The Vision Festival was packed every night, always has been for the four years it's been happening.

So okay, I accepted, and I realized while working for that concert that I'd been missing something very important and vital to me, and that something was music.

People call to keep me abreast of what's going on.

You know, face painting in non-Western cultures is a sign of collectivism, is a sign of one representing the community, it's not unique at all.

Well, dojo is a traditional Japanese word for training hall.

In 1993, I retired from the Art Ensemble of Chicago to devote myself full time to Buddhist studies and to the practice of Aikido.

It took me a long time to reach the decision to retire, actually, from the Art Ensemble. But it seemed more important to me to share the vitality of Aikido and the vitality of Zen training with people, even though it would be a smaller number of people, it seemed to give them something that could last and improve their lives.