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A Shock of Profound Gratitude by Lama Choedak Rinpoche

A Wonderful Year to Recall - 2006

A report by Lama Choedak Rinpoche

Calendar (weekly and monthly events and special dates)

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Newsletter (our subscription-based two-monthly Clear Mind print newsletter)

Lama Choedak Rinpoche Speaks at The 4th Global Conference on Buddhism

News on the last Pilgrimage

Rinpoche  Visits James Cook University

First Residential Retreat Held in Townsville

5th Training the Trainer Retreat

His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche's Australian Tour

Pilgrimage to Tibet 2007

Rinpoche visits Tibet in December 2007

Reports from Vajrasattva Retreat at SIBA

Every day the cooks at Siba

Make meals fit to please the Queen of Sheba.

It’s a pleasure to devour them

And by nourished in my body by them.

Then one day the spinach came,

On my spirits it was such a drain –

Hoping to conquer my aversion to this green goo

I breathed mindfully, tasted it, and found it was delicious too!

Of the apple crumble, I can barely mumble

It’s such a tasty treat that even now my tummy rumbles.

And because I chant like a bee

I find that even the honey pleases me. 

But now that the Retreat is coming to an end,

Where with humility I have learned to bend

I must transform my attachment to this fine food

Or else be poisoned by the defilement of a sad mood.

There’s no question that here I’ve nourished been,

In ways beyond my wildest expectations, quite unforeseen!

So to increase my merit, I take with me this thought:

That with discipline and tolerance my efforts will not come to nought.

A better person I fervently hope to be…

And as good as the cooks at Siba?  Oh, would that be me!

Laura

I am on the path

              thanks to you

Sailing on a holy raft

              thanks to you

Some may think me daft

              thanks to you

Heartfelt thanks to the Dharma

              thanks to you

              thanks to you

                                                  Laura

Dear Siba,

Thank-you for your care, it saved my life

May Siba remain for 1000 years

May the very air be filled with the HUM of the practice

May the Enlightened Beings always give us

showers of softly falling rain to lighten the hearts of every being.

Your loving child of the Dharma

Toni

Group retreats are very disciplined because when you are part of a group you have a responsibility to others to attend all sessions and you must stick to the schedule – no changing times or skipping sessions.  Hence good discipline, faith and trust are developed, along with a sense of “bodhicitta” for all your fellow Retreatants in the group.  An amazing and very worthwhile experience!  The work on “ultimate refuge” and “absolute bodhicitta” had the “wow” factor.  Ven. Thupten Lekshe led the group so skilfully, with wisdom, humour and humility. 

Liz

Some favourite quotes: 

“Don’t have a ‘result thinking mind’ with your practice - it makes it wordly and self-grasping.  Know that a grounded, regular, stabilised practice will have a profound result.”  TL

“Bodhicitta – Enlightened Thought,* Absence of Selfishness.  It’s a deep yoga for the heart, it stretches and elastifies your heart.”  LCR

“The Vajrasattva Retreat:  A group of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, or should I say a group of extraordinary people doing extraordinary things!  Liz

Analogy

The Buddha is the Great Navigator who crossed the three worlds and charted the Safe Passage.

The Dharma is the Safe Passage.

The Sangha is those who have made the passage.

The Guru is the wise and compassionate admiral who protects the fleet and shows the course to be steered.

Refuge is the safe anchorage providing shelter in all conditions.

The object of meditation is the anchor.

The body is the yacht trimmed and helmed with mindfulness.

Jampal

The sound which you thought

you heard on the veranda

was not an actual defilement.

It was only the wind

which cannot be heard.

Which means it can’t exist

but only in your own mind

as your own defilement or defilements.

So concentrate on the prostrations

and the visualisation

and the practice.

With blessings

Ross

*Jampal, this poem is obviously a bit of an in-joke, referring to Ross’ and others’ passing of wind on the veranda during prostrations, and the great delight and laughter this caused.  You may have to give it a bit of an intro.  He also wrote the following notes:

•             Noble silence makes you aware of your own mind and how it reacts.

•             Keeping busy between breaks helped keep the mind engaged.

•             Quick Eze helped.

•             Support of everyone on Retreat.

•             Pain can be overcome. 

The following is a selection of quotes which give a taste of the Retreat and are offered to inspire all sentient beings:

“Here we are again, together at Base Camp.”  TL, encouraging a sense of team effort required for our joint Retreat.

“Did you think we would accept your tears but not your laughter?”  Jampal, responding to a Retreatant who was concerned that her fit of giggles meant she would not be welcome at further sessions.

“When do we stop the prostrations?”  TL responded that they were a gift which you have for the rest of your life.

“Sometimes you wish that the sessions would never stop.”  TL made this comment after a heart-felt rendering of the Guru Yoga prayer.

“A small pot cooks fast.”  Ngawang, quoting Lama Choedak Rinpoche, likening the Vajrasattva Retreat to a small pot.

“I feel that we have climbed Mt Everest.  They say that the most dangerous part of the climb is when you reach the top.  It is easy to lose focus on the way down.”  TL, sharing his thoughts as the Retreat enters its last days.

“After four sessions a day during the Retreat, it shows us how far we have not come.”  TL’s closing remarks, fostering a positive desire in Retreatants to continue their practice on a daily basis upon returning home.

Jeffrey