“The miracle is this – the more we share, the more we have.” – Leonard Nimoy Monday, October 25, 4:07 PM: Receive a monthly e-mail from the Vajrapani Kadampa Buddhist Center regarding November’s classes. It announces that November 6 will be “Cherish You Center Day” during which people will “learn how to roll mantras” and paint the building. I realize I haven’t had a chance to volunteer (and post a volunteer log) in some time and I think this one could be a little different.
Monday, November 4, 4:39 PM: Get excited because I realize the Buddhist Center’s volunteer day coincides with the Rollins Alumni Global Day of Service. The event is organized in conjunction with my alma mater’s 125th anniversary. It is expected to become an annual event during which Rollins alums all over the globe volunteer in their local community, then send in pictures of themselves (preferably in Rollins gear) to the Alumni Office. It demonstrates the college’s mission of “global citizenship and responsible leadership.”
4:40 PM: Wonder why sometimes it takes a lot to get excited, then other times only a little thing.
4:42 PM: Send excited text to Brendan saying volunteering for the Buddhist Center can be our participation in Global Day of Service. He doesn’t remember talking about either one.
Saturday, November 6, 9:11 AM: Finally crawl out of bed. I’ve stopped counting the number of times I’ve hit the snooze alarm. I worked a twelve hour shift the day before, which would have been alright if I had gone to bed instead of watching the pilot of Walking Dead on Hulu with Brendan when I got home.
9:19 AM: Let Morton out and feed him. Decide coffee is in order. Grind the coffee beans without closing the bedroom door, hoping that it will help get Brendan out of bed.
9:27 AM: Brendan calls out, “Boned mutton!” from the bedroom. This is our silly bastardization of “bon matin,” French for “good morning.”
9:28 AM: Pour myself a cup of coffee in my Walk of Fame coffee cup. The Walk of Fame is at Rollins and it commemorates important people with a slab with a stone from their hometown buried in it. Begin to wonder if Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. received a marker when he visited Rollins this past week. What if R.F.K, Jr. turned down the honor as an environmental statement, not wanting to displace a native rock from his home?
9:29 PM: Begin to daydream of getting my own stone in the Walk of Fame…
9:32 AM: Jump into bed with Brendan and Morton for a cuddle. Pretend to be British for no discernable reason.
9:35 AM: Shave, hoping to give some definition to my Day 6 Movember moustache.
9:36 AM: Notice Brendan’s contact case has raised Braille-like lettering to determine left and right. Wonder why.
9:40 AM: Brendan asks from bed if he can just meet me there later. I say I guess so with a tone that I hope subtly says he should come with me now.
9:41 AM: Realize subtle tone didn’t work.
9:54 AM: Double-check e-mail for the time and to make sure it was the Buddhist Center in our neighborhood, not somewhere else.
10:05 AM: Jump on my bike. Officially late.
10:06 AM: Realize I’ve left my wallet. Retrieve it from the house.
10:07 AM: Back on the bike. Pass a community yard sale sign and have a bitter moment wondering why we weren’t included in a community yard sale in our community.
10:08 AM: Using the handy new bike lane on Fern Creek Ave. Pass the dentist who recently screwed me and consider giving the building the finger, then decide someone on the way to a Buddhist Center probably shouldn’t use that particular gesture. Besides, the building itself did me no wrong.
10:17 AM: Arrive at the Buddhist Center. It’s a non-descript building on Montana St. right down from Paradise Bar.
10:18 AM: Walk into the Center and immediately realize Kadam Ricc Bishop (resident teacher) is seated on the altar where he sits 
when give a teaching. All hope strolling casually into this volunteer situation is dashed.
10:19 AM: After clumsily pretending to be invisible, I am shoeless and seated in the back. Kadam Ricc explains that the mantras we will be rolling will be placed inside an 8 foot Buddha statue to be set in a new temple in Sarasota. I’m surprised to find out that Buddhist higher-ups who have visited Florida find it to be a happy and open place; maybe I should stop watching the news. He then leads us through a meditation to get us in the mindset and ask for help, I think.
10:43 AM: A patient woman named Maggie explains how to roll a mantra. When you participate in rolling mantras, your “merit” will last as long as the statue lasts. However, if you roll the mantra incorrectly, you will receive bad merit for as long as the statue lasts. And we’re talking not just this life, but future lives. No pressure.
To put the delicate procedure of rolling a mantra into a few words: long sheets of paper with words are rolled tightly around a small piece of incense (the offering), when you have the first one rolled, you layer in another long sheet of paper, and so on. Once you’ve got the roll as big as you wish, you tape it and label it by the type of mantra (in our case Lotus, placed base of the statue) and an arrow pointing to the top. This is then wrapped in yellow tissue paper, taped, and the labeling process repeated. On the bottom of the roll, you put a dot, so that when the statue is being filled they know the mantras are in the right direction by seeing a mass of dots.
10:59 AM: Panic. I have no business being here. There’s no way I’m going to do this correctly. Did I mention you have to recite a mantra while you’re rolling? My merit is so screwed.
11:00 AM: Begin rolling anyway.
11:05 AM: I have a roll started! The initial starting is tricky. We all start out using a delicate incense that has no stick in the middle. We all break several pieces of the incense trying to get started.
11:10 AM: Kadam Ricc’s partner joins us and he gives him a fifteen second explanation of what to do which ends with “…all while reciting this mantra. Good luck!” and his patented laugh.
11:18 AM: Look around and notice everyone is ahead of me in rolling! Panic!
11:20 AM: The woman sitting next to me has a nice thick mantra rolled, but her incense breaks. Since I’m behind, I have to quickly squash the happy feeling I experience when I hear her incense has broken.
11:21 AM: It’s not working; I’m still a little happy.
11:25 AM: Having rolled a few mantras, managing to keep the incense tightly wound inside, I’m feeling the need for validation, so I show it to Maggie. “It’s perfect, it looks perfect,” she says.
11:26 AM: Float on cloud back to my seat.
11:35 AM: Decide my first one is ready, so I go back to Maggie to wrap it in yellow tissue.
11:40 AM: My first mantra is wrapped and marked with an arrow, the letter L, and a dot.
11:45 AM: Go to the restroom. Text Brendan. I figure the mantra rolling is too involved, so I’ll just text him when we begin working outside and he can head over then.
11:46 AM: Start rolling my second mantra. Like most of the group, I’m using an incense with a stick this time.
11:55 AM: Pretty happy with how well this one is rolling. Decide I could get pretty good at this. The phrase “it’s perfect” hovering in my head.
11:56 AM: Change my mind, deciding my mantra rolling is just okay.
12:02 PM: We are winding down the mantra rolling, so to speak. I turn my second mantra in to Maggie.
12:04 PM: Kadam Ricc leads us through a meditation to dedicate our merits. I have to sneeze the entire time, so my focus during the dedication is less than stellar. He then explains that we’re now able to teach other people the mantra rolling, I think he has overestimated my abilities.
During the meditation, Brendan arrived. He misunderstood my text.
12:15 PM: It turns out the building isn’t ready to be painted. It’s then that I realize that I’m the only person in paint clothes, so I feel a bit self-conscious. There are several other tasks to do, so Brendan and I decide to weed the garden.
12:17 PM: Take materials to roll more mantras at home. I’m determined to roll a decent sized one because Maggie has told us how important it is 
to have large ones since the statue is so big.
12:20 PM: Using plastic bags that have been saved for reuse, Brendan and I work quietly with a couple of other volunteers weeding the garden.
12:25 PM: Take picture of Brendan weeding for the Rollins Global Service Day. He forgot to wear Rollins gear, so I’m hoping they’ll still want the picture.
12:30 PM: Brendan thinks the bushes should be trimmed. I say that I think he should ask if they should be trimmed.
12:31 PM: Brendan trims the crepe myrtles anyway.
12:32 PM: I exchange a knowing glance with the garden’s Buddha statue, and shake my head.
12:42 PM: Brendan takes a picture of me weeding for Rollins. I have my gear on.
12:43 PM: Daydream again about being honored on the Walk of Fame.
1:10 PM: Kadam Ricc comes out to tell us that things are being wrapped up inside where people were cleaning, so we can do accordingly with our weeding. He tells us to make sure to dedicate our merits.
1:11 PM: Obsess about the fact that I’m not really sure how to dedicate my merits. Hope that whispering “there ya go” will do the trick.
Tuesday, November 9, 12:25 PM: Send e-mail to Rollins Alumni Office with our pictures.
