My Preaching

Summer is here in full swing now. Here at the lake, that means a very full schedule of doing just about nothing. All day, if you want.

Racing go carts at Goofy Golf is my nieces' and nephews' favorite activity, as you might guess from this photo. This is Nascar Nation.

Fishing. Another great summertime activity. This is my niece Megan fishing off the dock in front of her cottage on Lake Erie.

Whenever I get home to my mother's house in Wadworth, Ohio, we pass a lot of time sitting on the front porch.

I have returned to the United States, and now have time for some important things in life... spending time with my family.

Here I am in front of the zendo at Tenryuji, sometime in the middle of my second Osseshin, with its 12 hours of meditation a day.

We went begging today, literally. Called "takuhatsu," the Buddha advised his monks to live on only what they could beg that day.

Thierry-Marie and I received teihatsu, ritual head shaving, in preparation for another Ozesshin. Ozesshin is an intense retreat of sitting zazen for 10 hours a day in a zendo, interspersed with chanting sutras, walking meditations and a bit of work. Sitting on folded legs for so many hours every day is very painful, and one tries to use the pain to focus and clear the mind.

After working in the gardens, pulling weeds for a few hours, the monks all break for tea. It is hot, so we have iced tea. Very civilized.

As light fades, we head back to the zendo for evening zazen.

The Ozesshion begins! The center of the Osession is time spent in zazen meditation in the zendo, pictured here.

Tonight our OSesshion retreat starts, so today we wait. We prepare as well, but mostly we wait.