Just returned from a dip into the stillness and quiet of the Tassajara valley. At one point I found myself sitting in the same zendo seat where I sat last fall during the practice period. There’s a fairly large gap in the wooden tan (or platform) there. I was sure I could feel it through my cushion, and this used to annoy me. Like sleeping on a lumpy mattress. This time, though, I regarded the crack with a kind of tenderness. I came back to my room and wrote:
Everything you’ve broken,
Everything broken in you,
For this too,
Gratitude.
Meditating on Fire
The Association for Fire Ecology’s conference in Portland was a wonderful meeting of science and matters of the heart. In this photo, fire monk David Zimmerman leads a morning meditation.
Tomorrow, I am blessed to be heading down to Tassajara to sit Rohatsu, a traditional 7-day meditation intensive in honor of the Buddha’s enlightenment.
Squawking at Litcrawl
Twist my arm. OK, I’ll read with four other Squaw Valley Community of Writers alum at the Carte Blanche Gallery during SF’s Litcrawl. Pictured: Renee Moffett Thompson, Sam Barry, Seré Prince Halverson, Brett Hall Jones, Andrew Altschul, and Thad Nodine.
A Reading on the Ridge
On October 6th, I’m honored to be reading with poet Gary Snyder and fellow Bay Area writer Carolyn Paul at a fundraiser for the North San Juan fire department, the oldest fire department in Nevada County. Check out the great poster–and come if you can!
Fire Stories
Yet another reason to love Tahoe
David Zimmerman and I received a warm welcome from the Squaw Valley Institute last weekend, where we presented the Fire Monks story and talked with Tahoe residents and Squaw Valley Fire Chief Pete Bansen (who is multi-talented and also handled the tech side of my presentation). A big highlight of the evening was meeting with a group of kids who’ve been discussing Fire Monks with Carolyn Hamilton, an old friend from the Squaw Valley Community of Writers conference.
Soon, I’ll be putting up a page with more detail about the great work Carolyn is doing with these smart and adventuresome kids.
Speaking of adventuresome, another guest season at Tassajara has drawn to a close, and fire monks Mako Voelkel and Graham Ross are leaving the monastery in the Ventana Wilderness to travel to India and Southeast Asia, continuing to practice way-seeking, but in a whole new context. Read about their journey (and support them if you feel moved) on their blog:
https://thecloudmountains.com/
