A Hoodie Monk

New Hoodie Monks Song - second English Verse

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:30:30 GMT

Walkin this path, shit that I've seen
Sometimes just makes me wanna get into the green
And when I do I remember
How it felt when I saw burnin ember
Now Awakenin', on the path again
On the road in Shikoku, I'm back again
Henro Sendatsu
I'm on the road and I flow cuz I got to
Keep walkin on the henro michi
I'm coming through, where are you?
Come and see me
Only go where I walk, and I'm writin
On the walls of the halls that enlighten
My stencil is as sharp as my mind
No drips this trip pure grip no crime
I'm stakin out my claim, street graff and rap my game
Step to me where I live, you gone get seen man...

New Hoodie Monks Song - first English Verse

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:28:29 GMT

Right attitude toward life bringing lives into harmony
Unique place for each being in the pattern, simple, start and see
Purification of the body, thought, desire, motive
Service is the key and it's the set you wanna roll with
Met a few who had to change their jobs to change their lives
But many more who only had to change their motives up to thrive
Relinquish your self will, not separate just a cell
Relinquish all attachments, negativity as well

This verse is a reworking of Peace Pilgrim's Steps Toward Inner Peace, the 4 Preparations, 4 Purifications, and 4 Relinquishments, which can be found here: http://www.peacepilgrim.com/stepssumry.htm

New Hoodie Monks Song - Hook

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 06:26:32 GMT

Here's the hook from the new HM song:

People are good
Walk until given shelter
People are good
Fast until given food
People are good
Never asked for, freely given
People are good
No matter how deep the spark is

Comment on the Comments

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:21:51 GMT

Thanks to everyone for their interest and input into the whole expulsion from Sitting Frog situation. The comments seem to have run their course and gotten far afield from the original issue though, and for that reason I will be closing the comments on that particular entry soon. It looks like a couple people still have an unfinished conversation going on and I don't want to cut anyone off so I'll leave the entry open to comments for at least another day or two.

While I appreciated everyone's input on things like the ass pic and jerkoff tanka, they really don't concern me and have become distractions from the issue at hand. All I have stated so far is that I was kicked out of the Sitting Frog Sangha for asking the self proclaimed "abbot" to make documentation of his ordination and Dharma transmission available for examination. In a single email he stated that he would be removing all reference to myself and my artwork from his various web pages for asking, and at the same time promised to forward the address of his place of training in Japan for verification of his claims. The removal of all reference to me from his blog happened within the hour, yet I'm still waiting for the address, or any proof of ordination or Dharma transmission for that matter.

People have asked why I care and that is a fair question that I will now address. Myself and others associated with the Hoodie Monks have donated money and materials to Barry for use in the creation of an inner city training center to be called Daihizan Jigen-ji. It appears that there may have been misrepresentation on Graham's part involved in obtaining support for this project. Nothing was ever done to bring it to fruition, it has been suspended, and I'm left answering to people about where their money went. I simply asked Mr. Graham to back up his claim of Dharma transmission to alleviate the doubts that had been beginning to grow in my mind about his behavior and manner of teaching, so that I could continue in good conscience my association with SFZS, assure backers that I sent his way that all was well, and consider his request to study the Shingon teachings with me as his teacher.

His reaction was to not only cut off all contact with me, but to start rumors that I am no longer a monk and that I am a convicted felon, while at the same time leveling outrageously false charges against Ven. Kobutsu, who has been remarkably generous and kind to Mr. Graham. These claims are simply not true. I am very much still a monk in good standing with my teacher, ryuha, and the Shingon school here in Japan. I have never been charged with or convicted of a crime here in Japan or any other country. His claims against Ven. Kobutsu have been thoroughly discredited at http://www.engaged-zen.org/Kobio2.html.

I let these false accusations go without comment when he posted them the first time, apparently clever enough not to name me directly in charges that he knew to be untrue. Now that these charges have been repeated on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barry_Graham_(author)&oldid=275057461), naming Ven. Kobutsu and myself directly, either by Mr. Graham hiding behind the anonymous internet, or by someone influenced by his intentionally false post, I feel the need to respond, as well as answer the question of why I asked to see his transmission papers in the first place.

So there it is. I became suspicious of a person that I had provided financial and material backing to, and asked him to show the credentials that he claimed to have. His response was to cut off all contact with me while attempting to smear my name, and that of the teacher that had rejected him, in the process. Considering Mr. Graham's unfulfilled promise to provide proof of Dharma transmission, or even the most basic monk's ordination, coupled with his personal and untrue attacks on myself and Ven. Kobutusu as a result of my asking, I am lead to only one conclusion...Barry Graham obtained our support through false claims and it is highly unlikely that he is even an ordained member of the Buddhist Sangha.

Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:06:54 GMT

Haven't been in the mood for blogging much lately, but a couple things have brought me out of my shell. The first was being named the blog of the week by the Planet Japan podcast. Thanks Doug and Jen! Check them out at http://planetjapan.org/ for a wacky look at Japan through the eyes of two...interesting foreigners. This week on the popular segment "Dick of the Week" they discuss the apparently drunken performance of Japanese Finance Minister Nakagawa at the recent G7 Economic Summit that resulted in his resignation.

The other thing that brought me back to the keyboard was the flu. I'm home from work today and have a minute to get back online.

So...changes...the High Life Records tour has been postponed due to our southwest tour planner going incommunicado despite assurances that the recent hullabaloo over kyosakus and inkas would have no bearing on the Arizona dates and the Dharma Dueling rap battle mentioned back in December. Because of the sudden lack of communication we have had to refigure our budget and reschedule the tour. The tour is now set to take place in September and will focus on the west coast and the midwest...cuz that's where I'm from and we wanna make a stop there. The tour is tentatively being called the LA to LA tour, which refers to Los Angeles and the Lansing Area, Lansing Michigan being my hometown. As far as the Dharma Duel goes, I guess I'm the winner by forfeit unless I hear otherwise from the challenger...

It's A Riddle

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:41:40 GMT

How many Sitting Frog Zen Sangha teachers does it take to change a light bulb?

Not two, apparently.
I've just been kicked out of the Sitting Frog Zen Sangha for asking Dogo to show me his inka.
Huh...
The cheese stands alone.

Nerd Alert Update

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:56:11 GMT

Since that last post, that got me thinking about my D&D days, I came across this internet sitcom and wanted to share it with the game heads that appreciated the nerd alert. I was thinking that I first came across it in one of the comments to the last post, but didn't see it there when looking for who to credit with giving me the link...now I'm not sure where got it...anyway check out dicejockies.com for more episodes

Nerd Alert

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:10:42 GMT

Way back in the day, my social life kinda revolved around playing Dungeons and Dragons. We used to play every Saturday from noon til about midnight, and spent a good portion of the other six days either getting ready for the next big game or talking about the last one. The friends that I still keep in touch with from school are the ones that I played D&D with. Go figure.

In my early twenties I was talking to a psychologist during a period of deep depression who made two comments that really changed the way I approached life. She asked if I had ever thought of going into the ministry, and when talking about what I got out of playing D&D she asked if I ever tried to make my life the adventure.

It wasn't long after that that I began studying Japanese, doing meditation, and thinking about traveling. D&D seemed to lose interest to me as I started having my own adventures, but I never forgot the good old days of weekly games.

I just heard a great story on 'To The Best Of Our Knowledge' about magical thinking, and one of the segments was about a kid who was totally into D&D and the book he wrote about it as an adult. It brought back so many great memories and reminded me how much I loved the game.

I wouldn't trade all those hours in the garage for anything.

If you ever got anything out of playing D&D you might wanna give it a listen:
http://www.wpr.org/book/090111a.cfm

佛の心　Hotoke no Kokoro

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 06:12:00 GMT

On December 28th the Japanese Rapper Hanabis had a party here in Okayama to celebrate the international release of his new album, Just Time 420, which of course features a team up with the Hoodie Monks on one of the songs.

Something cool happened while I was at the club and I wanted to blog right then, before I forgot about it. I was having trouble accessing livejournal from the cell at the time so I put it up on MySpace, which has a handy, easy to use cell phone app (hint hint livejournal) and then, just like I figured I would, I forgot all about it.

Now that I've read it, I want to post it here, which is where I intended to put it in the first place. So here's the text as I typed it at the time:

Monday, December 29, 2008 1:41AM
I'm at club 9 for the Just Time 420 release party with Hanabis and a guy just walked up to me and gave me the handshake half hug and said in my ear "佛の心は何ですか。Hotoke no kokoro wa nan desu ka?" which means What is the Buddha mind? or more literally translates as What is the Buddha heart? due to the Japanese word for heart and mind being the same. He leaned back on the bar and looked me in the eye. I paused, leaned toward him to yell a question in the loud club. "hotoke no kokoro?" I asked, kinda stalling. He nodded and I realized and tapped my fist on his chest. He looked surprised, then got it and leaned back on the bar again, his fist over his heart in a sign of respect.

Senryu

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:22:55 GMT

having hurt feelings-
a good way to recognize
the passive ego

Peace Pilgrim

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:40:51 GMT

"This is the way of peace:
Overcome evil with good,
and falsehood with truth,
and hatred with love."
....Peace Pilgrim
http://peacepilgrim.org/stepssumry.htm

Ahhh the wonders of the iPhone never cease. Recently, while browsing through the applications store I came across an ebook version of a pamphlet that had a profound impact on my life. Now I carry the digital version of it around with me and refer to it almost daily, just like I did with the pamphlet all those years ago.

I was in my early twenties when it first made its way into my hands. It was given to me by a friend named Chris G. Thanks Chris! It changed my life. It showed me that spirituality is so much more than a bunch of stuff to believe in order not to be punished. For the first time I became aware that spirituality is a daily practice that is interwoven with everything we do, say, and think. It put me on the path to becoming the original hoodie monk. The five pilgrimages that I have done were originally inspired by Peace Pilgrim.

In fact, I was so into the message that I contacted the group, Friends of Peace Pilgrim, and asked them to send me 200 copies, which they did gladly and for free. I then handed them out here and there over the next ten years or so, when it seemed appropriate. I still have a copy or two around somewhere, but I haven't handed out any in the last few years.

As I became more involved in Buddhist practice, Peace Pilgrim and the pamphlet took more of a back seat. I never forgot her or her message and the influence it had on me, but I must admit I had stopped introducing her to others. Now that I have found the e version, it has gotten me excited about her and her message all over again and it's easier to share than ever.

Listening to an interview she did on the day before she made the glorious transition to a freer life, I was particularly inspired when she said "people are good."
That will be the title of one of the songs on the Hoodie Monks CD, which is being recorded now, and I hope to use a sample from the the interview in the song as well.

From peacepilgrim.org:
From 1953 to 1981 a silver haired woman calling herself only "Peace Pilgrim" walked more than 25,000 miles on a personal pilgrimage for peace. She vowed to "remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until given shelter and fasting until given food." In the course of her 28 year pilgrimage she touched the hearts, minds, and lives of thousands of individuals all across North America. Her message was both simple and profound. It continues to inspire people all over the world.

If you have a sec, please take a look at http://peacepilgrim.org/
Or go directly to "Steps Toward Inner Peace": http://peacepilgrim.org/steps1.htm
If you have an iPhone you can download it for free from iTunes free ebook section.

Merry Christmas! See You In Hell...

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 03:07:08 GMT

Merry Christmas!
I love Christmas. It's more of a cultural thing, something that has always been a special day since childhood, than a religious thing for me. I dig Jesus. Love his message. Think about him especially on Christmas. But it is the interaction between friends and family that have always made Christmas a special time for me.

I'm not all weepy about it or anything. Some years I haven't even been into it. But this year I'm really feeling it and want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Listening to the Pogues in the grip of this SuperChristmassySpirit, the lyrics to 'Fairy Tale of New York', reminded me of an exchange that took place while I was in the States a couple months ago.

The song opens: It was Christmas Eve babe, in the drunk tank. An old man said to me, won't see another one.

It took me back to a conversation I had with a guy named Barry, that I met on that trip to the States. He was trying to get me to read out loud a prayer accepting Jesus as my saviour. No one gets into Heaven without first reading this prayer, it seems, and he was genuinely concerned for my eternal soul.

Who looks out for those already cast into hell, those abandoned even by God? I asked.
He paused for a moment and his focus went somewhere else as his face tightened into a look of concern and deep thought. I never thought about that before, he said and continued to ponder the question.

I volunteer, I spit out all of a sudden. I'll go to hell and look out for them so don't worry about them and don't worry about me. I'll be there suffering, or not, right along with the rest of them, doing what can be done to help them realize the source of their own suffering and put it to an end.

There is no easy escape for a Hoodie Monk. As long as there is a burning house, a hell, a samsara, we will be right there alongside the lowest of the low, befriending those that even God has abandoned.

Merry Christmas Barry. I'm glad I met you. The fact that you genuinely care about people was a great lesson and you are a true friend.

Dharma Dueling, Hoodie Monks Style

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:31:04 GMT

Does anybody talk about dharma dueling, or do it any more? You know, the old zen activity where monks sit around and challenge each others views to deepen their understanding of the dharma. Many koans come from the records of such duels. Tibet also has a tradition of dharma debates.

Well the Hoodie Monks, always kickin' it old school, are about to bring it back and update it. Anyone who reads 'The Urban Monk', which is probably most of the people that read this blog, since it wouldn't exist without Dogo's encouragement and help, will know that Dogo and I recently had a major disagreement over the handling of the kyosaku. Dogo's idea is to have a freestyle rap battle to make our points in front of an audience. I think that is a great idea and another wonderful way to incorporate street culture into modern Buddhist practice!

Hoodie Monks will be on the High Life Records tour of the West coast and Southwest next spring. When we roll through Phoenix it'll be mics at midnight, rather than six shooters at high noon, where Dogo and I will battle it out, dharma dueling style, AND we'll make it rhyme. I'm excited about the prospect of using rap to debate the finer points of practice, while taking the whole idea of rap battles a notch above talking about someone's mama.

If you want to check out the debate as it stands so far, take a look here:
http://the-urban-monk.livejournal.com/614937.html

For our teacher's take on the discussion, see below the cut. I had to think long and hard about posting this here. It was only after being asked several times by Kobutsu, who usually refrains from commenting on our blogs, that I finally agreed to put it up. K tried to get in on the discussion in the comments section of the original post, but for whatever reason, his comments never showed up. While I don't agree with Dogo on the issue, I didn't take the hard line that our teacher did. However, it is only fair that K's thoughts on the matter be made public as well.

Regarding the kyosaku and its use.

The Kyosaku is a common tool subject to breakage, a zendo expendable. In the beginning of each sesshin at Sogen-Ji there are 6 to eight of them hanging on hooks behind the altar.

They are used most often by students during zazen. The Roshi uses the kyosaku universally throughout the zendo once each evening, This is the only time the Teacher will ever have the Kyosaku horizontal in front of him in preparation for the round.

Having, or using, the kyosaku is nothing special. They are never lacquer coated or seen as instruments representing authority. They are simply impermanent zendo tools, rough instruments used to do a job. When one breaks, another one is procured.

The koysaku is treated with respect as a tool for awakening. It is never brandished about in jest. This sort of behavior brings disgrace on all the practice we do. There is no place for it in gentle-hearted Zen - it is too easy for us to forget the precious nature of meeting in sangha for the purpose of walking on the path of the awakened state of mind.

In the zendo, even the door bolt is deserving of respect. It functions to keep us warm in the winter and cool in the summer, yet it is but a piece of rough cut wood... in such a way we should see the kyosaku.

It is not a symbol of the power or authority of the teacher and should not be related to in such a manner, this is poor to mediocre training at best.

Kobutsu
(for more on 'gentle-hearted zen', mentioned above: http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=6,7510,0,0,1,0)

On the Road...Home

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:42:33 GMT

We made it back to Okayama on Tuesday after finishing up at about 7AM in Shibuya, Tokyo. I was on a Shinkansen by 7:30 and home by 11, an abrubt end to a fast paced ride.

We didn't waste any time on this tour. Got to Osaka just in time for rehearsal at the club, Triangle. A nice venue but a thin crowd. Finished up about 6AM and on the bus at 7 to catch some sleep on the long ride to Ibaraki.

Got to Mito City just in time for rehearsal again, this time at Space Bubble. After that we got some hotel rooms, showered, and had a little break. Back to the venue at 10 PM. This was probably the most fun I had at any of the shows. The green M&Ms back stage were delicious and never ending. Was the only place where I saw other foreigners in the crowd too. I guess there is some kind of military base up that way.

Finished up around 6 or 7AM and got a little sleep at the hotel before check out time. The bus took off around 2PM so we had some time to look around the city between checkout and leaving town.

Bus to Tokyo. Got there a little early so just waited on the bus til rehearsal at Club Game. That show was really wild with a lot of underground rappers and producers in the audience. Everyone seemed to make some kind of connection there.

The funniest part for me was being asked for DJ Revolution's autograph. He and I were basically the only two foreigners in the clubs and though we dont look alike, with a hoodie on I guess I can understand the mistake.

The first two nights I wore my robes on and off stage so there was no issue with who I might be. The second two nights I wore jeans and a hoodie so I was aked a few times for my autograph and pointed them in the right direction if Revolution was around or just said sorry, I'm not him, if he wasn't.

It was a little exhausting, but I'm looking forward to doing it all again with Percee P in January.

One Robe, One Bowl, One Mic

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:17:41 GMT

Last night's show is a blur in my foggy mind. Had been working all day and was up extra early to drive 40 minutes to a land line with international service to call Dogo who, true to form didn't answer.

After finishing my last class at 9 I went to the club. Didn't go on til 3 AM by which time I was nodding off. I positioned my self near the stage so I wouldn't miss my set and sure enough was nudged awake by Hanabis just before we went on. I had been dreaming about performing so I was ready and we had a good time.

Youth was on after that and rocked as always. Check him out on YouTube.

Home at 5AM and up at 9:30 to pack and out the door at 10:30.

On the bus to Osaka now bloggin from the iPhone...

First Tour

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:17:47 GMT

The Hoodie Monks are going on tour today. Just a short one, with shows in Okayama, Osaka, Ibaraki, and Tokyo, opening for DJ Revolution with other Okayama acts, Youth, Hanabis, Oni Bong, and Tougenkyou.

The HMs are not actually doing a set of our own...I'm appearing with Hanabis to do 'On The Road Home' as well as a song each with DJ FlashPiston and DJ JoeG. The Hoodie Monks DJ, AQB will be performing with Tougenkyou. Our third member, DST won't be coming with us this time around.

As it's my first time on an actual tour, three songs is plenty for me. My main job will be to act as translator for DJ Revolution, so that will keep me busy.

If I have time I'll try to blog from the road.

And we are off...

One Robe, One Bowl...One $60,000 Kesa?!

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:08:18 GMT

I don't know about you but I feel more like a modern monk in 'one robe, one bowl, one iphone' mode. To many people in Japan however, it's all about the costume. If you have the proper costume, you can get big bucks doing funerals or other ceremonies. You don't have to worry about answering pesky little questions about the dharma. No one would dream of questioning such an extremely wells dressed cleric. Look at his robes...he must know what he's doing! Just pay him and dead grandma will miraculously be transformed into a Buddha. The more we pay, the better the posthumous name, and the more prestigious her position in the Buddha Land...yeah, right.

Kobutsu put it brilliantly in a recent email, which he was kind enough to grant me permission to quote from:

"The real teachers are fewer and further between than I ever, ever, expected. It does not even take a zen robe or regalia to make a zen teacher – likewise the more of that stuff brandished about the more suspicious one might become. One can actually go into a shop in Kyoto and purchase a kesa for $60,000 US Dollars – enough to feed a family for a year. Anybody can do it... you got the 60 grand and they will sell you the kesa, no questions asked, they will even seve you coffee and let you smoke during the transaction.

All they want to do is sell exorbitantly expensive priest's clothes. They are not going to question if you have the "right" to wear the costume or not, they just want their 60 K.

You go to the theravadan countries and people give you robes – everywhere you go they give you a new robe. The robes probably sell for all of $10 USD and will probably last a monk ten years. Japanese clerical clothing is is a con-game, the finest silk brocade is now used to represent what once were used burial shrouds.
What a long strange trip it's been."

Shit Ain't Right

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:59:14 GMT

A good friend called me shortly before the election in a bit of a panic attack saying they wouldn't be able to take it if the Republicans retained the White House.

After the election, with the panic out of the way, we talked about what exactly it was that he wouldn't be able to take. His answers were basically things that have always been considered wrong in the world by those who tend toward the liberal end of the spectrum.

I said things pretty much just are that way and anxiety does nothing to improve the situatiuon. The exasperated reply was 'but that doesn't make it right!'.

Shit ain't right. Get over it. Wanting shit to be right is what causes the suffering, not the shit not being right. Right is a relative term.

But hey, I'm also the first one to admit that I breathed a sigh of relief after the election.

Planet Japan

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:19:33 GMT

Please take a look at http://planetjapan.org/ and check out episode 147 "Smoke on the Water" to hear a hoodie monk interview and episode 148 for the video to the new song by Youth, "Cocologamae".

Rising Sun Tanka & Sitting Frog Bio

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 04:04:17 GMT

the clouds in the east
lit up by the rising sun
the idiot sleeps
dreaming of the butterfly
that captured his beating heart

Left that as a comment on the urban monk blog and after reading it a few times decided it was pretty good and wanted to share it here.

It is a collaboration between Amy Eichateadt, who wrote the first two lines, Dogo, who wrote the prose it was based on, and myself, the guy that arranged it into nice lines of 5-7-5-7-7. If nothing else, my time in Japan reading haiku has made me pretty good at counting syllables, though I realize that most people writing haiku and tanka in English don't worry too much about it. Maybe I have a future as a Japanese poetry editor. Who knows?

Speaking of editing, Dogo did a nice job of editing a few random facts I sent him into a cool bio for the Sitting Frog Zen Sangha's teacher page. Check it out at http://sittingfrogsangha.org/teachers.html . The only problem with his take on me is that I'm not actually a DJ like it says I am, but I'm sure that will be fixed soon.

If you want to check out the prose from which the tanka was assembled, go to http://the-urban-monk.livejournal.com/604881.html .

Buddhist Blogs. Better Than Porn?

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:00:20 GMT

I don't consider this a Buddhist blog per say, though I do breach Buddhisty topics sometimes.

With all due respect to the insights I've gotten reading great Buddhist blogs, I often find them rather like porn. They don't fulfill any need, only make it painfully aware that something is missing. In other words I'd rather get laid than read about meditating. Wait a minute here, I'm getting my metaphors mixed up in a completely random way worthy of Ikkyu, but I think the point comes across none the less.

Jerking off to blogs
About jerking off to blogs
While looking at porn

Time Was

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:45:02 GMT

The Waverly Class of '88 Reunion was a great time and the trip overall was the most fun I've had back in the US since I first came to Japan.

I was happy to see everyone who attended and was only outright snubbed by one person on the trip which brought to mind this tanka by the only Japanese poet to possibly have had more influence than Basho, and the only Shingon Priest known as widely as Kukai, the wondering monk Saigyo (1118 - 1190):

Utoku naru
hito o nani tote
uramuran
shirarezu shiranu
ori mo ari shi

Why should I resent
a person's growing cold?
Time was
when he didn't know me
and I didn't know him either

Translated by Burton Watson in the book "Saigyo - Poems of a Mountain Home", published by Columbia University Press in 1991

Nothing Wrong With A Little Magical Thinking: Magic As Metaphor

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:28:02 GMT

On the long flight from Detroit to Osaka I was lucky enough to sit in front of a couple of Bodhisattvas. It was an overheard reference to Basho that got us talking.

I learned that they perform magic around the world, often in areas devastated by war. Rather than try to paraphrase our talk and the articles about them I have since read, I'll simply link you to the articles directly and share this video with you:
http://www.magicianswithoutborders.org/about/aboutset.html

And the Winner Is...

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:29:49 GMT

Just came back from the US the other day. One of the many reunions that I attended was my 20 year high school reunion. There was a kind of awards ceremony and it didn't come as much of a surprise that I got the award for traveling the farthest for the event. It was a surprise, though, to learn that one dude came all the way from Sweden, so we each got a little gold cup.

The MC for the event was a classmate that hadn't lost his sense of humor or timing since high school and roasted each recipient as they came up to get their award.

"(Gomyo) claims to be a monk but he's drinkin' beer and wouldn't do the prayer before the meal, so I'm not sure exactly what kind of monk he's supposed to be..."

Welcome to Buddhism(^-^)v

The same guy invited me out to LA to teach meditation....saying it would be a great way to raise money for Hoodie Monks and Daihizan. "I know it's not about the money for you, but..." he kept saying.

I'm down with not being broke all the time(^_^)b

There's No Place Like Home, There's No Place Like Home

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 07:58:46 GMT

Not that I've been even close to regular on here lately, but I'm gonna be away for a while, starting this Wednesday. I'm heading back to Michigan to see my family and attend my 20 year high school reunion. That should be fun. I was a bit of a trouble maker back in the day (not now though...really...well, maybe just a little, haha) so it will be fun to see my old classmates' reactions when I show up in the robes.

I may or may not have the opportunity to post while I'm there but I'm sure I'll have some stories when I get back.

Most of the trip will be spent in northern Michigan, where my parents have lived since retiring, but I'll be down in Lansing from Sept. 25th to the 29th, so if either of those zen priests from Michigan that sometimes take a look at this blog, or anyone else that might be nearby, want to meet up, please let me know. You can find my email address on the Hoodie Monks home page.

I'm also gonna have the chance to be on Impact Happy Hour, which is on MSU student radio, Impact 89 FM. I sometimes contribute to that pop culture show as the 'Japanese Culture Correspondent' via AIM or email. Haven't been that involved with it since the original host left, but the old crew is coming back to be there for my first in studio visit so it should be a good time. The show is on 88.9 FM in the Lansing area and streams from impact89fm.org. If anyone wants to check it out it's on from 7 to 8PM Thursdays, and I'll be there on the 25th. It'll probably be more silliness than anything...

No, Dogo, I'm not gonna make it to Arizona...but you could always come up to Michigan...(^_^)