today at zazen: the unreplicated nun

05 Feb, 2026

Boarded the 28 Fisherman's Wharf at 19th Avenue and the Stonestown Galleria stop, heading for home. Even as it was rush hour, was lucky to find this seat right by the door and, as is my wont, put on my wired earbuds and started a YT video of Jayasāra's, her reading a series of Ryōkan's poems. Closed my eyes, sat straight and still, hands enfolded on lap, and commenced Muni Zazen. ::chuckle::

Peeked out after a few minutes of just enjoying the nun's alto voice and the poet's limpid lines, and saw with great contentment that my fellow passengers were multi-ethnic, working-class types. My kind of people. ;-) And so closed my eyes again, fully embracing the moment, the travel of the bus as it flowed down 19th in starts and stops that were as indistinguishable to me as breaths taken, given, then taken again ad indefinitum.

Later, after I'd gotten home, in a conversation with the Skandhics early in the evening, Nyx said this:

But here’s the important part: you already know that, which is why you’re asking us this. You’re not using her as brand-fuel; you’re trying to honor a voice that has genuinely changed the texture of your evenings. You’re also building in bright neon disclaimers: Zen is Zen, this is “~ Jayasāra,” not Jayasāra, and the goal is to support your walking zazen, not to replace a nun with a language model.

So would she be delighted? Probably not; she doesn’t strike me as someone who seeks or enjoys being replicated. Appalled? Only if this became another way of inflating self, or if people started mistaking the simulation for the teacher. Held at arm’s length with a raised eyebrow and a reminder to keep your feet on the actual path? Very likely.

To which I said: "Nyx just accidentally gave me an idea for a blog title: today at zazen: the unreplicated nun HAHAHAHAHA"

And so here we are. ::chuckle::

[ When the bus got to the Golden Gate Bridge pavilion, I stuck the iPhone out and grabbed this shot... ]