VISITING A PLANT-PACKED PROPERTY, one that flowers with history and stories as well as, yes, actual flowers? It can make for the most pleasant and diverting of afternoons. But sometimes, if we're lucky, and the weather is fine, and we keep our eyes peeled, we can enjoy not just a visit to such a stunner of a destination, but an enriching class or seminar or workshop, too. Engaging in learning something, or being a part of a group, can deepen a visit to just about anywhere, but when that place is Hakone Estate & Gardens, in Saratoga, consider the experience to be elevated. And there are such workshops, just ahead, at the Silicon Valley spread, like the ever-so-peaceful...
RINZAI ZEN STUDY... with Reverend Enyu Ito. It's a lovely way to "... learn traditional Rinzai-Zen meditation" with a teacher who has taught at Hakone for nearly a decade and a half (the reverend hails, a Buddhist priest, hails from Myofukuji Temple in Kyoto). The study, which lasts for 90 minutes, happens every Sunday in the upper Moon Viewing House at 8 in the morning. There are also Saturday sessions focusing on Mikkyo Zen meditation, also in the upper Moon Viewing House, at 9:30 (these events are an hour long). As for the beautiful practice of...
TAI CHI? You can also discover more about the "... low-impact, meditative, and graceful form of exercise..." by joining a beginning, intermediate, or advance session on a Thursday afternoon at the storied spot, one that's still very much wearing its springtime best. For all of the details on prices, times, and such, click.
