The style is, in this kind of culture, is to give no verbal explanations, or particularly no group verbal explanations, or very little. Of course, you have to do some, but you try to make a minimum. So the I or the Eno should never really instruct the Zendo as a whole. Say something in the Zendo. Like everybody in service do this. Generally you don't do that. But sometimes we have to. Usually what you try to do instead is to speak to one person, but not to the whole group.

[01:02]

Or to just get a couple people to do something. So it becomes very dramatic when you say something. In that kind of circumstance, to say something aloud is quite dramatic. So the style of helping people is like if you're in the Zendo and you're the Ino, or the person who's supposed to be noticing what's happening. If you notice, for instance, they're not used to how cold the zendo is, you go and find one of your old sweaters and bring it down and hand it to the person. Well, there's various ways in which you try to be supportive without speaking.

[02:24]

Standing near them or whatever. And in general, something like the incense, right? Generally, you just do it. And you find out how it feels. You find out the meaning by doing it. Because we don't want to make the shoe fit, the mental shoe fit. Do you have that expression in German, to make the shoe fit? Because if you say, oh, this means such and such, then you try to find that, you try to make your experience fit that explanation. Traditionally you just say, oh, just do it. But that means, really means, just do it and find out the meaning for yourself, because the only real meaning is the meaning you find out for yourself.

[03:43]

But from that point of view, I'm a bad Zen teacher. I... give much more explanation for things than any traditional Asian Zen teacher would give. But I found in the West it's necessary. Or we end up with only our personal understanding or a simplified understanding. Yes, sure. On one side, if you have a meaning which is there, then it doesn't fit. Because if there is a meaning and some People know it.

[04:55]

Why shouldn't the other one not know it? It shouldn't be a meaning for nobody. Well, I don't know what the meaning is. But then it's the introduction in such a ceremony like Manju, not the right one. An introduction in such at the ceremony is not put that way.

[06:05]

It should be different. It should be more individual. And to a question like that should come the answer, okay, try, do it. And now what do you feel? What does it mean for you? No, that's what I would have said. And in my 45 years of doing this, no one has ever told me what this means. I don't know what it means. I don't know what it means, actually. I actually don't. I know what it feels like, and I can come up with a verbal explanation, but nobody's ever explained anything to me, really. Like that, those things. I just do it. Deutsch? Yeah, but they didn't. May I answer?

[07:08]

May I say something to that? We also have to see that we are not such a monastery where the Nenjo ceremony is held every four days for 10, 20, 30 years. Wherever there is a tribe, they just know how to do it. And if there are new ones, you send them to the broadcast and they copy it more or less badly. And learn that from them, but only by the fact that a tribe is there, they just know how it works. And that would be the ideal case. But we can't send 20 people to the broadcast, now let's do a venture and no one knows what to do, then it's just chaos. We have to explain the process. I just answered when we would be a real monastery there would be Nanzu every four or five days since 10, 20 years and new people just join in. There's no way to explain that because there's always a crew.

[08:11]

They know exactly what to do. Then you don't have to explain to new people to do this or that. They just follow the other one. But we don't have that here. So at the beginning of an angel, of course, we have to explain others. It's just chaos in there. Generally, if you enter a monastery in Japan, they don't give you orioke instruction. You're just there suddenly, and you have to learn by watching. Yeah. Okay. Anton? I've had a kind of strange two weeks. I came late, arrived late, I had a family, there was a death in the family, so I had an emotional time before and arrived late into the first month's week. Ich bin später gekommen. Ich hatte einen Todesfall in der Familie und das war eine emotionale Zeit vorweg und deshalb kam ich später.

[09:17]

And then I was ill afterwards for the first few days. Und dann für die nächsten Tage war ich krank. So my entry into the actual schedule has been gradual, if at all. And I really felt that. I came here wanting with my mind to fully engage myself, but my body wasn't really up for it. But generally I could feel the intensity in the place.

[10:20]

And I enjoyed the children's energy running around the place. And I liked the windows. And I thought the food has been very, very good as well. And I thought it was a really good group as well. And we are a good group with good energy. And I look forward to properly entering amongst myself.

[11:26]

Well, let's see. Okay. when Beate told me on the phone that there were nine children there. And I already knew that there were still shepherds building new windows. Then I thought, for God's sake, this will not work. And of course I thought to myself, how can this work? And there was my idea that there should definitely be two places that are absolutely forbidden for children. Namely the station and where we eat Oryoki. And we sit a lot, we have a lot of zazen in it, I was also surprised, and in our practice you always have to consider that the Uriyoki is part of our sitting practice. We sit in meditation and that adds up to sitting for some time.

[12:29]

But when the children showed up, already here and there, in the TV station and also here in Essen, I suddenly thought it was great that the children were there. But I also have to say that it is such a room that I wanted, so first of all such a closed room, so the TV station doors closed and everything closed here, closed there, closed here and something like that, so that you can hear and see as little as possible in here from the chaos that is out there. But then I also found out for myself that I can increasingly close my inner doors, so that I can find the peace during the sitting in me. And then I don't care if a child screams somewhere or Marlene runs out quickly or if someone snores here or something like that. It is also the practice of not only having the outer space, but the inner space. And this practice period, this practice month, is very good for me to experience this.

[13:36]

Okay, translation. When Beate told me on the phone there will be nine kids and also a construction zone, this is what I knew already in advance. I said, oh, shit, this is not going to work here. And so my idea is, thinking about how could it work, is that we should have at least two rooms, absolutely no kids, forbidden for kids, and this... should be the zendo and where we eat oriyoki. And it's quite a bit when we add our time being in the zendo and when we add eating oriyoki.

[14:39]

It's a few hours a day we sit on a cushion here. But then when the first kids show up in here or in the Zen-Do, I really enjoyed that. And it wasn't disturbing at all. So I figured it's, of course, an outside, a possibility to close and get the noise out, out of the room, out of the Zen-Do, out of this room here when we eat Ureyuki, but it's also... the possibility to find this womb of stillness inside and then I don't mind a crying kid or some disturbance anymore or a chainsaw if it's not right away the next beam they gonna saw down I actually don't mind yeah And after five practice periods in Creston and now my first practice months here at Johanneshof, I have to say there's actually no more difference for me in practicing at a place like Creston where there are no kids, no noise at all. I mean, there's really... Once in a while there's an airplane.

[15:43]

Yeah. And you wonder what that is. A UFO. And thank we had a dog. She was barking once in a while, so you could... You hear that you are still on the planet, Your Honour. And I enjoy being here and it's actually no difference, for me it's no difference anymore between three months practice period in Creston. Except that it's longer and that we have more ceremonies, it's more into this Buddhist stuff. So Creston goes even deeper. There are many more ceremonies in the traditional way and my question is how is it possible to extend a practice month slowly into being more a practice period and adding more and more ceremonies like the at the end and all that How could we do that?

[16:43]

And do we want to do that? Or is it not possible? Or is it maybe one day possible to have a practice period instead of a practice month? So, again very briefly, the practice period, there is much more going on with ceremonies and service At the end of the day, there are a lot of ceremonies and that creates a completely different atmosphere. There is also a head monk, a shuso, who also gives lectures. And my question is, to what extent can we gradually, over the years, extend this from one month to three months and then pull off the whole show? Without explanation. Okay, then when we do the whole show here, she wants to come back. Well, you can just come to Creston. You got it.

[17:43]

I enjoyed the children very much. And what I also asked myself, for the parents, you can no longer ask Tanja and Kai, but there are more parents, Of course, I have already asked myself, is it really such a big difference for you if you are both here with children and all the difficulties, children who are very demanding, and to combine practice? Or, as I might say more, that as parents you are half and we are half and then no children and then really only full practice. Does that make a difference for you? I ask them if there is a difference, what they also could do, for example, split the time to be here without a kid. And what's the difference, having the whole family here and all the demanding kids, or just having half of it without any kids and just concentrate on their own practice?

[18:49]

Well, we may do that next year, of course. Two weeks with no kids and two weeks with kids, I'm thinking. I know, I understand. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, of course, there is a complete difference. When I spend the whole time, for example, every morning, even if I have the children's week and I eat my lunch and now I don't eat any yoghurt, I will still be in the gym four times a day, even though I take care of the children. I don't want to run so intensively, so that's half for me. I can probably answer the question first when I have spent these four weeks here with children and then when I was here with children for a new practice time and then the question can really be answered.

[19:56]

But from the feeling I already think that it is still not the same as it was when my father died. that life can also be connected with the children and the sitting. It was also difficult for the other participants, but this experimental character that is in there, I still feel that it is even possible. Now, apart from someone telling me that I was in a monastery with children, they couldn't imagine that at all. And to make this experience has just made me Of course it would be difficult to be here without kids here. I could concentrate really on my practice. But although having all the kids, having my kids here, I still have still a bit of time to sit and to do zazen and to be part of the service. And actually to say what would be better, well, I cannot tell that now. Let's see how the first four weeks go. And it's also this telling someone, I have been in a Buddhist monastery with all my kids.

[21:04]

That's quite unique here, being allowed to take all my children and do a practice there. That's quite a unique place and a unique possibility here. Okay. The way I feel it coming from the people, you probably need a time of retreat just for you, the people of the monastery. or who are very often here, so who are purely in practice, a time only for themselves. And then something like the practice monad, if you do it for other people, then I think it's really great to be so open that families can come, because if both parents practice Zen, it's very important as a family that the children live what the parents do.

[22:19]

On the other hand, if it is open for other people, it is very positive that the children also have a place, because it is very important when the parents practice that the children also get to experience what the parents do. I think it's a very important thing in the family life, but also for the development of the children, that they see what the parents do. By the way, the shusso, the head monk you mentioned, means toilet cleaner. So we could certainly do three months of practice here. But I don't think, though lots of Buddhist groups now do it, it should not be an ango or a practice period. unless there are two conditions.

[23:38]

One is that It's the same group from opening day to ending day. There's no new people. It's the same people all the way through. And for the three months, no one except the shopper or something leaves the property. We can't really do that here. If we had a bigger piece of property and we might someday buy one of the farms nearby, if we can, we're looking into the possibility. And if we can make enough of a inner world here, we could have three months training periods, practice periods.

[24:53]

But it's actually easier to fly to Crestown than to buy the farm next door. But You know, if there's a good... Good, that's not the right word. If there's some kind of mutual feeling that happens, like I think Anton implied he felt here, then everything that happens becomes, yeah, something... that's so much a part of what's happening that you can't say good or bad.

[25:54]

So then Brigitte and Donatella not chanting becomes part of what our service is. And it makes us aware of the service and the chanting in a way that you give us something by doing that. Yeah, or even if Anton is sick, or now Christian is sick, or Sophia and And what's the little boy's name? Jerry. Jerry. If Sophia and Jerry decide that they are enemies... Yeah, well, now they're getting along better.

[26:56]

This is... It's all like, it's just happening. It's like thoughts come up, the children do this. It's all in the same realm when there is something working in the practice period, practice month itself. If we're each in our own way entering it, then something happens that makes everything real. So that's the work of a practice period, a practice month. I was amused by, I heard René coming from East Germany.

[28:14]

Wasn't felt, you know, that property should be, Marie-Louise told me this, that property shouldn't be a big consideration in life or something like that. personal property. But then when he worked in a kindergarten, he found out that personal property was the name of the game. I want this, this is mine, etc., So you really learn something in that, when you see that. But when you see that in our practice month, it's true. It's just what's in us, it's outside of us, not so different. Yes, I felt these two monk weeks have been quite good to be with you together.

[29:24]

And if any of you have comments like you wish study could be longer or wake up could be earlier or later, you can pass on those remarks to Dieter and Atmar. And we'll think about these things for next year. Thank you very much, really. Thank you. May our intention be the same for every being and every person.

[30:26]

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