As I was heading towards the dinning hall for supper, I ran into people lined up by the path leading to Master Sheng-yen’s residence. They looked damn serious and were standing there with folded hands. I guessed that Master Sheng-yen had passed away. As soon as I got a chance to talk to Weijen, he confirmed my guess.

阿彌陀佛

He’s coming back in January but we are not going to be roommates again because his wife is going to come with him (lucky fella!) so obviously they are going to live together.

I had to go to the hospital because I was running out of medicine. This was my second visit to the hospital. The first time I went with Hsiu-Lan. At that time, we decided to only get the medicine that was urgent to get at that time. The reasoning was that I could maybe get on the national insurance and save money. We later discovered that I have to have lived four months in Taiwan before I can benefit from that insurance. So last week I was running out of another medicine. I wanted initially to set up an appointment with the first doctor I saw but she was booked solid. So I went to see another doctor instead. Adeline helped me with making the appointment. It turned out to be easier than I thought. I was expecting to have to speak with a secretary over the phone but I found out I can register online. So by the time Adeline and I sat down together, it took about 2 minutes to seal the deal.

Then there was the small matter of having to go to the hospital and come back. Shu-Fun and Li-Ching helped secure me a ride to the hospital. A nice gentleman named Hsin-Hsing, a volunteer at Dharma Drum, was going back to his factory the same day I was going to the hospital. So, on the way, he dropped me off at the hospital. Hui-Hwa secured a ride back for me. After I was done, I called her and then called Mr. Lee and he came on a motorcycle (or was it a scooter, properly speaking) to pick me up.

So I went to the hospital. While I was there, I was able to communicate with the staff in Mandarin and with the doctor in Mandarin and English. It was not quick or perfect but it worked. After I was back at Dharma Drum, I was so happy that this was all taken care of and that nobody had to actually come with me into the doctor’s office. Then I realized they gave me the wrong dosage of Lipitor. I had benefited from so much help but I wasted it by not checking my medicine properly when I left the hospital! Mind you, this is the first time in my life I’m given the wrong medicine. A lesson learned, for sure.

So then the question became “how am I going to get this fixed?” Rushing down to the hospital right away might not be the best option. (Looking back, I think if I had rushed down to the hospital right away, it would have been very difficult to straighten everything out on the spot.) So I sought Hsiu-Lan because she’s been so helpful, has lived at Dharma Drum for a long long time and knows a lot. I quickly found out, however, that she had gone away on business. Venerable Chang Lang offered help. She called the hospital and then the doctor (who by that time was back in Taibei) and tried to get things sorted out for me. She found out that the dosage of Lipitor I need is just not available in Taiwan. (Hypercholesterolemia is probably not as big an issue in Taiwan as it is in the US.) She also found out that the hospital’s pharmacy does not carry Lipitor in a dosage more than 10mg. She offered to try to return the medicine and buy some 40mg ones but it is very expensive and I did not have money with me at that time. I said I would have to go with her but nuns are not allowed to travel alone with one or more men. So that idea was scratched. I’m making the story short but Venerable Chang Lang spent at least 2 hours helping me if not more.

After I left Venerable Chang Lang, I went to talk with Bill (more formally, Professor William Magee). I told him of my misfortune. Serendipity made it so that Ken Shu, a friend of Bill, called him just after I told Bill my situation. Bill asked Ken if he could take me to town to see whether I could get the right medicine and return the 10mg medicine to the hospital. Ken patiently drove me to several pharmacies. We had to check on at least 4 pharmacies before we found one which carried what I needed. Once I bought it, he then patiently drove me to the hospital to try to get a refund on the incorrect medicine but the cashier was closed so it was impossible. So we went back to Dharma Drum.

Venerable Chang Lang had told me she would tell Hsiu-Lan about my misfortune as soon as she had returned from her business away from the mountain. So the day after I went to the hospital, Hsiu-Lan called me with suggestions. I told her I still needed to return the incorrect medicine to the hospital for a refund. She inquired and found that Mr. Lin was available to drive me to the hospital. So we went to the hospital. The people there had been expecting me probably because of Venerable Chang Lang’s calls the day before. Getting a refund was very easy. Then Mr. Lin drove me to the pharmacy I had gone the day before to try to get more medicine but the pharmacist had not yet received more.

So now I have medicine for a few days and then I need to go back to the pharmacy to get more. Getting all of this straightened out has been quite an ordeal. In the US, it would be a simple matter of logging into my pharmacy’s web site, filling out a form and getting the medicine shipped to my door. I would not have to depend on anyone. But here, in Taiwan, it does not work that way and I have to depend on a lot of people to get the same result. I had to rely on the power of the network.

Here are phrases I practiced a lot during the past few days: “不好意思” and “我麻煩你”

After the awards, Master Sheng Yen reflected on the role of a founder and on the future of the educational facilities at Dharma Drum mountain. He was speaking Mandarin and his vocabulary was often way over my head but my roommate Weijen provided translation. I found particularly appropriate how he reminded the students that the money for their education comes from donations. He pointed out how they are part of a cycle of cause and effect. Donations allow them to study. If they study hard and then show the fruits of their efforts, donors are satisfied that their donations were not wasted. So donors donate again and the cycle continues.

As a visiting researcher at Dharma Drum Buddhist College, I am also part of this cycle. DDBC welcomed me to live in their facilities and perform research while at the same time the financial compensation they ask from me is quite minimal. So like the other students at DDBC I am benefiting from the donations. In any case, it would be out of character for me to squander the resources that are offered to me. Still, taking stock of the big picture helps to sharpen one’s focus.

Once in a while a meal at DDM turns out to be challenge. The only implements I use for eating are one metal bowl and one set of metal chopsticks. Now consider that all the food primarily goes into the bowl and that some food is soft, some hard, some heavy, etc. So sometimes the question which runs through my mind as I see what I have to put in my bowl is “how on earth am I going to organize all the food items to prevent ending up with some unappealing mush?” Then there is the small matter of handling the chopsticks. I can handle chopsticks fine as long as the food in my bowl is relatively thick. Otherwise, I’m having a hard time. So I’ve started using some bigger chunks of food as tools to corral those bits which are too small for handling. And half of the time, I wonder if my way of eating looks barbarous to others.

Last week, I was introduced to a scholar with whom I communicated by email when I was planning to come to Taiwan. Now the embarrassing thing is that when I was introduced to her last week, I did not recognize her name. If she recognized my name, I must have passed for quite an idiot.

I’ve started meditating in the Buddha Hall on the 7th floor of the dormitory. In that hall, they use square cushions in place of zafus. But I’ve seen (and used) zafus in other halls. I don’t know why those on the 7th floor are square. I’ve received instruction but so far it has covered only the basics of meditation: posture, breathing, etc. A few people have said I should go to the seven-day retreat at the end of the semester. We’ll see how it goes.

Yesterday I was trying to speak Mandarin with my roommate. I said “sometimes the coffee lounge is quite noisy”. He looked surprised and asked me to repeat. So I repeated. He looked like I was speaking nonsense. So I repeated in English what I meant. Apparently, my Mandarin was so bad that I said something like “sometimes the coffee lounge is quite moist.”

Trying to buy things in Jinshan, Taipei and Taoyuan has been quite an ordeal. It seems that stores never have what I need. I wanted pants for meditation and for exercising. I ended up buying some pants but they were less than perfect. I also wanted a mug with a cover but the only thing I found was a metal cup. It is okay but again not perfect.

Friday evening, Hsiu-Lan and Youru took me to visit Jinshan, the township closest to Dharma Drum Mountain. (Why it is a township and not a town is a mystery to me.) We walked down what used to be the main street of the township. The current main street is a multi-lane street with state-of-the art traffic lights. The old main street is barely wide enough for one lane. Judging by the traffic yesterday, it seems to be now closed to everything except pedestrians and scooters. I learned that the sweet potato is cultivated quite intensively around the Jinshan area. We went to a store which sold sweet potato chips, candied sweet potato (yummy!) and also some sort of frozen sweet potato treat. I presume the potato is first baked but a customer gets it frozen. It thaws out pretty quickly and can be eaten in a fashion similar to an ice cream cone except that there is no cream and no cone. My guides suggested that I try one. It was quite tasty. I with my wife had been here. She would have enjoyed the old street and the sweet potatoes.

Tomorrow I may start meditating with the monks at Dharma Drum Mountain. Nothing is set in stone yet but Hsiu-Lan set the ball rolling for it to happen. I just want to know ahead of time what the local rules are so as to avoid disturbing the peace.

I’m hoping to post pictures soon. I’ve spent a good deal of the day today upgrading my blog software. I figured if I was going to put pictures up I’d need an actual gallery and figured I should upgrade rather than use the old software.

I have to say that everybody here has been really kind and helpful. Especially Youru and Hsiu-Lan. They have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome at Dharma Drum. The place itself is also quite nice. The architecture and landscaping are delightful. People warned me that the food provided to the staff and guests is on the bland side but I find it tasty in its own subtle way.

There is more to say but the jet lag, while mostly gone, is still affecting me so I’m heading for bed now.

(Published some 9 hours after I wrote it. Oops.)