Most of the work at Antaiji is done by hand, but for threshing the rice we use a machine. the one that we used yesterday was presented to us by the Kubota store in Hamasaka ten years ago. Although it started without problems yesterday morning, the engine seems to have not enough power to thresh … Read more
Eko-san and Ellie started threshing today. They will be busy with their job tomorrow as well. In the vegetable field, Yudai-kund and Hirukawa-kun are digging sweet potatoes. It makes them hungry for tempura they say. We had lots (more than 100) of new strawberry offshoots from the 12 plants that we planted in May … Read more
Seikan was the first monk ordain after I became the abbot 12 years ago. It was his first visit in four years, and he could stay for only one night. Let him talk for himself: After returning to Australia nine years ago, he started a Zen group and is also running a “Zen Hospice” in … Read more
Breakfast is called “shukuza” in Japanese Zen monastery, which can loosely be translated as the “gruel session”. In Antaiji though, we have brown rice, miso soup and two side dishes for breakfast, to give us the strength necessary for samu. Here you can see us recite part of the morning chant: Hitotsu ni wa ko … Read more
Back in Antaiji, the first rice field has been harvested. The sounds that you can hear at the beginning of the video are the voices of dear that can be heared a lot in autumn, especially in the morning hours. They are in heat during this time of the year.
9:30 am in Shinagawa. I avoided the rush hour. Even funnier than watching the monkeys at the zoo is observing these humans on the loose (Kodo Sawaki) Today I visited an Austrian Shinto priest in Shibuya, Florian Wiltschko: They finished harvesting rice in Shibuya as well. Could make out Antaiji from the plane on the … Read more
To make the best use of the nice weather we have these days, we got up and started with the harvest first thing this morning at 5am, before sun rise.. The plan is to finish the first field by tonight, allowing us to do a one day sesshin tomorrow. The other two fields still need … Read more
Cleaning is done every morning, right after breakfast: Four of us went to help with the rice harvest at a different temple in Tottori prefecture today. Therefore, Antaiji’s harvest will have to wait for another day. Yesterday we harvested only about 20% of the southern rice field. The rest is planned foo tomorrow. Shoko from … Read more
Another typhoon has passed, and we have good weather again. The rice in the southern field has fallen over again, wo we decided to start harvesting today. The soil in the field is still swampy, therefore we tie the rice on a plastic sheet outside the field. from there it will be transported to the … Read more
