Originally Posted by Jundo
There are times for intense practice, times to check oneself into a monastery for a morning to night 2-week Sesshin (don't get me wrong, that is important and not to be missed) ... but also times to take two weeks nursing a relative in the hospital, painting the house, working on a big project in the office, just camping or at the beach without making it a "Great Spiritual Experience" ... times to sit Zazen, times to just sit behind the wheel of the bus or in the dentist's waiting room thumbing a magazine ... times to eat formal Oryoki, times to just go through the "drive-thru". There are times to sit as if "one's head were on fire", times to just fetch water and chop firewood for the winter, times just to stoke the fires in the BBQ ... time to be a monk, times to just be a father, mother, husband, friend ... busy or lazy guy. I do not think that it is necessary to turn one's daily life, 24/7 into a monastic experience ... although there is a time for monastic or intensive training too.