Bear sightings, apple crisp, rock moving, and ten or so weather changes – this is the stuff that Work Weeks are made of!
We've had a great group of nine or so guests joining the residents as we prepare the monastery for winter. Our crews have finalized stone paths and put the garden to bed, and we've greatly improved the dirt road that takes us down into town or up to our neighbors and beyond. A team of three also started the long-awaited office renovation.
Alongside us, contractors continued making progress on the installation of our fire protection system. Next Tuesday, they'll begin pouring concrete.
Thursday night most of us joined the Wild Mountain Zen workshop, part of our new Crestone Mountain Online Sangha offerings, led by Amy Robertson and Sarabinh Levy-Brightman. What an engaging practice session – one that people continue to work with and play with as we move forward in the work week.
Through work and rest, practice and play, we've had plenty of opportunities to get to know each other better. We've eaten hearty soups, had cookies every day, and sat long at the table.
We begin and end each day in the stillness of the zendo. It feels like a group that has been practicing together for years.
So much is happening. We bow in the direction of all who are making sure, with labor, financial support, or good spirit and presence, that Crestone Mountain Zen Center can continue to serve as a spacious container for deep practice and realization for years to come.
Gassho,
Seishin Laurie Nusbaum