I return to Dai Bosatsu Zendo today. It has been a very important month for me, spending time with my parents and family, friends that are family, and the Hollow Bones sangha.
Many people are surprised that I “got out” and ask if this time counts towards the 1000 days. To this: there are no public activities at DBZ this time of year, and it is the most appropriate time for the few residents to visit family and tend to worldly affairs. Per the counting of days, it absolutely counts. The purpose of meditation is not to escape the world but to develop awareness and tools to be fully engaged in it with open heart and mind. To me, this month outside of the monastery was both a test and additional training, and I am de-Lighted to say it has been deeply fruitful.
I have seen that the training at DBZ is powerful and I am integrating it well. I have experienced that by freeing myself from small, scared egoic perspectives to recognize that all the love and connection I ever wanted is always all around me, and I am so profoundly grateful to those who have shown me love. I have also experienced that all the love in me that I have wanted to see people receive has always been received, and I am also grateful to those same people.
In Buddhist philosophy, now supported by quantum physics, there is no actual separation of “self” and “other,” only the temporary perception of it. How much we are willing to let go of our small view and open up to the infinite one/One is up to each of us. And more than ever, when fear is hyped in “news,” Facebook posts, conversations, we must practice this deep, selfless awareness and bring forth the strength and compassion it reveals in to our personal lives. Fear nothing, especially not this inauguration day and its implications. It is not a problem; it is a call for you to wake up to the deepest truth of being human and to actualize it in your life.
Thus I strongly urge and invite you to take on a strong and clear meditation practice… not tra-la-la new age “bliss out” meditation, but meditation that enables you to recognize the infinite consciousness from which your very life arises, and empowers you to actualize this awareness in your life and relationships. Consider attending a 6-day Mondo Zen retreat that provides the experience of meditative mind, tools to root the experience in body and mind, and a support structure to integrate your experience in to your life when you return home. Also consider a traditional, silent 7-day retreat at Dai Bosatsu. There is no experience like entering the deep well of silence, and finding that same silence within you. Then, bringing that insight home, you can experience the freedom that all the wisdom traditions speak of.
I look forward to seeing you in this One Heart-Mind, and sharing de-Light in this world. 
A Modern Monk 