a rough journey

In January, 2013 I made up my mind to be a Buddhist monk and to seek full ordination in Mid America Buddhist Association (MABA) The Abbot of MABA agreed the next month. In may, I sold my house and resigned from my tenured position. On June 28th, two day before I was to move into MABA, I received a call from Fort Sill wherein my younger was receiving basic training that said my son has brain tumor, stage four. The next two days, grabbed whatever was at hand and handed over the house to the new owner, I and my wife, who was also seeking ordination in MABA, began our 147-day journey (still counting) of on-the-job training in a real life situation. By all measures, this test has been harsh and blunt. There were multiple times when I started to question many things: the decision, the timing of events, the unfolding of everything, my belief and my determination to a new life., among many others. These question, many remain unanswered, drove my back to this blog after having nearly abandoned it for such a long time. Time to restart what I have initiated several years ago with a right intent.