where i sit...and sit...and sit....

i have an alter on the top shelf of a small bookcase next to my bed. most days i plop my zafu in front of it for zazen, but sometimes i prefer the sunlight in the living room, or the structure of the zendo at ZCLA.

the items on my alter were given to me. the green buddha belonged to my best friends parents in the 70's (it's hollow and they used to it stash drugs!), the alter cloth was a gift from dokai from japan, the monkey shaped incense holder a gift from my aunt from china, the dried rose from roshi after jukai, the candle holder was made by a co-worker in her ceramics class, and the various stones i picked up on my travels. i recently added a frame with 4 photos of buddha statues (representing the various stages of his life) i took while in india.