Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

It’s probably a legacy from my years at Zen Center that I tend not to make plans on holiday weekends, but rather savour the extra day off – from what was then a quite arduous schedule, far more so than my current one. Mainly I planned to ride my bike, and I managed that, on four consecutive mornings. My partner had asked if I could dogsit for her while she and family members caught up with other family in Southern California after her niece’s graduation in the city, so I was mostly over in the East Bay from Saturday onwards.

Before that I had joined a call with the Young Urban Zen India group, that had been set up by my dharma sister Shindo on her return to India. I hadn’t prepared anything, but I spoke for about ten minutes, and then invited questions, which everyone in the group took turns to ask. I very much enjoyed the conversation, and told Shindo I would be happy to speak with the group again; it was great to see the way-seeking mind in action.

When I set out for the East Bay afterwards, I was surprised by how damp it was in the city – the kind of thick coastal fog that is almost drizzle, and it took a while for the sun to come out that day. When it did I rode north a little and came back on the bay trail.

The next morning I rode across the bridge to Treasure Island again. It didn’t feel like that long ago that I did this, but of course it was around Christmas. I headed back to the city for a roam on the north side, heading to the Wave Organ, which was mostly sunny, and warm – especially when we climbed the Lyon Street steps – but very windy.

On Monday I also took a route I had been speculating about at Christmas – up towards Shepherd Canyon, over the top and from Moraga to Lafayette, using two car-free trails that were new to me. I gave myself plenty of outs for this ride, not knowing how well I would cope with either the long climb at the beginning or the mileage (plus also not knowing how long it was going to take me to get to the various potential stopping points). But one I got to Lafayette I felt good enough to head back to Orinda, and there, with the early fog having given way to sun, I felt it was worth trying the climb back over. I tried a road I had only done once before, and missed a turn somewhere along the climb that would have taken me more directly to the top. But I also knew where I would come out anyway, so I plugged on, with just a few extra miles to tackle on the way home. I was satisfyingly tired for the rest of the day.

It has warmed up more this week, though not to the point that the wind has eased. The forecast looks good for here – and also for Oregon, where I will be next week at the Gen X Buddhist Teachers gathering. And the week after that I will be moving; I have been checking off the various administrative tasks for that, and can’t wait for the new place to become reality.