It’s been nearly a month since six adventurous souls set out for a weekend of practicing in the wilderness during Paradise Below Zero, one of the Zen and Deep Ecology Retreats offered here at Treetop Zen Center. Here are some reflections on the experience from Mary Jo Chomu Carlsen, a longtime Treetop student:
We, six of us, load our gear onto three sleds, each one with two tow ropes. Then we put on snowshoes and head off. It probably took us 20-30 minutes to get up to the Overlook Yurt. Not too tough until the final hill. Soon after the sleds were unloaded and the gear stowed, heavy drops began to fall on the roof. Got windy, too. Lucky us!
Silence indoors. Fire crackles, rain on roof. Wind attack. Far-off jet plane. Closer, but almost- not-audible snowmobiles. Someone sips their tea. Another pulls on boots for a trip to the outhouse. Breathing. Silence. Then it’s time for breakfast.
Only cooking pots need washing, and the snow does a fine job. Now it’s time for outdoor kinhin (slow walking meditation). Bodies get layers of clothing, also sunblock, hat and gloves. Then we’re off, one by one, to move into the day. Taking in tree-beings, the sky, crunch of snowshoes, inhaling the cold air. We become snow creatures, discovering this wintry landscape. Thoughts slow to a stop. Just breathing, crunch-stepping, noticing.