Dear zen friend

1)  July sesshin:    07/12, 07/13, 07/14.

2)   Summer Fest:     On 08/17 ( Sat.)  2 pm:   Dharma talk by Rev. Tenku Ruff.   The guest speaker has been teaching mainly at  Beacon Zen Temple,  Beacon.  NY.  She belongs to younger generation of Soto Zen Priests. Buddha dharma and vision for future activities are expected to be spoken.   Potluck lunch follows. 

On 08/18 (Sun.).  Chanting  7 am,  Zazen  8 am to noon,    Lunch.     2 pm Walking in woods

On 08/19 (Mon.)  Chanting  7 am.  Wood splitting  9 am  to 3 pm.   Adjourn. 

3)   There is a lawn mower at Zendo.  I pulled string to start engine many times, but the engine did not ignite at all. Other people worked with the mower. I had to accept the fact that my muscles were too weak to start the engine. So I gave up working with the lawn mower. Whenever young people comes, I asked them to mow tall grasses.  I did not touch the lawn mower for 5 years. 

A few days ago I pulled the string, and the engine ran. Why and how did the engine allow me to start? Did my muscles become stronger? Did the engine become better? Did summer temperature matter? A surprise for 5 years just happened. 

I mowed grass for about 3 hours. Pushing the mower was hard and painful in the back. My muscles in the back must have been weak. These muscles are important for breathing. I felt necessary to go to a fitness club for training back muscles. After 3 hours mowing,  I was tired and exhausted. I used to work for the same thing for 8 hours. 

Lawn mowing may be the beginning for my  normalcy. The word juvenescence came out.  To push is the first principle of muscular movement. Non-self propelling lawn mower may be a good item for fitness exercise. 

4)   After an accident near the nest, robins were not seen for 3 weeks. I thought they would never come back, So I took the nest away. The ladder must be cleaned. 

Next day the couple of robins came back. They looked to check the used nest for raising more chicks. Wow, I made another mistake. I had a feeling of regret, sadness, and disappointment.  Everything went wrong with robins this year. 

Regards.

Eishin Ikeda

Valley Zendo