Meditating in Silence as the Fire Draws Near

PHOENIX — Those living in the path of a huge wildfire typically express all sorts of emotions, but in one remote community in southeastern Arizona, the reaction has been muted.
The 39 Buddhists living at the Diamond Mound Retreat Center near Bowie, Ariz., are about six months into a three-year solitary retreat that includes a vow of silence. Ranging in age from their mid-20s to their late 60s, participants spend their days in intense meditation, living in basic huts that are separated from one another, in a spiritual exercise aimed at promoting world peace one person at a time.
Those administering the program are in regular contact with firefighters on the front lines of the Horseshoe 2 Fire, which has burned in excess of 200,000 acres in the Chiricahua Mountains since May 8, and say they are awaiting word from the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department on whether an evacuation will be necessary.
“They can see the smoke coming over the hill,” said Scott Vacek, one of the caretakers on the property and also a practicing Buddhist. “It looks startlingly close. But we haven’t told them that we may be coming in to evacuate them. We didn’t see any upside to that, because their meditations will immediately be over. They wouldn’t be able to concentrate.”
The fire is now believed to be about four miles from the retreat, which sits on just over 1,000 acres and has been a learning center for Buddhist studies since 2003. “It’s scrub desert with some brush and juniper trees,” Mr. Vacek said. “It’s beautiful landscape with some tall peaks behind us.”
The people participating in the retreat live in 29 cabins, ranging from mud huts to basic wood-frame dwellings, powered by solar panels or propane. Mr. Vacek and a team of volunteers deliver supplies every Monday and make a conscious effort to steer clear of the participants. Mr. Vacek’s wife is the program’s nurse, and she treats participants using written notes and gestures.
Among those in the retreat are Christie McNally, who is the director and is one of the first women to be recognized as a lama in the Tibetan tradition; Lisette Garcia, a former college professor from New York who grew up in El Paso; Dvora and Ari Tzvieli, from Israel, who are seeking an end to the conflict in the Middle East; and Bill McMichael, a former American Airlines pilot.
The authorities say an evacuation is not yet necessary.
“We know they are there and how to get in touch with them, but there is no need for them to be evacuated at this time,” Alexis West, a spokeswoman for the interagency group fighting the fire, said Friday.
If an evacuation is eventually ordered, organizers say they will try to keep the retreat going by taking participants in silence in two vans to a nearby town and housing them in quiet surroundings until they can return. But if the fire ends up damaging the dwellings, there is a chance the exercise could end.
“It would be a terrible shame,” Mr. Vacek said. “These people have gone through an incredible amount of physical work and a huge amount of emotional work. It’s a life-changing experience, and it would be tragic if it ended.”
The Horseshoe 2 Fire is one of several huge fires burning across Arizona. The Wallow Fire, in the eastern part of the state, now covers more than 495,000 acres, making it the largest wildfire in the state’s history.
Another blaze, the Monument Fire, forced the evacuation of thousands of residents of Hereford, a community south of Sierra Vista, Ariz., on Thursday. First reported on June 12, it covers about 19,000 acres in the Coronado National Forest, spans the Mexican border and is growing quickly, officials said.

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