On Sunday after the ceremony we made a side trip to Chung Tai Chan Monastery USA on the return trip from Houston. This is a property of about 500 acres located near Shepherd Texas. The property is a mix of pine forest and open meadows bordering the Trinity river. We had been told that among the wildlife that there were alligators. I did not doubt the presence of alligators, but I did not expect to see any. We saw three in the short time we were there. After a great lunch served in the small Zen hall we continued on our way back to OKC. The long drive was a wonderful opportunity for some good conversation. One topic that came up was what brought each of use to Buddha Mind. After some thought, I realised that in a way, ex-president George Bush was responsible in starting a chain of events that led me to Buddha Mind Monastery. That statement probably deserves a little explanation. In 2007, then president Bush was the speaker at the graduation ceremony at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. That day I joined in the anti Bush demonstration outside the stadium. At that demonstration I learned about the Oklahoma City Peace House. The Peace House sponsors an annual peace festival in November. At the 2007 peace festival I picked up a flier from the Buddha Mind table and signed up for their beginning meditation class. That led to me becoming a Buddhist. Bush gets blamed for a lot of things, I don't think there are too many people that can claim Bush caused them to become a Buddhist.
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