Well, after having to cancel the events I was going to do in June because of ill health, it was all the more delightful to get back in the saddle (or on the cushion) a couple of weeks ago. I was due to lead a 10-day retreat at Adhisthana at the end of July, and as the start date approached I could feel I was really looking forward to it — a sign that my health and energy were back to their normal levels.

I was particularly looking forward to the retreat as it was the first time for over 18 months that I was going to see some 3-D retreatants. Although during the pandemic lockdowns Zoom retreats have been a very good substitute  for meeting in-person, still it was great to have some living breathing people sitting in front  of me.

It was also the first time I’ve led a hybrid retreat, with 21 of us in person and 30 more online. The small numbers made everything very spacious. The Adhisthana Community put a lot into giving the online participants a good retreat experience. They had also really thought through how to make the online element as unobtrusive as possible for those attending physically. There were just a couple of small microphones and what looked like a CCTV camera attached to the ceiling at the back of the room.  We were the only event happening at Adhisthana, so we had the run of the very beautiful gardens and the whole event felt very spacious.  

The retreat itself went very well. We were exploring a sadhana of Avalokiteshvara (an embodiment of compassion and wisdom), that came into our Order via Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. It was a privilege to unpack its riches for people on the retreat.

I’m devoting more time to writing and editing over the next few months, so I probably won’t be leading anything now until I go back to Adhisthana at the end of October to lead a retreat for Order members  on The Shepherd’s Search for Mind, an episode from the Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa which gives essential instructions on Mahamudra and the nature of mind. You’ll find details of the retreat on the Adhisthana website. Again it will be a ‘dual’ retreat, so you can participate by Zoom or, if possible, come to Adhisthana and have the full experience. Whichever, I look forward to seeing some of you there.

All good wishes,

Vessantara