Quote from Fire Monks

Fire Monks: Zen Mind Meets Wildfire at the Gates of Tassajara

by Colleen Morton Busch

The Penguin Press, New York, New York, 2011. 256 pp.

"On June 21, 2008, lightning strikes from one end of drought-dry California to the other igniting more than two thousand wildfires in what became known as the 'lightning siege.' The fires stretched from the Trinity Alps in the north to Santa Barbara in the south. One of the blazes turned toward Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, in the Ventana Wilderness near Big Sur. For weeks the resident monks prepared for the fire's arrival, committed to staying to defend the monastery despite repeated orders to leave.

If you lived on the West Coast, you knew about the fires. If you lived in California, you smelled the smoke. The situation at Tassajara was featured in the national news. Connections to the monastery, famous for its hot springs, food, and peaceful environs, extend around the world. Even those who'd never been to Tassajara or heard of it before were intrigued by the seemingly paradoxical image of a fire monk. Suddenly, people who ordinarily spent a good deal of time sitting cross-legged in front of a wall faced a situation that required decisive action. What did that look like? And how could sitting still and doing nothing prepare you to act, and to act fast?"  (p. 1)

-- submitted by Jennifer Knight

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