First exploratory walk in Uzunköprü ‘long bridge’. Colourful market. The bridge is closed for repair.

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In Edirne the guide i met, worked at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) https://www.iom.int/iom-history. There are many people involuntarily migrating in the world. In support of the very valuable work by the IOM, here is their latest annual report https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/wmr-2022-interactive/

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A beautiful rendition of a poem about the importance of living of the Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet https://mobile.twitter.com/melikedonertas/status/1460284461367672835 Thanks to professor Sabina Knight, Melike Dönertaş and Zoe Marmara

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nPYwsjlof20 here with the subtitles on

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CHAPTER ONE

Fundamentals

I beg to urge you, everyone:

life-and-death is a grave matter,

all things pass quickly away;

each of you must be completely alert:

never neglectful, never indulgent.

This is the evening message of sesshin (the Zen retreat), called out by a senior member of the assembly just before lights-out. It expresses three concerns of the Zen student: first, being alive is an important responsibility; second, we have little time to fulfill that responsibility; and third, rigorous practice is neces­sary for fulfillment.

Evening Message, Daily Zen Sutras, Diamond Sangha, Honolulu and Haiku, Hawaii.

From Taking the Path of Zen, Robert Aitken, North Point Press, San Francisco, 1982 Copyright ©️ 1982 by Diamond Sangha.