Sacred Space in Boston, I. The Break-Through...

I. The Break-Through Trees of Cortes St.

(The following is the first installment in a series, The Hidden Sacred Sites of Boston, an exploration of lesser known places of mystery and inspiration, a work currently in progress by the author.)

Directions

Connecting Arlington St. and Berkeley St, this small stretch of residences occupies a central point of the city, as it briefly lines I90 (Massachusetts Turnpike),
borders both the South End and Bay Village, while also touching the historic 'neck' of the Tremont St.

The Mystic's Breakthrough

The experience of sudden insight is a theme shared by the world's great religions. It is a current running through many of the mystical traditions that
suddenly, unexpectedly, without warning or planning, a person or community can be swept up in a clarity of awareness. One may transcend the barriers and limits of a
previous understanding.

The Truth makes a miraculous 'breakthrough' in the midst of
our common, everyday experience. It arises out of the hidden depths of Nature and the deeper realms of Human sub-consciousness. And, it awakens a new perspective, a new understanding, a deeper reverence and realization of our existence and reality.
In the Christian tradition, Meister Eckhart, a Dominican monk of the Thirteenth Century, used the term 'Breakthrough' (Ger. "Durchbruch") in describing this profound transformation.

Ailanthus altissima -Tree of Heaven

The image of a tree is one of the most significant in even the most ancient of traditions. Celtic religion shared with ancient religions of the Americas and Asia supreme reverence for trees and their spiritual associations.
In today's monotheisms, the importance of trees in the Bible is easily recognized, with the Tree of Good & Evil, the Tree of Life, the Burning Bush, the Fig Tree, the Olive Tree.
These Trees are central in theology and can even dominate the very location and
architecture of churches and mosques.

It is also the Bodhi Tree that is central in Buddhism, under which the Buddha is reported to have attained enlightenment. Trees have their political significance as well.One immediately thinks of the Liberty Tree here in Boston.

"Ailanthus trees are the quintessential urban survivor. From New York City, Jonathan Marin relates,Ailanthus is the tree species colloquially known here in New York City as the "tenement palm".The City plants thousands of nursery-raised trees every year, largely to replace trees they planted just a few years before. Many of these carefully planted and cared-for species never seem to get past the "outdoor house-plant" stage. Ailanthus, however, just sprout up naturally, often where a tree is least wanted. Unless someone actually cuts them down, they mature into damn fine trees."
"Ailanthus" (C)1996 by Jonathan Marin
This tree can grow and thrive in the most difficult of conditions and circumstances. It presses on despite hostile conditions and misfortunes.

Meditation

Silence.

A Deep Breath.

(spoken) Here, in this city....where we live,.....day to day.....where we work and, at the end of the day, return to our homes, ....where there may be noise, lights,
car horns, cell-phones, yelling, and barking,...craziness and chaos,......maybe violence, with worries, anxieties, fears..........
Here...........we pause, ....in silence,....and we stand near to these trees.
.....these trees. We open our eyes.....we open our eyes to see, and our ears to hear, and our hearts...to behold something miraculous, something beyond ourselves, to suddenly pass through to something beyond what we knew before!

Amen.

(For more information on the Ailanthus ,visit : http://omega.cc.umb.edu/~conne/jennjim/ailanthus.html
Also, the Brooklyn Botanic Site at http://www.brooklynborohall.org/search/refquery.asp?Ailanthus)