Week 2 - Retreat
Day 13
Inner Light, Outer Light
Today is retreat day.
In her commentary Gen-la Kunsang had explained that the aim of Vajrayogini practice is to lead practitioners to an experience of the clear light of bliss. The clear light is an inner light. But the more we trained in that inner clarity, the more it seemed to reflect itself in the brilliant clarity of the sky, and in the radiance of the light that pervaded Manjushri Center making the flowers that much more beautiful, the trees in the woods that much more gorgeous.
Retreat day allows the mind to become still, and in that stillness to deeply mix with the teachings we've received. Today is a day to take the teachings to heart and actually taste them. After the wealth of empowerments and teachings we've received, it seems everyone is eager now to go inwards.
Gen-la Khyenrab guides us step by step through the practice of the three bringings in which we train in dissolving away our ordinary appearance of ourself and the world into emptiness and then, using imagination, concentration, and blessings, arising as a pure being in a pure land. When we rise from meditation it it not too difficult to continue to see the Festival grounds as a pure land and to feel yourself surrounded by heroes and heroines. How amazing to be training in this sublime practice amidst such an assembly of practitioners!
Afterwards Gen-la Khyenrab encourages us not to grasp at results, and enjoy your practice in the moment. Be light, he said.
Day 14
How Amazing!
Let's take a moment to take stock and rejoice.
A beautiful temple, modelled after Heruka's celestial mansion, filled with mediators, spilling out into the back and side marquees. There is still well more than a thousand people, from all over the world, here at the Festival, all meditating together on the bliss and emptiness nature of Vajrayogini. A deep silence in the temple. Everyone absorbed on the astounding practice of Highest Yoga Tantra using the long sadhana of Vajrayogini, Quick Path to Great Bliss.
Has such a thing ever happened before? In the world?
Of course, there have been large scale Highest Yoga Tantra empowerments and teachings … but retreats? It feels unprecedented. How marvellous in our materialistic world for such a profound event to be taking place. More than a thousand people absorbed in the experience of a pure land, creating that pure land for everyone to enjoy.
The practice of Quick Path is of course elaborate, complex, but moment by moment we are always meditating on is the truth. "If you are not sure what's going on, then always go back to bliss and emptiness,' Gen-la Khyenrab said. encouraging especially those who were new to the practice. "The essence of the practice is bliss and emptiness."
More than a 1000 people deeply connecting to the truth that our mind at its most subtle level is inexpressibly blissful. That the deeper in you go, the better it gets. And that everything is the nature of that blissful mind and that the world that we normally perceive – the one that appears to exist outside of our mind – doesn't exist! That reality actually is bliss and emptiness. What a wonderful message to give to the world. And what a necessary one.
Even if you couldn't be here … take a moment to reflect on what has taken place here. And rejoice!
Day 15
Festival Dreaming
Today Gen-la Khyenrab, guiding the third wonderful day of retreat on the practice of Vajrayogini, said that the self-generation of Vajrayogini and her pure land is like dream arising from the mind of bliss and emptiness. We dissolve away the dream of ordinary appearances into emptiness, and from that we create a new, pure dream.
The dream of the Festival is itself dissolving away. Tomorrow the Festival comes to a close as together we witness the inspiring and moving Life of Buddha in a premiere viewing of the new recording.
But as one Festival dream fades, others arise. Hundreds of people will now be engaging in post-festival retreats in Retreat Centers and KMC’s around the world. People leave taking both the feeling and the imprint of the Festival with them. The feeling we can share with others. The imprint we can know will ripen in wonderful ways for us in the future. Certainly we have created the cause to have many Festivals with many Vajrayogini pure lands arising throughout the world.
Everywhere now people are hugging goodbye. It won’t be long till we see each other again in the Festival dream arising in Portugal, one global spiritual family gathered together with their Spiritual Guide, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Thank you Geshe-la for this marvelous Festival. Can’t wait to see you in the next one.