{"id":18372,"date":"2022-07-15T13:52:35","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T18:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/?p=18372"},"modified":"2022-07-20T10:11:11","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T15:11:11","slug":"walt-opie-photo-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"Returning to IMS\u2014A Photo Essay"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5><\/h5>\n<h5>By Walt Opie, IMS Teacher<\/h5>\n<p>Returning to IMS for the first time since right before the pandemic hit felt like waking up in the middle of an exceptionally vivid dream, only to realize I wasn&#8217;t dreaming after all. It was truly wonderful to be back. Everything looked very clear and bright, almost sparkling. The meditation hall gave me pause as I entered it again, recalling countless hours well-nourished by the dharma within those walls. At one point I walked downstairs just to see the shiny wooden bowling lane (turned walking meditation spot) again, and yes, it was still there exactly as I remembered it.<\/p>\n<p>Deep bows to the caretakers and all IMS staff who cared for these beautiful buildings and grounds in the absence of the rest of us. And someday I&#8217;m going to write a poem called &#8220;The Gazpacho Sutta&#8221; inspired by that tangy red gazpacho served during the retreat!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18373\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18373\" style=\"width: 4032px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18373 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4419.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18373\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vance Pryor, who co-taught the retreat, holds open the Retreat Center front door for Walt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18380\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18380\" style=\"width: 4032px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18380 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4428.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18380\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An elegant Kuan Yin statue in the Upper Walking Room displays the royal ease pose.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18374\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18374\" style=\"width: 4032px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18374 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4420.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18374\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Surveying the view from the front of the main Meditation Hall right before the yogis arrive.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18375\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18375\" style=\"width: 4032px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18375 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4422.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18375\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Admiring the purple and white orchids and the new wooden Buddha statue on the main altar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18383\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18383\" style=\"width: 4032px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18383 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4433.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18383\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Enjoying an afternoon in June at the Retreat Center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_18384\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18384\" style=\"width: 4032px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18384 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4442.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-18384\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The view as we entered the grounds of the Retreat Center from Pleasant Street.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Photos by Walt Opie<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Walt Opie, IMS Teacher Returning to IMS for the first time since right before the pandemic hit felt like waking up in the middle of an exceptionally vivid dream, only to realize I wasn&#8217;t dreaming after all. It was truly wonderful to be back. Everything looked very clear and bright, almost sparkling. The meditation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":18381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"issue":[],"class_list":["post-18372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sangha-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>Returning to IMS\u2014A Photo Essay &#8211; Insight Meditation Society<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Returning to IMS\u2014A Photo Essay &#8211; Insight Meditation Society\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Walt Opie, IMS Teacher Returning to IMS for the first time since right before the pandemic hit felt like waking up in the middle of an exceptionally vivid dream, only to realize I wasn&#8217;t dreaming after all. It was truly wonderful to be back. Everything looked very clear and bright, almost sparkling. The meditation [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Insight Meditation Society\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/InsightMeditationSociety\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-15T18:52:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-20T15:11:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4431.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Albert Karcher\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@InsMedSoc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@InsMedSoc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Albert Karcher\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/\",\"name\":\"Returning to IMS\u2014A Photo Essay &#8211; Insight Meditation Society\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4431.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-15T18:52:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-20T15:11:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e5bef1cf95c37ab52b8d612fbbbcb43f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4431.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4431.jpeg\",\"width\":4032,\"height\":3024},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Returning to IMS\u2014A Photo Essay\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/\",\"name\":\"Insight Meditation Society\",\"description\":\"Tranquility. Wisdom. Compassion.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e5bef1cf95c37ab52b8d612fbbbcb43f\",\"name\":\"Albert Karcher\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9f108d5584add02ff9e946fd0a2f73e708f6cc67f41ef6703fdf3afe3c0f3ea?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9f108d5584add02ff9e946fd0a2f73e708f6cc67f41ef6703fdf3afe3c0f3ea?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Albert Karcher\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/dharma.org\"]}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Returning to IMS\u2014A Photo Essay &#8211; Insight Meditation Society","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Returning to IMS\u2014A Photo Essay &#8211; Insight Meditation Society","og_description":"By Walt Opie, IMS Teacher Returning to IMS for the first time since right before the pandemic hit felt like waking up in the middle of an exceptionally vivid dream, only to realize I wasn&#8217;t dreaming after all. It was truly wonderful to be back. Everything looked very clear and bright, almost sparkling. The meditation [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/","og_site_name":"Insight Meditation Society","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/InsightMeditationSociety\/","article_published_time":"2022-07-15T18:52:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-07-20T15:11:11+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4431.jpeg","width":1024,"height":768,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Albert Karcher","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@InsMedSoc","twitter_site":"@InsMedSoc","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Albert Karcher","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/","name":"Returning to IMS\u2014A Photo Essay &#8211; Insight Meditation Society","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4431.jpeg","datePublished":"2022-07-15T18:52:35+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-20T15:11:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e5bef1cf95c37ab52b8d612fbbbcb43f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4431.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4431.jpeg","width":4032,"height":3024},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/walt-opie-photo-essay\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Returning to IMS\u2014A Photo Essay"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/","name":"Insight Meditation Society","description":"Tranquility. Wisdom. Compassion.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/#\/schema\/person\/e5bef1cf95c37ab52b8d612fbbbcb43f","name":"Albert Karcher","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9f108d5584add02ff9e946fd0a2f73e708f6cc67f41ef6703fdf3afe3c0f3ea?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9f108d5584add02ff9e946fd0a2f73e708f6cc67f41ef6703fdf3afe3c0f3ea?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Albert Karcher"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/dharma.org"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18372"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18424,"href":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18372\/revisions\/18424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18372"},{"taxonomy":"issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dharma.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue?post=18372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}