Week 6: Spring Practice Period

So what is a practice period?  Well, many faiths share the practice of withdrawal from the world.  This is true for Buddhism as well, most notably individuals who withdraw to study alone on a mountain or in a cave.  Practice period is similar, but done as a group, an extension of the tradition where an abbot gathers nomadic monks in one location during the rainy season for deeper study and to strengthen the ties within the community.  Some Zen Centers have adopted an austere model for practice period – long intervals of work or meditation to deepen practice.  I was fortunate, in this case the Zen Center was coming out of an intensive schedule of back-to-back retreats so the Vice-Abbot had designed the schedule to help the residents recuperate.  I was one of three guests who would be with the residents for the full nineteen day interval.

Our days began with the wake-up bell, one of the residents passing outside each door ringing a chime.  Then it was down to the temple for morning service.  The zendo is dark, barely lit, and after three bells, the vice-abbot circles the zendo.  We each do a bow as he passes us on our cushions, all while chanting the Verse of Atonement.  Then, forty minutes of zazen, a silent still meditation, followed by blessing of the altar, recitation of the Heart Sutra in Japanese and English, many bows, and the morning greeting.  After an interval of temple cleaning (to thank her for hosting us) it is off to breakfast.  If I have not mentioned it before, the food here is fabulous, lovingly crafted by the residents (with an assist from a local chef during larger groups) as part of their work practice.  Breakfast varies: some days granola, creamed coconut or pecans, with yogurts and jams; or eggs, scrambled, sometimes with peppers and herbs from the garden, with potatoes; one day a bagel bar; another build-your-own crepes.  The morning, through the end of breakfast (with the exception of your temple cleaning assignment), is in silence.

After a short break we return to the zendo for samu, or work practice.  In the Zen tradition, samu is an extension of meditation, taking the mindfulness you generate on the cushion out in to the world.  We received one of three assignments: kitchen, housekeeping, or grounds; and it is normal to cycle through each of the departments during a longer stay.  The week before I had been in the kitchen, where I learned the proper way to cut carrots and other veg.  For the first few days this interval I was outside, pulling weeds from the garden.  During the second week, I was re-assigned to housekeeping, where it was discovered I have a gift for vacuuming and detailing corners.  (Who knew?)  I have been in housekeeping ever since.  The practice during samu is to maintain functional silence, a silence broken only for necessary instructions or cautions.  If nothing else was scheduled, we would continue our samu practice after lunch.

Practice periods provide the opportunity to dwell on a single text, or sutra.  The sutra selected for this retreat was the Satipattana Sutra, translated as The Four Foundations of Mindfulness.  This text encourages you to increase your awareness observing the body in the body, the feelings in the feelings, the mind in the mind (how the mind works), and objects of mind in objects of mind (thoughts we attach to).  I normally read it during the late afternoon, in the sun, in the courtyard during personal practice time before heading in for a shower.  Before dinner there was more meditation, then dinner, then the evening service (even more meditation and the evening gatha).  Local sangha members would frequently join us for zazen, and it was interesting to feel how different energies affected a ‘sit’ – often when we were tired a visitor would settle us down, and vise versa.

During the first few days of the practice period we explored the text: with an opening dharma talk, a seminar the following morning for questions, and ‘council’, and roundtables to talk about our experiences working with the text.   On Friday we were joined by other guests for a weekend retreat.

The bulk of this retreat was a hike at Tsankawi, an abandoned first nations settlement that is the southern peninsula ‘living museum’ section of the Bandalier National Forest.  I would love to be able to tell you I had a fabulous time exploring the trails worn in the soft rock leading to and between the cave dwellings along the walls of the mesa.  Unfortunately this was the day altitude sickness kicked in, my usual happy-and-everything-sounds-like-a-good-idea reaction replaced with dizziness and narrowed vision, not the best combo on a trail with sections of sheer drop-off to one side.  I did manage the entire loop, including the cliff ladders up the south part of the trail (a feat in itself).  I also had fun exploring the plants, ruins, and pottery shards on the mesa.  On the bright side, when I got back and checked my camera I was encouraged to find that despite my discomfort I’d captured some fabulous images of the day.

The first Monday and Tuesday were rest days, and rest I did.  On Monday it was warm; I curled up on a blanket in the sun, ‘studying’ the sutra (if absorbing it while using it as a pillow counts) and watching the birds.  On Tuesday I rested some more, and also went for a slow mosey along the Two Dams reservoir trail.  Rest turned out to be a good choice: the second segment of the practice period was focussed on physical activity.  More on that next time.

As always, photos and back issues are available at www.hollybrunelle.com. A copy of the sutra (if you are interested) is available here:  http://www.wisdompubs.org/landing/satipatthana-sutta .  The translation we studied was a little different (mostly organization); this was the closest I could find.

Until next time!