Tokyo Story

On a chilly Sunday morning a few years ago, I parked my car a few feet away from a carved wooden sign, which read "Zen Center of Los Angeles". Determined to meditate, I had arrived with sleep still in my eyes in a part of Normandie Avenue in Koreatown, where Latino undocumented workers hang out waiting for jobs, A small, well-kept japanese garden, with big bonzais and a fishpond, reassured me that I was in the right place. The tall palm trees looking down on this serene, miniature garden, created an atmosphere of grandeur that seemed out of place, a surreal canvas that could be painted only in Los Angeles. I was half an hour early. I sat on the porch of the two-story, Southern-style house to wait. I knew very little about Zen Buddhism:  The koans,the monks with shaved heads in black robes, Sakyamuni Buddha, Mahayana "The Great Vehicle', that's about all. A woman and a man in black robes appeared from the driveway next to the house; shaved heads as well. Only they were Japanese. I got up. The man introduced himself as Taizan Maezumi Roshi. The other as Egyoku. "We'll start as soon as the rest of the people arrive", the woman said. Japanese-American? "I'll be damned", I caught my mind thinking. Almost immediately, a kid with a pony tail, an older woman, a tall Latino-with two earrings in each ear- and a short cross-eyed girl made their appearance. We introduced each other, then drank tea in silence. Athens, Inglewood, Pacific Palisades, I didn't catch the latter as we all whispered. The time arrives; 

We enter the Zendo, a  pagoda looking structure facing the house .. In a small hall leading to the meditation room we are asked to take our shoes off and pick a black cushion,the "zafu". Upon entering the room we are expected to bow. Once in front of our seat we have to bow to it and turning around bow again, acknowledging the presence of the others in the room. Then we have to practice zazen and Egyoku showed us how: first came the posture. We sat on the forward third of the cushion facing the wall. Once the gong struck, we had a couple of minutes to do the following; arrange our legs in full lotus, half lotus or quarter lotus positions then center our spine and straighten it in such a way that both or belly and buttocks protruded slightly. Lower our eyes to a 45-degree angle(to minimize blinking), close the tip of our tongue against the roof of our mouth to inhibit salivation. When all this was done the gong was struck a second time indicating zazen had started.  No movement is allowed during the 30-minute sitting periods no matter how uncomfortable one might feel. You get the chance to stretch when the gong is struck once again for walking meditation, during which everyone walks one behind the other, slow then faster. After that sitting begins anew.

The sound of the gong fills the room. I can already feel my legs falling asleep, my eyes blinking, my mouth watering, my breath battling with my thoughts.

This was not going to be easy.