{"id":7683,"date":"2013-12-17T08:33:53","date_gmt":"2013-12-17T13:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/?p=7683"},"modified":"2013-12-17T08:33:53","modified_gmt":"2013-12-17T13:33:53","slug":"gone-sitting-a-few-words-on-going-to-a-zen-retreat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2013\/12\/gone-sitting-a-few-words-on-going-to-a-zen-retreat.html","title":{"rendered":"Gone Sitting: A Few Words on Going to a Zen Retreat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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\nGone sitting<\/p>\n

A few words on going to a Zen retreat.
\nBy James Ishmael Ford<\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t usually broadcast that I\u2019m going to a Zen retreat. As an old Zen hand I\u2019m reluctant to tell non-Zen friends, because when I do, too often the response is something along the line of, \u201cBoy, I could use some downtime myself.\u201d Me, too. But that is far from a description of a Zen retreat.<\/p>\n

My spouse Jan begins preparing a couple of days ahead, picking out suitable clothing, cleaning the oriyoki, traditional ritual bowls and instruments for meals, and perhaps upping her regular sitting practice a little bit. Me, I wait until it\u2019s time to go, throw some underwear and my Zen robes into a bag, hope I remember my oriyoki, and go. After forty years, it isn\u2019t a big deal; it\u2019s just what I do. <\/p>\n

For the rest of the story, go to the UU World<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n