Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

Given how busy I was in June, I had been very much looking forward to going on retreat at Green Gulch. My only headache was getting myself there; these days I don’t cross the bridge on my bike, but I rode the Sausalito ferry and then biked over the hill with a heavy bag, on a warm afternoon. 

I had never led a multi-day retreat at Green Gulch before – it was serving as a substitute for the Tassajara one I usually co-lead – so I was a little unsure of the ins and outs. Nevertheless we all gathered on Thursday evening, except for a couple who arrived late that night, and I laid out my ideas for our days together.

On the Friday morning I was woken up by the wake-up bell, so I went to the morning schedule, which felt very nice. We spent the morning sitting, talking, meandering through the garden, reading and journaling.

After lunch we gathered and hiked the Dias Ridge trail in warm sun. I soon realised that I had underestimated the mileage of the loop we were doing, which took us back to the Redwood Creek trail. In the end we covered 8 1/2 miles and about a thousand feet of elevation, which meant we didn’t have time to sit at the beach on the way back as I had anticipated, but everyone had a chance to clean up before dinner.

We took a vote, and the next day we did the hike in the morning. I abandoned the original route I had planned; instead we went up to Hope Cottage, where the fog prevented any kind of views, but made for an atmospheric sitting, along to Pirate’s Cove, the descent to which was slightly harder than I had remembered from ten years ago, and then home. 5 1/2 miles, which people said was a great distance. 

The forecast for Saturday had been for sun all day, but we barely got a glimpse of blue sky. After our afternoon discussion, I went to the beach, but wasn’t really warm enough to enjoy it. 

Again, upon a majority request, we joined the zendo for the evening schedule, and the kind ino invited me to be doshi for the service. I had never led a service at Green Gulch before, and it was very moving to be in front of that huge altar.

Sunday was sunny, and we closed out the retreat before the lecture, which was given by Erin. She and I moved from City Center to Tassajara around the same time, and she had just completed her dharma transmission, so it was great to see her on the platform, speaking about that, and Pride. As always, I was happy to hear things she said that echoed some of the points I had been making to my group.

After which, I rode back over the hill, took the busier ferry back, and went back to the final parts of unpacking and straightening things out at our new place. This week has been warm and sunny, perfect for evening walks, and I am looking forward to a couple of completely free days over the holiday.