By Matthew Flickstein
FOR HUNDRED MOUNTAIN

A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, for a short period of time, I was a monk in the Theravadan Buddhist tradition. I became a monk because I wanted to live in a peaceful environment, with a teacher and a community of meditators who supported deep spiritual development. I was deeply conflicted, however, because I was married and had two young children; how could I reconcile leaving my family with my desire to pursue spiritual goals?

While meditating in my hermitage, an idea arose to my mind. Why not create a forest meditation center for lay people that offered the same environment and support as a monastery did for monastics. This idea was the beginning of what is now The Forest Way Insight Meditation Center.

The Forest Way was incorporated and received tax-exempt status (501c3) in 1993. The plans for The Forest Way remained dormant for the next few years, during which time I continued to lead retreats and to teach meditation classes.

During a meditation course that I was leading in 1997, I shared my vision of The Forest Way with one of my students, Walter Schwidetzky. Walter was inspired by the idea of creating a lay center, and offered to work with me to bring about the vision. With Walter’s generous support, The Forest Way began to unfold.

WALTER AND I BEGAN LOOKING for land in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. We had been searching for about six months, when we learned of an 86-acre parcel of property. The realtor informed us that the site was quite beautiful with 20-mile views, a small stream and a series of waterfalls. But he added that it might not be suitable for our purposes. Why? The realtor replied that the land was extremely isolated. To the realtor’s surprise, we wasted no time in scheduling a time to see the property. After viewing the site, we extended an offer and purchased all 86.9 acres.

Next we applied for a special use permit. We decided to proactively address fears and concerns regarding our presence in the community. We attended several Planning Commission meetings, during which time we communicated our vision for The Forest Way and briefly demonstrated the type of meditation we would be teaching. We also invited the Planning Commission members to the Forest Way property, and showed them the proposed mountain ridge building site. At the next Planning Commission meeting, our special use permit was unanimously approved.

At this point, my wife, Carol, began working with The Forest Way on a full-time basis. The dedicated efforts of Carol and Walter, coupled with the generosity of our supporters, enabled us to accomplish many things. We built a one-mile access road into the property, create a parking lot, purchase an easement for a septic system, install an electrical supply station, survey the building site, create architectural plans, obtain site plan approval, purchase a storage shed, and contract with an excavation company to construct a road to the building site and to clear the site in preparation for building. Most recently, a professional production company donated their time, expertise, and production costs to create a video of The Forest Way, designed to help us share our vision.

This fall, volunteers worked to on initial plans for landscaping The Forest Way, which will include creating walking paths and gardens. Other supporters are arranging to relocate to the Virginia area to enable them to support the development of the Forest Way on a full-time basis.

We invite those of you who read this article to join us in bringing the vision of a lay forest meditation center to fruition. Please visit our website, at www.forestway.org, to read more about our mission, programs and goals. If you would like to contact us directly, our e-mail address is mailto:forestway@cstone.net.

EDITOR'S NOTE: "BUDDHISTAmerica" profiles the activities, efforts and thoughts of lay Buddhists across the Americas (North, South and Central) in trying to build sanghas, communities or just trying to get a meditation sitting group together. E-mail essays or other contributions about such efforts to Hundred Mountain. Please note our guidelines on the Submissions & Subscriptions page for how to submit.