Manai'a Explorations
HC SVNT DRACONES

Making a hot breakfast on Baboquivari. So I climbed Baboquivari last weekend with Special Ed and Climber Grrl Laura. We made it to the summit, took in the spectacular view, recounted the Tohono O’odham mythology of Babo and I'itoi, left an offering to I'itoi, ate lunch, laid in the sun, ... When it was time to leave, I felt an urgency to pray to I'itoi. Hold on. This deserves a side-bar explanation. So we think with words. Ideas and thoughts are constructed in our heads with words. Words are the material the conscious mind uses to know. But there is another level of understanding that does not involve the conscious mind. The mystics differentiate it from knowing by calling it gnosis, like gnowing or gnowledge. So this urgent feeling I had on top of Babo was not so much a thought made of words in my conscious mind, but more like a feeling or a memory, an experience that preceeds the words of the conscious mind. I did not have the thought "This is my last chance to pray...

Today is the 11th anniversary of Arjan’s death. Yesterday I hiked to the place where he died. Today I ate Tofu Normandy at The Garland Restaurant, a special meal in a special restaurant with many memories of shared experiences with Arjan. Tonight I will visit Red and open a special bottle of wine. My college roommate David Duimich died today. I am conflicted. I feel the tremendous urgency of the Buddha’s final words: All things must pass away. Strive for your own salvation with diligence. and the Jiki’s reminder: Let me remind you Life and Death are of supreme importance. Time passes swiftly by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken awaken. Take Heed. Do not squander your life. And yet, simultaneously, I feel the detachment of the Prajna Paramita: ... all things are essentially empty – not born, not destroyed ... there is nothing to attain And as I contemplate the impermanence of all things, Bindi and April scratch at my legs to remind me that it is time for dinne...