Just Rambling on...

A Zen Koan from the Blue Cliff Records:-
or in Japanese the Mumonkan.

"A line is cast in the Rapids,
And the Greedy is caught!
As soon as your mouth is open,
Your life is Lost!

I must have posted this Koan a dozen of times over the years since I first came across it while doing my Practice Period at the San Francisco Zen Center at Green Gulch Farm. In my two years at the Gulch, I took it upon myself to thoroughly understand Buddhism. It is a way of life that I was raised by for twelve years of my childhood life before I was converted to Islam at the age of 12. I made it my intention to dive as deep as i possibly could into the different schools from the Hinayana Tradition that I was raised into to the Tantric Buddism of the Tibetan schools. I spent a whole lot of my time in the library at Green Gulch and later at Tassajarra Zen Mountain Center located in the Big Sur in the Carmel Valley area. I was blessed with books and texts that I think is almost impossible to find on the topic of Buddhism. It was like a hungry being freed into a hay field. I got to meet, Dogen and Rinzai while being watched by Bankei and I have met Syun Ryu Suzuki Roshi, I talked to Marpa about Milarepa and I took the Bodhisattva vows on every full moon of the month along with some twenty five other of my Practicing Dharma Brothers led by our Instructor and friend, Paul Disco. I embraced my understanding of the Buddha's way at the highest deepest essence of what The Buddhism of Buddha Shakyamuni  is all about. I might even add that it had help to liberate my soul from a lower level to higher plane of existence; I have come a very long way from becoming a homeless drunk, with very low moral virtue and self esteem or none to speak of, I am now doing not too bad at seventy still ass kicking on the Internet and the spreading of my humble wisdom to be shared by those who happens to stumble upon this Ramblings of the Cheeseburger Buddha.

There is a silence in between every in and out breath and in this moment of silence you can hear the voice in your heart speaking to you. Don't try to listen to it. (instead), Listen to you breath rising and falling and know that when you breath in, you are breathing in and when you breath out you are breathing out... there is nothing more than simply this. All else is Maya, delusions and ignorance most of us is lost in this realm of Maya seeking our way out back home. We keep building our sand castles and the next wave comes along and we are back to square one telling ourselves that these are the nature of impermanence, nothing last for ever and that eternity is where you are at. 

Satchitananda (IAST: Saccidānanda) or Sacchidānanda representing "existence, consciousness, and bliss"^[1][2] or "truth, consciousness, bliss",^[3] is an epithet and description for the subjective experience of the ultimate, unchanging reality in Hinduism called Brahman.^{[4][5][note 1]}

Wikepedia

For me, understanding the theories and practice of Buddhism has brought me closer to this state of Satchitananda. I feel myself being drawn more and more into the practice of meditation, raja and hatha Yoga on a daily basis. It is as though I am manifesting my practice more and more in the physical and mental forms with an awakened consciousness. No big deal really except that I am becoming less distracted and more focused over what or where I am at. I am able to more and more detach myself, letting go what is no more needed and pacifying my rise and fall of emotional vexations, recognizing old persistent habits and so forth.

Existence, Truth or reality is where we are at, meditating on our breath leading on to a heightened state of awareness and consciousness and resulting in Bliss.

The State of my Nation.

Malaysians are still being entertained by the latest political drama unfolding in the government and thus far it don't look too good for anybody. Like most, I am not so into politics, however I do pay some attention when the going gets rough. We have never truly suffered as a nation, like Yemen, or Syria or even Bangladesh. The hardest times we had faced was during the Japanese and British occupation of the country during WW2. So we have a death wish that our country faces some kind of tragedy painful enough much more than the May13 of 1969 incident, painful enough to wake us all up from this living in denial of how bad things are as it is for the people and the country itself. It looks like we don't need a war to bring us down, before we can rise again as a coherent nation as it did in the aftermath of the WW2. But we have forgotten, like the man said,"Melayu mudah lupa," nope not only the Malays, Malaysians easily forgets. 

It is my understanding that the elected officials to serve as the government are like employees behind hired to run a business, to fulfill all responsibilities that their elected positions calls for, in short earn your paycheck. To do what you are assigned to do and to fulfill promises you have made towards your constituencies is all we are asking for, the question are you the elected representatives of the government doing your job or not is paramount than to the future of your political career, Stay focus on your the job at hand and serve your people, otherwise you do not deserve your position and you are swindling the Nation and should reflect on what you should do. This is what i naively understand myself where politics is concern. In the seventy years of my life to date, I voted only in the last four General Elections, before that I never took any interest in politics; my bad.

Most of us had watched "Game of Thrones," for political entertainment we do not need anymore local dramas where our  government is concern. For once I ask the politicians to act what their hearts tells them and not what they think they should do for the sake of the people who has laid their faith and trust into your hands. It is sacrilege to say the least to not carry out your duties to the people who elected you because you are too busy taking care of your future in the party. The people are in need of some assurance, some confidence and not repeated versions of the political dramas that they are being forced to witness in helplessness. The people, the environment the very legal system, the education system; wake up and look at what you have done.

I will not contemplate the worse that can happen, however if we are hankering for a bloodbath of a revolution, racial riots and the rest of the doomsday scenario rest assured it might not be an impossibility; a long military rule is not an option. So pick your choice before the people decides to pick one out for you. My hope is that the old fox still has a card or two up his sleeves to outsmart all these chickens into their proper place.

Taking the next step into Breathing...

Never hold you breath too long or too short remain constant in rythm of in and out, rise and fall here and there inside and out there...the Breath is the bridge between the two opposite worlds of the Cosmic Symbol of Yin and Yang. Without having to think through like I just did, just know that it all begins, runs and ends with your breath. Breathing is  like the feeling of the Master's Katana slicing through the air and taking your head off without the slightest feeling ...effortlessly. This is the razor's edge that we are walking along if we are awaken enough. To understand the workings of the "Dual thinking Mind,"is like studying yourself, like a neuro-scientist understanding who you are and what and why, has life been this way for you, what is the purpose to all these years of being born into this world of Maya and endure suffering again and again within and without; asking for answers and seeking knowledge is the Nature of the "Way Seeking Mind," the mind that dances around like the Monkey God as He surf the clouds of heaven. This is my way of passing my morning as I listen to Hans Zimmer's, "The Last Samurai," sound tracks on You Tube, I breath in knowing that I am taking a long deep breath and breathing out effortlessly, in and out, in and out...and knowing this too will not last...this too will pass...

Bless the moment, of being and touch with the sound of a powerful music while letting the fingers surf the keys following the dictates  of the mind. Riding every note like on a sailing boat over a calm lake and the to feel the turbulent nature of the human spirit, the Warrior Spirit of the Samurai in facing death. Be in the Presence, in the Here and Now as the great teachers have been urging us to do and breath in and out effortlessly, imagine the final charge of the Warlord and his American partner against the Imperial Kansai army, imagine riding along to the rise and fall of Hans Zimmer  power of the sound of music, to me it has always been mesmerizing as well meditative; I have registered it into my genetic code for future references to the taste of music, including my other favorites like Pink Floyd, Kitaro, Enigma and Willie Nelson...too many to keep count, the orchestra pieces always raise the hair on the back of my head.

I write this post, like an addict who finds nothing better to than to face the computer and communicate with the rest of the world about anything and everything under the sun. Yes and I write to also be a reminder to myself as i take my next step forward that I am only a breath away from the next reality, are you prepared to take the step into the unknown..'The One Step Beyond'. I write this posts of my life like a memoir or a dairy to as a form of practice towards self-discovery, the simple basic question that is my ball of fire thAT i CARRY IN MY GUTS is; Who am I? How do I step out of this circle of life ,death and rebirth once and for all without feeling the guilt of betraying my Bodhisattva Vows that I have taken once upon a time in my adult age at the Zen Buddhist Monastery on a Night of the Full Moon. Yes, I was there then as I am here now I took a vow along with my fellow Zen students of carrying out the Bodhisattva Virtues in the service of humanity So leaving the scene prematurely is not an option, I like the rest of man has to gorge and forge our way through while healing and helping others heal, easing the pains of oneself as well as others, this what it means by to be awaken along with the rest of sentient beings. 

My little girl has grown into a fine lady.

Breath- back to square one,,,

"As opposed to other spiritual practices, 
self - knowledge is the direct means for enlightenment, 
just as fire is the direct means to cooking.
Without self - knowledge enlightenment is impossible."
Verse 2 of the Atma Bodha by Shankara.

"He who knows himself knows his Lord."
The Prophet (SAW) of Allah.

 I am breathing...
Take a deep breath, breath slowly and deeply in and know that you are breathing in, Zen Teacher Thich Naht Hahn, once taught at a ten days Vipassana Retreat at Green Gulch Zen Cente, its Dharma name, The Green Dragon Temple. and when breathig out know that you are breathing out, breath in breath out and that all there is to it, this is Zen; I just realized that this evening. Afters a week or so stopping from making a post on my Blog, I felt free from the need to justify anymore of who I am: I Am who I AM. The discovery I felt upon this matter sank into me and it was like being thrown back to square one, how I have forgotten that I am breathing and breath is all that keeps me here in the form energy that keeps this body alive and functioning up your standard. This energy permeates throughout the whole body , from the tiniest of atomic particles to the major organs, skin and bones and helps to keep a good balance and alignment of the whole physical form.
 A Zen Proverb,
Breath is like a swinging door, 
You breath in, it swings in ,
You breath out.
You stop breathing and you are dead.

The human form is  most sustainable piece and systematic piece of equipment, very versatile, flexible, hard, smooth and soft, this piece of equipment we have evolved into our physical self is about as perfect if not the perfect instrument from every aspect for our survival. We are Lovers and killers, saints and sinners, we are still evolving towards our own self destruction or enlightenment, this physical for of our carries eons of genetic evolution to arrive at this point in space and time  to express itself; I am, That I am. But I am not the body, not this physical form, I am the master of my body, it is my tool of expression. I care for it like I care for my car, my car is an extension of who I am while on the road and seldom fail to ask for Allah's or God's Blessings and protection as you are scared of the car breaking down or anything worse, old habits die hard; fear is the key. Perhaps we fear genuinely of letting go, we like to cling on to and attach ourselves to every single manifestation the happens around and within us through our senses, conscious or unconsciously. 

When lost in a state confusion or uncertainty, stress or lost in a Twilight Zone of the subconscious, take deep breath and know that you are breathing in and let go of the breath out you know you are breathing out, and that's there is all to it, the rest is what we call life or living. This thought is a projection of my mind as I breath in and out making this Blog entry of my present experience of meditation in action. entry is my effort of recording my thoughts and understanding how it functions at all levels and dimensions, albeit physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual level. Science has been making all kinds of discoveries and theories of how thoughts are generated and where do them come from, for example in your lucid dreams. We are more and more getting addicted to thinking and sooner or later we will out-think ourselves by being overloaded with thoughts, ideas and feelings, images and visions and further more we keep feeding ourselves these already collected baggage. We have become the sum total of our conditioned mind.: I am not the mind; I am the Master of my mind.The mind is the creator of my mental formations, projecting my image my personality my emotional and spiritual being; I am not my projected image as I am not the mind, however my mind is my tool just the inner workings of my car's engine functions when the engine starts. The human mind has evolved through the course of endless eons to become free from the very act of thinking; not mindless but not of the mind. Humanity today more then ever has taken a giant leap of faith in trusting the workings of the human mind. The human mind has become the master upon man himself as he gets sucked into every desires and whims, fears and distortions; we become slaves to our own conditioned mind.

Attaining to the state of silence is one sure way of keeping our minds from slipping off into the deep end with thoughts overdose and the one sure way to attain this is through the concentration upon breathing...breathing in...I am breathing in...breathing out ...I am is out...our journey on the physical plane is over when the breathing stops. ...and our journey  into the mental and spiritual realm begins. Most have been preparing themselves of what is to be expected when we die, primarily; heaven or hell? How well have we worked out our Karma in this life or have we accumulated more since the last time we were here, in this each to his or her own as it is between me and my Maker. This is how the mind attaches itself to any given topic and it will create a story to go with; mind is the story teller. Watch your mind in meditation as it rise and falls ever changing one after another, one of the ways of stilling the mind from its incessant chattering is through mindfulness breathing. This is what my Vietnamese Monk Zen Master was pointing out to me during the Vipassana Retreat.

# Vipassana,#Thich Naht Han,#Atma bodha, #Shankara,# Zen   

Get to know your spine up close and personal.

"Tiang Seri" or the main pillar of the house, the Malays calls it, is regarded as the center of the house, In the old atap houses like the one I grew up in, they tie a red cloth and sometimes hangs a coconut for this is where the house spirit or "Semangat Rumah," resides. From this vertical structure all else is built. When doing meditation whatever form one does, albeit Yoga or Zen, the spine is the vertical reference that the rest of the physical body aligns to. The perpendicularity of the spine is erected through the initial deep and somewhat forceful breathing, this helps to align the body upright. The spine when is in an effortless state of vertical position the rest of the body, hangs from it relaxing every tight muscles and allowing energy to flow unobstructed throughout the body. One comes to a point where the body becomes light and almost weightless that it is forgotten; sometimes one even experiences a sense of lightness of being.

The Japanese are very conscious of their posture when they stand of sit and in the old days even when they sleep paying great attention to the spine being in a comfortable erect position. The manners of the Samurai warriors when they sit facing their Lord is the epitome of being in a well balanced and aligned posture. Seldom do you see these warriors sit in a slouch which would be frowned upon by their peers. From this perfect sitting posture the Samurai can spring into action if and when the occasion demands it. Being able to sit for hours without moving a muscle like a stone Buddha was and perhaps still is a mark of accomplishment for the traditional Japanese. To attain this feat one has to constantly practice being comfortable effortlessly and this is done through the art of breathing, aligning the whole boy into one immovable unit.

Practically in all Yoga Postures while doing Hatha Yoga is focused upon Breathing as well as the alignment of the spinal column. Through constant practice of the Asanas or postures the spine is being kept as flexible as possible, this is so that our spinal column does not become stiff and often petrified causing all kinds of  stiffness, aches and pains to the rest of the body. Doing yoga exercises and various other forms of spine related stretching will no doubt help in the prevention of lower back pains and stiff necks. As boring a subject as it may seems, it is beyond words to express how important it is for one to maintain a good upright posture for good alignment of the rest of the body.       

Ode to my Father...The Goldsmith.

Thaipusam has just came and went two days ago, I did not make it this year so have no idea what went. Some say a record attendance and grand celebration for the Hindus as they came all over the northern part of the Peninsular of the country. What is Thaipusam? I have tried many times in the past posting this subject, google it. What comes to my mind every time I think of Thaipusam, I think of my father perhaps because he once told me he created the one foot tall solid gold figurine of the Deity, Murugaya that is being charrioted from its home temple to the temple in the foot hills of the Penang Hill, about seven or eight miles away. This Deity is the one in whose name the act of carrying the Kavadi is performed.

Often times I feel I am doing just that my entire life, carrying a load on my back with barbs piercing the skin of my back and with lemons hanging hooked to my chest, I am walking this journey for the past seventy years. This is an act of self mortification as a show of gratitude towards the one who has fulfilled your request and your prayers- the Deity. It has become a religious question  such an in my mind as to the right and wrongs of my father to have created such an image that is worshiped by  thousands who came annually to commemorate this event. I have tried all kinds of justification to persuade myself that even if my father was converted to Islam, perhaps he created this sculpture in solid gold before he was married and

converted to Islam. However  the fact remains and I am the one bearing this cross on my back, my mind has had me by the baLLS FOR A VERY LONG TIME! It is no more. I choose to move on and accept what lies ahead. I am proud to know this fact in my life that my father perhaps shared only with me not to others of my siblings. It is an honor my awareness of the matter added more fuel towards my journey in looking for answers for myself.

My father was also a Golden Glove Champion for the State at one time in his younger days and old black and white photo I once saw of him posing, my father had a fighter's figure. He would point out to me the broken skin under his chin that he carried a reminder. My father's hand crafted jewelries can be found in the Royal house of Terengganu, He crafted all manners of jewelries from diamond studded rings, to chains with diamond studded pendants. I used to observe him at work in the kitchen of our home cursing and swearing in Singhalese,often sitting flat on the concrete floor and working his heart out , perhaps creating the last of its kind, a piece handcrafted in the traditional way of the Sri Lankans.

At the age of fourteen, while doing some stretching in the house my father walked by and uttered, "You must practice Yoga." If anything worthwhile that came out of my father's mouth, this passing advice set my heart on fire, like what is Yoga? So I read and I practice on my own, never had a teacher.  Now after having arrived at about his age when he said this to me, I am beginning to understand Yoga, not Patanjali's nor Iyangar, not Osho's or Mooji's, Nor Sat Guru Jagdev. just my own self developed and evolved set of physical,  mental and spiritual discipline; my father, thanks to him, a door was opened and I stepped in, I entered this wisdom school of the ancients through it back door,  the Science of Yogic Tradition. Off course at fourteen I was not thinking about it all like I am now, I think too much as I get get older; this I learn is the paradox of when you practice a discipline with effort and intention attached to it. I learn the more you make and effort the harder for you to achieve your goal successfully,; I developed a Yoga of seeking to create a balance and true alignment of the body, mind and spirit. A Yoga that can help to keep the energy fire of the kundalini burning continually throughout the body, a Yoga that can help me transcend all forms of ignorance and heal a splintered soul. I found my own form of Yoga and I write about it for those who enjoy reading my Blog.

 My father saved myself from taking my own life and this happened sometime in spring 1979 while I was living and going to college in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I was in the kitchen with a Whiskey bottle in my hand and a kitchen knife in the other, the house belonged to my close friend, Fran Wilson, and he was going through a divorce and let me use the house upon my return from my long trip driving to the South West States of New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado, living out of a 1965, Chevy Impala a gift from my girlfriend then at the price of two dollars for paper works purposes. As I set on the footsteps of Fran's house, it was the first time I looked at the car, sadly in a battered state. I had learned upon return too that my ex-wife was moving to Germany with my son and the chances of my seeing him would be nil. I had no money and no where to stay, my future was bleak; I decided to end it all there and then.

Out of desperation I gave myself in to one last call for help, time to reach out for someone I can listen to and trust. I called my eldest brother in Malaysia for the first time in seven years since I left the country and the phone rang! A girl answered and told me that my eldest was not home and I swore, "Shit!" under my breath into the phone and this Malay girl, brother's house maid, said, "What's the matter with you? Why can't you talk to your father, he is here?" When my father came on the line he sounded like he was in Fran's living room with me, talking. I told him my sob stories and how it had led to that point where I was loosing it. All he did was laugh and while laughing he said. " What's all this fuss la! It's my karma and it's your karma, and it is your son's, I live my Karma, you do yours and he will do his. do your best, go on la!" In the tone and manner spoke his broken half English and half Malay with a touch of sincerity cloaked in humor, my father reached out to me with such gentleness that I drove myself to the University and threw myself at the mercy of two Rich Thai cousins, foreign students in whose apartment I crashed.

As i leaned against the wall facing the living room I watched all my aches and pains, my pain body, a few feet away from me. Like it stepped of of my body and just being painful an suffering out there. I was just watching and I felt very light,and weightless and I fell asleep on the living room floor of my Thai friends, my journey to the South West States of New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado came to end and next was to send in my assignments. to the various faculty members, the journey to the South West was a course assignment through the University without Walls, program of the Univ. Wis. Madison and I was chosen as one of the pioneer participants as they accepted my proposal. 

Yes Pops, I know we never really sit and talk but when we did it was worth all while in the world. My first move after I have rested was to write to my father and so I sat at a Pamperin Park, bench located in Duck Creek and wrote to my father. I showed it to my friend Mrs. Cheryl Clark, a secretary at the International Students Office and she asked to make a copy of it as she like it and later my letter was  floating around campus offices; I don't think my father ever got the letter himself. I received the news that my father passed away while I living in San Francisco, it was ten days after he was gone that I got the news. I read it while sitting in a restaurant and as I finished reading I accidentally spilled a cup of coffee all over the table my sketch book and myself. I still have the letter stuck to my coffee stained sketchbook page. 

Good Bye Dad, I Love You!

Off my Scrap book....fleeting memories.

Some sketches from my San Francisco Journal.

Every Breath you take, every move you make...I'll be watching you...

Country Roads...take me home...

A silent mind listens what a mind of confusion with itself fails to. When in doubt, when the moody blues hits you and you feel lonely, listen to Hans Zimmer's  Theme from "Interstellar." Sit and watch the energy rise and fall and watch how the mind is running in ten different directions being pulled into incessant thinking; watch with and empty if not silent mind. Watch the how the mind plays like the dance of Shiva. Remember to breath, long, deep and gradually slowly till, your spine snaps, locked in one section at a time, become conscious of the spine straightening upwards with every in and out of the breathing. Listen to Interstellar and watch how the mind is being distracted by thoughts...this is how I sit when the energies is being scattered in ten different directions and  manifesting in the form of negative vibes, vexations and distractions that the mind is exposed to every minute and every second of our human existence on this planet; the human mind is beyond comprehension, it cannot itself. 

And I am writing it all down as it is happening, this might lead me to enlightenment, whatever that is, but it will keep from going insane and need to seek out a cave or be on the road again just to retreat from what is potentially become toxic in any situation, yes I have to watch that I am not being kicked off my Dharma position by any entity or karmic delusions from this world of Maya. Time to have a smoke; time out. The Heart is a lone hunter someone once said, I will learn to accept this loneliness as best I can as I have now fully realized that this has been my course of action with regard to what I see, I hear, I touch and I taste and not to forget I smell, at this moment space in time; it is time to renounce and detach. This is my next step to be taken as as shift in my sense of perception of the world out there and  it will be a challenge...become one with Hans Zimmer and ride into the Interstallar.

Are you with me? Are we on the same page? Do you see what I see, feel what I feel? If this is loneliness, then I am really enjoying it no matter the cause for these are the woofs and waifs of the fabric of what we call, Living! And know that this too shall pass...Stand your Dharma position, your platform, your stage and do not be moved, at least I keep reminding myself while I am at it...yes, and this too shall pass.
 So how's the day been Bahari? Hm, not too bad, getting better control of my temper and doing my best to make things happen as smoothly as possible, your average sustainable living. I do what I do when I do and it is done, effortlessly and I am writing my Blog posts, both in English and Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Melayu, the Malay, National Language of the country: I am trying as my English is better than my Malay, another good practice actually to watch how my thoughts would differ in expression. Like when I write my Malay version I would be thinking of my fellow Malays, relatives and friends, like how would they take it, my thoughts words and deed, my ways, my style, my persona; what makes me in their eyes. Off course it is of no importance, however, for the sake of sharing, it is necessary to contradict, become more flexible and yielding, detachment comes at a price. 

"A man who justifies, does not convince,
Not even to himself." - Lao Tzu

All I have been doing is trying to justify to myself that my Dharma position in life is okay, not too rigid nor too flexible, at least I see it so, much more improvement from days gone by. I will keep on cultivating this position and perhaps add on more substance as I get older. I have made it my lifelong practice, this journey of self realization as I call it. I am sharing it as I go along day to day reminding myself more so than others that I am who I am, with a whole lot of room for improvement and whole lot of baggage to let go off. 

Farewell to a very dear Friend- Awi of Awi's Yellow House.

A Very close friend of mine passed away yesterday and he was a few years younger than me in his late sixties. He was a very physically well built and strong and had the same character to go with. He was not well educated and hardly religious being a Muslim but he had his own ways about life. My friend Awi had built chalets along the river in what is known as Pulau Duyong, located in the mouth of the Terenggnu River, in the East Coast. I used to hang out at these chalets with him and a few others where we used to get stoned and do our thing -mostly work on something. Awi as he was known to his friends and enemies alike was charismatic in the Kampung way, aggressive and yet he had great mind when it comes to wheeling and dealing on how to make money. He build the " Awi's Yellow House" as the chalets is known by almost entirely by himself with some help from friends and neighbors when needed. For as long as I had known him Awi was always working in and around his chalets, fixing this or that, seldom see him sitting around doing nothing, he was a workaholic by nature.

Awi, Getting his foot massaged by a professional, Masseuse.

Young and old traveler came from all over the world and some ended up staying for months.

Looking at it one cannot imagine that you are standing about six feet above the river below. This is a work of Art in itself.

It was not easy for one man to keep up with the repairs this was one of my last visits to the Yellow House

The Floor would sometime sink into the river and would have to be raised but with age came the rustic beauty. An Image of tender loving care of a master craftsman in his own right. 

I lost a very dear friend Yesterday Morning, Awi or his real name wan Othman 'The Lanun of Pulau Duyong.'To the children around the Village he was known as 'Aboh" of  Father and often whispered in awe or even fear. Despite his exterior fierceness, he had a good heart when it comes down to it.

The three "Chincang Gang" hanging out in the Yellow House Kitchen.

A Regular visitor to the yellow House from France, If I am not mistaken he was a writer of some sorts. Mr. Boyo I think he was called,