Dear Dharma friends,
I hope you are well!
I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 month winter
retreat here at Sravasti Abbey with this great group of committed monastics! What
a luxury to slowly go through the Lamrim Chenmo each day - reading, reflecting,
meditating! Pure bliss! I also incorporated some ngondro practices and
especially enjoyed doing mandala offerings each day.
Perhaps I was a bit ambitious thinking that I would have
time to write a blog while living at Sravasti Abbey! Our highly disciplined day
is framed by group prostrations, prayers and practices at 5:30 am and 7 pm. We
chant prayers before and or after most meals, and the first half of the meal is
in silence.
As there is no paid staff at the Abbey, the monastics offer daily
service such as cooking meals, maintaining the buildings, gardens and
surrounding forest, as well as taking care of all administration work like program
development, PR, guest registration, editing Dharma materials, newsletters and
website management. They teach the Dharma in various ways –short and long courses
at the Abbey, classes in surrounding towns and prisons, and on YouTube, to name
a few. This is in addition to 3 weekly classes in Buddhist philosophy – two with
Venerable Chodron and a Skype class on tenets with Jeffrey Hopkins. You might
wonder when, but there is also time for personal study and practice. One
becomes very efficient about not wasting a moment! :-)
Each day just before lunch, Venerable Chodron gives a short
inspirational talk (called BBC) which I’ve found to be so beneficial to keep
the mind in Dharma. When she’s away, the other monastics take turns. Here is a recent one that I did on compassion, if interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ri8pS5QhoM
There is a strong emphasis on monastic training and
development at the Abbey. Most of you know that monastic life is not just an easy
escape from the turmoil of secular life. Ideally, the simplicity of monastic
life provides conducive conditions for overcoming all afflictions through developing
qualities like mindfulness, compassion, wisdom, humility and the ability to
transform suffering - no easy feat!
Community life brings many opportunities to see the habitual ego-grasping and self-centered
thoughts that lead to suffering. Some of the older monastics here exude serenity, peace and confidence from their years of practice, which I find
very inspiring!
At the Abbey, there is an emphasis on staying removed from
what is distracting about secular life, but without being removed from people
and what’s happening in the world. Mindful use of media and electronic devices
is key. Although I may have limited time and access to the internet, I am happy to hear from you. Know that
you are always in my heart and prayers.
Take a look at the SA teaching lineup this summer and fall. You
might like to plan a visit! Venerable Chodron is teaching on His Holiness’s
book How to See Yourself as You Really
Are at the end of May, and several other retreats this summer. Visiting
teachers like Dagri Rinpoche, Geshe Damdul from Emory and Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe
are filling out the schedule with various teachings on emptiness.
I’ll keep this short for now, as I'm visiting my family in Oklahoma.
Sending wishes for happiness and
joy to you!
Love, Tsepal
