I began sewing this monk on the beach in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. In a moment of strong serendipity, a man approached me while I was sewing one day. He asked me what I was doing, and when I said, “I’m sewing a monk under a tree,” he laughed. “Well,” he said, “I am a monk, and we are under a tree. We should meditate.” And so we did. We spent the next week together, talking about spirit, dhamma, and about what happens after death. We made an agreement that whoever died first should try to communicate with the other (from beyond the veil of death). After we parted ways, I stopped sewing in that section of the tapestry. It was two years later when I suddenly felt he had died. I knew this because he began transmitting visions for me to sew. I saw the tree above him blossoming, and I understood that all the seeds he had planted (with wholesome actions of kindness and silent meditation) had begun to fruit. In the totality of the whole tapestry, he is a very small image. Only a couple inches tall. But surprisingly, for many people, he has become their favorite part. Children are especially drawn to his image…and his happy, peaceful energy.
I began sewing this monk on the beach in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. In a moment of strong serendipity, a man approached me while I was sewing one day. He asked me what I was doing, and when I said, “I’m sewing a monk under a tree,” he laughed. “Well,” he said, “I am a monk, and we are under a tree. We should meditate.” And so we did. We spent the next week together, talking about spirit, dhamma, and about what happens after death. We made an agreement that whoever died first should try to communicate with the other (from beyond the veil of death). After we parted ways, I stopped sewing in that section of the tapestry. It was two years later when I suddenly felt he had died. I knew this because he began transmitting visions for me to sew. I saw the tree above him blossoming, and I understood that all the seeds he had planted (with wholesome actions of kindness and silent meditation) had begun to fruit. In the totality of the whole tapestry, he is a very small image. Only a couple inches tall. But surprisingly, for many people, he has become their favorite part. Children are especially drawn to his image…and his happy, peaceful energy.