After living in the Zazen Dojo for a year and a half, Nishijima Sensei asked if I would like to become a monk under his guidance. For the ordination ceremony, we traveled to a Temple in Shizuoka. It was a wonderful experience even though my knees began to hurt from being on them during the long ceremony.
In contrast to the Dojo, this temple was quite picturesque, nestled in the mountains and tea fields. When sitting in the Zendo here, the cicadas were nearly defining in the summer. It was also very hot and humid and, with no A.C., sweat and salt would drip into your eyes during meditation. We sat fairly long each day, around 10 hours with Kinhin (walking meditation) between Zazen periods. The rest of the day was taken up eating, doing chores and attending Sensei’s lectures.
These photos were taken during my ordination ceremony. Gudo Wafu Nishijima is on the right and I am on the left.