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<\/a><\/div>\nI\u2019m back from a trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, my first in that vast, beautiful and relatively uninhabited land. Above is the sun setting over Lake Superior a few days ago, taken from a 10-mile stretch of sand beach (rare on Lake Superior) near the Porcupine Mountains. I definitely plan to return and hope to spend some time in one of the remote cabins in the Porcupines doing retreat.\u00a0<\/span><\/span> Frankly, there\u2019ll also be at least one who fits the \u201cdifficult person\u201d category so I\u2019ll have some challenges too, I\u2019m sure.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Zen teachers, don\u2019t you know, are ordinary people \u2013 or at least I am \u2013 and so we\/I have the normal range of silliness \u2013 like the categories of favorites and difficult people. Denying the facts don\u2019t change them. Accepting the facts leads to interesting questions about how to relate.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In addition to hanging out, there will be an agenda: ethical issues (of which there are a bunch, past and present); gender issues; transmission (including a presentation by Victor Sogen Hori, who I haven\u2019t met but is a \u201cfavorite\u201d scholar); and dana vs. fund raising.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n These are the issues that this group often discusses and the need and interest in continuing the conversations is significant, I think, in that it points to the issues\u2019 central role in the transplanting of Zen from Asia to the West and their unresolved position at present. Or maybe \u201cvariously resolved\u201d is more fitting.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Personally, though, I\u2019m most interested in picking people\u2019s brains and experiences about two issues. First, what will Zen become in the post-peak oil period, including the likely dramatic changes in climate and economic underpinnings of our society, including present Zen institutions. What does Zen have to offer to people in such a world and how can we prepare now to be in the position to offer just that?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n My book project has taken a radical turn in this direction and I\u2019m very curious about how others see it. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Btw, James Ford over at Monkey Mind wrote compellingly about the climate issue recently. Click here.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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But today I\u2019m getting my bag packed for the Zen teachers\u2019 conference that starts tomorrow night. <\/span><\/span>In the past, <\/span><\/span>the most rewarding aspect of these events has been spending time with old friends and I\u2019m happy that a bunch of my favorites will be there this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n