Today I did my first One Day Sit. This means that I sat and meditated all day long (well, not really, there were breaks and stuff in between but it's like doing a half-marathon if you were a runner- sesshin would be a marathon).
Here are the highlights, (read the next post if you want details):
The plinking of almonds dropping in each person's "third bowl" during oryoki (and me thinking "Oh crap, how am I going to eat that many almonds with chopsticks?")
Watching newcomers (myself included) constantly bow because they: bowed when they knew to, bowed when anyone in robes bowed, and bowed when anyone near them bowed.
Noticing that the guy next to me during service had impeccable memorization and pronunciation of the chants in Japanese, then watching as he flipped through the chant book for the ones in English.
Watching Paul and Lucy in the hope that they'd pick up their spoon to eat from their second bowl (meaning that I could use my spoon on the second bowl), then sighing as they effortlessly ate the soup in their second bowl with chopsticks (you're only supposed to use the spoon for the first bowl).
The look on my server's face when (as she walked past with an empty pot of rice) I bowed to her in gratitude and she thought I was bowing for more.
The sound of chainsaws and a chipper shredder during the last 45 minutes of zazen.
Paul, just Paul.
And, proof that I continue to be Sincerely Lost: Eating my entire dinner, bowing to my table, and clearing my dishes in time to hear... THE MEAL CHANT (from the kitchen right as I started to do the dishes). Yep, as everyone was chanting their gratitude for the meal before them, I was kicking myself for rushing through it. Oh well, at least I was present for BOTH the cookies I ate today...
I love the sound of plinking almonds in the zendo!! The first time I noticed it I almost giggled out loud and still think it's one of the silliest sounds I will ever hear. I eat them with my hands though; it might be breaking the rules but almonds are made to be touched.
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