Tassajara 5

This cartoon depicts the historic attempt of 5 Zen monks who stayed behind to protect their Zen Monastery/Hot Springs, Tassajara, when Northern California's Basin Complex fire creeped into Carmel Valley and threatened to burn it to the ground.

As the fire encroached, the Monastery evacuated guests, then students, then most monks and when it became clear the fire was going to sweep through, the firemen and their trucks left.

My sister, who lived through it in Monterey, described the rescue to me...

"But 5 monks stayed behind, including the Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center (which operates Tassajara). Before the fire crews left, they coated the buildings in fireproof gel and wrapped them in special foil, as well as installing rooftop sprinklers on every building. The monks stayed at great personal risk to man the pumps and the hoses, and to watch over the zendo (temple).

Last week, the fire burned through Tassajara, and the five monks kept the monastery safe. They all survived without injury, and are now known as "The Tassajara Five". The zendo was saved and only a few outbuildings were lost. The fire approached from all 4 sides, and they kept watch night and day putting out spot fires. They were alone in the wilderness, but were able to keep in touch with the outside world via phone. Everyone here followed the story via a couple of blogs kept by monks who had evacuated and were keeping in touch with the Five.

The Monterey Herald headline the next day screamed in huge font "PRIESTS SURVIVE INFERNO!"

Anyway, it was all pretty incredible. Those zen monks, man. Intense."

TASSAJARA WEBSITE:
http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/display.asp?catid=4&pageid=1237