There was no Monday Night Zazen last week (at least for me), as I was on a business trip to Savannah, Georgia - a four-hour trip each way. Still, I got home by 8:30 p.m., if somewhat worse for the wear. The group, apparently, got along fine without me.

This week, I attempted something different. After the usual two periods of zazen, instead of reading a chapter from Shobogenzo Zuimonki and then leading a follow-up discussion, I played a podcast of part of a dharma talk by insight meditation teacher Gil Frondsdal, inserting occasional comments and discussion. The change in format was well received.

Last evening, a terrific rainstorm drenched Atlanta, dropping over two inches of rain in just a couple of hours. It woke me up at 4:00 a.m. and sounded like someone had directed a fire hose onto my roof. I didn't really get back to sleep for all the racket it made and was tired and groggy all day today. It was probably just as well, then, that I got someone else to do the Monday night talk for me, even if that "someone" was only there virtually.