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For information about the gardening internship with Mr. Enthoven, please contact him at 802.633.2320 or email reception@karmecholing.org
The gardening internship program runs in three parts this year, during Spring: April 13 through June 14; during Summer: June 29 through August 30; and into Autumn: August 31 through November 1 .
The gardening internship program at Karmê Chöling offers a unique opportunity to study organic gardening in-depth and hands-on, while also practicing and studying Shambhala Buddhism in a wonderful and supportive environment. Interns benefit from Mr. Enthoven's extensive knowledge of gardening in all its aspects, from working with the soil and insects to respecting the complete environment in which a garden flourishes. That environment, the natural world, is not
unlike the mind in which a spiritual practice flourishes. Mr. Enthoven has long experience with the most practical and spiritual aspects of gardening practice.
The following conversation with him took place on August 14, 2002.
What does gardening mean to you?
Breathing in the fresh morning air while digging in the soil; being fascinated by the world of insects, plants, microbes and how everything interacts. "Gardening" means cultivating a plot of land within that natural setting and being open to learning from nature's incredible wisdom. Often that wisdom manifests completely irrationally in the form of extreme weather or an explosion of damaging insects. Not taking things too personally, a gardener needs to be inquisitive and creative in finding solutions to the challenges that arise.
Can you explain what you mean by cultivation?
Cultivation is, first of all, nurturing the soil, taking out weeds and adding compost to enrich it, perhaps adding limestone to balance the pH and providing certain amounts of water and air to keep the microbe population happy.
Ultimately, when I think of cultivation, I believe that the cultivation of awake mind is the real purpose of gardening. Instead of allowing our minds to be carried away by our hopes and fears we can simply bring it back and be present with the complexities of our gardening and life.
How did your personal history lead you into this work?
I grew up on an ultra-modern farm in Holland where chemical fertilizers and insecticides were used. My father was one of the first to use hydroponics and computer controlled climate for his greenhouse (circa 1970). I got sick from the use of insecticides and I intuitively wanted to stay away from those methods. By 1978, I started my own farm on five acres of land, mainly growing brussel sprouts and still using some chemical insecticides following so called "integrative pest management" techniques.
In '82, during a five-month bicycle trip through Japan, I visited the renowned "natural" farmer Masunobu Fukuoka - author of " The one Straw Revolution" - who advocates " doing nothing farming." I was deeply impressed with his farm and his kind nature.
Back in Holland, I joined a macrobiotic community started by a man who had studied with Mr. Fukuoka for a full year. We grew over forty kinds of vegetables on thirty acres of land supplying about twenty-five organic food stores in The Netherlands.
I took that experience to my own farm, and for two years had a very successful organic farm until my back went out in the fall of '85.
From the beginning it was clear that the back pain had more to do with the strained relationship with my father than with the heavy farm work. But it wasn't until nine years later when I read John Sarno's "Healing Back Pain" that the back pain nightmare finally ended.
In the meantime, this inconvenience led me to sell my farm in Holland and travel to China, Tibet, Nepal and Taiwan. After two years in the East I grew more and more depressed about the state the world was in: the poverty, pollution, threat of wars and political corruption everywhere. Then, during a short trip to Hong Kong, I found a priceless gem in one of the bookstores: Shambhala, Sacred Path of the Warrior, by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
I realized that this was what I had been looking for since I was a child: a vision of human dignity that could be adopted by people regardless of culture and race.
I came over to America in the spring of '88 first to the Vancouver Dharmadhatu (meditation group) and then to Karmê Chöling.
What would you say that you get out of gardening in both a secular and spiritual sense?
What I get out of it seems to be connected with how much heart I put into it. It is also clear to me that the practicality of growing vegetables for the Karmê Chöling community has to be connected with the inspiration and motivation to dismantle the illusion of reality. Ultimately, just growing and eating organic food is not going to liberate us from our neurotic clinging to self and other. We need a greater vision, and this vision needs a discipline. For me this discipline is gardening in both good and bad weather.
What can gardening interns expect to encounter in the program at Karmê Chöling?
There is a somewhat relaxed schedule of four hours of garden work, five days per week. This allows the interns to have at least two hours of meditation and practice per day. One morning a week, we have a formal garden class where we study and discuss aspects of gardening related to what is happening in our garden. Participants are also welcome to join certain public programs as well Shambhala-Buddhist classes for the Karmê Chöling community. More over, there are opportunities to join Kyudo, Ikebana and Tibetan yoga classes. We will be working in a small group of perhaps four or five people, and there will be plenty of time to enjoy the luscious beauty of Karmê Chöling land.
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