Zen. Done.

I'm back in Kodaikanal now. My three days at Bhodizendo were amazing. The lack of honking and sewage smell (the internet café I'm in right now might as well be a porta-potty) was a welcome change.

Here are a few shots of the courtyard:







It is surrounded on three sides by bedrooms, the cleanest I've stayed in in India so far.

From the roof, the views of the surrounding mountains are beautiful. You can see a lone church on top of one peak:



The days started with a 5:30 wake-up call and Zazen, or sitting meditation, from 6 to 7. After breakfast, there were chores known as Samu, or selfless service. I helped weed the garden where they grow a large percentage of the vegetables they need to feed the guests. There are three more Zazen sessions throughout the day, as well as a couple periods of silent free time. Yesterday was entirely silent until dinner at 7 when one of the staff struck the clappers, two small wooden blocks, and said "Good evening," signaling the end of the weekly Wednesday silence and the beginning of today's unscheduled "free day." After dinner, I busted out my tripod and began taking shots of the courtyard. When I started doing some light drawings with my headlamp, some of the other guests got curious and eventually a few of them got involved:





Tomorrow night I take a bus back to Ooty. Then it's Mysore for a day or two before I go to Murudeshwar for the wedding.