April 2008 Archives

I posted photos from our trip to San Jose, San Francisco, and Alcatraz on Flickr.

After 6 months of study with Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick, I took the precepts of Nichiren Shu in the jukai ceremony. The ceremony was held at Faithful Fools in San Francisco on Sunday afternoon.

Yvette, Sunnie, Kris, and I became new members of Nichiren Shu. Yvette lives in Marin County and Sunnie lives in Oakland. My husband and I flew up from Palmdale in Southern California. Kris came the longest way, coming all the way from Alaska for the ceremony. (In the photo, Sunnie is the first person on the left in the back row and Yvette is behind Rev. Ryuei on the right. I'm in red holding the lotus flower and Kris is to my right.)

Other Nichiren Shu members and friends were in attendance to show their support, including my husband Richard, who drummed on a hand drum as we chanted Odaimoku. Rocky, who was there to support, gave each of us a long-stemmed silk lotus flower.

First, we did Shodaigyo meditation, then chanted Odaimoku, then meditated again, feeling the daimoku within. We also recited chapters of the sutra in Shindoku and English.

My dear friend and former running partner, Phyllis Goldstein, passed away this last weekend. Running and walking were her passions. She was a joy to be with. I will miss her.

Phyllis and I met in the Los Angeles Leggers 13-minute-per-mile pace group in 2003. She was already in her late 60s, and an amazing runner. I could keep up with her on a training run, but in a race -- forget it! She beat me every time.

Before we met, Phyllis had encephalitis, which affected her short-term memory. She called me once and we had a long, pleasant conversation. After talking for about an hour, she realized that she didn't remember who she had called, and without any embarrassment, asked me who I was. We both laughed. She didn't let things like that get her down.

In the summers, Phyllis hosted a 6-mile Fun Run through Holmby Hills, past art galleries and the Playboy Mansion. Afterwards, the whole group would go out for brunch at a nice restaurant she'd picked out for us.