zenmonkeyblake

http://dontknowblake.blogspot.com/

Over the past couple of weeks, I've shared with people my experience of sitting a retreat at the Kansas Zen Center. People seem pretty cool with everything except for the dining part. "You eat quickly? Doesn't sound very Zen?" They always seem to think that "Zen Eating" would be slow, feeling every texture, taking in every taste. Nope! That's Mindful Eating. Nothing wrong with Mindful Eating. Just like there's nothing wrong with Mindful Meditation! It's just not Zen style. Here is a bit from the Kwan Um Temple Rules with regards to eating. Keep in mind that these are rules for the temple, not for everyday life.

On Eating

An eminent teacher said, "A day without work is a day without eating."

There are two kinds of work: inside work and outside work. Inside work is keeping clear mind. Outside work is cutting off selfish desires and helping others.

First work, then eat.

Eat in silence. Do not make unnecessary noise.

While eating, attend only to yourself. Do not be concerned with the actions of others.

Accept what is served with gratitude. Do not cling to your likes and dislikes.

Do not seek satisfaction in eating. Eat only to support yourself in your practice. (my emphasis)

Though you may eat good food all your life, your body will die.

The Great Way is not difficult.
Simply cut off all thought of good and bad.
Salt is salty,
Sugar is sweet.

So there you have it! I hope this helps clear things up?

So I sat my first weekend-long retreat this past weekend. If you ever get the chance to attend an extended retreat, I highly suggest you do so. And if you do, here's a bit of insider information.

• Sitting for a great length of time is really not bad at all. At no point did I think to myself, "You know... they have my money and really would not care if I just got up and left." Also, my feet never fell asleep. This had not been the case before. I don't know if it's because I have been sitting for a while or it it's because I've been exercising more or what. But I was expecting complete gimpiness but it never occurred.


• Meals are a bit quarky but really, really cool. There are bowls involved and proper placement of stuff. Also you have to eat everything you take. Not too difficult for a chubber like me!


• The rest periods are the worst part and can be somewhat awkward at the beginning. Really, the only rules you have to stick to is keeping silent. So you can wander around town if you want. Most people just napped. It was like walking into a cat lady's house on a hot afternoon. Everyone just found a place and crashed. I walked around the block and discovered that the cats in the neighborhood surrounding the Zen Center aren't as friendly as the cats in my neighborhood. HISSSSSSSSSS!

Well that's about all I can tell you. If and when the chance arises, I am sure I will sit another retreat. I can't share with you the effects but just know that they are there.

A special thanks to everyone who made this possible: Thom Pastor, Judy Roitman and Tom Davis for being good bosses; Jane Gnojek for all the yummy food; and Rita Sooby for being a patient cushion neighbor, not caring that I kept getting whacked with the whacking stick (what's that called?) or sploshing my water all over the place, making a big, wet mess.  There were a lot of other people there, too, and without them I would not have had the experience I did.  THANKS EVERYBODY!

For those interested, there is an Introduction to Zen class tonight at the Unity Temple on the Plaza from 7:00 - 9:00. It is hosted by the Kansas City Zen Group, a sub-group of the Kansas Zen Center which is affiliated with the Kwan Um School of Zen. I believe it's in Classroom C. I won't be there but it'll be led by Charlie who is super-awesome!

Don't worry if you want to go but can't make it! This class is offered the first Wednesday of every month. Or you can just show up early to any of the practices listed on the Kansas Zen Center website.

We all know that Star Trek opens up today and that everyone will be blogging about it. They might say how totally awesome it looks or how everyone hopes that this is J.J. Abrams redemption for putting out that POS Cloverfield. Instead, I would like to point you to my so far favorite tribute to Star Trek: [Adult Swim]. AS has every Star Trek bit from their entire repertoire. Below is my favorite.

Live Long and Prosper, Bitches!

From Daily Scans comes a book put out by DC Comics back in 1981. It's a cookbook entitled The Superheroes Super Healthy Cookbook. It has all kinds of goodies like Green Arrow's "My Secret Pizza" and the "Batmix." My favorite, though, is Wonderwoman catching a banana missile. Oh yeah!



By the way, if anyone finds one, I'd love to have it!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens up today! Go buy your tickets now before they sell out! Many theaters are offering promotions as a means of celebrating (and to get your business). My favorite is the old standby, "dress up as a character." My wife and I discussed who we would dress up as were we to actually dress up. Although not in the movie, she decided she we be that girl with the white stripe in her hair ("Rogue?"). I said that I could do Wolverine but she didn't think me to be tall enough. Apparently she doesn't know Wolverine's actual height or she would realize that I am actually too tall to play the part (I'm over by four inches). She decided I should be the guy with the eyes who wears those glasses ("Cyclops?"). That's an easy costume.





Also, don't forget that tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day! Blackest Night #0 (pictured) is one of the many books being handed out and it is the one I am most excited for. Supplies are limited so I suggest you get there there moment your comic book store opens. And just like the Wolverine movie, there will be all kinds of promotions. I suggest you simply wear what you wore the night before to the showing of Wolverine, assuming you went in costume!

Yesterday I mentioned something about The Stand being acted out on Twitter? 'Member that? Well I informed the powers that be at Wired.com's GeekDad blog and you know what? They ran with it! So check out the posting!

Thanks to GeekDad Eric Banks for thanking me. Is this going to be an infinite thanking circle? Because we could destroy the universe with one of those!

Today I received some strange notices on Twitter.  It started with the statement, "Abigail Freemantle (motherabigail) is now following your updates on Twitter."  Next came Randall Flagg, then Stu Redman and finally Larry Underwood.  They are tweeting each other and I have been watching it unfold.  Anyone recognize these people?  They are characters from Stephen King's The Stand.  Read it?  Earlier I posted the comment "Now is a bad time to read The Stand."

Do you get it?

Randall Flagg http://twitter.com/VegasWalkinDude
Larry Underwood http://twitter.com/larry_underwood
Abigail Freemantle http://twitter.com/motherabigail
Stu Redman http://twitter.com/Stu_Redman

I am not sure if there are more.  I will keep you posted.

Blake