The Bodhi Meier Sutra
Thus have I heard once in El Ceritto on Colusa Street Mountain, the departed one, Bodhi Meier, Kurt von Meier, Professor von Meier, Kvon Meier, Karma rDorje Wangdu, was being honored by a great gathering of friends and family, a great gathering of Bodhi lovers. At that time the departed one, having spent many years cultivating roots of goodness in others by teaching various things by various means for the joy, benefit and education of all sentient beings was remembered and honored for the goodness of his lifetime by the great gathering of Bodhi lovers. He was able to fully accomplish such goodness due to his vast powers; powers of vast mind, powers of vast knowledge and memory, powers of vast humor, powers of vast appetites, powers of vast wardrobe, powers of vast kindness and vast generosity and powers of vast wisdom.
His powers of vast mind inclined his great interest in all forms of knowledge both mundane and profound; great interest in form and the Laws of Form, great interest in colors and the use of colors, great interest in sound and various types of musical and natural sounds, great interest in tastes both aesthetic and sensual, great interest in cultures native and foreign, primitive and modern, great interest in mystical traditions, great interest in art, folk art and fine art, ancient and modern, great interest in ancient languages, great interest in new languages and writings of all places and times, great interest in all numbers, simple, complex, imaginary and oracular, and great interest in people, close friends, acquaintances, colleagues, students, teachers, dignitaries, physicians, artists, musicians, craftspeople, shopkeepers, telemarketers and children, and great interest in animals, dogs, cats, and birds. All these powers of vast mind he used for the joy, benefit and education of all sentient beings.
His powers of vast knowledge spanned immeasurable realms; encyclopedic knowledge, multi-cultural knowledge, knowledge aided by vast memory, a photographic memory, a polymath memory, all these brought to bear in support of his vast knowledge of numbers, simple, prime, whole, perfect and imaginary; his vast knowledge of mathematics, algebra, calculus, and Boolean; his vast knowledge of languages both ancient and modern, Latin, English, Spanish, German, Greek, Arabic, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Proto Indo-European and so forth; his vast knowledge of wisdom traditions of present and past, Native American, Hopi, Islamic, Sufi, Christian, Arican, Chinese, Buddhist, Tibetan, Taoist, Nordic reindeer culture, Maori, Greek, Pre-Indoeurpoean, neolithic, paleolithic and hippie; his vast knowledge of divination and oracular systems, Tarot, use of dice, the Enneagram, astrology, the I Ching, recognition and interpretation of signs, reading of codes, awareness of omens, the language of birds, owls, hawks, crows and divination from the flight of birds, discovery of hidden messages, revelation of underlying symmetry, recognition of synchronous events and auspicious coincidence; his vast knowledge of philosophy, rhetoric, brain physiology, physics and cosmology, social conduct and manners, celetial objects, stars and constellations, and the magical and medicinal powers of plants; his vast knowledge of samadhi, concentrations and the quiescence of phenomena, Tai Chi, meditation, visualization, yogas, and mudras, physical touch, lymphatic shakti massage, and foot massage; his vast knowledge of spices and how they are used to stimulate and excite the senses, the use of chili peppers, coriander seed, cumin seed, and so forth; his vastknowledge of foods, their origins, uses and preparations; his vast knowledge of cloth and textiles, use of fibers, coloring of fibers, type of weaving and ceremonial uses. All these powers of vast knowledge he used for the joy, benefit and education of all sentient beings.
His powers of vast humor were expressed in ways direct and indirect, reflecting the diversity of human society and behavior; his vast humor of politics, his vast humor of slapstick, his vast humor of word-play, his vast humor of stand-up comedy, his vast humor of mime, his vast humor of sight-gags, his vast humor of body sounds, his vast humor of deep laughter, his vast physical humor, his vast humor of touch. All these powers of vast humor he used for the joy, benefit and education of all sentient beings.
His powers of vast appetite were causes of celebration; his vast appetite for food, hot and spicy, pickled, prepared with pork, prepared without pork, prepared with vegetables only, prepared on the spot, prepared for many days in advance; his vast appetite for inebriates, marijuana from Mexico, hashish from Afghanistan, weed from Humboldt County, pot grown at home, pot grown in the banks of the Napa River, pot bought from Noble, pot smoked in pipes, pot smoked in joints, pot smoked in whale's tooth, pot smoked in vaporizer, pot smoked while soaking in the hot tub, peyote, datura, psilocibyn, Amanita muscaria, lysergic acid diethylamide, red wine, white wine, whiskey from Ireland, whiskey from Scotland, Caribbean rum, beers of many colors, white beer, red beer, gold beer, brown beer, dark beer, light beer, ale, and stout, German beer, Dutch beer, Belgian beer, Mexican beer; his vast appetite for sex, in his youth sex with students, sex with friends, sex with one, two or more people at once, sex in the morning, sex in the afternoon, sex at night, all until his vast sexual powers were diminished by age; his vast appetite for joy and celebration, which benefited all those that shared his company, offered without discrimination, without constraint, without consideration for payment in kind, without hesitation. All these powers of vast appetite he used for the joy, benefit and education of all sentient beings.
His powers of vast wardrobe, clothes of all types and styles; shirts in the full range of spectral colors, shirts made from silk, cotton, wool, hemp and linen, plain shirts, patterned shirts, over-sized shirts, shirts to tuck in and shirts not to tuck in; shoes and belts made from leather, alligator, lizard and snake in various colors, brown, black, gray, white, and green; T-shirts both printed and plain in various colors and from various locations; baseball caps associated with various causes and conditions, caps in a wide array of colors, orange, red, black, green, and so forth; socks of different styles, socks of silk, socks of cotton, socks of wool, brown, beige, ash, jade, green, forest green, black, and white; suits, jackets and slacks of western and Asian design, Italian suits, Donna Karan suits, Nordstom suits, suits of silk, suits of cotton, suits of linen, suits of wool; draw-string pants, sweat pants, casual pants, shorts in various bright colors, and uncountable other garments for all occasions. All these he wore thoughtfully, wore carefully, wore with consideration for the mix of colors and the type of occasion, wore for reasons of dignity, wore for reasons of comfort, wore for reasons of message, all this for the joy, benefit and education of all sentient beings.
His powers of vast kindness and vast generosity, an inexhaustible treasury of manifestations of good, like a vessel never depleted, never exhausted and demonstrated in all situations; demonstrated when arriving in the form of gifts, demonstrated when departing in the form of gifts, demonstrated when present in the form of gifts; gifts of food, snacks, and meals; gifts of drink, brandy, wine, liqueurs, rum, beer, and cognac, gifts of confections, chocolate, nougat, torrone and hard candy; gifts of nuts, cashews, almonds, Brazil nuts, macadamias, pecans, walnuts and filberts; gifts of fruits, casaba melon, cantelope melon, watermelon, honeydew melon; gifts of clothing, shirts, scarves, hats, and socks; gifts of sacred art and objects, thankas, weavings, Joichol wall hangings, bowls, bells, gongs, and ritual implements. His kindness was offered in polite speech, respectful speech, gentle speech, direct speech, honest speech, thoughtful speech, humorous speech, entertaining speech and informed speech. All his powers of vast kindness and generosity he offered for the joy, benefit and education of all sentient beings.
His powers of vast wisdom were revealed throughout his many vast powers, in knowing what power to use in each circumstance; in knowing the nature of his surroundings and environment, in knowing the social circumstance, in knowing what to accept and to reject, and in knowing the varied capacities of others. To those who wished to see Kurt von Meier, Kurt von Meier would appear. For those who wished to see Professor von Meier, Professor von Meier would appear. For those who wished to see Bodhi Meier, Bodhi Meier would appear. For those who wished to see Kvon Meier, Kvon Meier would appear. For those who wished to see Karma Dorje Wangdu, Karma Dorje Wandu would appear. In short, he appeared in many non-obstructed simultaneous manifestations in his role as an enlightening being, each manifestation offered for the joy, benefit and education of all sentient beings.
Thus the gathering of Bodhi lovers then chanted the mantra of Bodhi Meier three times, a mantra of great wisdom, an unsurpassed mantra, an unequalled mantra, a mantra that cures all suffering, saying:
“Om gate gate, paragate, parasamgate Bodhi Meier”
“Om gate gate, paragate, parasamgate Bodhi Meier”
“Om gate gate, paragate, parasamgate Bodhi Meier”
After they said this, the great gathering of Bodhi lovers concluded by supplicating, asking, requesting and beseeching the departed one, Bodhi Meier, saying:
“Dear friend, teacher, lover of life, you who understood and taught the great equality of appearance emptiness and unity of the mundane and profound, who playfully offered compassionate instruction in relaxing fully and joyfully into the present moment and appreciating all the world as sacred, spiritual benefactor of great wisdom and compassion who's deep roots of goodness opened the gate of love for all sentient beings, please grant your blessing so that we may follow your example.”
Om Mani Padme Hum!
Composed by Larry Barnett Friday March 30th in the Year of the Water Dragon, 2012
and read at the Celebration of Kurt's life