Retreat!
I did my first one-day retreat the zen center on Sunday. It was basically a 6 hour long sitting meditation. It was pretty interesting. I was sore as heck from going nuts at the gym a couple days before. My back was all kinds of sore and achy. Then, the head dharma teacher came around with “the stick”. I actually passed on the stick the first time around. I mean, it’s BIG, and the sound it made when he whacked the people to either side of me was intimidating. But by the second time around, I was all for it. Boy oh boy. By the end of the retreat, I had developed an attachment to the stick, I think. I was hoping for the stick every half hour. I only wish that the head dharma teacher would hit me a little harder. My back muscles were so tense. Also, the Ji Do Poep Sa Nim leading the retreat didn’t like the answer to my kong-an. I dunno,It seemed like a good answer to me. He said it was a good answer, and that it was even right, but he said there’s a simpler answer. He sent me ack to my mat. I guess I need to practice harder.
Anyway, come August, I am going to catch the tail end of Summer Kyol-che. I’ll be there for 9 days. That ought to be an interesting experience, too.
