A Tribute to Jonathan Eric
Sangha mail
The following is a collection of sangha mail that was posted in the days following Jonathan's death in October 2003.
From: Tania Leontov, 22 February 2004
Walter, I would like to share two things concerning Jonathan. One was that I was the first person Jonathan met when he reached Tail of the Tiger. This blue folkswagen bus pulled up and out came a hippie musician. He said he was in despair and i asked if he wanted an interview with Rinpoche. Which happened. He told me years later that he was on the verge of suicide when he arrived and the interview saved his life.
The other thing - Jonathan and I were half of the committee, the last three or four years, to make the Boulder Shambhala Center disabled accessible. I dont know if anyone else knew but behind his even and undemanding mien there was a terrible sadness and bitterness that he could not enter the center and be in the environment soaked with the Vidyadharas presence. It was as if, in a way, the community had abandoned him.
from Christine Keyser
After Jonathan gave his inheritance to Rinpoche he got a job washing dishes at the bakery next door to Karma Dzong when the center was at 1111 Pearl Street. When I meditated there in the morning and smelled the delicious fragrance of fresh baked bread I thought of Jonathan hard at work washing pots and pans in the bakery kitchen below -- polishing the mirror of Bodhi to benefit sentient beings.
.... In those early days, Jonathan often complained to me about his "failure" with women. Once at a party he sang a satirical song he wrote, "Oh beautiful ball stomping woman.." I got mad at him because it was about a woman who he was attracted to but had rejected his tentative advances. I thought he was being a horrible sexist and hypocritical, so I poured some beer over his head. He screamed, thrust his guitar down, and fled the room. He never said anything to me about it afterwards, but I always felt guilty for publicly humiliating such a kind, gentle man.
... I sent my comments because you mentioned that we deify and idolize people after they're gone and forget their warts and weaknesses. One of the reasons why Jonathan was such a wonderful person is because he openly displayed all of his weaknesses for the world to see, enabling us to also witness his transformation through his steadfast dharma practice. I could have written much more because I used to know Jonathan quite well in the early days. But a few words often goes a long way.
Take care,
Chris
from Jim Lowrey
he bought the land of many names
the first name was Eric's Estates
imagine twenty hippies
and one dork
no problem
he was the superior man
I broke his guitar once
threw a beer can half full at him
when he wouldn't play
the night they drove old dixie down
he paid to fix it
he apologized
he was the superior man
I could have said hello in August
but did not make the effort
goodbye Jonathan
you were a superior man
***
from Binny Clark
For those who are younger than old dogs, I'd like to footnote Jim Lowrey's heartfelt poem about Jonathan Eric.
Jonathan came into a sizeable inheritance in his twenties, which had been held in trust until then. Much to the consternation of his father, he gave it to the Vidyadhara to purchase "the land of many names": The Land, RMDC, RMSC, now Shambhala Mountain Center -- an act of generosity which has benefited thousands over the past thirty years.
Certainly a superior man.
with love for an old friend,
***
from Stefan Carmien
Jonathan is gone, like a soft breeze.
he tread lightly,
chipper attitude in hell.
We think that to be heroic is
to make the grand gesture-
and he did, once, and the boss
let him marinate in his own generosity;
Would be that we could one day be so
brave and lucky
I sat with you last week, we looked up and
let the fish leap up together
and, like everyone else, suddenly you are gone
like a fish leaping into space.
Goodbye my friend who once gave
meditation instruction, in Tejas, to both of me.
***
from Carol Hyman
It is touching, humbling and inspiring to realize how many lives Jonathan touched. A little more than twenty-eight years ago, I showed up in Boulder, looking for Trungpa Rinpoche. Most of the people I met seemed to feel it was their responsibility to try to cut my trips (of which that very speedy and neurotic young woman had gracious plenty!) After several such encounters with members of the community, I was disheartened enough to contemplate heading on to California to check out Zen Center, when Jonathan, then the director of Karma Dzong, took me under his wing. His kindness, generosity, decency, friendliness and delight inspired me to stay put in Boulder. He sported quite proudly a large turquoise ring that he said Trungpa Rinpoche had given him, telling him it would help magnetize people to him. Dearest Jonathan, your heart was truly all that was needed for that.
with a genuine heart of sadness and love,
***
from Paul V. Songer
... on a personal level, he was at once nerdy, intense, totally passionate,
and had a rather dry, subtle, and unpredictable sense of humor. He wrote
songs that were kind of folky, had definite melodies, and were well
constructed -- better than average, but not party music. He was not a
dynamic public speaker, but seemed to be regularly put into the
spotlight and generally made the best of being put on the spot and
charging forward, often laughing at his own embarrassment.
I first met him in Austin, TX, when he was a visiting teacher to the
fledgling dharmadhatu. He was not considered to be one of the "star"
teachers, but was genuine, empathetic, and totally involved.
Coming into contact with the dharma and the Shambhala sangha has been
the greatest and most positive influence in my life. Jonathan was an
individual that helped allow that to happen and the actions of his life
have provided the means for others to enter the path. A great legacy.
***
from Dalia Menendez
Jonathan Eric took my young son and I out of raging waters and kept us alive during very hard times in Boulder. I am deeply grateful and so glad to have known this great and gentle dharma son of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. I am happy that we were vajra brother and sister and especially that we got to spend our last time together during the Stupa Consecration.
Thank you again Jonathan, for your sweet and spacious friendship all these years, for your immense kindness and generosity, for your nobility and impeccable example as a dharma warrior. KIKI SOSO!
Love for you, Tamara and your children.
Always your sister and friend,
***
from Randy Kaplan
to say that Jonathan Eric had a dry sense of humor is an understatement. the man had a wicked, hilarious, and subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) way with words. i remember a meeting i was at in boulder about 20 years ago....i can't remember if it was a delek meeting or some other function....at which jonathan gave the transmission of a slogan of his that has been with me every day since:
...just do your best.....
....and fuck the rest.
i think it may have been terma.
farewell mr. eric
***
from Tetsuko
it's strange
we don't realize how connected we are to someone until they're gone / maybe these are the connections we have made through our practice that will last lifetimes.
i was really high on tuesday//then received word of jonathan eric's passing / very ill friday night and sunday morning felt like i was burning up. couldn't get to the cremation but just practiced while it was going on
GOODBYE, JONATHAN
you gave us land to walk on
i helped to build the shrineroom at karme choling
we were both in wheelchairs
but we helped the blind to see
you gave us land to walk on
but you ended up in a wheelchair
seeing illness as dharmakaya
hey, you, out there
where is your hour
to be with a friend worse off than yourself?
where is your mind
that gives the gift
that holds back the loneliness and isolation
of disability???
the world is going faster and faster
there is no way for us to "keep up"
what is the BODHISATTVA PATH for
if it's not to GIVE GIFTS TO PEOPLE LESS FORTUNATE
goodbye, jonathan
you suffered like a true SHAMBHALA WARRIOR
i hope you are happy and with our GURU
in the dharmakaya
october 20,2003
by Tetsuko
***
from Linda Lewis
Jonathan, owl eyes of kindness,
I remember staying with you in your hermit hut
in the Goss Grove district
surrounded by small trees and large bushes.
You introduced me to 8th and Pearl's Bess and Tess Diner
the morning after in'72
blue sky and the Red Rocks so vivid--
we so young.
I thought I knew you, that you would never do such a thing,
but you ruined your knees
trying to be Milarepa on that first retreat.
I thought I knew you, but you were so modest in your generosity
it was only years later that I discovered
it was you who helped purchase
both the "land" and "Tail".
After I married David
and Waylon was one year old the summer of "75
we played 3 way catch in a treelined Louisville ballpark.
You had brought your mother into the sangha
and we went to seminary with Mama Nancy in '76,
possessor of those same owl eyes,
unabashed at being decades older
than the lot of us hippies in our twenties.
I was so surprised and happy your owl eyes of kindness
stayed in my face
throughout the ups and downs of our lives.
During my divorce you directed the two weekends of Level II
and were the ideal MI,
pointing out the intelligence in fear
while encouraging me forward.
Then you married Tamara, had two children, divorced
and the summer before last in Boulder
when I visited you, broken
in your apartment,
going to a MS support group,
your owl eyes of gentle fearlessness were bigger than ever.
Jonathan, may you by-pass the bardo,
go straight into luminosity with PHAT--
while your unforgettable eyes
remind us to be gentle and brave.
Linda Lewis
Jonathan's sukhavati
October 2003
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