I have a busy brain. When life starts moving too fast, spending time outside helps me slow down and come back to myself.

I feel that presence when I'm surfing, running, or hiking, but sometimes I want a bit more intention behind the pause.

That's where Deer Park comes in. Deer Park is a Buddhist

monastery about 40 minutes from my house in San Diego. And over the years, it's become a place I

return to for meditation retreats. Founded in 2000 by Zen Master Ticknaud Han, Deer Park is a rare

kind of space. Quiet but close to the city, rooted in nature,

community, and simple practices like walking meditation, gardening meditation, and even eating

meditation. One of the monks who lives there is brother Fat Blue. He recently co-authored a book called Hiking Zen, which explores how something as simple as walking

and hiking can become a powerful practice for reconnecting with ourselves and the natural world

around us.

It teaches us to slow down and live more in the present moment.

I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is wild ideas worth living,

an R.I Co-Op Studios production, presented by Capital One and the REI Co-Oat MasterCard.

I was lucky to sit down with Brother Fapleu at my home in San Diego, which was the perfect setting for an in-person conversation about the present moment.

Brother Fapleu, welcome to Wild Ideas Worth Living.

Thank you.

I actually think I met you in 2006, the very first time I went to Deer Park Monastery. I was a novice monk in 2006. So if you're listening, it's a really cool scene right now. You know, I'm talking to Brother Fapleu, and he sounds like, you know, anybody I'm talking to on wild ideas worth living. But he's wearing a brown robe.

He doesn't have hair.

And he's a monk.

You've dedicated your life as a monk.

And, you know, the team knows that Deer Park Monastery and Buddhism was very special to me.

And we were trying to figure out a way to have you guys on the podcast for quite a

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