Mahamudra Dreaming

Hello friends,

This weekend we are receiving a review of the summer festival teachings on Mahamudra. Kadam Lucy just led us in a wonderful meditation on the emptiness of the self - naturally quotes from some of Mimi's earlier blog posts on emptiness are in order. Follow the links if you'd like to read the entire post (recommended).

She posted in 2012 about a teaching that Gen-la Dekyong had given at summer festival that year. Gen-la mentioned that she had mistaken a dead brown leaf blown by the wind for a little mouse scurrying across the yard. Mimi says about hearing this story, "I was thinking that I didn't have this kind of mistaken appearance very often, but then I soon found two examples: I saw a bowl with a curled-up banana skin as sliced lemons, and a small stick as a thin black slug like the one that I'd seen earlier that day. Because we have so much faith in what we see, recognizing these mistakes helps undercut that confidence and helps lead us to understanding subtle mistaken appearance, believing that the things we normally perceive truly exist."

Also from 2012: "Years ago at an offsite emptiness retreat on Vashon Island, my first Teacher described our involvement with objects we see as being like a dancer and their dance: There is no dance without the dancer. There is no object without a mind perceiving the object. "It takes two to tango," as the expression goes : ) "

Who knew Mimi was a poet?! In this post during election season 2012 entitled "Lies" she shares a bit of emptiness wisdom in poetry form, then ends the post by saying, "And you thought I was going to write about the election, didn't you? : ) "

Finally, from summer of last year, she shares this story in a dream she had: "In the dream, a bunch of Sangha friends came to my house and sang chanted prayers and recited the Heart Sutra. It was glorious. Obstacles were definitely removed, blessings definitely received. A person called Mel had apparently organized it all and played DJ. All the Buddhas were there, with the female wisdom Buddha Prajnaparamita in the starring role... Even though it was hot, everyone seemed to go away even happier than they arrived."

This last post especially touched my mind because, well, it's hot again :) and Buddha Prajnaparamita is still in the starring role :D. Mimi had a visit from Kadam Lucy yesterday, which I think was very meaningful to her. Kind, wonderful friends are spending time at the house this weekend so that Richard can attend the review teachings at the temple.  Health-wise, Mimi's still in the phase of gradual decline, no major changes. She's still fatigued, still has a pretty good appetite, a bit of occasional nausea when she overexerts herself. For those of you who have been looking forward to regular posts, I'm going to hold off posting further until there's a more significant change in Mimi's condition. So if you don't hear anything for a while, be assured that things are continuing along here as they have been for a while.

With love,
Boswell
rebecca-dot-lafond-at-gmail-dot-com

Virtuous Desires

Hello lovely supporters of Mimi,

Just another brief update. Mimi continues to be in a state of low energy and isn't seeing any visitors this week. Kind friends are still stopping by to deliver treats, or spend some extra time visiting with Richard, or help out by being here while Mimi sleeps, or do housework/gardening. We are so deeply grateful for the care and support! Next weekend Kadam Lucy will be here in Seattle to give a review of the Summer Festival 2016 teachings. Mimi's hoping that she'll be able to attend some of the sessions - we'll see how she's feeling in a few days. Mimi has a special connection with Kadam Lucy and has been two separate times to Colorado to enjoy teachings and advice at KMC Colorado's annual Rocky Mountain Retreat. Here's what Mimi had to say about her experience there last summer: "So many blessings, wisdom blessings, that gave me many small insights. Those tiny sprouts of realizations were handed to me - I did nothing except set up the conditions where they could be revealed, and listened to the supreme Mahamudra teachings and perfect meditation guidance of Kadam Lucy, a true Meditation Master."

So it makes sense that Mimi is conserving her strength, and setting up the conditions for receiving teachings next weekend. Please make prayers that she is strong enough to engage in the teachings, it's something she wants very much.

Your friend,
Boswell
rebecca-dot-lafond-at-gmail.com (This is the same email address, I had to disguise it because of spammers. Please comment on the blog if you can't reach me directly)

Rocky Mt Mahamudra Retreat

Wow!
And HUM!

Hard to describe how rich & deep the retreat was in mere words.
"Out of this world" keeps coming up as an approximation. It was a retreat to a much better world, in my mind.
Having spent such a peaceful time there on retreat, it continues to make me want to be at my heart, to make it my home, to dwell there. And to hang out with my Guru there.
So many blessings, wisdom blessings, that gave me many small insights. Those tiny sprouts of realizations were handed to  me - I did nothing except set up the conditions where they could be revealed, and listened to the supreme Mahamudra teachings and perfect meditation guidance of Kadam Lucy, a true Meditation Master. She highlighted a few meditations on clarity, which in the past I found hard to understand; experiences of it are even better than knowledge. I continually felt the power of a group meditating together.

To find out what it was like, you really must try it yourself.
For years, I've liked the idea that the Buddhas keep sending us postcards saying, "Wish you were here," as we do when we're on an especially lovely vacation. Meaning, for example, you can't describe how tantalizing, creative and sublime the food you've tasted has been - friends can only get an idea of it by trying it themselves.

This is the 2nd year R & I have been able to do the long-weekend KMC Colorado Mahamudra Retreat at Pingree Park. A photo is worth how many words? They at least convey another dimension.

 

For more photos, see the nice slideshow on PP's website.

The good news is that KMC CO has already reserved the same venue for next year, at the end of August. It sold out this year, so don't hold off registering.

And the food was good ; )