Thursday, July 14, 2011

Intensive

I will own to feeling rather tired and stressed this week. This is largely due to anticipation of the one-day sitting on Saturday which heralds the three-week intensive. There is a lot to organise, and there are many unknowns. I woke up much earlier than I needed to this morning and my first thought was 'Who can I get to ring the wake-up bell on Sunday?'
I know that, once we get into the intensive, I will enjoy being on that schedule, having a lot of sitting and study time (after the Tour de France finishes each day... and, by the way, I am very happy that a Manxman and a Welshman are making headlines), but in the meantime I am finding it hard to settle. Apart from full days, taking care of the usual details, rehearsing for tomorrow's Full Moon Ceremony, I have activities on each evening this week - Young Urban Zen on Monday (which I did find hugely energising again), a meeting about the Five Wishes document on Tuesday, the talk last night, the reading for Fire Monks tonight (this will be the first time we have run the new sound system in the dining room, and we have spent quite some time working on the video live-stream set-up, and haven't even sorted out the projection part of it yet), and on Friday night we will be into the intensive. After that I don't have a free evening for another three weeks...
After the talk last night I decided to go up on the roof for a moment, and found Tanya there, relaxing with a cigarette; we looked at the almost full moon together and chatted, and I could feel myself unwinding as well. I remembered the quote from Uchiyama Roshi which I have posted before: "Only when I look up at the sky does it preach that there is a world in which we do not need to be excited". Everything is alright as it is. Even the stressful stuff.

8 comments:

Daigan Gaither said...

And yet there is something about the simple act of "chatting". There are two things which I seem to really need. First is unstructured time. Some point in the week when I don't have to get something done or be somewhere or get something to someone. The other is the intimacy of "just a chat"

Shundo said...

Especially on the roof - like at the pit at Tassajara. I think this is one of the main reasons people smoke around Zen Center.

Melanie G, Austin Zen Center practitioner said...

"Only when I look up at the sky does it preach that there is a world in which we do not need to be excited". There is no emergency! Unless there is an emergency! I go outside each morning before its light- my dog and I- and I look up at the sky. This is zazen before the morning routine and drive to the zendo and then work. Thank you for this post during a stressful week at work.

Shundo said...

Sorry to hear you are having a stressful week as well, Melanie. I hope practice, or at least your dog, help with that.

Myomon said...

Thanks for the Uchiyama Roshi quote, Shundo, which I shared with Jakuko Mo Ferrell. We were just saying about how slammed *we* feel here...good luck with theintensive! how well I remember the one I did with y'all in 2005.

Shundo said...

You sat right next to me during that sesshin, I remember it so well. That one hurt all the way through...
Must be something in the stars this week, I think everyone is feeling it.

kevin said...

That quote would have been comforting to me before starting Ango as tenzo. I've found comfort and peace in the blueness of the sky framed by the various greens of leaves hit by different angles of the sun.

It reminds me of the first conversation in the collection of Joshu's sayings where Nansen tells him that the mind of no-doubt is like the sky, how can you say yes or no to it?

I'm sure with your wonderful community, you don't need any encouragement or inspiration from me, but good luck anyway. Three weeks will feel like a blink when it's over, enjoy it while it's happening. I'll be looking forward to updates.

Shundo said...

Thanks Kevin,

I feel sure that once I am in the schedule, everything will be just lovely...
Enjoy having Mako and Graham down your way.