Buddhists at retreat in the dark about fire

By Randy Cordova, The Arizona Republic, June 24, 2011

 

Caretakers don't want to bother participants

A group of people whose safety could have been threatened by the Horseshoe Two Fire in southeastern Arizona may not even be fully aware of the blaze's existence.

A group of 39 Buddhists staying at the Diamond Mound Retreat Center are participants in a three-year retreat that involves separating themselves from the outside world and taking a vow of silence.

The center is located about 14 miles south of Bowie, near the fire, which is 95 percent contained.

The caretakers who run the facility decided not to provide the retreatants with information about the fire, which has scorched over 222,000 acres.

"We chose not to send them implicit information about the situation," said Scott Vacek, one of the retreat caretakers. "If they know 'We might evacuate you at any time,' they're going to think they have to leave every time they hear a pickup truck.

"If it turns out the threat passes, which is it what it looks like, they will just be able to go on about their business."

Vacek, who serves as secretary to the center's board of directors, started a website to keep family members informed of the potential threat of the fire, which started May 8.

"The families know their loved ones are pretty well taken care of," Vacek said. "And given the kinds of comments we've gotten from family and friends over the last few days, they're pleased and comfortable with the communication they've been receiving."

At times, Vacek said, smoke has been highly visible on the grounds. However, only one of the participants expressed any curiosity over the situation, by including a note along with his food box.

The 39 participants range in age from their 20s to their 60s. They live in 33 structures on 1,040 acres of unincorporated land.

Participants built the structures themselves. All have running water and electricity; only one has an indoor toilet, with the other cabins relying on outhouses.

The retreat, which started about six months ago, is the culmination of a seven-year program that involves studying 18 courses related to Buddhist teachings.

"These are kind of the rock stars of the program," Vacek said of the retreat participants. "It's really difficult to do what they're doing: sitting down to meditate for two hours at a time, four times each day. You have to rearrange your life to get this done."

Among the participants are Lisette Garcia, a former college professor from New York; Bill McMichael, who gave up a job as an American Airlines pilot; and retreat director Christie McNally, who is recognized as a lama in the Tibetan tradition.

Vacek said an evacuation plan was in place that would have involved transporting the retreat residents to Bowie, where they would have been dispersed among six houses.

Had that happened, would the retreat participants have had to start over?

"It's not a question I could answer," Vacek said. "It would be highly undesirable. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Imagine telling your family, 'I'm going away for three years.' It's a very difficult thing to arrange in most conventional lives.

"It's an unbelievable amount of work, both physical and emotional."

Reach the reporter at randy.cordova@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8849.