This first effort to post might be a bit of a koan since I'm not sure what the question is. Some of the Progressive Friends have expressed an interest in my Zen practice and what it involves. It involves life. I'm afraid that probably is one of those "stinks of Zen" answers but it's a fact neverthless. I was gone on retreat ("sesshin") a few weeks ago. Well-wishers wondered what that's all about. I didn't go far, as the photo shows, it isn't fancy. I live in Orlando and we have a center over on the coast in Cocoa (yes, where "I dream of Jeannie" was set) about 15 miles to the southwest of the Kennedy Space Center.
Our building is a study in not-very-impressive Old Florida construction. It's a two building compound of cement block dedicated in 1968 by the Unitarians who remain in charge. Some are Wiccans, some are Buddhists, some are free-lance. We Buddhists have part of the classroom building for our zendo (meditation room) and the Wiccans have another classroom for their dedicated circle. When we're on retreat, we sleep on mats on the floor. It's not very comfortable and it's dormitory style so the snoring is part of that "life" I mentioned earlier.
The routine is: up at about 5 am (I get up at 4:30 and make the coffee). Our first "round" begins at 6:30 am. The schedule for a round goes like this: 25 minutes zazen (seated meditation) followed by 10 minutes of kinhin (walking meditation) and then another set of zazen/kinhin and then another 25 minutes of zazen. That brings it to about 8 am, we go to breakfast, clean the temple and the area, then start again at 9:30 with another round of zazen/kinhin, zazen/kinhin, zazen. Then it's lunch time. After lunch, more work and rest and we start another such round at 2 pm, finishing up about 4:30 or 5 and go to a meeting room to hear the roshi (the officially designated Zen teacher) give a dharma talk. After the dharma talk comes supper and then another full round as described above. In the course of all that, when your turn comes, the head monk taps you on the shoulder to go to the interview room for "dokusan" (interview) with the roshi. There's four full rounds every day.
That's a lot, isn't? It sounds leisurely and maybe it is a little bit so but it's extremely intensive because who're you dealing with? Yourself! That's the Zen of it. I'll say more later but let this be enough to start what discussion there might be.
