From Taraloka Retreat Centre on Wed, 26 Mar, 2014 - 18:30It’s hard to believe it’s the last full day of the retreat and that we’ll be coming out of silence very soon. It’s now a process of holding the retreat steady whilst we begin to meet the transition phase of ‘leaving’. Meanwhile, I’m trying to work out what I need to say at 11am.
I’ve been reflecting on an extract from one of Sangharakshita’s seminars: ‘A common misapprehension is to think of ‘Insight’ in abstract terms, but the ‘Truth...
Following her talk for the fifth day of the 2014 Spring Tonglen Retreat, Yashobodhi leads a tonglen practice for help in working with yourself and a person you find difficult.
This is a talk Yashobodhi gave on day five of the Order Tonglen Retreat at Taraloka. She talks about her personal connection to the tonglen practice and the seven point mind-training and about practising tonglen in the moment. She also addresses the issue of difficulties with people, tying it in with the mind-training slogan of ‘be grateful to everyone and everything’, as other people provide you with the opportunity to go beyond ego. After the talk Yashobodhi led the tonglen...
From Taraloka Retreat Centre on Wed, 26 Mar, 2014 - 10:02Bright clear blue skies, the earth covered in dew and the magnolia trees are just coming into blossom. It’s a beautiful spring morning and by 9am the solar panels are already heating up the hot water.
Many years ago, when I was manager of the Operations Team at Taraloka, I attended a small study retreat for women teachers. During those nine days we looked at the Four Foundation Yogas, or Mula Yogas, which form the basis of Tibetan spiritual...
On day four of the Spring Tonglen Retreat at Taraloka Saddhanandi talks about tonglen for others. She describes how the breath helps us to breathe in and turn towards what we usually ignore, resist or block to defend ourselves from the suffering we see in others. When we’re breathing out we’re offering something we usually protect or isolate for our own use. So on the out-breath we’re sharing our resources in response to the suffering we encounter in our lives. ...
From Taraloka Retreat Centre on Tue, 25 Mar, 2014 - 06:54The sky is heavy and grey with cloud, which is interesting as we’re in the middle phase of the retreat and it can be a time when people can hit more resistance, so it’s as if the sky is reflecting that back to us after the bright clear skies of yesterday.
The thankha of four-armed Avalokitesvara, hanging above the shrine, is reflecting back a different perspective and Ratnavandana drew this out in the readings in last night’s puja.
