Monkey See, Monkey Do

a gentle dusting of soft snow descended over the last two days, turning northeast vermont into a winter wonderland; but today’s warmth has turned it into a slushy snow-cone-land. all the trees are dripping slushy, the bushes and rooftops too. slushy slushy slushy.

the seminary finished the first section of teachings and now we’re wrapping up another three days of meditation intensive. i’m so glad i came for this, it has been wonderful to study this material again and deepen my understanding. we’ve been covering all the most basic concepts in buddhism: the four noble truths, karma and the twelve nidanas, samsara and the six realms, and the nature of self. tomorrow starts the next study section, where we deepen these ideas and then discuss avoiding the conceptual extremes of existence and non-existence, how compassion is both a fruition of and path to enlightenment, and the various stages of the path and bringing meditative equipoise into daily life and action.

my typical practice period day here gets going at 6:30 am when i’m usually showered and dressed. i’ve often had to sound the call to practice horn at 6:45 am and then ring the gongs to have everyone line up for morning chants. all this is in silence. my day has typically been over around 9:30 pm but then i have some preparations to make for the next day, like creating a detailed schedule for the shrine time and gatekeepers. so not much time to socialize or do much else.

tomorrow the study period begins which will have a similar start but end with lots of readings for classes before bed. i have to keep up with all the readings and take good lecture notes because i’m facilitating a discussion group of about six students. so i probably won’t be able to blog much during this program, though i’ll try.

today ends a three day practice intensive for our seminary. it’s impressive how much faster this crowd settled compared to the two intensive programs i just finished. within three days this group of seminarians settled down as fast and as deeply it felt as people who have sat for two weeks. perhaps it’s a well practiced or an over-serious group, but it has really helped me settle quickly in the same way. i feel so calm right now it just feels good to sit and feel my own breathing.

tonight we start studying in ernest though and for the next nine days there will be a deluge of reading and talks to attend. i’m excited.

my trek cross country went well and i only had to relate to one storm on the way. i’m now safely in vermont, somewhat settled in, and now madly relating to the seminary program starting tomorrow.

i’ve been asked to do more than i originally thought. instead of just coordinating the practice portion of the program i’m now coordinating both practice and study, and i’m a teaching assistant. so i probably will be consumed and out of touch for a few days.

just wrapped up another two week long meditation retreat in british columbia, on vancouver island. the northwest shambhala clan rented a church camp on beautiful lake shawnigan and they know how to throw a damn good retreat. now i’m in the midst of driving across the northern US on the way to vermont. i need to be there by january 5th, so i’m not taking my time. but i’m really enjoying the scenery. this morning i awoke in glendive, montana and discovered an internet connection in my motel.

hope everyone has had a great start to the year 2006 already.