# Chapter 11: Staying With Jade Suddenly I spotted him wearing his beanie and carrying his canvas laptop bag. "Sorry dude, I was with my friend a little longer than expected," he said nonchalantly. "No worries." My shoulders and feet were exhausted from carrying my luggage all around town. I was so pleased to finally be in a home. "Hungry?" Jade asked as he tossed me a small zip-loc bag with dried apple rings before I could even answer. "Yeah, thanks." "So what are you doing in Berkeley?" he asked me as he looked through the fridge. "I'm going on a meditation retreat at the City of Ten-Thousand Buddhas up in Ukiah on Thursday—it was Tuesday that night. Have you ever heard of the place?" "Yeah, yeah. I think I've heard of that place. Really cool, dude. What do you do for work?" --- ## The Question I was immediately intimidated by Jade's question. I felt my body get tense as I sat up straight. "I used to do construction work for my uncle's contracting business, but I'm trying to get away from all that. I'm looking for something new, ya know." I was stuffing my face with apple rings now and the conversation started to feel like an interrogation. I continued talking: "I'm tired of that type of work. It can be demeaning, demanding, and... I'm just looking for a different type of life. Somewhere I can be creative, can travel, and pursue my spiritual path." Jade sat up on the kitchen table as if the conversation was now 'on.' He had noticed I was young and seeking a deeper spiritual understanding. --- ## Jade's Philosophy "Yeah. I know what you're saying. When I was a few years younger I rebelled all the time. I said, 'Screw the 9-5 job.' I wanted to freelance, start my own t-shirt business, you know. And I failed a whole bunch of times. Then it dawned on me." > [!quote] Jade's Wisdom > "See, I was always about rebellion, anti-society, and following dreams. Then I came across this saying... 'If you're not a rebel when you're young, you got no heart, and if you're not part of the system when you're old, you got no brains.' See what I'm saying?" "Hmm..." I found that very sensical at first, but it seemed like Jade was warning me about my young naive outlook on life. Was I supposed to surrender to the system when I get older? Was all this 'finding myself' just an early going phase to life? "I freelance now but I basically work for different companies, and they pay me well," he continued. "You gotta respect the system, dude. We need money." --- ## Resistance I started feeling some resistance toward Jade's money talk. Part of the whole reason I came to California was to find people who didn't talk about becoming part of a 'system' or needing money to survive. That was the 'voice of doom' I was so determined to escape from. > [!reflection] First Impressions > I took Jade for a cool dude. He lived by himself, had an awesome black leather couch and a pantry full of nourishing foods. Yet I wasn't completely sold on his spiritual wisdom. "I will consider that one, Jade. Rebel now, and settle into the system when I'm older. Sounds like a safe plan." I was at the end of our conversation. I could hardly keep my eyes open. "Ok, I'll let you get some sleep." He got up and walked toward his bedroom. Turning, he asked me, "How's $40 a night sound?" I felt my face tighten. "Sure, that's very generous of you." I sank into the couch, and before I could give a second thought to where I was or how much I was paying, I drifted into deep dreamless sleep. --- ## Two Days in Berkeley My two nights at Jade's went by quick. I spent most of my time wandering in and out of cafes and taking long walks or bike rides in and around the campus. The California weather was glorious and the few redwoods I encountered were soul-quenching. I had played pick-up basketball up in the Berkeley hills, freestyled with a local hip-hop artist, and rode a rent-a-bike down the terrifyingly steep hill of Euclid Ave stoned off my rocker. I drank plenty of coffee, wrote when I felt inspired, and ate when I was hungry. > [!magic] Freedom > Those two days served as a buffer for the next stop of my journey—The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, awaiting me in the foothills of Ukiah. --- ## The Journey North I was on my way to meet the great Bodhisattva, Guan Yin—the one who contemplates the sounds of the world, the great compassionate Buddha. My bus was leaving out of San Francisco by Embarcadero at sunset. I ate a tasty Vietnamese sandwich, downloaded *The Alchemist* by Paulo Coelho on audio tape, and settled into a three-hour drive through northern California. --- *Next: [[Ch 12 - Arriving at The City of 10,000 Buddhas]]