Im convinced that theres no Buddhism in the sea.

I mean, what is Buddhism? It, from a certain point of view, is an interface. Buddhism is a process, a method, a rule-of-thumb. Buddhism encompasses rules of engagement for life, in a sense. If life (which is really a way of saying whatever-the-hell-it-is-out-there) was the universal hard-drive, Buddhism could be equated to the keyboard, or the mouse, or even the programming code, say fortran or cobol. I just dated myself didnt I.

The universe is the universe. Life is whatever it is. We cant see it, taste it. Buddhism can only describe it in negatives, how many? 34? 36? We can only describe that which is the fabric of life - the canvas upon which all existence is painted - in terms of what it isnt. I dont interpret the universe as responding to Nam myoho renge kyo any more than it recognizes any other aspect of human vocal communication. There is, I believe, a connection we all have with that universal fabric and I believe I experience Nam myoho renge kyo as being that process which activates or aligns us with that fabric, somehow, in some way.

But theres no Buddhism in the sea...

The ocean is liquid life. It was generally believed that our planet Earth was 70% ocean, 30% land. This was before we had even the most remote clue how deep and how vast the sea really is. By some estimates, depending on how far from shore and at what depth you begin counting the deep sea, the ocean encompasses 97% of all the inhabitable space on this blue ball we call home.

In reality if aliens orbiting planet Earth were to study and analyze life on Earth they would likely conclude that our planet is an ocean planet and that the prototypical indigenous species include deep sea tube worms and gulper eels. Terrestrial life would appear to exist purely as an anomaly, as an exception to the rule. Those of us who chose to crawl up onto land and remain were freaks. Thats why we need Buddhism.

The Journey

I parked at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove at around 2:00. I took my careful time changing into my suit, preparing my stuff, and locking my car. From my parking place by the only restrooms at Lovers its about a 100 foot walk down to the little cement pier and the steps that lead into the sea. I dont know the original purpose of those steps, but there they are, and there I went.

I dive with a boogie board, a shortened version of a surf board. Attached to it is a 40 foot float line which then attaches to my JBL Spear gun. This enables me to go anywhere with my little temporary piece of floating land trailing behind. Attached to my board is a surplus ammo pouch with an inhaler, my fishing license and any spare parts I choose to carry along. I also clip to my board a thick wire stringer for any fish I shoot, and a tether from which hangs my sandals I use to walk down to the pier.

One might picture your average freediver - which is diving without tanks using only the breath you can store in your lungs - as flapping away noisily on the surface. This isnt so, at least not in my case. Freediving for me is the ultimate expression of Ninjutsu, all stealth and silent. Between some point far South of Monterey to North of San Francisco and out to the Faralon Islands is an area named the Red Triangle for its indigenous population of Great White Sharks. The fewer local residents who know that I am in their backyard - the better.

Todays maximum dive depth was 30 feet, with the average dive at about 25. I fished the rocks and reefs searching for Lingcod, a large fish with a reptilian head, as well as large rock fish. As so often happens I went far enough out from the shore to spook myself. Understand that journeying into the off-shore waters in Monterey is equivalent to traveling many miles into the wilderness. Only 100 yards or so from the shore, still close enough to clearly see kids playing on the beach, is plenty far enough to be a full participant in the natural food chain, and be completely out of reach of the help of fellow humans.

Beneath the surface there is green, waving eel grass, shapes and sizes which become obscured only 20 feet from the surface. Giant kelp grows from the bottom, attached to hold-fasts, large granite boulders. It is buoyed by gas-filled bulbs which allow it to float and sway with the current, receiving nourishment and sunlight as it does. All of this creates an underwater jungle, as wild and unpredictable as any jungle found on terrestrial Earth.

A short distance from the Monterey Bay is a deep sea canyon, one of the deepest found throughout the known seas. The Monterey Deep reaches an amazing 3 miles at one point. Throughout the deep oceans are found thermal volcanic vents and cold seeps hosting life which is completely independent from the Sun thriving instead on chemosynthesis instead of photosynthesis. Chemosynthesis uses volcanic sulfur dioxide as the basis of its food chain, a chemical deadly to human life. These marine phenomenons are now thought to be original sources of Earthbound life.

Original primordial life on Earth was microbial in nature and caused its own extinction through over-population and the creation of pollution. The pollution was the deadly metabolic waste by-product know as oxygen.

So what I believe is that the ocean is pure hard drive. There is no Buddhism, only life. There is no interface for human beings. When we enter, our rules break down into nothingness. I am the hunter, and I can be the hunted. There are few places on Earth where a man can be mistaken for lunch. I was in one of them today.

Actually its not as bad as I make it out to be. Great Whites dont generally like the taste of man. Most attacks terminate with a bite or two, maybe 3 or 4 pounds of tissue lost. It all fills in in time. Now Tiger Sharks, thats another story. So you gotta ask yourself can Nam myoho renge kyo save me from a shark? I dont think so, you see I dont believe there is Buddhism in the sea.

Rev. Greg, shidoshi