Take Stock in the Woods

Need some introspection and free-thinking? Try a day trip at a Buddhist Monastery in Woodstock! I was there this weekend. The monks gathered to pray, chant, and bang drums in public, a rare ritual that takes place only once a year. His Holiness, a young 20 yr. old Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, and his followers, were in full costume and dress. Inside the Central Temple, my senses were assaulted by an explosion of color and craftsmanship. The labor that went into designing the elaborate stenciling is absolutely prodigious. Karma Triyana Dharmachakra is the name of this great place, only 10 minutes from downtown peace-loving Woodstock. Other advice -- zucchini flatbread at Joshua's, a hike up Trappist mountain and catching a skinny in a nearby creek. Introspection and free-thinking all back to normal again.