Culmination

The retreat is now basically over. I had a good experience and learned quite a bit. Now I have to face the real world. Some part of what I experienced here will no doubt stay with me as I slowly make progress. :)

Departing for Enlightenment

Hello, gentle readers. I'm leaving tomorrow for a trip around the northeast. I'll be visiting relatives and also participating in a 9-day retreat at Kagyu Thubten Choling monastery. I am very excited about it. It will be mostly silent, except for dedicated talk times, which will be a fascinating experience, I'm sure. The focus of the retreat is mahamudra, which, as far as I know now, prior to the retreat, is a system of deep meditation. As it is a retreat, there will be no contact with the outside world, and so needless to say, I won't be blogging during the retreat. So, I bid you adieu, for now.

More photos from the same hike

Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel. (so I've been told.)

Some Photos From Today's Hike

The top photo is a junco taking a short bath in a pool of water in the rock. Also got a couple great pictures of a deer munching some leaves. The squirrel was pretty neat too. Be sure to click on the images to see the large versions.

An oppurtunity

I'm passing on an oppurtunity to participate in the million mani project. If any of my readers wishes to participate, just say "Om mani padme hum" as many times as you care to. (Even once.) Then post the number you've recited (and the recitations can be silent) to the comments section, and I'll pass along the total numbers, so that we all may benefit! This mantra is the mantra of Chenrezi, the boddhisattva of compassion, and is the most popular mantra in Tibet. It embodies the aspiration to free all beings from suffering. The deadline is June 15.



Message from: Linda Jordan KSC-NH coordinator

Dear friends,

In an exciting development, KTC Monastery is sponsoring this year's
Saka Dawa million mani project. Several of the affiliated centers
have contacted us to let us know they are participating, and I am
hoping to hear from the others, either for our weekly progress update
or on June 15, when we tally up our total for the whole month.

Our tradition is to send a progress report each Sunday during Saka
Dawa. Students affiliated with a particular center will report their
numbers to that center, and the center will forward the total to us.
Students not affiliated with a center are welcome to email us
directly. We have every hope of being inundated with emails!

For details and background, please visit our website at
www.nhkagyu.org . In brief, everyone is encouraged to recite the
mantra of Chenrezi, om mani peme hung, as many times as possible
between now and the end of Saka Dawa, June 15. We will put all our
numbers together on June 15 and hope to reach a total of a million.
Mantras may be done as part of formal practice as well as during any
ordinary activity, with or without mindfulness. They may be counted
with traditional prayer beads, by timing your recitation (especially
useful when driving), or using any other method you can think of.

Mantra recitation is very beneficial at any time, but especially
during the holy month of Saka Dawa, when the effects of all our
actions are magnified, and our Dharma practice earns extra merit.

Each participant is said to earn the full merit of the entire
community recitation, no matter how large or small the individual
contribution. So even if you only have time to do a few mani's,
please don't be shy about reporting them.

We look forward to hearing from you.

"Let us trust the mantra, let us allow the body to attend to its work
and the mind to its reflections leading to result, but at the same
time let us recite the mantra om mani peme hung, without even being
attentive. We will purify many karmic veils and finally attain
awakening." Kalu Rinpoche teaching at Samye Ling, Scotland, 1983

"Perseverance will allow one to achieve supreme enlightenment."
--Ornament of Mahayana Sutra