Yea, so practice period half over. Yea. It surprises me that I've been able to keep up with getting up at 5 in the morning, and part of me is worried about when practice period ends because waking up and doing something makes me feel useful and worthwhile. But let's be honest with myself. Once practice period is over and I can take an hour lolling around in bed trying to drag myself out of it by 9, 10, 11 . . . 12, I'll get used to it.

But practice period has been really good. I think the biggest fault in it is that I'm doing it solo with no external support or feedback, but that's also something I appreciate, too. Support would be nice, but recalling my attitude during religion seminars in college and also listening to people at SFZC when they do talk (lay practitioners and guests, not the residents), I'm probably saving myself a lot of exasperation by not interacting.

And the accepting realization I had several months ago, accepting the chanting in Japanese when no one there is a native Japanese speaker because it's for the entire lineage? Well, it doesn't do "the lineage" any good if they can't understand a word these people are saying because there is no attention paid to pronounciation!! If Shunryu Suzuki wasn't dead already, he'd die just so he could roll over in his grave. Sheesh, my pronounciation is hardly perfect, but come on, people, basics! As Stephanie mentioned, it maybe really should be done in Pali or Sanskrit.

But no doubt, the benefits of basic practice can't be exaggerated, although too personal and subjective, and too much of a conundrum to explicate.