December 2023. The Village Zendo’s annual year-end Zen retreat, at the Garrison Institute (a former Catholic monastery) on the Hudson River. This year I was a monitor of the meditation hall, responsible for everyone staying awake, sitting up straight and silent and still, finding a comfortable posture, and keeping to the schedule. We had a lot of inexperienced meditators who were clearly in pain after the first day. I met with them and discussed options for sitting on a chair, or a seiza be...
