Month: October 2013

Already 5 years have passed since wet set the first stone for this wall. but if we can keep the present pace, we might be able to finish the work this autumn. Or maybe next year after all…

Today was the sports fest in Kutoyama, which takes place once a year in autumn. All the villagers come together at the old school to compete in a variety of disciplines. The event starts with a warm up exercise: Next, rolling a wheel with a stick. the start had to be delayed because of Izumi: … Read more

Takes place every morning at 7:30, before work starts:

Antaiji’s forest group, which consists of Eko, Gusho, Tsukan, Yudai and me, went to the townhall in Hamasaka today to discuss the three year project which is starting this month. On the way back Jisui and Hiromi, who went shopping on the free day, and the kids who came back from school, 10 people altogether, … Read more

On free days, there is no zazen. Instead, we give the main hall a thorough cleaning. today it had been raining since the early morning hours, therfore we could not dry the cushions in the sun.

Today was another one day sesshin. The video of last month’s panel discussion on “The greatness of Japanese Buddhism” has been uploaded on Youtube:

We had strong winds blowing during the night, but no major rain falls. Fortunately, the bamboo construction on which the rice is hanging was not affected either. This moth, Tobi is teaching us Yoga every morning at 4am. Doing zazen after warming up the body and waking up the mind isn’t a bad idea.

It is harvesting season in Antaiji. A typhoon is scheduled to pass through here tomorrow, therefore we decided to cut the rice in the second field today. Tobi from Berlin and Tsukan from Oregon push the binder that cuts and binds the plants so that the can be hung on the bamboo construction to dry … Read more

Almost 30 degrees Celsius! In the southern rice field, the water canal was dug deeper. Tsukan moves the rocks from the bottom of the canal to the area where we are building a new stone wall. Tobi and Eko have a look at the “binder” that will be used tomorrow to harvest the “Shinden” rice … Read more

Behind the monastery is an old, small shrine, that is taken care of by a Buddhist temple in Hamasaka that belongs to the Nichiren sect. On this day, many people that used to live in the village that once existed in this area came to celebrate the reopening of the small shrine, taht had been … Read more