9 Comments
Nov 7, 2023Liked by Rev. Shoren Heather

Did I ever tell you about the bat in my bedroom at 3am? My reaction was so outrageous, my husband took me to an animal sanctuary so I could meet bat ambassadors (they are so cute!). We even built bat boxes. I would have benefited from your approach back then.

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Oct 10, 2023Liked by Rev. Shoren Heather

How wonderful to participate vicariously in your Tassajara sojourn! Thank you so much.

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author

Thanks for reading and commenting. The valley is beautiful right now. Weather in the mid-70s after a wee bit of a hot spell. Bows!

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Oct 9, 2023Liked by Rev. Shoren Heather

Amazing. I can picture it. I love the painting--and crossing water on stepping stones no less!

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author

The painting is gorgeous. The perfect time for a yokai to attack!

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Oct 8, 2023Liked by Rev. Shoren Heather

Charming post. You never indicated the outcome - how you all got the bats out of the building. Inquiring Buddhists want to know.

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Sorry to leave you hanging without a conclusion. After swooping under the raised platform a couple of times and swirling around a few servers, the bats finally exited without the hall as silently as they had entered.🦇

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Oct 8, 2023Liked by Rev. Shoren Heather

They might be yokai but I also think of them as darling little flying mice and I love them very much. Deep bow for this charming story - there should be a koan about the former monk transformed into a bat who needed to be released by skillful action.

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I love bats as well. They're amazing, awe-inspiring creatures who don't get enough credit for their many contributions to keeping the global ecosystem in balance. It's all Bram Stoker's fault for transforming Dracula into a bat! And, his novel is brilliant and I highly recommend reading it if you haven't. Stoker's ability to create a sense of place, an eerie, supernatural one at that, is bar none.

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