Everything That Arises

By -
Had a very helpful conversation with my teacher James Ford Roshi this morning. Luckily we are able to be in touch, and it is a great help to me as Rev. Do-on and I navigate the business of leading the growing organization that is the Toledo Zen Center. Every thing that arises is a teaching, each a chance to bring the practice to life, not in some kind of idealized other-worldly kinda way, but in the grit and grime of "What are we gonna do with this?" Others who resonate are interested in exploring alignments and asking for support, complex and important policies need to be discerned, and then there are always the personalities, oh yes.

In all of this, one thing is abundantly clear - but some things shouldn't be spoken now, should they...


And then there is the body.

I successfully completed the fasting yesterday, and to my astonishment I survived. In fact, it's near noon of day 2 and I'm not hungry at all, even after I did a rather intense morning workout with the solo Internal Power/Aiki exercises that Bill Gleason Sensei was sharing last weekend. I also weighed in at an astonishing 203lbs - a good 10 lbs short of my normal. Doesn't seem possible to me, but there it is. We'll see how the day goes, but I know the ideal Sensei talked about was a 3 day so we'll see.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Impromptu on One of the Buddhas Five Rememberances

By -
My kidney stone seeking surgen went in through my out door yesterday, but was unable to get the scope all the way into the target zone, and so I am left with a stent in place for a week that will open things up and give him a clean shot at these mini asteroids. In the meantime it seems that I'm fine, but I'm not going to be good for much more than lying around stinging and aching. At least for awhile... And for the record the outpatient folks at St. Lukes Hospital were just great, and I loved having family all around before and after. Rev. Do-on is doing an amazing job taking care of me AND Isabella today as they both make their way to Cleveland for what I think is the final infusion for the next 6 months. And Do-on has a strained ankle in the mix!  No fair...  Each sunday we recite the 5 remembrances, one of which is:  "I am of the nature to have ill health, there is no way to avoid having ill health." This can seem abit pessimistic, or obvious, or many ...
Read more

Off My Chest? It would be nice...

By -
Image
Last weekend we tried to make it out to participate in a Boundless Way Zen sesshin but had to turn back as our daughters health wasn't up to the journey.  It seems that the days of us packing our family in the car and making our way to the East for retreat are over, and it its place I suppose Rev. Do-on and I will take turns flying out.  This feels a loss to me on many levels, one of which is the time together.  Another of which is how much I'm going to be able to meet with my teacher James Ford in Dokusan - seems like it will be roughly about half as often as it has been over the past several years. Humph. And this weekend we hosted Bill Gleason Sensei at Shobu Aikido of Ohio in what felt to me to be another end of an era moment with one of my teachers.  The teaching and practice with Sensei were great as always.  We have been fortunate enough to be able to bring Gleason Sensei here every 3 months to guide our practice for the past many years - maybe 10 or ...
Read more

Furry Buddha Shoes.

By -
Image
So many things have transpired this last week it's hard to know where to begin, other than to say that life is going on and I'm so grateful for the full meal.  Moring Aikido classes, a week of university teaching and music.  The launch of our new class series on Sunday afternoons.  Immense processing around the rejection of the hoped for temple site.  I'm loosing abit of heft around the mid section at long last... But the matter of the Buddha shoes stands out above all. You see, our daughter is now 11, and has been absolutely loving her 6th grade experience so far at the Toledo School for the Arts .  This is a very new chapter for all of us as we have homeschooled since the 2nd grade.  I'm a big fan of homeschooling, and equally a fan of this Arts based charter school in the center of downtown Toledo. A large part of lifes texture for us has been our daughters health as she suffers a chronic condition we'd all rather not have to deal with.  But a...
Read more