atop the other. One world is the present and the other is the future. It is not like I’m seeing double because the images aren’t the same. Imagine seeing me sitting here and seeing me standing here at the same time. It is a rather disconcerting experience. “I know that it is hard to believe what I’m saying. I wouldn’t believe anyone who claimed to see the future either, but the fact of the matter is that I’m experiencing the future. It makes me sick to my stomach. I can’t control it. I don’t have any choice about when it comes over me.” Ajann Prajak believed that Oscar was telling the truth. In a soft voice, he said, “Stay here. I will return in a while and we shall talk more of this matter.” On his fourth day of his visit, Oscar was lying on the floor while studying the statue of Buddha at the head of the room. The Buddha was seated cross-legged with one hand held up with two fingers extended. It was a very stylized statue and Oscar wondered if there was something significant about pose. He asked, “Is there some meaning to that pose?” Surprised that Oscar knew he had just stepped behind the screen, Ajann Prajak answered, “Buddha is teaching.” “Ah,” Oscar said. “There are two major traditions by which people are taught the path to enlightenment. One is through study while the other is through meditation. You have come here with the stated purpose of learning about Buddhism and that would suggest that you should have gone to an urban monastery where they follow the scholarly tradition. Instead, you came to a Forest Monastery where we concentrate on meditation,” Ajann Prajak said. “So you are telling me that Oliver made a mistake sending me here,” Oscar said. “Maybe, but maybe not. I find it interesting that you may need the inner peace that comes from meditation more than intellectual knowledge of Buddhism,” Ajann Prajak said. While meditating on the problem that Oscar represented, he had come to the conclusion that his role was not to teach Buddhism but to provide Oscar with the tools necessary to achieve an inner calm. “Oliver had hinted at that,” Oscar said thinking about what Oliver had told him before leaving. It made him realize that he was about to experience another kind of educational philosophy. In the Druid College courses, the best taught the basic material to the students to establish a firm foundation. In studying Islam, he had found that the intermediate taught the inexperienced. It seemed to him that now he was to learn in a process of guided self-discovery. It was time to allow Oscar to enter the monastery as a real visitor. Ajann Prajak stepped out from behind the screen and said, “Come with me.” For the next two months Oscar spent most of the day meditating. In the morning sessions, he concentrated on his breathing. Every afternoon, the double view of the world descended upon him and he focused on controlling it. The waves of nausea passed and he learned how to select how far into the future he could see. He reached the point where he could experience the world in the now and dive into a future view for a second or two with just a minor sense of dislocation. One of the younger students was in the hall where they practiced meditation. The student asked, “Ajann Prajak. Why is it that he still has his hair, yet I was required to shave mine before entering the monastery as a student?” At a gesture from the elderly man, Oscar answered, “There are reasons why I can not shave my head or my beard.” Frowning, the young man asked, “What possible reason can there be that requires you to keep your hair?” “There are expectations that a person looks a certain way in order to have credibility among specific groups of people. I have to meet those expectations in two years,” Oscar answered. “That’s stupid,” the student said. Ajann Prajak watched the interaction ready to step in to provide a lesson. He was about to call the student to order when Oscar asked, “Would you accept teachings from a monk with long hair and a beard?” “No,” the student answered. “Why?” “Because he wouldn’t be a real monk.” The statement brought a grin to Ajann Prajak. He made a mental note to ask the student about Hermits who lived without concern for hair, beard, or clothes. Oscar said, “So even if there was a reason for a monk to have long hair and a beard, you would not really trust his teachings. Am I right?” “Yes.” “So if I were to have to deal with people who expected me to have long hair and a beard, it would follow that they would not trust what I say if I show up shaved and bald?” “I suppose,” the student answered feeling a little uncomfortable by the conclusion. “There are often many reasons for any given rule,” Oscar said. He looked over at Ajann Prajak who smiled and nodded. Continuing, he said, “The Buddhists do not believe in taking any life, even the life of an insect. Soldiers know that shaving your head allows you to live without head lice and other vermin that live in your hair when you are in places where hygiene is poor. A Buddhist monk who does not shave his head will one day be placed in a position in which he exposes himself to disease or must take a life of some vermin. That is a reason why you shave your head.” “We shave our heads to strip away our ego,” the student replied. “That’s also a good reason,” Oscar said with a smile. Winking at Ajann Prajak, he said, “Of course, some people might use shaving their heads as a way to reinforce their ego.” “What?” Returning to the pose for meditation, Oscar asked, “Don’t you feel superior to me because you are shaved and I am not?” Ajann Prajak chuckled while watching Oscar return to his mediation. He turned to the student. Once he was sure that he had the student’s attention, he said, “He isn’t a Buddhist, but he understands.” Chastised, the student returned to his meditation. Ajann Prajak turned to consider Oscar. Over the past two months, the two men had many discussions and his opinion of Oscar had changed with each discussion. The differences between the two philosophies were both great and small. The Druids believed that if it harmed none, then do it. To a large extend, the Buddhists believed the same thing. The difference was in terms of the scope of the rule. The Buddhists extended it to include all living things. The Druids applied it only to humans and were willing to make an exception for their second great rule that required them to protect the weak from the strong. The Buddhists did not have that rule in the same form and were not willing to make exceptions to first rule. They believed that pain and suffering was an integral part of life. If all people lived according to the Buddhist ideals, then there would be no need for the second rule. An individual undertook a personal journey towards enlightenment. While walking the path towards enlightenment, a person’s attention was turned from the physical world to the world of the spirit. It seemed to Ajann Prajak, that the Druids had done exactly the opposite. They turned their attention to the physical world to promote the development of an environment that supported spiritual improvement for all. It made him wonder if the Druids were one of the forces turning the wheel of Karma. The Buddhists believed that all life was sacred. Although more than ninety percent of the population of the country was Buddhist, many species of birds had become extinct in Thailand over the past century. It was hard to accept the extinction of an entire species while holding life sacred. Ajann Prajak had learned that it was a Druid who was protecting a number of species that were on the verge of extinction. In the process, several poachers had been killed by that same Druid. How could the Druids hold life sacred when they were willing to take life? Did it matter that he did it to prevent a species from becoming extinct? The Buddhist would say no while the Druids said yes. It was a question that went to the heart of the difference between the Buddhists and the Druids. Ajann Prajak smiled when he recalled his first interview with Oscar. He looked over at Oscar and chuckled. Standing up, he said, “It is time for you to learn about levitating while meditating.” “Excellent,” Oscar said raising a fist in the air. Grinning, he said, “I’ve been waiting for this since the first day I came here.” Oscar followed the elderly man to a garden of the monastery. There was a blanket placed on the ground in a very pretty part of the garden. To one side was a small pond. To the other side was a statue of a standing Buddha. The entire area was surrounded by flowers. The scent of plants in bloom hung heavy in the air. With a gesture from Ajann Prajak, four monks walked over to the blanket. Each monk took a position at one corner of the blanket. They stood like an honor guard. Pointing to the blanket, Ajann Prajak said, “Have a seat and enter a light state of meditation. In a minute, you’ll experience the only way I know to levitate while meditating.” Seated on the blanket, Oscar closed his eyes and entered a light meditative state. The four monks watched Ajann Prajak with grins on their faces. The Abbot of the monastery smiled as Oscar slowly relaxed. He made a gesture and each of the men knelt down and grabbed a corner of the blanket. Oscar’s eyes flew open when he realized what was about to happen. It was too late. The four young men had yanked up the corners of the blanket and launched him in the air. Flailing his arms, Oscar hit the water with a splash. It took him a moment to get his legs under him. The monks were laughing at the look on his face when he stood up in the shallow water. Oscar couldn’t believe what had happened to him. Sputtering, he asked, “What was that?” “That is the only way I know to levitate while meditating,” Ajann Prajak answered with a grin. Soaking wet, Oscar stood in the water. His robe clung to his body making him look like a wet poodle. Shaking his head, he said, “I thought you were a holy man.” “Who said that holy men can’t have a sense of humor?” Ajann Prajak asked with a laugh.