The bench has now survived a few hours of practice. I've continued to experiment with different butt placements and found a few that seem to work out well enough so far. It seems to provide a pretty stable seat, which can some times be a bit of a fuss on cushions.

The legs don't fold or break away (screwdriver required for any tinkering), but I found it easy enough to haul to the dojo this afternoon.

As of today, almost all of the local "zen newcomers" from the Intro Workshop have made it to at least one of the subsequent practices, and a few have made it to more than one. I appreciate that on a variety of levels.

If nothing else, having others in the dojo changes the "mind space" in that you're practicing for the others in the room in a way that doesn't quite apply to solo sitting. Solo sitting isn't "less than" as a result, mind you.

As someone put it after the session, "Sitting alone and sitting together support each other."

The vast majority of my practice is solo here at the house, although I'm equipped for "guest sitters" in the event that any show up. It works out well enough for me so far, as I'm developing something of a quasi-monastic practice here at the new house.

Bebe, who owns the dojo, has said that it's available within a few basic parameters for away-from-home practice, which I'd been hoping to ask about anyway. There's a good atmosphere there, and I've been thinking about more intensive practice away from the (very minor) bustle of home & neighborhood.

I feel very fortunate for so much.