A jorney to the master
It's from 1988 that I travel to the master. Lot of years, often two times a year.
To reach him we have always cross the sea, weird, on not so weird, the Buddhist mantra, "Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi, Svaha" the sutra of the heart, tells us to cross to arrive 'over'.
First was the 'English channel', now is the 'mar Ligure'... some times I went to him with the train, you had to take the sleeping wagon to Paris, after the train to Calais, and from there the ship to Dover; arrived at London you where really arrived and... ready, ready the day after for this encounter... the airplane is a beautiful way to travel, beautiful is to fly to the master that teaches you how to do to fly, but at times is too sudden, one is already there and is already here back and the - small island with the master -, for most people is gone like is gone a mirage in the middle of a desert.
The ferry from Genoa is enormous, almost too big to listen to the rolling and the pitch of the waves while you sleep, there is not even, unfortunately, a rough sea.
The evening goes nicely with the company of a Swiss collegue met at the port, Tai Chi chatting, about teachers and other countries.
One wakes early, from the armchair the sun is rising; a quick coffee sitting at the cafeteria on the upper deck with the morning breeze and we arrive.
It's the day before the encounter, it's a day of absolute rest, of sweet doing nothing, of a walk long the still not summer shore, of writings on the notebook.
The alarm is obligatory, but never needed, one wakes up ready, Tai Chi dress, ummm, white stockings, switch off the mobile...
You walk the stairs, you leave the shoes outside, the colleague of the hour before mine recites the rhyme of his exam, On, Jai, Ban, Loi, absolutely concentrated, seems not seing you at all.
The master is at the phone, I walk to the terrace, I Kung number one, the view is powerfull, 240 degrees of sea, the isle of ..., rocks and colours... 'Carlo: Chi Kung two... it's the voice of the master... here, the colleague has finished and goes, I turn round, he is smiling as usual, bow and... unexpectedly he takes out two meditation cushions, I sit, he sits in front of me, some little explanation, direct as usual, I try... the pleasure to stay in meditation with him, in the silence of the enchantment... then he stands, he says: 'out, in front of a tree'. I paint to myself a beautiful tree...
we go out, down the stairs, he points to me a spot, I sneak in between plants, grass and bungalows, I sit down, he is a little bit further, hidden. I start, I'm between two florished and fragrant trees, one red and the other pink, I breath, I try the technique just learnt... time that has no time passes...
We stand together and we return up, we drink a drop of tea, then he shows me with some applications what was meditation, the Yin... I can't even touch him... the Yang... I fly lightly out of the door. It's my turn, omg, a little apprehenciation, a pair of doubts block the transformation between Yin and Yang, then it works and he: 'now! good, good :) '
At the end the bow, the smile. We will meet in the afternoon. I put quickly my shoes and I go back to my room to try again the emotion.