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At a verdant space overlooking the Long Island Sound in Westchester, more than 40 members of our sangha gathered recently for a retreat on the clarity of mind and on becoming familiar with our special Heart Jewel practice. The blissful meditations of examining the nature of our mind and its clarity were led by Kadam Morten. Telling stories of great yogis like Saraha, Kadam Morten brought the Mahamudra lineage and its teachers into our beautiful gompa, and it was as if the great distance in history and time was compressed as we used ancient but relevant analogies to aid our meditations. We learned to settle our minds like a still ocean, like the trail of birds flying in the sky, like a small child staring with wonder at a temple mural, like fine cotton thread which is strong but supple, and my favorite, like a garuda circling in the sky. Despite the sound of music from weddings next door as well as leaf blowers (mere appearances to our mind, we discovered), there was a serenity that permeated the retreat, and several people came up to tell me that they had not felt so relaxed and happy in a long time.
This retreat
was particularly special in that everyone pitched in to help now
that we no longer have any full-time Bodhisattvas running the center.
Three of us set up the shrine, more than ten people provided delicious
meals to feed all of us, and many volunteers helped organize, clean
up, do laundry, etc. Each job was invaluable and helped the weekend
run smoothly. I kept thinking that this New York group, from three
different NKT centers on Long Island, in White Plains and NYC, is
the most amazing, dedicated sangha. I think I speak for many when
I say that it truly felt like we had all created a blissful retreat
together. — Michelle Valladares (Back to index) |
Je
Tsongkhapa and Mahamudra Weekend Retreat in Westchester 
These
retreats offer a special opportunity to go deeper into our practice.
I love the time we took to investigate the Migtsema Prayer and to
practice bringing Je Tsongkhapa, our root guru, down into our hearts.
By the end of the weekend it felt like our hearts had been cracked
open, we had spent so much time contemplating and meditating on
the precious jewel in our hearts. It was refreshing to continually
remember that the root mind is located at our heart chakra. 
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