Discovering Zen

I'm back from my weekend at the Dai Bosatsu Zendo in the Catskills. Already I feel the weight of New York City descending upon me. I have worked the entire day, and the rest of the week looks to be just as exhausting. Tomorrow, I am seeing four people for various computer repair. I have not had enough time to digest the past four days which certainly have been one of the best experiences I've had in my life. When I have the means to do so, I will go back to the monastery once again.

Here are a couple of pictures from my trip:

With my yoga instructor, Robin, who invited me to the retreat. I have a metal thingamajig (which Robin is sweetly emulating), for an injury I sustained Thursday night. I slammed my finger on a car door, and now my finger looks awful. In fact, I still bleed every now and then, although most of the pain is gone. It was a bummer at the beginning, but it didn't ruin my retreat at all.

This picture I named "Behind Buddha Nature", and you can see why:

Beecher lake, named for the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin (this used to be their property) is the highest lake in the Catskills. On one end is a big statue of Buddha, although there are also various mini-Buddahs scattered around it.

I often found myself just looking at the lake and the trees for a long time without knowing why. And then it dawned on me: I was looking at an amazing painting of nature. It was very beautiful. It was such a blessing for me to be living in this place for a few days surrounded by beautiful people. I just know I will be back.