After Two Weeks in The Zen Mountain Monastery

          This machine is so rinky dinky and clever that I have no idea how to download the photies from my mobile phone. Maybe when I get my laptop up here. I'm in the library of the Sangha House, a place I thought I'd be spending mos of my work practice, but I've been everywhere else this week.

          They have ten paintings about this boy trying to catch and tame this ox. First you've got to find the ox. I have no problem finding the ox in this monastery. The ox is in my face quite a lot. Most folk talk of being tired here. I'm still tired, but not as tired as I was last week. When I get tired, I get crabbit. When something irritates me when I am tired, I get very annoyed. When  someone tells me to do something or reminds me that I shouldn't be doing something (like talking loudly, or just talking at all), I start to boil. I think the programme here is designed to do that to you. The ox is, of course, the object to be negated. You are confronted by it in the anger.

          We've been here two weeks now. We got here just as Ango started. Ango is when they tighten the schedule so that you do not have any time to yourself. You have to work at something, usually something pretty menial, for about twenty five hours a week. That's about eight hours more a week than I worked when I had a jobbie.

           This weekend break is cut short so that they can tighten the schedule even further next week. It's something called Sesshin. This means we'll have to be up before four in the morning, and meditate for eight hours a day, and keep silent all the time. This I am actually looking forward to. You're walking on eggshells around here half the time because you must do this and not do that, but when it comes to the meditations I suspect me and my little Chinese friend will be in our element.

           These Zen folk do breath counting, but they only do it for thirty five minutes then they get up and do walking meditation, or chant, or do something that looks like they don't really get into the meditations anything like the Tibetans. Also, my experience is that the more I meditate, the better I feel so bring it on!!! I'd much rather do meditations than work.

            I can see what they're trying to do here with their schedule and whatnot, and it is very good for me, though it is difficult sometimes. Zen seems to be about being mindful whether you are meditating or not, and I can see how they get to that by the way they work things here.

            I need a bit of discipline. I haven't done any bad things now for over two weeks and my mind is getting clearer. I can usually remember my dreams. I will certainly remember being here, which is how I want to spend my life.

            We're going to try and see the abbot of the KTD today. Soon.