Jane Hirshfield, a poet who lived and studied in a Zen monastery in her 20s, encapsulates her poetry in a single poem. During her seven years as a monk, she adhered to the Zen tradition of rising at 3:45 AM for extended periods of meditation, alongside work, eating, and walking. The monastery lacked electricity, with only screens in summer and plastic over windows in winter, emphasizing a life of simplicity. This experience involved enduring cold, hunger, discomfort, and fatigue. Hirshfield describes this as learning to “practice choosing to want the unwanted.” She suggests that while life constantly presents us with unwanted situations—such as illness, death, and conflicts—we can transform our experience by embracing these challenges as intentional choices, thereby finding peace and acceptance.
