Manai'a Explorations
HC SVNT DRACONES

Somebody asked me, “What was your favorite part of the race?” It didn’t take me long to answer, “Just before it began and right after I finished.” Some history: I did a race a couple of times in the late 80’s with Chris Toriggino in Lake Tahoe called “The World’s Toughest Triathlon.” It was the National Ultra Distance Championship; a 2 mile swim in Lake Tahoe, a 100 mile bike ride over three mountain passes, and an 18.6 mile trail run around Fallen Leaf Lake. One year the water temperature was 53°F. Rip Esselstyn loaned me a small long sleeve wetsuit (appropriate for me but I can’t believe he ever got it on - he said a wetsuit was supposed to fit tight) and I wore a neoprene beanie under my latex swim cap. I remember plunging my head and torso into the water and swimming furiously, turning my head to the side to breathe, but not being able to inhale because the shock of the cold was so intense. I was in my early 20’s at the time, so I just kept swimming and somehow got enough oxygen in...

3PM Friday. Checked in with Ironman Arizona at Tempe Town Lake park. Ten minutes to sign all sorts of waivers promising not to sue anybody, and then stood in line for an hour and a half for body marking. No longer do they magic marker your race number on your arms on race morning. The procedure now is to impress a more permanent ink on your arm with a stamp. Standing in line is normally a drag, but this is Ironman and the energy of the place is buzzing and everyone is happy and excited. There was a witty Aussie and a quiet Canadian in front of me and the Aussie and I had a good time trying to be more clever than each other. At one point, the Aussie commented on the water bottle the Canadian had mounted on her aerobars. In the aero position, she will spend considerable time looking at her water bottle and the Aussie suggested that she should print some sort of motivational slogan on the water bottle. The conversation then pursued what that slogan should be. Before too many witticisms h...

"Human beings tend to be miserable because they are preoccupied with themselves. When they are free of their self-centeredness they can find happiness." "... compassion is the personal experience and practice of interbeing. We live our short lives not merely in interdependence but as a single great organism of many dynamic elements. What happens to you happens to me; what happens to me happens to you - at the same moment with the same intensity." Some time ago, I was stretching in the Zendo, preparing for Zazen. A mosquito landed on my bare forearm. "Does the mosquito have Buddha nature?" I asked myself, knowing that of course she does. I swatted her and flicked the smudge that was her delicate body off my arm. The jikki rang the gong. I rose, bowed, and entered the Zendo. I received an invitation today to join the fun of the first annual Barrick Cortez Coyote Call. Two hundred teams of two (four hundred individuals) will spend two days hunting co...

In the early 90's, I lived in a little duplex surrounded by avocado orchards in SoCal. We had a little doorless shack between the garage and house that housed the washer and dryer. One day I went into the shack and found the most bizarre insect on the floor. I was sure I had discovered a new life form. It looked like something from an aliens-invade-the-earth Hollywood movie and it looked dangerous. I was afraid of it and was certain it was deadly poisonous. I observed it from a distance for a while - it did not move with any sort of speed or agility - and then I smashed it in an instant with a shoe. I don't recall when the feelings of guilt and remorse began, but sometime after the smashing, I became quite disappointed with myself. I think of myself as an explorer and an explorer courageously seeks out new experiences. I had found something new, something alive, and I had been afraid of it and smashed it. Years later, I tried to show my nephew a spider's web on my sister...