Today is the last bit of “Dharma input”. We are going to explore the ideas of “control” and “influence”. I’d like to invite you to read the following short text, and then take some time to do the reflection - and to bear the material in mind as you go about your practice today.
Tomorrow is the last day of the retreat, and will be spent reviewing what we’ve learnt and thinking about what we can take forward into the future…
Just wanted to say a couple of things, as I’m in a meeting all day tomorrow, and then leading the final day retreat of the urban retreat in Cardiff Saturday, so I might not get much time to log-in from now on… (though there will be two more teaching posts from me, for Friday and Saturday).
Firstly, I wanted to thank the team who’ve been working really hard behind the scenes to make this on-line retreat available. Candradasa is the visionary behind...
A great set of reflections and musings from Ratnavyuha in Auckland, New Zealand, on the work of coursing through this life so full of challenge and sorrow and possibility. Includes some lovely zen poetry to take things deeper still…
the retreat is going well here in São Paulo. There are only a few of us, but already we’re having good feedback from some of the people who are managing to read what I am managing to translate, and who are meditating everyday. Brilliant idea!
Next time I’ll try to organise the event a lot more here or our Sangha and include more people. Its a bit higgledy-piggledy this time round. Better than nothing though!
Yesterday we looked at how our craving or aversion towards how the worldly winds are blowing often takes the form of a “story” – an on-going mental commentary which seeks to justify our emotional response. We did an exercise in trying to spot those stories as they arise in our minds as we go about our day. Was this easy or difficult? Thoughts are fast and fleeting, so maybe it is hard to spot them arising. Perhaps...
We’re also taking part in the International Urban Retreat 2011 on our Facebook Group, and on Friday we’ll be rounding things off there with a live discussion around the theme of the Worldly Winds: gain and loss, fame and infamy, praise and blame, and pleasure and pain…
Come and join us if you’ve taken part in the retreat and want to share your own insights - or if you are just interested in exploring the theme and its implications for...
