Tales from the CCR Crestone: Our Trusty Truck Breaks Down

Dear CCR Community, 

It is a privilege and honor to offer my service at CCR. It is quite stunning to think of all the conditions that have ripened for me to be engaged in such meaningful work, adding my little drop of effort to the great vision of our teachers and community. I’m writing today to share about what it’s like to be the Caretaker and Property Manager at the CCR in Colorado, and to describe a recent challenge (a broken truck!) that you can help with. 

As I write these words, I am sitting in the office just adjacent to Manjushri Chapel, watching a spring storm drop much needed moisture on our hermitage lands and the greater San Luis Valley. This storm is a relief considering the dry winter we just experienced (I only plowed snow once this past winter), and the potential of wildfires is a constant companion in my awareness. I consider what time I may be able to invest in much-needed fire mitigation while placing pots and pans below leaks that have revealed themselves at Maitri House (our community building) over the past day. But don’t worry! I am smiling. These buildings have stood strong for decades, though not without revealing the deeper truth of coarse impermanence. 

My work is a game of priorities rather than completion, and each project is an opportunity for mind training and the preliminary practices of Buddhism, that prepare our minds for deeper training. A group of Carmelite Catholic hermits built this place, leaving us a sublime hermitage and legacy of contemplative practice. We now have the honor of tending the fire of contemplative culture at Miyo Samten Ling to Fathom the Mind and Heal the World.

On our way back to the hermitage from the airport in Alamosa, a retreatant once asked me, “How do you do it all?” My answer was a simple truth: “I don’t!” I am a small cog in the larger drivetrain of the Center for Contemplative Research: a vast network of people working toward our meaningful and virtuous aspiration. 

 

Our Trusty Truck Breaks Down: How You Can Help

People say that a picture is worth 1,000 words. I have written at least 1,000 words this morning and deleted them again and again. What to say about our precious tool, the white truck? It was an incredible gift that came with the property, and has been so kindly cared for by our dear Dharma brother and my close spiritual guide, John Bruna (who used to be a professional auto mechanic).  In addition to leading many of our Ghatika Monthly sessions, John has been volunteering his time to provide regular maintenance and upkeep on the fleet of vehicles that are our lifeline here at the hermitage. 

Father Eric Haarer, the former director of Nada Hermitage, used to joke that the truck only had one problem: “It always starts!” But unfortunately, that’s no longer true. A few weeks ago, while I was driving the Hermitage roads, the truck had an oil line break, dumping all of the engine oil out in a matter of seconds. With the motor fully seized, the truck came to a final rest right outside of Cabin 1 (Kailash). 

So one “problem” is replaced by another: how can we get a new truck, and quickly? 

Shingles and sheathing are piling up outside of Tidro Cave (a cabin under gradual renovation), mounds of rabbit brush are ready to be driven to the Crestone burn pile, recycling is building up at Maitri House, and another winter of plowing the hermitage roads is only a Summer and Autumn away. A truck at the Hermitage is not just convenient—it is an absolute necessity. In addition to all of these duties, Courtney and I have aspirations to host four volunteer work weekends this Summer to remove rabbit brush and other fire fuels around our buildings in preparation for the upcoming wildfire season, but none of this vital work can happen until we have a truck to transport the vegetation off site. “Ruby the Suby,” our little 1998 Subaru, is filling in as best she can. But being of similar vintage as the white truck, is being pushed beyond her design. 

So, I will end this note to y’all with a request: please consider donating to our General Fund today to help us acquire a new truck. In doing so, you ensure Miyo Samten Ling Hermitage continues to be a safe and serene environment for all of our dedicated practitioners.

It has been an honor to share a bit of what my day-to-day work is like here at the CCR. 

With love and gratitude, 

Aaron Taylor