A brief update, since I haven't posted in a while.

Irish is progressing nicely, two weeks left in this level. The next level starts in April. It is entirely possible I will someday actually speak this language.

Went yesterday to Tibet House to attend a talk by Sharon Salzberg on meditation. It was very good. She is very funny, explains everything ( Read more... )

A couple of words about the head monk. Of all the religious practitioners I’ve ever met (and I’ve met quite a few in my time), he has got to be the coolest guy. He smokes cigars, does karate, and drives a bimmer. You cannot get cooler than that and be a Buddhist monk. It was truly an honour to participate in the meditation workshop under his ( Read more... )

After that and a short AJET meeting (during which we were shown the last year’s AJET musical - well, very few people remember it, as most of us were happily asleep), we were loaded into the bus and taken to the Anrakuji temple at Kamiita. Now, that is the place to cure your hungover. It gives the word “peaceful” a whole new meaning. We had some ( Read more... )