


This map is pretty much complete, but doesn't include my brief side trip to the bottom of the Coromandel peninsula:

I chose the 11 images for various reasons. Each picture has a brief caption and some comments about it from Albert Town residents.
Moira Fleming on Albert Town's history:
Peter Cross, foreground, fixes a broken shed, with the help of Harry Dickey.
Comments by Moira Fleming
Looking toward the poplars on the Cardrona riverbank.
Comments by Rae Benfell
Stuart went through several pages of paper before deciding on the piece he wanted to make. It's just third from the right on the top row, above, looking a bit like a flame.
Now it's a matter of grinding a larger piece of jade down to the size and shape Stuart needs. He starts with a piece of jade just about the right size, and steps over to the bench grinder.
It starts with a very rough grind, as shown below, by the hard sharp edge of the piece.
Gordon Wells, the jade carver who supervises and instructs along the way, demonstrates each step before letting Stuart take over.
The grinding isn't very fast work, because jade is very hard (8 on the Mohs scale). Even synthetic diamonds (not quite 10 on the Mohs scale) have a tough time. After a while, though, the piece begins to take shape.
Sanding puts the final polish on the jade. It takes a long time, longer usually than the grinding and drilling. It's done by hand and acquaints the carver intimately with the piece.
There are five levels of sanding paper, increasing in fineness from 150 to 1200. The process involves sanding, rinsing in water, and sanding again. The jade must be sanded wet until the very final step, when it is buffed dry before polishing.
So I walked closer, down the hill, to see what was there.
A deck chair seemed to say that someone had been there, and was planning to be back.
5:15 morning chanting (puja) begins
The following are samples of morning chanting. The opening and closing are always done but the others vary daily, not usually in any particular pattern.
Chanting is in Pali, which is the language the Buddha spoke, and English. First phrases of Pali are chanted and then the English translations.
This is what was chanted the morning of Tuesday, April 27, 1999:
Morning opening
Preliminary homage to the Buddha. This is often chanted before other chanting.
In praise of the Dhamma. The Dhamma (Sanskrit: Dharma) is the set of teachings by the Buddha which lead to Enlightenment.
In praise of the Sangha. The Sangha (the word means "community") is the monks and nuns, including those at this and all other monasteries.
5:30 morning meditation begins (silent)
6:45-7 morning meditation ends, followed by some more chanting and the closing chant
7-7:15 end of morning puja
then in the evening:
7 evening chanting begins
The following are all part of a single chant, a list of the ten teachings which "should be reflected upon again and again by one who has gone forth" and become a monk or a nun. These, as with the other chants, are in Pali and English, alternating.
The days and nights pass by
At the end of my life
The kamma (Sanskrit: karma)
Solitude
Impermanence
7:15 evening meditation begins (silent)
8:15 evening meditation ends, followed by more chanting and the closing chant
8:30 end of evening puja