Inside Odiyan and Ratna Ling in 2013: a First-hand Account by Patrick

I am not trying to bad-mouth Odiyan or Ratna Ling, just giving my honest opinions about my experience there in 2013. I had some experience with religious practice while I was growing up in San Diego, so I was receptive to those inuences. The rst thing I noticed were the impressive structures, the golden stupas. They made me curious and I was at a point in my life that I needed a change, perhaps an exciting, spiritual one. I originally saw the structures from a neighbors property while I was visiting his nephew. When I returned to San Diego, I did a Google search and applied to Odiyan. I was under the impression that it was a more spiritual community than a workOdiyan, multi-million dollar temple and residential complex for Tarthang Tulku, top only community. I thought there would be church ofcials, and workers in the Cazadero some more logic and sense of camaraderie Hills. Nearby Ratna Ling Retreat was originally listed by the owners as an Annex among the workers. I was hoping that to Odiyan, meant to house the printing people would be willing to talk about facilities. Buddhism and how they applied it in their daily lives. But I did not nd that to be the case. They told me that they really don't talk about Buddhism. They just work a lot. At least the young people did. The rest of them, the older people who had been there awhile, just made busy-work for themselves to avoid hard labor. I lived in the main temple (Odiyan) which is inside the moat. I worked at Ratna Ling and Odiyan for one month. During that month I worked long hours, 6 days a week, 8 to 11 hours per day; sometimes more. I only worked for two days with the printing presses because I didnt like it and wanted to work outdoors in the garden. About 20 workers a day go from Odiyan to work at Ratna Ling. You just worked on whatever people showed you how to do. Often I worked on my own or with other people The printing operation was denitely a factory The 21,234 square-foot printing factory at depending on the project. For example,
Ratna Ling Retreat in 2009.

edge dying the books requires about four people constantly working to get through the pallets as fast as possible with little regard for quality. More people just makes it faster and often more sloppy. The printing operation was denitely a factory, full of loud noisy machines and chemicals. The workers were given no orientation except they were told to avoid the door where the forklift enters. There were no safety meetings. After only two days in there the print factory is certainly the primary activityEdge dyeing I asked not to work there because I preferred outdoor machines, Ratna Ling Retreat, 2009. work to the factory. But the print factory is certainly the primary activity there. I did see the printing press room, and there appeared to be multiple presses. I know that there were at least two printer technicians always there, but I don't know much beyond what I happened to see. It was clear that multiple books were coming out of there, that's for sure. Of course, one "book" is 200+ volumes, so they may have gured a way work around the book It was clear that multiple books were limits. coming out of there Collating For three days straight I sat on a lawn mower eight machines, Ratna Ling Retreat, 2009 hours a day and mowed grass. This was a solo activity. There was quite a mix. The lawn mower was my favorite because I could go at my own pace. Manual labor included trench digging, cleaning, fence installation, lawn mowing, collecting fruit, lots of walking around the property to and from jobs, branch pruning and wood chipping. These are some of the activities I did, but mostly trench digging 8 to 10 hours a day. The workers and work areas, indoors or outdoors, seemed to have a lack of maintenance and planning. The place was falling apart in many respects. The football eld-sized garden was poorly designed and didnt function well. The moat/pond was full of algae and mosquitos. The food was terrible. The kitchen was extremely dirty, falling apart, mice everywhere. That was the worst part. I was actually terried of a Hantavirus outbreak. Certainly a CDC (Center for Disease Control) nightmare. Their system for cooking was to have 1 person cook for 30-40 people. So the food was always bad because 1 person would make whatever they could as fast as possible. I was fed enough and there was usually a large amount of fruit available so that was a plus.

It was obvious that there was lots of money being spent, even though the Odiyan equipment was not in good order. The foundry was in continual use. The foundry makes statues and other ornaments for the Odiyan property. Often I also had to do chores on the seventh day. Sunday chores were meant to prevent you from leaving the property. This keeps most people there completely isolated in the world they live in. My roommate was similar to me, also from San Diego. Most of the people I met working there were hardworking and devoted to the Rinpoche, Tarthang Tulku, but not particularly friendly. And nobody ever had time to talk about Buddhism or really get to know each other. Instead, people just worked and didn't talk about much. I did not participate in morning meditations because I was usually exhausted and could not get up at 6:15 after having such a long day. It was not a healthy environment for a lot of the workers because they would often explode the moment they became agitated or frustrated. Most of them were worked too hard. They were exhausted and we felt isolated. People were not always kind to one another. I believe that many people became dependent on meals and lodging and felt unable to reenter the regular world after some time had passed. They could be isolated from society at large but still have some social interaction. This allowed many people to develop power complexes and stake out their territory within Odiyan. Surprisingly there was no Buddhist spiritual training, just work. Long days for a $5 a day stipend. I did not chant. Everything I learned about Tarthang Tulku I read in his books. I read two of his books, Skillfull Means and Gestures of Balance. I found that these teachings were not being practiced at all by the people there, because everything they did was out of balance and most things were done in a hurry and without regard for quality. Everyone was always in a rush to do something or go somewhere, even though there was no reason for this. It was sort of insane. The workers were kept fairly isolated and there was a strange hierarchy. The hierarchy was not really dened, but basically I worked in the manual labor/maintenance crew. So I was under the charge of people that were my age or younger than me. About ve or six people worked on the book projects, doing the layouts on computers and translations that would go to Ratna Ling eventually. Others focused on the gardens at Odiyan to make them beautiful. Some coordinated the ceremonies and took care of the animals around the property. Three or four worked in the foundry/workshop making molds or making prayer windmills. Tarthang Tulku the Rinpoche, seemed to be the only Tibetan at Odiyan. I was curious about him. Some of the longtime workers had seen him. He would now be about 80 years old, but has a wife half his age and two older daughters from a previous mother.

Apparently some of the longtime workers were taught directly by the Rinpoche, perhaps spiritual lessons that taught them to keep working hard for him and one day they would have enlightenment or something. I don't know, I never got to meet him. I think it is just his style of communication that keeps people in awe. I waved to make them beautifulGrounds kept workers busy him one time and he waved at Odiyan. back, but he never smiled or said hello to me. I began to question the cult-like atmosphere and decided to leave. I also helped my roommate leave by nding him a job nearby at Plantation.