Had a full sleep last night, and was able to rise with energy at 5:00am. Had an intense dream, meeting an old college friend and road tripping with him. Things were not all smooth and pleasant, as he became critical and somewhat abusive as our journey progressed. I handled it well enough - when I act and speak with dignity in a dream, I know I am on the way to a calm and healthy mind.
The walk to the zendo will soon enough become a habit of steps, well known and expected. When I arrived at the temple the resident cat was waiting outside the door. I call him Mr Zen. After a few pets I squeezed in without letting him inside. The sky was still dark, the outer hall filled with fragrant incense and candle light. After picking up a cushion I entered the main hall, bowed, noticing the roshi sitting in zazen next to the alter. I settled in, facing the east wall. 40 minutes went by in an easy flow, body loose and light, even my stomach was silent. My nose was bothered by allergies, but I still managed to breathe easy. When the bell rang I decided to remain for the service, my first one - deep chanting, the pulsing of a drum, bowing, the ringing of bells. I will use the service each morning to remind myself of the vow.
When the service ended the roshi walked over to me and introduced himself. We shook hands and he spoke my name - he correctly guessed who I was from my recent term student application. There was one other person in the hall, a resident wearing a black robe. We spoke for a minute, and he told me he has been living at the temple for 2 1/2 years, and will be ending his time there in one month. I asked him what he planned to do, he smiled easily and told me he did not know.
I walked to the library in the afternoon to look for the Upanishads. I ended up with a book on Hindu Scriptures - The Rg-Veda, Atharva-Veda, Upanishads, Bhagavad-Gita, Kirana-Tantra, and others. It seems odd I have waited this many years to read the eastern sacred texts. They were off my radar until only recently. I sense they will shatter my current world view.
It is 8:00pm. I will now meditate while listening to a recorded talk by the roshi on "Enlightenment and Misunderstandings about Enlightenment", followed by reading and sleep. I have made a good start, momentum now flowing. Looking forward to what day 3 brings.
