Had a great time. Went to the Providence Zen Center tonight. Had a Zen meditation course at 6:30...we also chatted before class in the common area. A place where I can hang out anytime I want, even if not a member but I plan to become a member as soon as I am able. I can ride my bike to this place in a short amount of time and it's on 40 acres.
Anyway, I'm all over the place. During the "practice" we only meditated for 10 minutes. I'm used to meditating for an hour and an ocassional 20 minute when I am short on time (i.e. lunch time). Anyway, then we just asked questions. No one asked us "why." But it's not about why. It's about clearing the mind. We all have a mind full of crap...years of crap. I have about 39 years of crap.
So...the point of the practice session was to prepare us for the real meditation that was downstairs at 7:30 in the main meditation room. That was an hour: 25 minutes seated (lotus or however you're comfortable...you can even sit in a folding chair), then 10 minutes of walking meditation (never did this before) around the perimeter of the room and then another 25 minutes on the floor "seated." I need to get used to it and get a few under my belt before I'll get clear with the meditations. But it was a great start.
I'm going back Sunday for an all day retreat. I have a lot of info to read before then. Not because I need to but because I want to. There is really no book on achieving Zen. Zen is about Zen. It's not about Zen. It's about nothing. It's about getting back to where you were when you did not think. Think about that...or don't...the second answer appears to be the right answer but Zen isn't about correctness...
Peace!
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