Cody’s blog

Have missed going to Mountain Spirit Center for the last couple of weeks—last week I was sick, and the week before I was in South San Francisco for BASCon. Not unrelated, I don’t think—I most likely picked up the virus while I was out of town. I’m still sick today, but was feeling better enough to go to the Center, and, as always, I’m glad I did. It was a small group today, small enough that we all ate lunch around the table in the kitchen instead of in the hall around mats on the floor.

We started out with the usual, Thousand Eyes and Hands Sutra, then Kwan Se Um Bosal chanting, and Homage to the Three Jewels.  We did a special chant from a different book, which was all in Korean alphabet so I couldn’t follow. The book had Chinese characters beside the Korean syllables, so I amused myself by picking out the ones I could recognize from having studied Japanese, and tried to remember the bits of the Korean alphabet I’ve learned. We also chanted the Heart Sutra and Hong Sun Chuk Won.

Instead of giving the Dharma talk himself, the monk played a recording of another monk’s Dharma talk. I didn’t catch who it was, or, in fact, most of the talk. Our usual guy translated for me and the other white guy who was there, but I was particularly unable to make out what he was saying today. Oh well.

I’m doing better at following the chanting these days, especially since one of the women showed me the page numbers for all the chants we were doing. I have most of them on CD and have been practicing, chanting along with the recordings. I’ve been trying to memorize the Heart Sutra, since it’s short. I have the first few lines, but that’s all the farther I’ve gotten so far.

It always gives me such a happy feeling to go to the Center. Next week, I’m going to the opera in LA, so I won’t be able to go. The opera will be fun, but I will hate to miss Sunday practice!