Rohatsu on the Streets of San Francisco
The last evening of the eight day street retreat in San Francisco we celebrated Rohatsu. That afternoon, we were off asking for food for our celebration. While many of our meals were gratefully supplied by Glide Memorial Church or St. Anthony’s in San Francisco, we found ourselves “begging” for food several times during the week. I learned I am quite able to ask for food and often, I received something generously.
My approach was similar to how I forage for plants, I considered where to find what I was looking for. This turned out to be small ethnic restaurants, bodegas or the farmers market at the end of the day. Since our Rohatsu celebration was on a day of the market, I arrived in time to ask for $1 bags of left over fruits. I began with my usual, “I don’t have any money. Is there anything you could give me to eat?” The women selling at the stand paused, at which point, another shopper handed her a dollar and said I could take the bag. She proceeded to put the fruit in another plastic bag and added a second portion. She smiled as if to say, “enjoy this bounty.”
Earlier in the day, I had asked for food in a Middle Eastern restaurant and a Mexican restaurant both on Haight Street. I was still carrying the lamb swarma with pita and the beef taco. Our agreement is we share anything and everything we are given. With these two dinners, the fruit and a Pan Fino. from the Mexican bakery stand at the market, I was adding something tasty to our celebration and dinner.. The five of us on this retreat gathered on the side of the San Francisco Public Library, facing the Civic Center Park, with the bright lights of the Christmas tree offering hope in the darkness. We set up our portable alter, adding layer upon layer of the offerings we had collected for dinner. There would be no shortage of food for this celebration.
With incense, bells and our alter, we began the Gates of Sweet Nectar, a ritual that is practiced monthly the evening of the new moon at Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community.
Calling out to hungry hearts, everywhere through endless time,
You who wander, you who thirst, I offer you this Bodhi Mind,
Calling out to hungry spirits, everywhere through endless time,
Calling out to hungry hearts, all the lost and left behind,
Gather round and share this meal, your joy and your sorrow, I make it mine.
We chanted. We bowed. We feasted. We were grateful for the dry evening air. We then made our way to the San Francisco Night Ministry, a non-profit that provides multiple types of care services including chaplaincy services throughout the Tenderloin from 10 pm – 6 am daily. Soon we were slowly walking down Hyde Street in pairs, stopping to say hello, offering socks, hats, blankets, conversation, compassion.
Conversations could last for a minute or two, others for ten to 15 minutes. I recall a middle aged black man, clearly intoxicated. He had five children with his first wife many years ago. He wanted to know if Jesus still loved him even though he was “using.” I listened, offered kindness, and assured him he is loved. He was grateful for the conversation as was I, and took the oranges I offered.
The streets of the Tenderloin are filled with activity, individuals going in and out of the open food stores, folks smoking cigarettes, others talking and handing out, while still others are using drugs, hunched over in small clumps. Every few blocks there could be a pile of clothing, with someone lying still, lost in some kind of reverie. We covered these folks with a blanket. Others thanked us for this.
We were not sitting up all night in the monastery, counting breaths. Rather, we were witnessing the world, and the people in it, just as they are, doing the best of their circumstances. We were there just to witness, and to recognize that really, in most ways, we are no different. Perhaps we are privileged with homes, families, communities, and yet, basically, each encounter was with a person, living day to day, often with little help and many obstacles.
During this long night in December, that Gautama Buddha sat up through, our ministry was simply to be present, acknowledge what the Buddha might have learned this evening so long ago, and to hold this insight together with all beings. The people, living right here.
May they be satisfied with our offering of the dharma,
Cultivate right wisdom,
Liberate all beings,
And allow the seeds of Wisdom and Compassion to flourish forever,