{"id":20104,"date":"2026-01-04T08:25:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T08:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/?page_id=20104"},"modified":"2026-01-04T08:25:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T08:25:35","slug":"paul","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/history\/yearbooks\/yearbook-2025\/paul\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul's Antai-ji yearbook entry 2025
\nI could write about how I had lost sight of the various reasons that I had to come to Antaiji already
\nshortly after I arrived and then how getting used to the demanding schedule and all the new
\nresponsibilities, as well as a talk with a retreat-guest during a stressful phase, helped me to
\nremember what I had no longer been aware of\u2014by that gaining a lot of comfort and ease back.
\nOr, I could write about how Antaiji, the diverse tasks and the harvest changes over the course of
\nthe year. That I never have kept track of the seasons as much as here, at a pretty much self-
\nsufficient temple, or been aware of the nature surrounding me due to mostly living in concrete
\njungles where I could buy non-seasonal products if I just wanted at any time. Grasping original,
\nrural nature in major cities is harder, but they obviously are a part of nature as a whole. I could also
\nshare about the 10 days that I was able to travel through Japan so far or write about my
\nexpectations for the remainder of my first year at Antaiji, which started in March after most of the
\nsnow had melted. And as if that would not be enough, I could write about the Zen-elements and
\nthe special Zazen focus of this temple, the unique schedule, menus, a rudimentary lifestyle and
\nmore. I met so many kind and loving people and made contacts with people all around the world
\njust by being in one place all year long. Even though it is very stressful in Antaiji, I discovered
\ncooking and baking as something I started to enjoy and love. Also, growing one's own vegetables
\nis something I started to adore. Oh, and \u2026 nostalgia and homesickness are beasts to tame as
\nwell. I could describe the smells of Antaiji that you stop noticing as you get used to scents and
\nstinks of a place over time. Japanese sleeping, eating, bathing and toilet habits are also a topic a
\nEuropean could digress about. Also worth mentioning: the work ethic of the residents and how
\nphysical and mental exertion turn snacks into long-awaited feasts. Especially in the time after
\narrival, there is little to no free time. But, in the end, is there any time we are ever really free? Tora,
\nthe temple's cat: most of us could address him as \u201cTora-senpai\u201d, as he has been here for longer
\nthan many of the residents, but variations of \u201cmiaow\u201d also do their job when trying to attract his
\nattention. This cat reminded me of many things and taught me quite a lot. Rice, fences, small or big
\nanimals and so much more \u2026 The 7-days-rohatsu-sesshin just came to an end; so that definitely
\nwould be a chapter for itself.
\nAnd that's just mine of many records and what I experienced during what will soon be a year. To be
\nhonest, this is growing into more of a collection of memory hints for my future self than it is a good
\ninsight into temple life for people reading this blog. Also, I think all of the above people have
\nalready captured on video, written or talked about enough and it can be found on the internet. I
\nlearned myself that reading about something can give you a first taste of it, but the personal
\nexperience will most likely be different and more \u201cwhole\/full\u201d\u2014a phenomenological or empiric
\nexperience. Although the words of a contemporary, famous and partially infamous German
\nphilosopher, which just came to my mind now, still apply, it is not the same as making the
\nexperience yourself:
\n\u201cSich mit [\u2026] Gedanken zu besch\u00e4ftigen, sie nachzuzeichnen, sie zu verstehen und
\nweiterzudenken ist eine kulinarische Besch\u00e4ftigung des Geistes. Lesen ist Denken mit einem
\nfremden Gehirn. Doch das Gelesene zu verarbeiten ist ein fortw\u00e4hrender Dialog mit uns selbst.
\nWas lockt, ist die Aussicht [eigenst\u00e4ndig], intelligenter \u00fcber die Welt nachdenken zu k\u00f6nnen als
\nzuvor.\u201d
\nRichard D. Precht, Erkenne die Welt
\n\u201cEngaging with thoughts, tracing them, understanding them, and developing them further is a
\nculinary pursuit of the mind. Reading is thinking with someone else's brain. But processing what
\nwe read is a continuous dialogue with ourselves. What's enticing is the prospect of being able to
\nthink about the world more intelligently than before [independently].\u201d
\n(Yes, that is me doing what you might be too lazy for or, for some other reason, not willing to do:
\ncopy-paste the German section into some translator.)
\nIf you have been thinking about 'staying at Antaiji for a longer time period', sure, request a stay and
\nthereby not just \u201cprocess\u201d, as the quote already emphasizes, but additionally experience yourself
\nwhat you have read or heard about. But, let me stress this once more: do not take all the talk about<\/p>\n

how hard it can be to stay at Antaiji lightly and, if you come from overseas, maybe keep your
\nenvironmental footprint and what you will leave behind in mind as well. It also might make sense to
\nstart your practice here and now (more precise: there and now), to notice and appreciate what you
\nalready are or what already surrounds you (well, trying to not sound patronizing here).
\nIn the end, instead of elaborating on one of the countless topics from above, I decided on a 180-
\ndegree turn\u2014sharing a poem from the german child-book \u201cMomo\u201d. It is not your usual Zen
\nliterature but it has its teachings for sure. I found it in our library here.
\nPS: I hope the publisher does not claim its copyright. :\/
\nPPS: Thanks to Tamara and Iain for arousing my interest in reading it again just before I found it
\nhere.
\n\u201eDrei Br\u00fcder wohnen in einem Haus,
\ndie sehen wahrhaftig verschieden aus,
\ndoch willst du sie unterscheiden,
\ngleicht jeder den anderen beiden.
\nDer erste ist nicht da, er kommt erst nach Haus.
\nDer zweite ist nicht da, er ging schon hinaus.
\nNur der dritte ist da, der Kleinste der drei,
\ndenn ohne ihn g\u00e4b's nicht die anderen zwei.
\nUnd doch gibt's den dritten, um den es sich handelt,
\nnur weil sich der erst' in den zweiten verwandelt.
\nDenn willst du ihn anschaun, so siehst du nur wieder
\nimmer einen der anderen Br\u00fcder!
\nNun sage mir: Sind die drei vielleicht einer?
\nOder sind es nur zwei? Oder ist es gar \u2013 keiner?
\nUnd kannst du, mein Kind, ihre Namen mir nennen,
\nso wirst du drei m\u00e4chtige Herrscher erkennen.
\nSie regieren gemeinsam ein gro\u00dfes Reich \u2014
\nund sind es auch selbst! Darin sind sie gleich.\u201c
\nMichael Ende, Momo\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paul's Antai-ji yearbook entry 2025 I could write about how I had lost sight of the various reasons that I had to come to Antaiji already shortly after I arrived and then how getting used to the demanding schedule and all the new responsibilities, as well as a talk with a retreat-guest during a stressful phase, helped me to remember what I had no longer been aware of\u2014by that gaining a lot of comfort and ease back. Or, I could write about how Antaiji, the diverse tasks and the harvest changes over the course of the year. That I never have kept track of the seasons as much as here, at a pretty much self- sufficient temple, or been aware of the nature surrounding me due to mostly living in concrete jungles where I could buy non-seasonal products if I just wanted at any time. Grasping original, rural nature in major cities is harder, but they obviously are a part of nature as a whole. I could also share about the 10 days that I was able to travel through Japan so far or write about my expectations for the remainder of my first year at Antaiji, which started in March after most of the snow had melted. And as if that would not be enough, I could write about the Zen-elements and the special Zazen focus of this temple, the unique schedule, menus, a rudimentary lifestyle and more. I met so many kind and loving people and made contacts with people all around the world just by being in one place all year long. Even though it is very stressful in Antaiji, I discovered cooking and baking as something I started to enjoy and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":20085,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"side-navigation.php","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20104","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20104","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=20104"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20152,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20104\/revisions\/20152"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}