"Enveloping the land like a blue pancake..."

We have asked some visitors and programme participants – newcomers as well as regular visitors – what they appreciate and think about Dechen Chöling.

Judith from Berlin, Germany:

I always enjoy the beautiful landscape, especially the green fields, the cows, old trees, the frogs and all those sentient beings. I love the chateau and its surrounding barns – the atmosphere feels very ancient and uplifted and rather mellow. Dechen Chöling attracts people of many different cultures and I hope that it will continue to blossom and benefit from the coming together of younger and older generations.

Seweryn from Szczecin, Poland:

Dechen Chöling, the green pearl of bliss, gently held in a dream like French countryside landscape of rolling hills, meadows with curious cows, all guarded by ancient trees and greenery rich with foliage, towering along the side of narrow, winding country roads. On the land of Dechen Chöling is a pond full of fully froglike frogs generously cracking along, day, as well as night. A pure land, an amazing place to train the mind and open the heart. The blue sky here is just much bluer, enveloping the land like a cape or a blue pancake, ready to fall on your head. And at night there are more stars than anywhere else I’ve ever been. People from all over the world come here and there are always many familiar faces glowing with delight.

Valérie from Paris, France:

I love Dechen Chöling! It feels like a family home for me. Everybody is kind and welcoming. I like living for a few days or weeks with people from all over the world. It’s a wonderful place to learn, to relax, to slow down, and to be open to oneself and others. Also, nature here is so mild and lush at the same time. When you come from a big city, it’s paradise!

Ian from London, England:

For me, Dechen Chöling is a place where the heart and mind are given space to fully appreciate the innate beauty of the world around and inside us.

Isabella from Munich, Germany:

I come to Dechen Chöling almost every year because I feel it is an auspicious place and I love its rich nature. Being here feels like charging my batteries. I am very happy to get vegetables from the local garden and enjoy the good food the kitchen provides – very enriching for both my body and mind. Also, I enjoy having so much time and space for myself and at the same time meeting many nice and interesting people, friends and teachers, who inspire and touch me.

Dominique from Paris, France :

I visited Dechen Chöling for the first time at the beginning of the summer season. I took the chance of spending ten days in the center’s beautiful garden, - created by Michael and Steffen -, with weeding, cleaning, watering…savoring the beauty and the energy of this place, as well as the kindness of the people living here. What I have experienced here was what I needed at that moment. I leave full of gentleness with a big desire to preserve an important part of slowness in my urban life. Many thanks to all the people I met at Dechen Chöling.

If you like to share your personal experience of your stay here, please let us know. Thank you & Merci!

EXPAND, DEVELOP, GROW! - Organic Garden Update

Over the past couple of years the garden of Dechen Chöling has developed into the big, beautiful garden it is today. In October of the year 2010 Michael LeBlanc made a proposal to expand the garden even further, growing more organic fruits and vegetables, and creating an environment where people can reconnect with nature. Thoreau ones wrote: “Let go of the past and go for the future. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined.” “Jardin Shambhala” is that dream, to take what we have, and make it even more beautiful.

In the beginning of 2011 project “Jardin Shambhala” was put into action. From the very beginning we received a lot of support from the neighbours. They bundled their powers to set the whole project into motion, clearing out the space, planting seeds and harvesting. They have put a lot of effort in making this happen, and without their help it would not have been possible. Therefore we are eternally thankful.

Most of the seeds planted in the garden are from KokoPelli. Kokopelli is an official depository for ancient seeds. The seeds are pure, meaning they are not produced by crossing different kinds of species. Nor are they genetically modified. Kokopelli has three main places to produce seeds. From there they distribute to members, whom buy the seeds. In return, after the plants start producing seeds themselves, the seeds will be send to another place. So there is a constant exchange of seeds going on. The main goal is to preserve original species, as well as to benefit third world countries.

In March Steffen arrived. A hard working man, wearing a straw head and sunglasses, whom has put a lot of exertion into making sure that the garden is blooming in its full glory. Planting, watering, weeding, harvesting. Steffen is the garden angel, working from dawn till dusk, handling the plants with at least as much care as any sentient being. Michael could not be more thankful for Steffen’s help saying he is definitely the muscle in the garden.

During the large programmes in May quite a few people offered their help during their working period, turning the garden into a crowded place. It was amazing to see all those people creating an uplifting energy and enjoying the vibes of nature.

All the effort that has been put in this garden is finally paying off. The garden grows more beautiful and beautiful every single day. Flowers bloom in full glory, turning it into a little piece of paradise. The garden is able to provide the kitchen with lots of greens. In the months May and June the kitchen received nearly 240 heads of salad, 11 kilos of chard, 12,5 kilo spinach 21 kilo of sweet peas and over 700 pieces of radish.

Entering the Dechen Chöling grounds the first thing you see is the garden, inviting you to take a walk and enjoy all there is to see and smell. The garden has enough space for greens to grow fully, and simultaneously tickle all your senses. Walking through the garden you can connect heaven and earth. Inhaling the aroma’s of herbs such as, basil, parsley and chive, and witnessing the sheer splendour of a variety of flowers. With the new entrance, the garden is now the door to the outside world. Magnetizing all of the neighbours, all of France, all of the world to come and rejoice in the grace of nature.

Written by Rianne Pelleboer, summer volunteer at Dechen Chöling. Photos by Steffen and Katja.

Sangha Retreat - Review by Rianne, a volunteer at Dechen Chöling

After some weeks of calmness it seemed as though a bomb had exploded in Dechen Chöling. On Sunday the 8^th of May over a hundred fifty people arrived for the Sangha retreat. Young, old, beginners and advanced students came from all over the world to witness this big event. Before the programme started we had put a lot of effort into making this place ready. And thankfully all our hard work paid off. After asking some participants how they felt about arriving here I couldn’t help but notice that everyone felt happy to be here and very welcome. I reckon handing out those chocolate cookies at arrival is something we should keep in mind. It seems to work their magic on tired people who have traveled all day!

Having all those people around had an amazingly uplifting effect on the energy of this place! It seemed as though we have accomplished the impossible. We had to work at least three times as hard to keep everything running smoothly, but looking back I feel we did an outstanding job! I couldn’t be more delighted to be part of this community. Thanks to the entire staff and all the participants whom did a great job on their work assignments we managed to turn this event into a great success.

On my day off I decided to blend in with the retreaters and see what it was like in the big tent. We started at 7 o clock in the morning, and spend the entire morning in silence until after lunch. It was their first period of silence and I could see how some people were struggling. How hard they were trying to sit still, and practice. But they were hanging in there! And they had installed a solid container to keep them uplifted. It was truly humbling to witness this.

As the Sakyong’s arrival was approaching people got more and more excited and we were exploring all avenues to make sure that all the staff members could at least go to one of his talks. I for some reason hit the jackpot and got to go to all of his talks! Like most of the participants I had never met the Sakyong before. That way I got completely absorbed in their excitement and got to share this experience with them.

During the last three days of the retreat the Sakyong gave three talks about basic goodness, and being kind and brave. Instead of talking for hours he did some practices with us, to get in touch with our bodies and our feelings. But most importantly for us to feel we are basically good. By approaching the teachings in this way he managed to reach all students without throwing beginners into the deep, yet, still keeping it interesting for the “older” students. And to be quite fair: you can never hear “you are basically good” enough. (Don’t even try to deny that!)

After receiving a blessing, enjoying a delicious meal and giving the last Sunday evening some serious Saturday Night Fever, people packed their bags and made their way back home. With nothing left but a bundle of experiences worth a trip going down on memory lane.

By Rianne Pelleboer, volunteer from the Netherlands at Dechen Chöling (on the left of the picture above); Photos by ka.

"How simple life can be, if I just let it"

Many participants from Dechen Chöling's Sangha Retreat last week share here their experiences with us. Thank you so much for that!

“In this retreat I dared once more to leap into the arms of the teachings, the sangha and the Sakyong. A wonderful landing place. My heart and my mind are filled with courage and confidence, to take a fresh leap into the world.” Gaby Pongracz from Vienna, Austria.

“In this week I reconnected with my heart and my strength. I feel confident to face the challenges of my life now.” Friederike from Cologne, Germany.

“I am feeling in touch with my human nature, which feels basically good and vulnerable. I bow for the courage of all participants. By the way, we had lots of great laughs. Love and Respect,” Dennis from Holland.

“Discovering basic goodness as something personal I can connect with, has been an opening of my heart. Meeting the bigger sangha of Shambhala in a practice situation, manifesting as best as we can an idea about an enlightened society: This has been a deeply moving experience to me. Somewhat showing that it is possible to manifest or live these principles. We breathe the same air while meditating. We work with our individual minds. We try to open up our minds and hearts. For some reason this creates a deep feeling of community. I experienced a strong feeling of community being in this retreat.” Christian Stenberg from Copenhagen, Denmark

"How simple life can be, if I just let it. This was one of the many insights AND experiences during this sangha retreat.” Bart Landstra from Leiden, the Netherlands.

"What role can I play in society?"

 "The Sangha Retreat offers the opportunity to spend a week together with an amazingly diverse group of people - in terms of nationality, culture, spiritual background, age, careers - in order to contemplate and practice dealing with some important questions: What is a decent life? How can we relate to each other? What role can I play in society? So: a wonderful experience." Shared by a participant at Sangha Retreat, a one week meditation retreat. We have about 200 people participating in this retreat, coming from 19 different countries.

Cultivating gentleness

Barbara Märtens at Sangha Retreat "Being brave, transforming our world":

“I think if we want to understand friendliness, kindness and why this is the core of our being, we also have to understand the pain and the fear and the suffering, and the function of it in our being. In moments of pain we very often open up if we lose our set system of concepts and ideas about who and what we are. In those moments we are connected with the openness of our heart, with the uncontrollableness of our human situation that we always want to avoid. Friendliness is not to be separated from this pain, this fear, this part where our existence feels like a burden, a threat or something we want to escape from. If we touch into this part we automatically connect with our inherent gentleness.“

Barbara Märtens is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition. Sangha Retreat is a one week meditation programme.