Post Sesshin

I emailed one of our senior people here before sesshin and admitted I didn't know how it was to be ino during sesshin, and she replied, 'Ah, beginner's mind'. In the end I felt like I got to sit about half a sesshin; over the last three days I spent a lot of time in my office going over the details of the shuso ceremony that took place on the last day.
This was a mixed blessing; on one hand, I was having a lot of physical difficulties, and my body was not sorry to be off the cushion for some of the day, but on the other I felt like I lost some of my connection to the energy that was generated in the zendo in the course of the week. This was perhaps more vivid for me this time, since I sit facing into the room, and I felt much more aware and appreciative of the effort that everyone there was making; quite a few of the sitters were not so experienced at sesshin, which made the wholeheartedness of the sitting all the more impressive for me.
Liping's shuso ceremony was a tremendous way to cap the week - over the years I have come to see how the format of the dharma inquiry allows each shuso to be completely her- or himself, and Liping's kindness, gentleness and love shone through. She was also very funny on a number of occasions, and then deeply moving too, perhaps especially after she led the room in singing Moon River at Jerome's request.
Here she is after the ceremony, with from left to right: Benji Renee, Anja Keith, Abbot Paul, her teacher Teah, Senior Dharma Teacher Blanche, and Jisha Lucy.