Nature and meditation

by Karol Crosbie

Pecking the eggshell at once from inside and out: Encountering self through nature in Taoism, Zen Buddhism, and the phenomenal experience
by Tim Lehmann, Sylvania, Ohio

Advised by Ishwar Harris, religious studies

As a member of the Organic Farming Program at Yost House, Tim Lehmann volunteered at Autumn Harvest Farm, an organic farm near Wooster.

The bulk of Tim Lehmann’s 140-page Independent Study is very, very heavy. Lehmann uses the kind of language you might expect from a student of abstract philosophy. In his introduction he writes, “Through the cultivation of appreciative observation, meditative mindfulness, and self-reflecting perceptivity, the seeming separation between the Self and Nature is mutually lessened to the point where the experienced foundation of an individual’s being is a simultaneous diffusion and convergence of awareness outward and inward throughout the mental and physical landscape.”

The reader wades through a thick morass of Taoism, Zen Buddhism, and then—all of a sudden—turns a corner and finds Tim Lehmann. Having done due diligence to the masters, Lehmann decided to study meditation by meditating. For 10 days, he replicated the lifestyle of an austere recluse in a mountain retreat in western Massachusetts. He saw and spoke to no one, and spent his days hiking, practicing yoga, meditating, and reading simple Tao or Buddhist poetry.

Lehmann’s description of his retreat is honest and unpretentious.

In those first few days, I was nearly overwhelmed and exhausted by this sudden change in lifestyle. Regardless of the calm that I would try to uphold, I was repeatedly confronted by the sheer difficulty of doing something as simple as concentrating on the breath. … On an inhale, for instance, I might suddenly think of the first time I was on retreat or how much I longed for a piece of cheese pizza.…

It was thereafter that my forest walks became dynamic experiences. . . I noticed that the trees and the surrounding boulders had a certain freshness, depth, color, and texture that appeared like a new layering of veneer. When I looked at the trunk of a tree, I saw that the bark had deep ridges and an intricately detailed surface texture. The color of fallen leaves, particularly a purplish variety, spiked from the ground with a seemingly enhanced vibrancy. The outlines of forms—of mosses and ferns—were much more defined than I had remembered. Even the sounds of the forest came to me as if they were previously muffled by a distant silencer.…

My immediate return to human society, including my interactions with taxi drivers, flight attendants, and my parents, was a bit disorienting to say the least. I had come from days when I would walk about the forest, stopping at a tree or leaf that caught my eye, allowing myself to get a solid appreciation of its form and texture.Now it seemed that there was no time for any such appreciation. The trees and landscape shot past my window in a complete blur through thick plexiglass…

Certainly there are limitations with respect to the conclusions that I can draw from my experience, particularly in light of the hermetic tradition… I would say that I went to this place for a while where I practiced meditation and walked in the woods. As a result, I felt a change in myself and my appreciation of how that self interacts with the world around me.

Lehmann practiced living mindfully and respectfully in many ways during his years at Wooster. He participated in Sitting on Fridays, the College’s weekly meditation group, and the Peace by Peace program.With friends, he founded the Organic Farming Program at Yost House. Like other campus program houses, this one requires a volunteer commitment from participants. For three years, Lehmann volunteered approximately two hours a week at local organic farms. If his I.S. dealt with metaphoric eggshells, his farm work put him in touch with the real thing. A weekly chore was collecting and cleaning organic eggs.

Next year, Lehmann will teach English in China. He then hopes to attend graduate school and study East Asian religions. He says what he has learned has made a profound impact. “Knowing what it’s like to experience life fully is so simple. I always want to have that in my life.”