I renew my call for the consecration of Danny O'Brien as Noisebridge's Bedbug Shaman.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 10:35 PM, Danny O'Brien <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:danny@spesh.com">danny@spesh.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">So, as some of you may know, the old shrine got re-activated as a working<br>
shrine a few days ago, and the Church classroom cleared away for meditation<br>
and contemplation, led by Fa Zang (Rinpoche), the guy in the buddhist monk<br>
robe who has been doing a lot of sewing in the craft area recently.<br>
<br>
Not everybody was happy with this. I was a bit personally miffed because in<br>
the process, the membership binders were moved. I am agnostic about almost<br>
everything, but in my eldritch role conferred on me by the consensus of<br>
Noisebridge, I really am all about the membership binders.<br>
<br>
So, anyway, subsequent to that, the following Noisebridginess occurred:<br>
<br>
1) We found the membership binders! They are now in the black desk. I have<br>
updated the wiki. Yay.<br>
<br>
2) The shrine was de-activated, and the chairs and tables put back in place<br>
in Church as a re-activated classroom.<br>
<br>
3) The next day, the shrine was put back together, and Church once again<br>
cleared away of all other earthly furniture. Perhaps a bit gallingly for a<br>
prominent General and war deity, Guan Yu was relegated to a side-deity, and<br>
a framed postcard of another Bodhisattva put in prime position. Incense and<br>
pillows were now made available.<br>
<br>
4) The shrine was subsequently dismantled, more forcefully. For avoidance<br>
of doubt, Guan Yu was put up for sale by Miloh:<br>
<a href="http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/atq/2489669725.html" target="_blank">http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/atq/2489669725.html</a><br>
<br>
5) The shrine was erected and re-activated, and I believe Church cleared<br>
once again, before Tuesday meeting. Crutcher, as the minutes show, said<br>
that if it remained so prominent, "it is my personal plan to do-acrat that<br>
shrine to pieces with powertools tonight."<br>
<br>
6) After the meeting, but prior to said do-acratic action, a gentlemen<br>
interceded. It was agreed that since he said that as he had a good home for<br>
Guan Yu away from the powertools of the unrighteous, he could take the<br>
shrine with him.<br>
<br>
7) When I left the meeting, Guan Yu was sitting a bit forlorn at the bottom<br>
of the stairs, waiting his new home.<br>
<br>
8) On Thursday, I bumped into the Fa Zang (Rinpoche) who was sewing. I<br>
apologised for my mistake about the binders, and explained some of the<br>
reasons why some people felt it was inappropriate to use Noisebridge and<br>
the shrine for active religious worship.<br>
<br>
Zang said that he understood that this wasn't a place for meditation. I<br>
said that meditation was interesting, but agreed that this probably wasn't<br>
a good place for lessons or explicitly religious ceremonies.<br>
<br>
The lama (Rinpoche is an honorific attached to lamas) told me that the<br>
person who took Guan Yi was one of his disciples. As his master he would<br>
instruct him what to do with it.<br>
<br>
We had an interesting chat about masters and disciples. Fa Fa Zong told me<br>
of the error of believing in a world without masters, and averred that if I<br>
didn't believe in reincarnation, I would not be a good buddhist. I said I<br>
was down with that, and learned some knots.<br>
<br>
9) Today, Maestro mailed Al that the shrine was back up, and Church had<br>
been cleared of chairs and tables again. I popped down to the space. Guan<br>
Yi wasn't back, but three little bowls, more incense were in an otherwise<br>
empty Church. I spoke to Maestro and a few others. They said that folks had<br>
been chanting and ringing bells early in the morning. Also, and this was<br>
unclear, there was some rumors of people walking around ringing little<br>
bells also. We ascertained that at least one little bell was the<br>
Noisebridge dinner bell, so that was put back in the kitchen.<br>
<br>
10) I grabbed hold of Jorgen from the Free School, who had just came in. He<br>
also expressed some exasperation with the Rinpoche. Together, we had a<br>
little chat with someone present who said he was a disciple of Fa Zang. He<br>
said that he and his master had heard that anyone could come here, and as<br>
long as the space was not being used, it could be used for anything.<br>
<br>
I said that noooo, that really this was a hackerspace, for the creative<br>
uses of technology.<br>
<br>
10.5) I got the Rinpoche's cellphone number from his disciple. I totally<br>
have a real Lama in my Google Contacts now.<br>
<br>
11) I called up the Rinpoche (a trusted disciple of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha<br>
III), and told them that I thought we'd gone over this, and really it<br>
wasn't appropriate to do religious ceremonies at the space.<br>
<br>
Fa Zang, who became a rinpoche when three other rinpoches had omens in<br>
dreams about his nature as a reincarnation of a previous rinpoche, and was<br>
conferred with the title by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III in 2009,<br>
hung up on me.<br>
<br>
12) A few hours later, Fa Zang left me a voicemail. I have the MP3 if<br>
anyone wants it. It is awesome, and here is the transcript:<br>
<br>
"Sir,<br>
<br>
This is Fa Zang (Rinpoche). You seem to have forgotten that this<br>
country was found... to things written in the Constitution. Our<br>
founding forefathers promised us we would have freedom of speech,<br>
and freedom of religion. You remember the things that Thomas<br>
Jefferson said, about tyranny and religion? If you don't you should<br>
look it up. What you people are doing is completely erroneous, I<br>
haven't held any ceremonies there, I've simply been paying homage to<br>
the teachings I listen to there. And so you are breaking your own<br>
by-laws and the constitutional rights of people who come there by<br>
doing what you're doing. I think you should reconsider what you're<br>
doing."<br>
<br>
So there you go. As someone who is also a fan of the founding fathers and<br>
...things written in the Constitution, I'm sensitive to issues regarding<br>
religion, so I've been actively seeking out someone who is okay with the<br>
meditating, and the incense, and the shrining, and the constantly bloody<br>
moving of the tables and chairs. Let me know if you want to represent the<br>
Rinpoche's position in this disagreement.<br>
<br>
In the mean time, if you agree with what is smelling to me like consensus,<br>
and if you see the Rinpoche in the road, or even in the space, can you ask<br>
him to keep the ceremonial stuff to Macang Monastery, where he lives. Or<br>
else some folk may start exercising their constitutional and by-law given<br>
rights to pay homage to Discordia, Emperor Norton and/or the Great<br>
Spaghetti Monster's Rites in said Monastery (1822 Eddy St, x Scott +<br>
Divisadero, <a href="https://foursquare.com/venue/9311185" target="_blank">https://foursquare.com/venue/9311185</a> ).<br>
<br>
Salut!<br>
<br>
Danny O'Brien (Genuine and Authorized Pope + Rinpoche Forever,<br>
House of the Apostles of Eris)<br>
<br>
d.<br>
<br>
PS If you haven't already, you totally should look up "Tyranny" "Religion"<br>
and "Thomas Jefferson" on the Internet.<br>
<br>
PPS Honest to god, I fucking love this place. I haven't had so much fun in<br>
ages.<br>
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</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Shannon Lee<br>(503) 539-3700<br><br>"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."<br>