Hello Everyone, I'm taking part in the urban retreat in Cardiff, UK. There was about 30 of us on the day retreat on Saturday, and lots of excitement and enthusiasm. I'm intrigued to see how it goes - both in Cardiff and on thebuddhistcentre.com ... to see how it all works and what difference it makes to people's practice... I get the sense that the Buddha's teaching of the worldly winds is just as relevant today as it was in his time, and just as relevant wherever you are in the world...

I've just listened to Vidyamala's talk on "pleasure and pain". She makes an inportant point that the worldly winds blow everywhere - even the Buddha experienced them. Enlightenment is not some immediate magical, mysterious escape from the worldly winds. But it is knowing the wordly winds for what they are, being able to recognise them. You have a bigger perspective and so you are also emotionally "bigger", and able to sail the worldly winds with more equanimity... so you do transcend the wordly winds in that sense...

Of course, all that takes practice... that's what it is all about...practice and learning as we go...