7:30 a.m. After morning ablutions, I greet my infant son, change his diaper, and then take my 5-year old daughter to school.
9:30 a.m. To get to the city, I walk 15 minutes from my home in Westchester County, New York, and hop on the train to Grand Central Terminal.
11:15 a.m. Once I’m at the Shinnyo Center for Meditation and Wellbeing near midtown Manhattan, I offer morning chanting and prayer in front of the altar, followed by two public lunchtime meditation sessions.
3:00 p.m. At least once a month I visit the New York City Police Department’s Midtown South Precinct to speak to the officers and lead a mini-meditation as part of their roll call. Assigned to this precinct as an NYPD clergy liaison, I am here essentially to help these first responders help others. I want to provide the officers with something that can support their health, wellbeing, and state of mind as they patrol New York City’s streets. If they succeed, we all succeed.
4:00 pm. After a walk through Bryant Park, I go to New York University, where I teach a weekly evening meditation class, ending my day in the city.
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See more of Rev. Grainzvolt’s day, including the NYPD roll call, on Instagram @tricyclemag.
See previous installments of “A Day in the Dharma” featuring Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, abbot of the Bhavana Society, and Ven. Karma Lekshe Tsomo, cofounder of Sakyadhita.
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