The Guardian for this meeting was Bruce Mowbray. The comments are by Bruce Mowbray.

--BELL--
 
Almadi Masala: hello Bruce
Bruce Mowbray: Hello!
Bruce Mowbray: And welcome!
Almadi Masala: thank you
Bruce Mowbray: Is this your first visit?
Almadi Masala: no, I was here a few weeks ago
Bruce Mowbray: ahhhh, very good.
Bruce Mowbray: Then you know about our posting chat logs?
Almadi Masala: yes
Bruce Mowbray: cool!
Almadi Masala: I regret not being able to get here more often, but time just seems to get away from me
Bruce Mowbray: I understand.
Bruce Mowbray: It's unusual for anyone to show up for this session, actually.
Bruce Mowbray: I see my friend Chi down there.... He and I attend the same meditation group every morning.
Bruce Mowbray: He seems to be flying off now.
Almadi Masala: I was at this one once, and at the 7pm one a couple of times or so
Bruce Mowbray: Ahhh!
Bruce Mowbray: You might also find our Thursday mtgs interesting.
Bruce Mowbray: We're now working on the Heart Sutra.
Bruce Mowbray: (which you can see behind you.)
Almadi Masala: oh, yes, I'm familiar with that sutra
Bruce Mowbray: Yes!
Almadi Masala: I had it memorized at one point
Bruce Mowbray: We meet at 1 p.m. here on Thursdays,
Bruce Mowbray: and the discussions have been quite inspiring so far.
Bruce Mowbray: Wow.
Bruce Mowbray: Wonderful!
Almadi Masala: I'll try to get here for that
Bruce Mowbray: I use the Gate Gate Panasangate as a mantra in my own meditations recently....
Bruce Mowbray: But so lightly that the sounds of the words are not even discernable.
Almadi Masala: the meditation sangha I used to be in chanted the Heart Sutra regularly
Bruce Mowbray: I'm sure you would have much to offer in our discussions.
Bruce Mowbray: Ahh.
Almadi Masala: we used a somewhat different version/translation
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, there are several translation/interpretations.
Bruce Mowbray: Personally, I tend to ignore everything below the line "Far beyond all such delusion, Nirvana is already here..."
Bruce Mowbray: except for the very last line (the mantra itself)
Bruce Mowbray: I feel that those last few lines might have been tacked on later, actually....
Bruce Mowbray: sort of as an advertisement.  (!)
Bruce Mowbray: The mantra itself is self-validating without those lines.

--BELL--

Almadi Masala: the version we used had a longer introduction too
Bruce Mowbray: Ahhh.
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, I have seen such versions.
Bruce Mowbray: This one seems a bit clipped.
Bruce Mowbray: The others refer to a large gathering of students.... etc.
Almadi Masala: yes
Bruce Mowbray: I'm curious about your chipmunk.
Almadi Masala: I just found a copy of our version on my computer. it starts: "Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One was dwelling in Rajagriha at Vulture Peak mountain, together with a great gathering of the sangha of monks and a great gathering of the sangha of bodhisattvas."
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, yes. That's the one I was thinking of.
Almadi Masala: ah, my chipmunk :)
Bruce Mowbray: "the great gathering of the sangha..."
Bruce Mowbray: Your chipmunk inspired me to wake up Blub, my blue fish.
Bruce Mowbray: I live on a farm and we have many chipmunks here.
Bruce Mowbray: (and squirrels, too).
Almadi Masala: I created a virtual nature preserve on my mainland parcel. it seemed appropriate to have a chipmunk as a shoulder pet
Bruce Mowbray: ahhh.
Bruce Mowbray: "All natural"
Almadi Masala: that is a pretty fish
Bruce Mowbray: That's pretty much my motto here on the farm... "all things natural"
Bruce Mowbray: In fact, I have let the yards grow up in trees for the past thirty years or so.
Bruce Mowbray: No more mowing grass!
Bruce Mowbray: Ha ha.
Almadi Masala: my land is called Maplewood. there are LMs in my profile if you would like to visit it
Bruce Mowbray: But wonderful trees....
Almadi Masala: I like that, the less mowing the better!
Bruce Mowbray: Making a natural barrier between my house and the road. . . .
Bruce Mowbray: a barrier so thick that in the summertime one cannot see light through it,
Bruce Mowbray: and also a fine barrier to road noise,
Bruce Mowbray: but we only get about one car an hour,
Bruce Mowbray: so that's no too bad.
Bruce Mowbray: also blocks the wind in storms.
Almadi Masala: that sounds wonderful
Bruce Mowbray: It is a humble abode, but just fine for the rural hermit (my typist)
Bruce Mowbray: Would you care for some visuals?
Bruce Mowbray: www.hermitdog.com
Almadi Masala: sure
Almadi Masala: hmmmm, it says server not found
Bruce Mowbray: hmmmm. doesn't seem to be working.
Bruce Mowbray: http://hermitdog.com
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, I can't figure that out.....
Bruce Mowbray: Well, something is wrong with the server.
Bruce Mowbray: No problem.
Almadi Masala: I'll try it again later
Bruce Mowbray: I have some photos of the farm....
Bruce Mowbray: in which you can clearly see how the trees have grown up around everything.
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, the server is down.
Bruce Mowbray: I just tried connecting to the server that I use to add things to the website, and it is definitely not working.
Bruce Mowbray: Oh well, np.
Almadi Masala: I'm sure it will be up again later on
Bruce Mowbray: Yes.
Bruce Mowbray: Maybe I'm in the rare and esteemed position of being HACKED by..... "Russians????"
Bruce Mowbray: Yikes!
Almadi Masala: haha
Almadi Masala: the Russians are coming!
Bruce Mowbray: If so, they are wasting their time.
Bruce Mowbray: Nothing on my site that would interest them. I'm sure.
Bruce Mowbray: Mostly I use it to store photos from trips.

--BELL--

Bruce Mowbray: Does your chipmunk move?
Almadi Masala: no
Bruce Mowbray: Ahhh.
Almadi Masala: he just sits there
Almadi Masala: lazy chipmunk lol
Bruce Mowbray: I usually stop Blub from swimming during the drops.
Bruce Mowbray: I'm thinking that Blub might imagine himself to be a shark..... and therefore needs to be swimming all the time....
Almadi Masala smiles
Bruce Mowbray: and I feel it my duty to remind him he's not actually a shark.
Almadi Masala: I think my chipmunk chatters if you click on him, but he won't do it here because scripts are disabled
Bruce Mowbray: Also I don't want him to distract others from the drop.
Bruce Mowbray: ahhh.
Bruce Mowbray: I clicked on your chipmunk earlier and didn't hear anything.... so now I know why.
Bruce Mowbray: Are you ready for winter where you are?
Bruce Mowbray: I think all of my chipmunks hibernate through the winter.
Almadi Masala: I suppose I am as ready as I will ever be
Bruce Mowbray: (might be wrong on that, though)
Bruce Mowbray: Do chippers hibernate?
Almadi Masala: I think they do
Almadi Masala: and squirrels too
Bruce Mowbray nods.
Almadi Masala: at least I don't think I've ever seen any out and about during the winter
Bruce Mowbray: When it snows, one can see the footprints of rabbits, raccoons, deer, etc etc etc...
Bruce Mowbray: but no chippers.
Almadi Masala: I think it would be hard for them to get around in the deep snow
Bruce Mowbray: For sure.
Bruce Mowbray: The chippers get a lot of food from under my birdfeeders.
Almadi Masala: oh yes
Bruce Mowbray: Stuff their little cheeks with it.
Bruce Mowbray: :)
Almadi Masala: squirrels love bird feeders
Bruce Mowbray: I can hear them scurrying among the dried leaves.
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, squirrels too.
Bruce Mowbray: I have several photos of squirrels at the feeders, in fact.
Bruce Mowbray: Some good close-ups.
Bruce Mowbray: Two years ago I caught 17 squirrels in a live-trap and transported them to a wooded area two miles down the road.
Almadi Masala: wow
Bruce Mowbray: Last year I caught nine squirrels and did the same thing.
Bruce Mowbray: This year, no problem.
Bruce Mowbray: You see, the squirrels played around on my metal roof at 4 a.m. and woke me up.
Bruce Mowbray: So, I gave them another home.
Almadi Masala: oh dear
Almadi Masala: that would be annoying
Bruce Mowbray: Still have lots of squirrels, but they no longer get on the roof.
Bruce Mowbray: I set up a siren that I can operate from my bed.
Bruce Mowbray: They quickly learned not to get on the roof.
Almadi Masala: I had a squirrel get into my basement once
Almadi Masala: it came down through the chimney
Bruce Mowbray: (hope my neighbors didn't hear it...)
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, they will do that.
Bruce Mowbray: My neighbors are about half a mile a away, so little worry about their hearing the siren.
Bruce Mowbray: I almost never use it any more.
Bruce Mowbray: How did you get the squirrel out of your house?
Bruce Mowbray: Just open the door?
Almadi Masala: I opened the side door which was at the top of the basement stairs
Bruce Mowbray: Ahhh!
Almadi Masala: and chased it around until if found the way out
Bruce Mowbray: Good plan.
Bruce Mowbray: ***** APPLAUSE! *****
Almadi Masala: then I had a cap put on the chimney to keep any more from coming in
Bruce Mowbray: Ahhh.
Bruce Mowbray: Did birds sometimes also come in through the chimney?

--BELL--

Almadi Masala: no, no birds luckily
Bruce Mowbray nods.
Bruce Mowbray: I used to meditate with a Quaker group....
Bruce Mowbray: we gathered in a cabin that had a chimney.
Bruce Mowbray: and one spring there was a nest of baby birds at the base of the chimney.
Bruce Mowbray: I used to worry (during our silent worship) that the babies might not be strong enough to fly up and out of the chimney.
Bruce Mowbray: But I guess the parents knew what they were doing, and I trusted their wisdom.
Almadi Masala: in one place where I used to work, the geese made a nest in an old ornamental concrete urn next to the entrance of an unused building
Bruce Mowbray: ahhh!
Bruce Mowbray: Sounds delightful.
Almadi Masala: the janitors were worried that the baby geese would not be able to get safely down to the ground, so they set up a ramp to the rim of the urn
Bruce Mowbray: Wonderful!
Bruce Mowbray: What bothered me more, actually, was that the farm where the cabin was located had a lot of cats.
Almadi Masala: and one day the babies all came marching down the ramp
Bruce Mowbray: Oh! That's wonderful.
Almadi Masala: :)
Bruce Mowbray loves to watch baby waterfowl following their mama.
Bruce Mowbray: I've walked the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath in the spring.... and enjoyed watching the baby ducks following behind their mothers.
 Almadi Masala smiles
Bruce Mowbray: Follows the Potomac River for 186 miles through Maryland.
Bruce Mowbray: A wonderful sanctuary for bird migrations and wild animals of all sorts.
Bruce Mowbray: LOTS and lots of turtles, too.
Bruce Mowbray: and beavers, with their dams.
Almadi Masala: I saw a picture somewhere of a policeman stopping traffic so that a mother duck and her babies could cross the street
Bruce Mowbray: Ahhh!
Bruce Mowbray: He had his priorities straight!
Almadi Masala: I enjoy all kinds of wildlife
Bruce Mowbray nods.
Almadi Masala: I do have an animated squirrel on my SL land
Bruce Mowbray: Great!
Bruce Mowbray: I think we have an animated rabbit down below - on this site.  "Botty"
Bruce Mowbray: I don't see it now.
Bruce Mowbray: but I do see the carrot....
Bruce Mowbray: Alas. I need to be going now, Almadi.
Bruce Mowbray: Do have a fine weekend.
Almadi Masala: so do I
Bruce Mowbray: Thank you for being here today.
Almadi Masala: thank you, lovely chatting with you, Bruce
Bruce Mowbray: Be well.
Almadi Masala: you too!
Bruce Mowbray: :)
Bruce Mowbray: bye for now.