talk 1 , silent retreat Bali, May 2026 As you may have noticed, because we’re a small group, Lucas and Nora were not able to join us today, as they are both sick. We wish them a quick recovery. It’s not pleasant to come to a retreat and fall sick on the first day — but such is life. We will have three talks during this retreat. They won’t be very long. In these talks, I’ll try to offer some context for those of you who may be new to the practice zazen so that you may have some understanding...

munggu, bali, 2026 almost to the point of silence the ever unpointable flickering on the threshold of not knowing which way to fall words fewer than before when the dark had sprawled beyond questions street noise birdsongs from the eaves brushes of the morning quick against the sky the rain has almost stopped traced before us a trail scattering of clouds do you rejoice do you regret

here is a poem presented to master ryotan tokuda on the day of my monk ordination some twenty-six years ago in a crumbling stone house clinging to the mountainside he named: ei-tai ji temple / temple of eternal peace, in the lower alps in france. after a few of years of studying and practicing zen buddhism, meeting my teacher one day in 1997 in paris was a pivotal experience. after following his teachings and doing sesshins with him for some time, asking to be ordained monk seemed a natural...