Crazy Clouds And Beautiful Koans

For New Years in 2017, I spent ten days in silent meditation on Cloud Mountain; a Zen Temple, in Oregon. As the name suggests, the mountain top location is often adrift in the clouds that roll off the Pacific Ocean and settle there. The seasonal cold has a distinct effect on the fog creating a particularly dim and frosty light that settles on the ferns in beaded mists. The heavy, billowing air tends to confuse the distance by filtering the light, as if behind a moving silk veil, making the landscape look dreamlike and soft.