Next morning Willem Brugman came in from Snake Valley Culture Camp to take him back there for the weekend bush Dharma retreat that they were hosting. Snake Valley Culture is about 23 km west of Ballarat, a former emu farm, now a base for a collaboration between Crazy Convoy of Importance (Stu Vakess and Susannah Kalk) and Culture Lab International.

View from the Shed, Snake Valley Culture Camp

In between the uncertainties of Santi's arrival and the business of preparations for other Eureka150 rebel events, the publicity for the Retreat had not been extensive. A classified advertisement in the Ballarat Courier drew a couple on inquiries and word of mouth amongst Ballarat friends drew some interest. But nothing came of it.

But we were happy for it to be small in numbers but significant in enlivening our Dharma understanding and replenishing our spirit of friendship. The "we" and the "our" being the Eureka150 Rebel HQ organising core group, Willem Brugman, Catherine Hassall, Graham Bird and Graeme Dunstan.

And just one other: Graeme's elusive, always going, always coming, nomad mentor, Jack Wayfarer, an age mate and a friend of many seasons. Jack arrived on Friday evening, confused by the directions and troubled of mind. Like clouds dispersing before a warm wind, the Buddha field of companionship, the troubles quickly passed. Great joy it was for Graeme to be sharing a campfire with Jack again.

Old nomads camp fire reunion

Willem and Graeme had rigged a 6 m by 7 m tarpaulin from the end of the former hatchery shed which, now renovated serves as a live in studio for Catherine, Willem and their babe, Maya Thiango. Expect for meals, the Retreat took place in the shade of the tarp by day and under the stars at night, Dharma teaching around a camp fire. Another bush Tarp Sala.

Tarp Sala, Snake Valley Culture Camp

Some times the Dharma teaching was formal, Santi in a chair at the fire and we devotees sitting around cross legged on the ground; sometimes informal as in one to one conversations, questions and answers; sometimes it was formal ritual as in the blessing of the food offerings; sometimes it was inventively ritualistic with Santi invoking deities, near and far, seen and unseen, and leading us in geomancy.

Blessing the food offering

We also meditated and chanted together. But it was none of these things, and all of them and more, that made up the magic of the Retreat. Each of us had a sense that although few and very, very marginal, some bigger weaving was present, and it manifested itself in our sense of grace and our sense of presence in the landscape together, the physical and the cultural landscape.

Difficult to convey the force of personality in Santi. He is a big body and a big presence; the Thai used to call him "The Elephant" for the way he walked on his alms round. Sometimes words rush from him, tumbling over themselves like water in a cascade, loud, empathic, no stopping, no listening. So much to say and his listeners wilting.

Sometimes the words come from the spontaneous excitement teaching and having insight. On the Friday evening he led a meditation: "Breathe in love; breathe out peace" and so on. Then winged words: "Stillness. Openness. Clear seeing. Vast vision." And: "Wow!"

And sometimes like on the Saturday night, by camp fire, under the moon and stars, Santi's heart so tender, his voice like a lullaby trailing off into silence. He had led us a mandelic visualisation, facing east in and in front "I forgive you"; south (right) "Love you"; west (behind) "Forgive me" and north (left) "Thank you".

We sat in the satisfied silence together for a sweet little while and then he thanked us all, hands in prayer position at forehead, bowing to each of us before retiring to his room. Each of us did likewise, without words going to solitude to savour the sweetness of the moment.

"Buddha nature is traceless, trackless." Such were the pearls that Santi dropped some pearls; but only a little can be recalled here.

Camp fire Dharma, Santi and Willem

He had reflected on the Eureka Southern Cross. The eight pointed stars, he said, represent the Buddha's Eightfold Noble Path to the cessation of suffering. In the Eureka star array each had a significance: the right (east) Clarity; the lower (south) Equality; the right (west) Harmony; and the top (north) Unity; and the centre star represented the synthesis, Understanding.

Knowing that Graeme chanted the Varja mantra of Padmasambhava, he also shared the teachings of the Dhyana Buddhas, the understanding of the different emanations of the historical Buddha. With this teaching, culture hero, Padmasambhava, had been able to consolidate and expand acceptance of Buddhism in Tibet.

On Sunday Santi, with the assistance of Willem, set about collecting rocks to make a mandala on the grass outside the Tarp Sala. On a flat piece of mudstone, he marked out a Southern Cross with a cordless drill, mixed his spit with the ochre dust from the holes, and marked the forehead of each of us.

Witness to the mandala

Santi invokes deities in the sky and blesses Willem and Cat

Then he arranged us around the circle, Jack Wayward and I, the old men as witnesses in the north and south, Will and Catherine (and Maha Thiango) east and west. Then he went around the cardinal points, above and below, and invoked the deities near and far, seen and unseen, extending loving kindness to them and all sentient beings.

Willem and Catherine took great joy and inspiration from this; their Snake Valley shed now blessed and sanctified.

Jack Wayward was soon smiling, eagerly jotting down notes and saying how grateful he was to have connected with Santi and the Retreat. All happen chance.

Santi told a story about a personal experience of repetitive and obsessive thought cycling, an occupational hazard for hermits, nomads and others who seek solitude. He told of the unexpected impact that the news of the death of his mother had had on him as a monk.

The news of the death had reached him in Thailand some weeks after the event and Santi, not close to his mother, recalled becoming unexpectedly and unexplainably disturbed, his mind hot and agitated. He tried all manner of meditation practices, pressing his tongue to his palate and such stuff. Only by shouting "Namo Buddho" repetitively could he hold his centre.

Santi's breakthrough came with the insight of seeing his reaction as karma, and "not just my karma, but bigger picture, bigger karma." As in mammal grief, species grief.

We dearly wanted Santi to stay around and hang about Snake Valley and Ballarat for a week or three. But he wanted to be back at Wat Buddhalavarn for the unveiling of the model That Luang that the Lao lay people have been labouring on for some months and he organised to take a train to Melbourne the next day.

At the Ballarat rail station Catherine, Maya Thiango, Willem and Graham farewelled him. Santi walked through the platform ticket gate and, maybe it was the tears in eyes, he didn't look back.

So a mendicant monk turned the Wheel of Dharma in the south lands of Australia.