he Challenges of Retreat | |
Perhaps the idea of setting aside an extended period of time to enter into a meditative retreat seems rather idyllic. We’ve all seen beautiful pictures of lovely people sitting with perfect posture against a backdrop of a gorgeous landscape — in the moment, relaxing, completely at ease with their practice. How wonderful! However, in our own retreat, things may not be so relaxed and peaceful. After completing a fairly challenging retreat, Tergar instructor Cortland Dahl reflected on profoundly helpful advice from Mingyur Rinpoche. Cortland asked Rinpoche if, in his next retreat, he could avoid some difficulties by doing it at Rinpoche’s monastery. “Rinpoche is probably the least wrathful teacher I have ever met,” Cortland said. “But in this case, he was probably more forceful with me in giving instructions than he ever had been. He really was incredibly adamant and just said, ‘You have gotten it all wrong. You should go into retreat, not only expecting, but looking forward to those difficult moments. You should look forward to those challenges.’ He said it in a way that kind of shocked my system because I had been in this mindset thinking that, somehow, I had been doing something wrong, but actually, it was my perspective; it was my attitude that was a little bit off.” This advice completely shifts the way we often experience retreat and our lives. The constant struggle between resisting negative experiences while craving positive ones leads to disappointment. Instead, we can use these moments to connect with the thread of pure awareness that is always present. To learn more about retreat, join the upcoming Vajrayana Online Retreat Course. Tergar guides Kasumi Kato and Lucas Henriksson will host a "Retreat Course Welcome Webinar: The importance of retreat in the Buddhist tradition" on March 12 to answer any questions about the course. We hope you can join! | |
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Learning every moment, Tergar Learning Community |
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