Deer Park Monastery, Escondido, CA
I want to immerse myself into this practice to find my sincerity in being an aspirant here. I can’t try to be sincere, I just need to focus on maintaining my practice and find out if I’m sincere or not. I need to make an effort to not let negative feelings and thoughts factor into this.

This morning I woke up to the 5:00 morning bell, which I’m glad somebody sounded or else I might not have gotten up (not sure if my alarm clock is working). Made a quick cup of contraband coffee with a hot pot and a plastic cone filter, and got down to morning sitting by 5:50. After sitting I did solo walking meditation up a nearby hill and did some morning martial arts exercises (more about the exercise than the martial art) until breakfast, at which I maintained Noble Silence though others didn’t.

Noble Silence is a deep part of practice which I don’t think is emphasized enough here. I admit that I haven’t been very good at holding to it, either. I imagine that it is better maintained in Plum Village. At 9:30 in the evening a bell is sounded to signal the beginning of Noble Silence, a time of silence and silent reflection that lasts for the rest of the evening until after breakfast the next morning. No frivolous or extraneous conversation is the hallmark of Noble Silence, and beyond that, it is up to the individual how far to take it. On the light end, you can do anything you want as long as you don’t talk and try to maintain a meditative mind in whatever you do. More seriously, one can do nothing that distracts from active silent reflection and meditation.