During my winter vacation, I was lucky enough to stay at a Buddhist temple high in the mountains in Fukui. The temple is called Eiheiji temple and there are one hundred and fifty monks practicing Buddhism in the temple. The temple is over eight hundred years old and surrounded by a stunning waterfall and picturesque bridge. Tall five-hundred year old cedar trees keep watch over the temple and the moss covered landscape.
I stayed for one night and trained in the zazen meditation technique which involved a number of forty minute meditation sessions. This was difficult as my legs became numb from being folded and I found myself drifting off in my own thoughts. The monk informed me that if we lacked concentration during zazen, we would receive a hit with a stick to the shoulder, not as punishment but as encouragement. I found myself with pursed lips and a concentrated face staring at the wall, terrified of the monk with the stick! But luckily, I made it through without being hit and found that the more zazen sessions I