By Lawrence Bienemann

In her new book, Paradise in Plain Site: Lessons from a Zen Garden, Zen teacher and Buddhist priest Karen Maezen Miller wrote:

These days I want nothing more than to enter an empty room with a group of strangers and sit still and quiet in samadhi, non-distracted awareness, for the better part of the day. I am always astonished by the presence of people who would dare to do such a thing—burn perfectly good day light to get nothing done.

What struck me about that paragraph was that my first reaction was to translate it to my Aikido practice. I caught myself transposing words to fit my life at the dojo. It went something like this:

These days I want nothing more than to enter the dojo with a group of aikidoists and practice quietly the philosophy and techniques of O’Sensei—-sometimes for the better part of the day. I am always grateful for the presence of people who would be here to do such a thing–burn perfectly good day light to get nothing done and perhaps come back again the next day and do it all over again.

In Gassho, Sensei Miller and O-Sensei.

Reprinted with permission from Senior Samurai.