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In a generation, the Lord Abbot of the Thai Monastery in Sarnath has transformed the monastery into a beautiful garden of trees, flowers, shrubs and pathways. There is a lovely, quiet meditation centre at the back of the monastery and ample area for our dharma discussion groups to meet in the shade of the temple or under trees. The Abbot of the Thai Monastery in Bodh Gaya shares the same dedication. Continue reading
In January 2007, I was speaking to Chad, our Bodh Gaya manager, about the shortage of participants in the Bodh Gaya retreat of US citizens.
If we had 120 on a retreat, we would have very roughly 40% from Europe and Israel, 35% from the USA and the 25% from the rest of the world – Australia, Canada, South America, India, Thailand, New Zealand etc. That would mean around 35 to 40 US citizens. Continue reading
I do smile when I hear that some people prefer the partner of a teacher to sit retreats with other teachers rather than with their partner. It is a well intentioned thought. There is the possibility of mixing roles up roles. I regard the two roles of teacher and partner sitting the retreat as grist for the mill, raw material for practice. The two partners should agree together whether it is suitable for one partner to be the teacher and the other partner to be the practitioner. In my experience, this agreement and application works very well. Love is powerful – effortlessly embracing perceived differences. Continue reading
Dominika and I shifted out of the role of partner, of man and woman, to give temporary rebirth to the role and teacher and yogi on the annual Bodh Gaya retreat in the Thai Monastery. Continue reading
Prama and Ranji kindly sent their driver to New Delhi airport to pick up Dominika and I upon our arrival in India. It is a very gentle way to land. The cooks, servants and Kaiser, their gentle Afghani dog, take great of us. The day after my arrival, I paid my annual visit to Dr. Sharma, the dentist of Prama and Ranji, for a check up. I first visited him four years ago. Continue reading