By Daishin Pawel Wojtasik

Recently, I found myself blessed with a week free of obligations. The idea of going somewhere radically different from my home in Brooklyn took root, and Dai Bosatsu Zendo monastery in the Catskill Mountains emerged as the perfect destination. I used to be a resident there from 1998 to 2000 — the magnificence of the setting and the profound intensity of practice left an indelible mark on my memory. Since it was February, the monastery was in the Interim period. Being mostly familiar with sesshin (intensive retreats of 5 to 7 days) and kessei (a training period of up to 3 months), I was not sure what to expect. I wrote to Chigan Roshi to ask if I could join the community for a week. Roshi responded that the residents would be happy to have me and that I could come for as many days as I wished.

To get to DBZ I was advised to take a bus to Monticello, NY, a ride which took about 1 1/2 hours from New York City. Upon my arrival in Monticello, I was picked up by two of the residents, Hanqing Zhou and Bryan Alonso. Once at DBZ, I was welcomed by the third resident, Jim McIntire and later I was happy to see Kanchi Lucía Oliva Hennelly, who lives nearby and joins the residents for zazen and meals, whenever her schedule allows.

When I woke up the first morning at 5:50 a.m. and rushed to Kaisando chanting, I realized that this would not exactly be a vacation. I soon found out that the Interim schedule, although much more relaxed than sesshin or kessei, still provides an opportunity for serious practice.

During interim, residents get to perform many tasks normally reserved for senior monastics. We started the day with a short morning service, followed by a period of zazen. This took place in the dining hall which is used as the Zendo during Interim to save energy. Read More