Paving the Path to Peace: Kongshan Monastery's Monastics Repair the Road

On June 16 and 17, 2026, the resident monastics of Kongshan Monastery in New York took advantage of the clear summer weather to personally carry out asphalt repairs on the road at the monastery's entrance.

Kongshan Monastery is nestled within mountain forest, and years of seasonal snow, rain, and the steady passage of vehicles have gradually left portions of the road surface cracked and potholed. These potholes not only collect water but could also pose a safety risk for community members, retreat participants, and visitors making their way to and from the monastery. Now two years since the monastic community established its home in New York, the monastics decided to begin with the section most in need of attention — and to repair it with their own hands.

Road repair may look straightforward, but it is in fact demanding work, both physically and mentally. The monastics first broke open and removed the damaged asphalt, clearing away loosened concrete and debris. They then laid down new asphalt material bag by bag, smoothing it out carefully with hand tools. Finally, a roller compactor was used to tamp the surface down repeatedly, ensuring the newly laid road would be level and solid — able to withstand the wind and rain to come.

Throughout the work, each person took up a role: some cleared away debris, others transported materials, some attended to the edges, and others operated the compactor. In the summer heat, everyone worked in ear protection and gloves, sweating through the hours and moving in step with one another. It was not easy work — but the monastics simply wanted every person who walks through Kongshan Monastery's gate in the future to be able to do so with a little more ease.

For a monastery, a road is an ordinary piece of infrastructure — and yet it is the first welcome extended to all who come. Many people travel a long way from the city, passing through mountain forest, lake reflections, and green trees, to arrive at Kongshan for meditation, Chan practice, Dharma teachings, or community events. When the road is smooth and safe, each visitor is spared a small inconvenience and can walk into this quiet mountain sanctuary with just a little more ease of heart.

Repairing the road outside also calls to mind the path of practice within. The inner road, too, needs tending from time to time — there are potholes, cracks, and the weariness that accumulates through busyness. If we are willing to stop, observe patiently, and attend to what needs mending, the mind can once again recover its clarity and steadiness.

There are still sections of road at Kongshan Monastery that will need continued repair in the time ahead. The monastics work with their own two hands, doing what is in front of them well — and in doing so, they bring their commitment to the monastery and their care for all who come here down to earth, into the ground itself. With a pure and aspiring heart, they offer even this humble stretch of road as a condition on the path toward awakening.

In the years to come, this road — repaired by the monastics' own hands — will continue to carry the footsteps of friends and supporters from near and far, guiding everyone safely into Kongshan Monastery, where, amid the gentle hills of Upstate New York, one may set down the dust of daily life and come to rest in body and mind.

Respectfully recorded by Kongshan Monastery

 June 18, 2026