Oh Deer!

A deer family inhabited the center’s grounds: a mama deer and 2 fawns, which I named Bambi I and Bambi II, as they looked exactly like Disney’s Bambi. The first day of the retreat was a long day dealing with different food, silence, long hours in an uncomfortable sitting position and less sleep. But everybody, I think, was filled with determination and hope to make this retreat a good one, reach a better understanding of priorities and make some headway towards peace and wisdom so the energy around the compound was quiet yet tangibly positive.

At the end of the 1st night’s lecture, around 8:15 pm, we had a 5 minutes break before the last meditation session. Right next to the meditation hall, there was a circle, clearly demarcated with green signs that said “Course boundary. No students beyond this point” and the circle had 2 beautiful apple trees, low to the ground. On either side of the circle were the exit/entry to the meditation hall, one for men and one for women. As we quietly walked outside we saw a deer family enjoying the apple trees. We were all in awe, everybody had a smile on their faces. By this time the deer were completely surrounded by about 100 people, yet they seemed completely at ease. Mama was standing on her hind legs and pulling some apples down and would push it towards the youngsters. One of the Bambis would start eating but the other was in a playful mood so he would get behind his sister and kick with his hind legs and then jump around her as if to say “Booh! Got you!” She would ignore him for a while and then start chasing him. They looked so very happy. We looked so very happy. Things were gonna be ok for us for the next 10 days. This was a sign.

Then the 2nd and 3rd day we never saw them again. On the 4th day, the most difficult day of my stay at the compound, when I was desperate for something to hold on to, they came back and pulled me out of my misery. After that sighting we saw them every single day: on the walking path, by the construction site, at the apple tree, in the meadow. Sometimes it was the whole family, sometimes it was just the kids, sometimes the mama and one of the Bambis would show up, as if to say, “you see, we are here. Don’t panic. You’ll be ok.”

I was so surprised at how close they would get, Bambis curiously watching us, mama completely ignoring us. How is this possible I thought, that they don’t run away when surrounded by 100 people. I had this image of mama deer talking to another mama deer. It went something like this:

- We haven’t seen you around these past few weeks.

- Oh yeah, I take the kids to this retreat every year and teach them about humans

- What? Oh my god, why would you expose them to such cruel race? Aren’t you scared they would be killed?

- No, not at all. This is an interesting place. It is quiet. We are the only deer there. It is huge, filled with apple trees and wild flowers. Large meadow, so much to eat. Humans there are very quiet and they never walk towards us. There are these green markers everywhere and the humans won’t dare cross it for nothing. I mean there are apple trees just on the other side and they would just stand there, like human in headlights, and won’t cross over.

- And they don’t hunt?

- No. They have an aversion to killing or something. I see them carrying out insects from the big building and releasing them. It is such a sight for sore eyes, humans sparing lowly insects. These are weird but acceptable kinds of humans. So I take the kids there every year, let them roam around, tell them to take a look, get a little close so they know what to avoid later on. Sometimes I take naps and they go over there but I know they are safe. You should come with us next year. It is a lovely place. Kids love it.