Most of our new Summer Volunteers have now arrived, from the States, Italy, Latvia, England, Denmark, Holland and even Brazil. Welcome to them! We have a mentor programme where experienced community members help a new arrival to find their feet. This can mean showing them where to wash their clothes or buy a toothbrush, showing them around, and also helping them to understand how our community works and the communication systems within it.
The recruitment process and my predecessors in the job have brought a varied but excellent bunch of people here. Some have been here before, many have not. I look forward to getting to know all of them.
We have another visitor coming tonight, Martin Ledant, who wrote the previous post. He is on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, and had interrupted it previously to come here, after bumping into our wonderful skateboarding cook, Phillip, in Limoges. He said Phillip's beard and skateboard had magnetised him. Not the typical recruitment process, but it brought Martin here, and he was a valuable and inquisitive member of the community.
Anyway, he spent some days in Belgium with his family, and is now resuming his pilgrimage. His plan is to walk here from Limoges today as a pilgrim once more, and seek shelter with us. We will accomodate him in the shrineroom. Hopefully he will arrive before dinner, as it is a special one.
Dechen Chöling is a contemplative programme centre in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition. For those who love the place, and for those who may wish to come, we will document some of the day to day events.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Thursday, 13 May 2010
from Martin's blog: Le chemin interieur, le chemin exterieur et le chemin secret
vendredi 7 mai 2010
Le chemin interieur, le chemin exterieur et le chemin secret
Ce chapitre est hardu a composer car il relate un moment de mon periple a la fois deconcertant de simplicite et tres charge de sens spirituel. Le challenge est donc de rendre ce qui est simple interessant et de transcrire quelque chose de tres profond en langage courant tout en evitant de passer pour un allume.
Dechen Choling n'est pas un endroit tres excitant. C'est un endroit magnifique. Tout semble ici reposer en paix, a commencer par certains arbres profondement ancres dans le lieu. Le chateau et ses dependances sont comme ces arbres, ils sont a leurs places et ils sont beaux. La vie resplendit partout ou se pose le regard. Des fleurs sauvages a decourager mon petit sens de la botanique et toutes sortes d'etre vivants partagent les lieux. Comme cette chouette qui tourne autour du chateau chaque soir en poussant ses cris effrayants. Ou ces crapeaux allignes sur le seuil a l entree du chateau et dont la presence en ce lieu reste assez obscure. Mais au dela du rythme et de la magie de la vie alentour il y'a peu de distraction a Dechen Choling.
Trois activites rythment la vie ici. La meditation, les moments a table, et le travail. Quand la grande cloche retentit a travers les terres c'est qu'il est l'heure de s'assoir ou de manger. Quand au moment de travail, je les passe avec Hans-Willy, Guillaume et John. On est l'equipe des travaux physiques ce qui signifie qu'on est constamment dehors en train de transporter, bricoller, monter, demonter, et remonter. Etre dehors me convient. Et sous les ordres du capitaine Hans-Willy, le reste du travail, sans etre passionnant, n'est pas bien stressant.
Vous vous demandez peut etre ce qui me pousse a m'arreter pour si longtemps dans un tel endroit quand je pourrais courir le monde. En verite, je ne me suis jamais vraiment arrete.
Ce voyage que j'ai entrepris a une double nature. Sa premiere nature est physique, ou geographique. Un parcours a travers le monde, ses paysages, ses habitants, leurs cultures. Une grande partie des articles anterieurs que j'ai partages avec vous relatent de ce que je vois, de ce que je vis, des chemins que j'ai empruntes. C'est le chemin exterieur.
L'autre nature de mon voyage est spirituelle. Certains esprits trop entraines par l'inertie de leur train quotidien pense peut etre que la spiritualite est destinee a ceux qui veulent se perdre. Je pense justement qu'elle permet de se trouver. Ce chemin la est interieur et il est hardu de le decrire en mot. Cependant, les couleurs de ce chemin interieur ont bien souvent transgresse la simple frontiere de ma personne et rayonne sur la facon dont j'arpentai mon chemin exterieur mais aussi sur la facon avec laquelle je l'ai decri sur ce blog. Un peu comme si ce cheminement interieur formait une forme de trame invisible au chemin exterieur.
A Dechen Choling, je me suis physiquement pose. Cependant, a l'interieur, mon esprit n'a de cesse de progresser et de se renforcer. Mais comme la grande aventure physique a perdu de son attrait, ce blog est devenu bien difficile a nourrir avec un regime si spirituel. Pas que je rechignerai a vous en parler autour d'un verre en terasse. Mais ce genre de chose doivent etre vecues et percues depuis l'interieur.
D'ailleurs, un lieu ou peut se retrouver tranquille en soi meme, c'est cela que procure Dechen Choling. Pas que l'on soit seul, au contraire on vit ici en communaute. Avec ce que cela implique... par exemple que chacun peut etre gentillement une plaie ou un vraie bonheur pour les autres. Mais plutot que par un astucieux jeux d'harmonie, de regles tacites, et de pratique de la meditation assise, ce lieu a le drole de pouvoir de procurer a l'esprit un formidable espace au sein duquel la nature des choses devient soudainenent beaucoup plus claire.
Depuis que je suis ici, certaines choses qui etaient deja en moi sont simplement devenues plus claires. Que ce soit par les enseignements de Bouddha n'est pas vraiment ce qui importe.
Aujourd'hui, j'ai eu une idee concernant comment j'allais m'en aller de cet endroit. J'aimerais garder cette idee top secrete jusqu'a son accomplissement. Pour vous gardez en haleine chers lecteurs je vous dirai simplement que ma destination et mon mode de transport ne sont pas attendus.
Je suis desole pour ceux qui viennent voir ce blog et le decouvrent inchange. Le simple acte de votre visite meriterait a chaque fois une histoire. Mon ecriture est spontanee et cela lui confere une certaine honetete et je ne vois pas les choses autrement. Ceci dit, vos messages et votre presence sont pour moi une source d'inspiration donc n'hesitez jamais a laisser votre trace. Mes excuses pour les accents.
Aussi spacieux que l'esprit puisse etre, vous y occupez toujours une grande place
Je vous embrasse,
Martin
See original article
from: Over The Hills And Far Away
Sunday, 9 May 2010
Beach Days, not at the beach
Every year we have 11 days of holiday which everyone must take, on top of contractual allowances. Tomorrow and Tuesday are two of these. They are called 'beach days' as that is often where people have gone on these days before. However, as it is early May, the weather is unpredictable, to say the least. Perhaps that is why only a relatively small fraction of the staff and volunteers decided to go. They tend to be the Club 18-30 members.
They set off yesterday for Arcachon, and others set off for the South of France, Germany and Paris. Suddenly, although there is a small programme going on, the place seems very quiet. I took an afternoon walk yesterday. It was cloudy but not cold, not raining either, and as it was Saturday, no pounding sounds were coming from the quarry. The atmosphere was still, and I walked up the 'allee', the old tree-lined carriageway.
I stopped to look at fresh galls forming on oak leaves. These are tough little balls, caused by a parasitic wasp that injects its egg into the leaf bud. Somehow it messes with the leaf-building routine in the leaf and it forms a hard ball, in which the wasp larvae will grow, eventually eating its way out, leaving just the woody ball behind.
Then I noticed a small green caterpillar hanging from a silken thread, inches from my face. As my focus expanded, I saw dozens more of them hanging from the oak trees around me. I suppose they disperse through the tree canopy by spinning out these threads and then getting blown onto a different tree or part of the tree.
Nature has a quite magical quality at times, and for me, this was one of those times. Everywhere I looked, life was bursting out: the horses rolling, seemingly gleeful, in the neighbour's field; the craneflies crazy flight, the endless variety of birdsong. I was glad I had not gone to the beach. I felt lonely and blessed.
They set off yesterday for Arcachon, and others set off for the South of France, Germany and Paris. Suddenly, although there is a small programme going on, the place seems very quiet. I took an afternoon walk yesterday. It was cloudy but not cold, not raining either, and as it was Saturday, no pounding sounds were coming from the quarry. The atmosphere was still, and I walked up the 'allee', the old tree-lined carriageway.
I stopped to look at fresh galls forming on oak leaves. These are tough little balls, caused by a parasitic wasp that injects its egg into the leaf bud. Somehow it messes with the leaf-building routine in the leaf and it forms a hard ball, in which the wasp larvae will grow, eventually eating its way out, leaving just the woody ball behind.
Then I noticed a small green caterpillar hanging from a silken thread, inches from my face. As my focus expanded, I saw dozens more of them hanging from the oak trees around me. I suppose they disperse through the tree canopy by spinning out these threads and then getting blown onto a different tree or part of the tree.
Nature has a quite magical quality at times, and for me, this was one of those times. Everywhere I looked, life was bursting out: the horses rolling, seemingly gleeful, in the neighbour's field; the craneflies crazy flight, the endless variety of birdsong. I was glad I had not gone to the beach. I felt lonely and blessed.
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Fashion and fun
After the ceremony mentioned in the last post, we were treated to a talk by Ashe Acharya John Rockwell. He covered a lot of ground, mostly dealing with questions that had been submitted by staff. It was very grounded and reassuring, and many of us found it very useful.
After dinner it was Alexa's fashion show. Called Perdu Trouve (Lost and Found), the collection being presented consisted exclusively of items from our Offered Box, things that people have left behind, either accidentally or deliberately, or clothes that the models owned.
It turned out to be an excellent evening, with witty fashions (themes were departments at DCL and the seasons) including those of some of the invited neighbours, booming music and copious champagne. The celebrations continued into the night...
Saturday, 1 May 2010
New Rusung and Head of Culture and Decorum
"Culture is the binding factor of a society, and reflects the embodiments of the Shambhala teachings in a community and a kingdom. Through shared rituals, symbols and experiences – we become a people, give our children a rich sense of heritage, and invite others to share in the celebration. This is how we invoke drala, infuse the community with authentic presence, and create an atmosphere that is conducive to practice and genuine communication.
The decorum of Shambhala is a series of gestures and forms used to invoke wakefulness, uplift ourselves, the environment, and therefore other beings. All forms should be based on generosity, put others at ease and create harmony with a bit of perky edge. It is essential that Shambhala forms always evolve and progre ss, so that they do not become a conventional system of rules, but rather serve as a setting within which the jewel of dharma can sparkle."
from shambhala.org
from shambhala.org
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