Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune: For some Zen practitioners, an all-night session of intense meditation in honor of the Buddha’s enlightenment is a virtual Buddhist boot camp–a rigorous regimen that prepares them to rise above any challenge, whether mental, physical or spiritual. For others, like Nabi Anita Evans, it’s a welcome respite from the other holidays’ hustle and bustle–a chance to clean the clutter from her mind and start the year anew.
“I really feel like I need to recharge myself,” said Evans, a Chicagoan who took the name Nabi when she became a Buddhist last year. “I like to go in and not expect anything and be open to how it affects me. I do hope it gives me some renewed energy to start the new year with a kick in the butt.”
Although some Buddhists celebrate their founder’s birth, enlightenment and passage into nirvana in the spring, followers of East Asian traditions observe the enlightenment anniversary in December…