One year has passed since I last wrote about my experience for the Antaiji yearbook, which
\nmeans I have now been here for a year and a half. Like last year, I struggled with what to
\nwrite. This year, I found myself grappling with it while coughing in bed. Each time I thought
\nabout what to say, the coughing would start again, making it hard to concentrate. My head
\nand throat ached, and the cold weather only added to the discomfort. I experienced the
\nchallenges of being in a human body. As the night fell, the coughing grew more frequent.
\nAs I pondered what to write, I realized that I don’t enjoy dwelling on the past. It reminded
\nme of a quote I once heard: “The past is history, the future is a mystery, but this moment is
\na gift\u2014that’s why it’s called the present.” This quote highlights the importance of being fully
\npresent, even when the moment is uncomfortable. Despite my reluctance, writing for this
\nyearbook is something that must be done, and it offers an opportunity for reflection.
\nFor the 2024 Antaiji yearbook, what stands out most to me is serving as tenzo during the
\nspring, summer, and autumn retreats. People from many countries came to Antaiji to
\nexperience Zen practice. Some left with life-changing experiences, some stopped the
\npractice, and others continued their journeys in different ways. Whatever their path, I wish
\nthem well. My life here moves forward regardless of theirs. I am merely a passerby they
\nencountered. All I can do is try to prepare nourishing meals for them and serve them at the
\nright time.
\nEach retreat as tenzo brought unique challenges. In the spring, I had to forage for wild
\nvegetables. It was difficult since it was my first spring at Antaiji, and I wasn\u2019t familiar with
\nthe local plants. One particularly tough day, I only slept for two hours due to poor time
\nmanagement and forgetting to prepare the next day\u2019s meal. I even witnessed tears from my
\ntenzo assistant during a tea meeting, which showed me how overwhelming it had been for
\nhim. He eventually left Antaiji, and I reflected on how demanding the role could be.
\nDuring the summer retreat, my tenzo assistant could only help with setting tables because
\nthe season was so busy. However, I had improved my time management and was able to
\ncomplete my tasks on time. Still, there were challenges\u2014like the day I didn\u2019t cook enough
\nrice. By the time of the autumn retreat in November, I faced a different problem: I kept
\nchanging the menu. Due to limited time for planning, I occasionally ended up with two
\ndeep-fried dishes in a single day, which I had to adjust quickly.
\nThis year\u2019s experience was difficult, but I learned invaluable lessons. I became more
\nresilient, adaptable, and mindful of time. The future remains a mystery, one I eagerly
\nanticipate. But for now, I am reminded that this present moment is a gift\u2014one to be
\ncherished and appreciated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One year has passed since I last wrote about my experience for the Antaiji yearbook, which means I have now been here for a year and a half. Like last year, I struggled with what to write. This year, I found myself grappling with it while coughing in bed. Each time I thought about what to say, the coughing would start again, making it hard to concentrate. My head and throat ached, and the cold weather only added to the discomfort. I experienced the challenges of being in a human body. As the night fell, the coughing grew more frequent. As I pondered what to write, I realized that I don’t enjoy dwelling on the past. It reminded me of a quote I once heard: “The past is history, the future is a mystery, but this moment is a gift\u2014that’s why it’s called the present.” This quote highlights the importance of being fully present, even when the moment is uncomfortable. Despite my reluctance, writing for this yearbook is something that must be done, and it offers an opportunity for reflection. For the 2024 Antaiji yearbook, what stands out most to me is serving as tenzo during the spring, summer, and autumn retreats. People from many countries came to Antaiji to experience Zen practice. Some left with life-changing experiences, some stopped the practice, and others continued their journeys in different ways. Whatever their path, I wish them well. My life here moves forward regardless of theirs. I am merely a passerby they encountered. All I can do is try to prepare nourishing meals for them and serve them at the right time. Each retreat as tenzo brought unique challenges. In the spring, I had to forage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":19869,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"side-navigation.php","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-19878","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19878"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19879,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19878\/revisions\/19879"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}