Novelist Ruth Ozeki's spiritual companion is a Zen master named Dogen. Dead for nearly 800 years, when you listen to Ozeki, you know he's there.

Addressing nearly 2,300 Ozeki fans inside a concert hall here, the critically acclaimed novelist talked about Dogen's perception of time.

Each day consists of 6,400,099,980 moments, and in the time it takes to snap your finger, 65 moments have passed, the Japanese Zen master wrote in the 13th century.