This welcome statement appears in this year's Tassajara brochure.
On this sunlit autumn day, Tassajara pathways are paved
with the gold of maple leaves. The quiet murmur of the
creek reminds us that we have had little rain. Blue jay
chatter cuts through the sound of the light breezes that
stir leaves and flex the branches of sycamores. The whirr
of an electric saw blade ripping a board and the banging
of a hammer on a nail speak of Cabin 1 renovation
nearing completion. During monastic work period,
a big rock is slowly yielding to mattock, shovel, and
digging bar. Moving it will allow us to grade a sloped
access for wheelchairs to roll down to the courtyard.
Mostly, this fall is a quiet time at Tassajara. Hours
every day are devoted to silent sitting, to study, to deeply
settle into meditative stillness. Yet already some of our
thoughts turn to springtime preparations for you who
will come as guests, summer retreatants and student
workers. You bring a balance of energy and activity
into a seasonal rhythm of life that opens and closes like
breathing in and breathing out. Together we create a
place
