Blog
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Alive or Dead
The April sesshin is about to finish. People have come and gone and the passing of the 7 days has felt both fast and slow. There is a sense of the infinite contained within the strict regime of...
April 15, 2012 | Comments: 3 -
Working Title
One of the great gifts of a long period of residency at Yokoji, is the chance to experience formal zen training in many different states of being. Joy, anger, fatigue, frustration, boredom,...
March 25, 2012 | Comments: 7 -
One Teaching in Response
If I had to sum up the last couple of weeks in one word, it would be this: snow. A winter up in the mountains is no stranger to the white stuff, but this winter has been pretending for a long...
February 28, 2012 | Comments: 2 -
There and Back Again
It’s a common practice of the British to discuss the weather. That seems an apt starting point for this post as we finally have a shift in temperature. The clouds have rolled in and it’s once...
February 13, 2012 | Comments: 4 -
Zen Medication
Zen Medication. Take twice daily. If dose is exceeded, contact nearest Zen Center immediately as you may require intensive training. Possible side effects include stability, peace of mind, a feeling of good will to all mankind and the desire to help others.
January 15, 2012 | Comments: 5 -
We don't think winter becomes spring, we don't say spring becomes summer
2012 is upon us. Prepare to be bombarded with Mayan-end-of-the-epoch-themed movies and TV specials as we approach the fall. Here at Yokoji we brought in the New Year in our usual way, with a...
January 07, 2012 | Comments: 1 -
Fire and Ice
I'm in the process of putting together the Community Journal for the first quarter of 2012 and the dharma talk for this issue is Tozan's 'No heat or cold'. Bill Shinjin Butler selects and...
December 18, 2011 | Comments: 3 -
Same sky different moon
It is now almost three weeks since the end of the Fall Training Period. Long enough at Yokoji for it to become a distant memory, ungraspable like everything else. Three weeks is also long enough...
December 11, 2011 | Comments: 3 -
Solar Power and Final Seals
I am excited to announce that yesterday we completed the solar install. I say completed, but it seems that really there is no such thing. The new panels are up and working, but we still have some...
November 28, 2011 | Comments: 5 -
Occupy Yokoji
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Tomorrow the residents will gather at the Inryo (Tenshin Roshi's House) for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. We are all enjoying a - hopefully - well-deserved...
November 24, 2011 | Comments: 1