Recently, whilst sat quietly meditating, the following memory came into my mind. As I stood up – I easily found the book in my library and decided this all meant I needed to write about this incident of Christian disrespect – and profound ignorance. I have absolutely NO malice toward “Phil G” – he was an important adult during my formulative times of growing up. What we see here is the issue of “dialectics” unfolding. We are all victims of the competing forces that define our era – and must all remain objective, compassionate, and logical thinking. My “Zen” poem to “Phil G”:
Wonky Table
Wonky Heathen
How Sweet…
One Corrects the other!
During the care-free days of Socialist “Further” and “Higher” Education in the UK (1948-1988) – I spent a year in Reigate (1983-1984), and four-years in Hereford (1984-1989). I left home at 16-years old and benefitted from the British Education System (copied from the USSR) which provided entirely “free” education to British Citizens anywhere in the UK (and sometimes abroad), providing “free” housing, “free” bed and board (on campuses), and a generous Benefit pay-out to ALL students. No one could be homeless, hungry, ill or injured – without receiving “free” assistance.
All this was paid for (many times over) through National Insurance (tax payments deducted from income). Everyone paid for themselves, their relatives, and everyone else. As a very rich country, the incumbent Labour Party of 1945-1951 was able to revolutionise UK society through taxation – and the fact the colony of India was granted its Independence in 1947 – thus removing the expense of maintaining this country for little material return. By re-directing this immense wealth, the Labour Party was able to introduce the Welfare State, Universal (Free) Education, Council Housing, and the National House Service (NHS) – which gave “free” cradle to grave medical care.
As students, all we had to do in return for this State investment was to study hard, pass our examinations, and eventually take our place positively contributing to the society that had spawned us. This is how I ended-up in Hereford – practicing martial arts and hobnobbing with the military personnel that traversed through that place. Although irreligious, I am a Chinese Buddhist, (Daoist, Confucianist), at least in the modern (surface) and objective sense. Listening in all directions led to be befriending many people holding all kinds of different ideas. A House Master (Armitage) in my college was named “Phil G” (his short name). He was interested in broader spirituality and often spoke with me about what he viewed as my unusual or odd disciplined behaviours.
Eventually, “Phil G” left the college and moved down the road to become the “Rector” of St Barnabas Church (situated in College Road). He would invite myself and my friend (a Catholic Priest from Eire) for tea every Sunday afternoon for probably about six months (around 1986). He asked me about (Japanese) Zen Buddhism – and I lent him the book entitled “Zen Buddhism” by Christmas Humphreys [Unwin – 1984] (I have written on the many issues surrounding this man elsewhere). This book had casually come into my possession and became very popular amongst the Student Body at that time. As others wanted to borrow it – I bought up the subject of this book being returned whilst visiting the flat of “Phil G”. He initially said he did not know where it was and had a problem finding it.
He looked perplexed – as I had been (nicely) asking for this book for sometime. Then suddenly, this “Rector” (a Protestant Priest) had a revelation (topical) and asked myself to lift up my tea-cup off the table I was sat in-front off. He lifted up the tablet and low and behold – there was the missing article! “Phil G” was happy – viewing the discovering as an “act of god”! He brushed off the dust, mud, and stray food particles and even attempted to “flatten-out” the quarter-inch “hole” (indentation) on the cover and running throughout a portion of book. He did not flicker in his attitude – there was no display of shame or sense guilt. He did say though, that the discovery of the book had inconvenienced him somewhat, as now he had to find another “worthless” object that he could use to prop-up the table-leg that had lost its coaster.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 