There hasn't been too much documentable action the past month or so. Life is becoming more stable, routine, balanced. I go for walks at night at the park. On the weekends I've been going hiking at the local mountains. I watched a sweet documentary on lions this past sunday. So you might get the idea. Nothing outrageous, but I'm continuing to enjoy each day. I teach kids every day, so if you know that you might be able to understand my state. I love it, but it's a daily challenge.

So Ill be coming home in about three weeks for a wedding. That is my sisters wedding. I'm pretty excited about that. I have my ticket and flight information. It will be a long trip but Ill have about a week to visit with many of you. Hopefully Ill see many of you at the wedding. I would love to visit with everyone that I have been out of contact with for so long. But I realize a week is a long and short time. So I look forward to seeing some of you, but others forgive me as Im sure you understand many things will be on the table. That said I hope to be seeing many of you soon.

Tap

One of the things I loved about the temple was the food and method of eating very mindfully. It made it even more simple and enjoyable to eat food. So the past week I have been cooking a lot trying to incorperate some of the methods of cooking they used at the temple. But my ventures culminated in an effort friday night that you can see above. Inside is brown rice, onions, tomatoes, red yellow and orange pepers, leaf lettuce, and cheese. Perhaps not the culinary masterpiece of a revered chef, but I was very happy with the flavors in my mouth. Cheese is something so rare in Gwangju. My friends went on a two hour train ride to track down some good colby jack for me, for which I am eternally grateful.

The Buddhist practice is to eat in silence. I've found it to be a very insightful practice. When you eat only eat. When you finish you wash your dishes, and then only wash your dishes. So my eating habits have been changing and my kitchen has maintained a cleanliness it rarely saw before. I wish to share this joy with you all, thus the picture below. With this practice I not only maintain cleanliness, but also find myself eating breakfast again, after about a three year period of abstention. And with a more regularly spanned eating schedule, along with full delicious meals, I find myself eating slim to none between meals. Needless to say I'm a fan. Im keeping a more regular schedule and finding it much easier to be when I need to.

Kyol Che

For those unaware I just had a week vacation, which I chose to spend in the mountains at a Buddhist temple. I arrived last Saturday and caught a train back to Gwangju yesterday afternoon. The temple was at the end of a seasonal retreat called Kyol Che. The community was English speaking with two American Zen Masters. The monks and nuns were also a mix of nationalities from Malaysia, Russia, Israel, Czech Republic, Korea... Along with this set community were lay people who were spending three months/one month/ a week, like myself, in the temple.

It was a week. It wasn't good, wasn't bad...it just was. I wasn't so concerned with the vow of silence...that I could do. But eight hours sitting in meditation seemed like a daunting task after only the first day. Waking up at three in the morning sounded even less appealing. However, over the course of the week I began to focus my energies on the ever elusive everday mind. (That is to live moment to moment, entertaining no thoughts of what you have to do later or what mistakes/glorious actions you have made in the past./ The lack of thought...only being.) With this mind or search of it, time did not exist...eight hours became not too short, not too long. The beauty of the week was essential being. When I was hungry I ate...thirsty, I drank...when it was time to sit I only sat. When it was time to weed or pick corn, only that. I have always been attracted to the philosophy of Buddhist/Eastern traditions. The practice was only more to put my mind at ease and bring me back to this moment.

I could tell you many things that I learned but I'm sure it wouldn't translate. Some of you may have already left me at the word "Buddhist". No worries. I will try to live this moment and only that.