感謝分享丁丁的有機農園 下文為習作

禪修 調心性 內省觀照  惜福 感謝 多用功 做功課

生死愛別離 怨憎會苦 不管如何 地球依然運轉

After completing the registration, I carry a sleeping bag and a light suitcase to the dormitory. There are two bunk beds inside and I choose the bottom bed close to the door. As I lie in the bed, and hear the whistling from outside of the window, my three-day retreat journey begins.

The master raps a stick against a board at 9:30PM, signaling time to go to sleep and raps again at 5:30AM to awaken us. No talking, no reading, no chatting a phone and no watching T.V. I have to concentrate on practicing meditation and avoiding my senses.

It is dark inside; after prostrating I find a seat. Male and female practitioners are separated. I sit for a little while, and someone comes, standing in front of me, then and leaves. A few minutes later she returns with the Master. They begin murmuring to each other. “I must have sat in the wrong seat,” I think. Glancing at my seat number on name tag, I immediately switch to the vacant seat at my right and almost lower my face to the ground. 

Each day, from morning to night, the master burns seven incense sticks. It takes forty minutes to sit and then five minutes to walk for a session. Sometimes the master will give a Dharma talk. Before entering the Zen hall, everybody takes off his slippers, and puts them on the ground outside in the hallway. All shoes are the same style, black and soft. Once I could not find my shoes when leaving the Zen hall to lunch until everybody was gone.

The dinner is used to be called yao shi.Most of Masters do not eat dinner for seven days in a month and even don’t eat dinner at the most of the temples. It is also interesting to learn the lunch time rituals. At 11:30AM, we stand in a line and walk to the dining hall. Then as usual guo tang starts. Before eating, we pray for the three jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The full vegetable plate, the bowls, and utensil have already been neatly placed on the table. If Iput my plate or rice bowl on the edge of a table in front of me, someone will come;I just use one chopstick to show him what I don’t want or what I want more of. They teach us to waste no food, to eat quietly and to appreciate the meal. After finishing the food, I place the empty bowl at the 10 o’clock position to tell the server that I am ready for water. Again signaling the level of water in the bowl with my chopstick, I pour the water into the plate. Using a piece of vegetable to brush the plate and bowl, I then drink the water afterwards.

Sitting on a cushion, I cross my legs. My eyes are half closed like a falling curtain. From my head, to my shoulder, to my arms, and to my hand, my whole body naturally makes them relax. I’m working on them. While exhaling, I practice counting numbers from one to ten to stop my wandering thoughts. While the hand bell rings, I rub my palms together and place them on my eyes. I gently massage my arms, back,knees, and legs. When walking, I lightly take my steps trying to feel the softness on the hard wooden floor. I follow the people in front of me as we make a circle.The Master hits a board twice quickly to make us walk fast. Sweeping my arms and making big steps, I am jogging but not running. Then a wooden sound shoots into the air. “Pa!” suddenly everybody stops. The mind is also as still as thebody. It’s so clear to know where I am.

On the second day of the retreat, during the lunch break, I take a walk outdoors. Bathing in the winter sunshine, I see the sky and it looks clear. Many cars rapidly pass in front of me, my legs are hurt, and tears run down my face. Swallowing, taking deep breath, I go back to my room to take a nap.

“Do I snore?” I ask Lian,

“A little bit,” Lian gives me a hug.

The freezing cold weather once again sweeps the land. Covering trees to keep them from freezing, we move the plants from outside to inside, again and again. Someone has died, and someone has been born. The old have gone and the new have come. The whole world is still running.