Weekly Doses of Sanity
Interviewer’s comment: I took a break from attending Jungto Society’s weekly Dharma meetings when they went fully online at the peak of Covid-19. That is also when English became the default language in the meetings. Since English is my second language, I did not feel comfortable sharing my feelings in English. It took a couple of years of break before I began attending the meetings fairly regularly on Wednesday evenings. Most people in my group are Koreans, except for a few who come and go like a revolving door. But Frank was always there whenever I joined. On many occasions, he was the only non-Korean member out of 20-25 people. So I got curious: what brings him back every Wednesday?
Here’s his story that I wanted to share with you.
London, Canada
I currently live in London, Canada. It is a multicultural and diverse place with a population of about 400,000. London is known as the Forest City due to its many trees and big parks. It’s been a very pleasant place to live and grow up in. I was born here in 1964 and grew up in a loving family. I left home in my young adult age for a decade in British Columbia, came back and now I am settled here.
[Frank Shaw in his loving home]
My parents were loving and religious. They went to different Protestant churches. My father was especially devoted to his church, which I was also raised in. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago. I deeply respect him. I can say that he lives on as my internal moral compass.
But when I was younger my perspective was different. I was rebellious when I was a teenager. I was defiant not so much to my parents as they were very loving but to what I saw as an unjust society and its institutions including the religious ones. I reveled in my anarchism and was a punk rock singer in the 1980’s, in a band called Bits of Food.
Vancouver and away from Home
In 1990 I made the move along with my friends to British Columbia. I lived in an off-grid land co-op for a few years. The nearest powerline was 10 miles away. My circle of friends then were highly influenced by native american spirituality. I attended a number of Native American church ceremonies and sweat lodge ceremonies during my time there. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a spiritual sauna experience in a small tent in nature. Steam is created with hot stones, and you pray inside. You cleanse your body and spirit.
Along the way, I got to know about Buddhism. I read books about the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh. I liked Buddhism’s compassion over Christianity’s cruelty.
[Frank Shaw and his backyard garlic farm]
Back to Hometown
In my mid 30’s, I came back to my hometown to look after my elderly father when he was diagnosed with Alzheimers. I went back to college and met my wonderful partner in life Mia Jang. I took classes to become a caregiver for individuals with developmental disabilities. I currently work at a group home. A small group of staff take care of four people in shifts 24/7. Sometimes I get to go to concerts and hockey games as a support worker. Although my work can have its challenging moments, I feel I am very fortunate to have a job like this, as it is serving others.
[Frank Shaw and his wife Mia Jang]
I got to know about the Jungto Society and Venerable Pomnyun Sunim from Mia. I noticed how much these teachings brought her a sense of calmness and had transformed her life. I took both Introduction to Buddhism courses at Jungto Dharma School. She practices every morning. Unfortunately I can’t do that. My work schedule changes a lot and I can’t predict what the next two week’s schedule will be in advance. Instead, I join Wednesday weekly Dharma meetings. That is my weekly dose of sanity. I really appreciate Jason’s clear interpretation of Venerable Pomnyun Sunim’s great teachings.
[Frank and Mia during Dharma School 2024 ]
I take a pause each week and I listen to the Dharma. I try to apply Dharma teachings that I learn from weekly meetings into my daily life. Although I consider myself to be a pretty happy person, I still suffer, usually from tripping over my own two feet. I don’t tend to react as badly as I used to or at least that upsetting state doesn’t stay as long as before. I feel less stuck, while I am still dealing with some deeply rooted personal issues. It has helped my marriage too. Mia and I are both very unique but we share a common ground with the Dharma.
[Frank Shaw and Mia Jang volunteering at Dharma Q&A Event in Toronto 2025.]
Interviewer’s comment: When Frank told me about growing garlic in his backyard during the interview, I pictured a small bed of vegetable garden on one side. But his picture showed more of a garlic farm that took almost the entire backyard. I would like to thank Frank for sharing his stories from his childhood, his off-grid years, about his work, his happy garlic farm, and for being a steady anchor in Dharma meetings every Wednesday evening. I look forward to seeing him in the next Wednesday meeting.
