I’m going to live and train in a Zen Buddhist monastery. I know why I’m going, and yet some of why will only be revealed as I live it. The training per tradition is 1000 days. Two years, nine months. September 14, 2016 to June 11, 2019. I believe this is what it would feel like before one’s first parachute jump. You’ve practiced, but nothing can really prepare you for the actual journey.

So what does it mean to leave my familiar societal life, to go in to a small community in the middle of pristine wilderness, to give myself to a discipline, an ancient and established one, to experience the pure nature of being? And when the 1000 days have passed? I don’t know, but I’m going to find out, and invite you in to the exploration…

Greetings and welcome to my blog! My name is Paco Tozan Vérin and I am a modern monk. Professionally, I am a horticulturist, I like jam bands, cooking, laughing with friends, and lots of other regular stuff. I also have been a lay Buddhist in the American Zen order, Hollow Bones, since May 2002, ordained as a priest in 2011. In June 2016 the opportunity to do a classic 1000-day monastic training arose, and I accepted. It starts September 14 at Dai Bosatsu Zendo, pictured above, where the founder of Hollow Bones, Junpo Denis Kelly, trained.

The purpose of this blog is to give you a window in to the monastic life as I live and discover it, and give a taste of the contemplative and transformational path of Zen Buddhism. I do not seek to proselytize or convert, yet I do hope, given how intense political, economic and ecological issues are getting, that, if you do not already, you would explore a sincere commitment to meditation. A clear and consistent meditation practice can transform your experience of life.

Thanks for visiting, and have a fabulous day!

This is a contact page with some basic contact information and a contact form.