Hello <<First Name>>, enjoy your newsletter. It's best if you do display images (they are safe). A quick note that we will be running part 2 of Gigen's article next week.
My room is my hut
My job is my takuhatsu (alms).
I am a modern day hermit devoted to the practice on how to be present.
From glorious temples to stark Zen centers from dojos and civic centers to abandoned houses I have sat with my legs crossed focusing on my breath.
I have wandered in many direction,
Sought out the dharma from the wise and sometimes the foolish.
I have studied with yogis, senseis, and roshis, some known and some unknown.
I have had the good fortune to share this path with other followers of the way. Strongly influenced by a few and inspired by many. I will be forever be grateful.
Chasing whimsical illusions of enlightenment we try to hold on to the clarity that we once knew in the Zendo. Battling personal demons while attempting to end suffering is a difficult task.
We engage in the secular world and succumb to the cycle of wants and wishes.
Return, return to the zendo, return to the temple, return to zero
I return to my hut.
My hut, where the Buddha that adorns the altar is made of plaster.
Where the incense is held in a shot glass and the tan (platform) is the base for a washing machine covered by an old table cloth.
I light incense and prostrate three times on a pink yoga mat before a plastic Kwan Yin.
On the zafu (cushion) I find rest from the chaos of the modern secular world and slowly the noise within quiets. I surrender to my breath and receive the moment.
This is my temple, my sacred place, my hut.
Center
