A Weekend in the country

On Friday I attended a meeting in Essen to discuss the translation and implementation in Germany of the new FWBO Mitra Dharma course. It was a long day, having to get up at 4.30 to catch my train and returning to Berlin around 11.00 pm. It was however a very productive meeting and I appreciated everybody's contributions. I think we reached a suitable conclusion and am sure the course will be of benefit to many people in the years to come.

In the train I watched the DVD about Shostakovich against Stalin and was strongly moved by it. I also listened to several of Shostakovich's preludes and fugues, which I recently acquired. My limited knowledge of music theory no doubt restricts my ability to fully appreciate the subtlties of classical music, but I am increasingly aware of the potential of music to move one and to touch one's emotions. When I find the time I hope to be able to learn more about music theory.

On Saturday morning Claudia and I took a train to the garden in Luckenwalde, enjoying the blue sky and sunshine, despite the freezing temperature. Last time we saw the garden was over the New Year when it was covered in thick snow. Although the snow had since melted, in the afternoon the sky darkened and from the warm comfort of the cottage we watched a snowstorm, which fortunately soon passed. I also ran a slow 8 km.

In the night the temperature fell to minus 8 and after a short walk through the local woods, by which time it had warmed up to around zero, I went for another slow run before lunch, this time around twenty kilometers. Everything seems set for a good run next weekend and for the half marathon in three weeks time, although I am still not so sure about the sole of my right foot. I had to stop briefly again to adjust the lace, after which all was well. I am beginning to suspect the discomfort may have more to do with my running style than with the shoes.

It is a real privilege to be able to enjoy the benefits of Claudia's cottage and garden and to watch the comings and goings of the various birds as they nourish themselves from the feeders hanging on the apple tree in front of the window. Time seems to pass much more slowly in the countryside than it does in the town.

A change in the weather

I have booked to participate in a 10km run through a birchwood in Berlin Adlershof on Sunday, 14th March. As well as fitting well into my half marathon training programme, my aim is of course to improve on my 10km best time of 49:24 from October 2008. Last year I ran 51:35 in the 'Champions Run' in full Berlin Summer sunshine. I'd be pleased to run under 50 minutes again as I'll be on course for my half marathon goal on 28th.

Chintamani Community

Nearly nine years ago three other men and I moved into a flat in Auguststraße in Berlin Mitte to form a Buddhist men's community. It had been one of my first intentions on moving to Berlin to live with other practitioners as a mutual support to practice, as well as being a practice in itself. Initially we had to convince the person letting the flat that we were actually quite harmless, his first response to our proposal to live together was along the lines of "It is disgusting! Four middle-aged men wanting to live together" (our average age was about 40). However he did give us the benefit of the doubt, apparently on discovering that I am English.

We stayed in Auguststraße for about 18 months, calling the community 'Chintamani', the wish-fulfilling jewel carried by the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, and decided to move on as the rent increased by about 50%. After a long search we found our present flat on the fourth floor in Alte Jakobstraße, Berlin Kreuzberg, less than ten minutes from the former Checkpoint Charlie. There has been some comings and goings in the community, and there are now six men, three of the original four (Karunada, Satyasthira and myself) as well as Christian, Dharmapriya and Mokshasiddha.

There are four bedrooms, though each is divided into two rooms vertically as they are so high creating eight rooms in all. There is a small but very pleasant winter garden in the middle of the flat making the flat very light. We get along harmoniously together and appreciate one another's qualities. At the start we agreed on three conditions that we would all fullfill: we would meditate together in the mornings, we would eat one meal a day together, and we would have a community meeting once a week. On the whole we continue to follow these 'rules', we meditate at 7 o'clock, we eat breakfast together and we try to meet as a community regularly, even though we rarely meet as frequently as we would like.

Although we have quite different lifestyles and routines, we have the practice of the Dharma in common and this naturally forms a common bond between us all. Over the years our friendships have developed and I would say we have to some extent at least loosened our egoistic clinging to personal preferences. Although sometimes challenging, living in this way is definitely helpful to the pursuit of a spiritual life. Having lived in such communities since 1994 I have no doubts about their benefits.

Another year older and maybe a little wiser too

It was my birthday yesterday. Thanks to all who sent me birthday wishes and cards and stuff. I am now fifty-three. I celebrated with breakfast in bed and a 20 KM run through Treptower Park in the morning, coffee and cake with a few close friends in the afternoon followed by supper with Claudia in our local restaurant, The Flying Table.

Among my presents was a DVD of Shostakovich against Stalin, which I am eager to watch as soon as I find time. Over the last year or so I have been dipping into Shostakovich and I have been much moved by his music, and the little I know of his life. I have particularly enjoyed listening to his 24 Preludes and Fugues, which I recently bought with a gift token I received for Christmas.

Although the snow had almost completely gone from the streets by Sunday morning, in the park there was still a good deal of slush and water underfoot. In the meantime the snow seems to have completely disappeared from the city's pavements, leaving behind an interesting mixture of debris dating back to the New Year's celebrations, two months accumulated litter and dog's mess, and tons of grit.

New Shoes

I will certainly return to Runner's Point whenever I need to buy new running shoes again. I bought my first pair from them over 18 months ago and was impressed by the personal service and apparently expert advice. On top of that there was no attempt to sell me the most expensive shoes. I have to admit to being rather sceptical when I was told I could return the shoes if not fully satisfied after two or three weeks. As I was fully satisfied there wasn't any need.

So I naturally went back to the same branch well over a year later to buy replacements in October last year. I received a similar offer to bring them back in a couple of weeks if not fully satisfied. Unfortunately due to illness and a busy timetable I didn't get around to training much over the following five or six weeks. When I did manage to get out for more than a few kilometers I discovered that after about nine kilometers my right foot became very painful indeed. I still didn't manage to get back to the shop before last weekend, and had actually settled on having to buy another new pair. The shop assistant however, had no hesitation in offering to exchange the shoes - after four months - as well as dropping the price by 15,- Euros and throwing in a shirt for free! So now I have a pair of Asics GT-2150 which I put through their paces on Sunday during a 19km run along the snow covered banks of the River Spree in Treptower Park. No problems this time, and I am optimistic they will do the trick for the half marathon next month, and I have no doubts about recommending Runners' Point to others in the future.

What a great life

I really enjoy my life these days. I managed to get out training again this morning after an unfortunate break of a whole week, on account of my busy schedule. I ran my usual 9.5 KM stretch along the Landwehr canal, at a reasonable pace and completing it in 52 minutes. Given the snow I think that's not a bad effort. I had to move fast to get to the Buddhist centre afterwards in order to lead the lunchtime meditation class again. There were ten people there, a satisfyingly large number. In the evening I led the first meeting of an Introduction to Buddhism course, again ten people attended. I've led this course many times over the last few years and I always enjoy the enthusiasm, curiosity and energetic engagement of the participants. I always feel I benefit from leading the course too, and feel priviledged that I can be involved in this way. I often ask myself, what have I done to deserve such a fulfilling life?

Living Practice

This evening 13 people joined Satyasthira and me in our flat for the first evening of a seven-week 'Living Practice' course. I have led the course twice before and have personally benefitted a lot by doing so. It is an intensive mindfulness course, during which one undertakes a daily meditation and various mindfulness exercises, keeping a record of the practices in a journal. Each week one reviews with others the results of the weeks exercises. The course was initially put together by Maitreyabandhu from the London Buddhist Centre. He has recently published a book, entitled Life with Full Attention, based on his experiences of running the course.

Unfortunately I had another full day of meetings and appointments and missed another day's training, so have to be content with having trained my mind rather than my body today. All being well, I'll run tomorrow and again at the weekend, though it is still below freezing and the pavements are hazardous underfoot.