As I waited for meditation to start, I realized the leader was always present. She was never sick. I had heard some tangential comments about meditation reducing your chance of being sick, but this sounded like more of the special powers monks held. It turns out there may be some scientific evidence. Since meditation reduces stress, and stress hormones are linked to your body's immune system, there is a correlation between the two. Who knew?
Next the leader informed us that a new venerable would begin guiding us in meditation. When he walked down and bowed to the buddha, I was shocked to see how young he looked. He turned to face us, and began to tell the story of how he had become a Monk. "I was a party boy," he started. "Hmm, this should be interesting," I thought.
