I just came back from Garrison Institute's retreat with Gehlek Rimpoche. Thank you both for encouraging me to go there. It was really a wonderful surprise for me. I am deeply touched by his teachings and the love and support from other participants. The Rimpoche showed me tremendous compassion and wisdom. The participants impressed me very much, too. Most people that I met seem quite advanced in Tibetan Buddhism practice already. Also, most people I met (and I met quite a few of them) there were married and in relationship, which sort of contradicted my belief that many would be single. It is a sign of a healthy sangha, I think!
I had a good fortunate to meet with Rimpoche in a small gathering (about 15 people) for about half an hour. I sat directly across from him maybe 15 feet apart. And I could sense an uplift energy in me directly coming from him. It was so unusual and energizing. Later on, I asked a couple of people who were in that small gathering and they all told me the same experiences. Amazing!
The retreat ended with a dedication by one member who played violin in the meditation hall. The melody was almost heavenly and touched the heart of everyone there. The meditation hall used to be a Franciscan monastery is so beautiful. The location of Garrison Institute is wonderful surrounded by Hudson river and mountains. The only drawback is the railroads running by the river banks and the train noise constantly breaks the otherwise perfect setting.
Additional notes:
1. The chanting and singing are so beautiful. The lead singer has an amazing male voice. It almost reminds me of Gregorian chant. It evokes harmony, sacredness, and beauty in me.
2. The meditation is not meant to be quiet. This is something brand new to me. The meditation practiced in that tradition more precisely is an analytic meditation. Usually a senior student would summarize what the teacher just taught in the previous session. The analytic session is highly intellectual and analytical. The senior students were extremely eloquent, too. They summarize the teachings to its very essence. I am very impressed.
3. The teaching strikes me to be extremely intellectual. It requires a full concentration and focus. I felt exhausted at the end of the day from mental activities. It is definitely not a relaxing feel from other retreats that I have been.
4. Most participants that I met are highly intellectual, too. I met a group of Waldorf school teachers. I met a medical doctor, a lawyer, a few psychologists, a few PhDs, and a few writers. One guy specializes in Eastern Religion and fluent in Sanskrit and even the teacher has to consult him to clarify certain words in Buddhism.
5. I had a couple of close encounters with Rimpoche. I didn’t see the bright shining eyes in him. He is a short and stocky man. In the small gathering that I was, however, I felt a glowing energy directly from him. I couldn’t pinpoint from where but I just felt it and it was exceptional.
6. One of my roommates did not really participate most of the sessions but just went hiking. He is recovering from Narcotic addition. I felt very compassionate toward his situation. He serves as a reminder for me how powerless we are over our addiction.
7. By virtue of being one of the few foreign Asian men there, some participants tell me their antidotes that make me laugh and perplex. Some of them responded immediately that “N” is not my real name. A blond woman who has been in the group for a long while and told me about “MIT” acronym and I didn’t get it for a while until she explained. Later on, she was happily saying that both she and her sister are married to ones. One guy told me about his travel experience to Kaoshung, Taiwan, where he saw Mickey Mouse in one of the Taoist temple and asked me why. One woman was raving about her China travel stories, and Wong Kar-wai to another man sitting next to me during breakfast.
8. The alternative free route up there works very well. Go to Baltimore, take I-83 to Harrisburg, and take I-81 to Scranton, and I-84 to New York. It is almost like a country road. It is very pretty but most of them are just 2 lane highways.
9. The subject that Rimpoche taught will require some time for me to digest. He talked a lot about Self-cherishing and self-grasping and why they are enemy to be destroyed. One thing that stuck in my head is about taking in other's suffering by practicing taking in my own suffering in the future... hmm.. very revolutionary idea.
I had a good fortunate to meet with Rimpoche in a small gathering (about 15 people) for about half an hour. I sat directly across from him maybe 15 feet apart. And I could sense an uplift energy in me directly coming from him. It was so unusual and energizing. Later on, I asked a couple of people who were in that small gathering and they all told me the same experiences. Amazing!
The retreat ended with a dedication by one member who played violin in the meditation hall. The melody was almost heavenly and touched the heart of everyone there. The meditation hall used to be a Franciscan monastery is so beautiful. The location of Garrison Institute is wonderful surrounded by Hudson river and mountains. The only drawback is the railroads running by the river banks and the train noise constantly breaks the otherwise perfect setting.
Additional notes:
1. The chanting and singing are so beautiful. The lead singer has an amazing male voice. It almost reminds me of Gregorian chant. It evokes harmony, sacredness, and beauty in me.
2. The meditation is not meant to be quiet. This is something brand new to me. The meditation practiced in that tradition more precisely is an analytic meditation. Usually a senior student would summarize what the teacher just taught in the previous session. The analytic session is highly intellectual and analytical. The senior students were extremely eloquent, too. They summarize the teachings to its very essence. I am very impressed.
3. The teaching strikes me to be extremely intellectual. It requires a full concentration and focus. I felt exhausted at the end of the day from mental activities. It is definitely not a relaxing feel from other retreats that I have been.
4. Most participants that I met are highly intellectual, too. I met a group of Waldorf school teachers. I met a medical doctor, a lawyer, a few psychologists, a few PhDs, and a few writers. One guy specializes in Eastern Religion and fluent in Sanskrit and even the teacher has to consult him to clarify certain words in Buddhism.
5. I had a couple of close encounters with Rimpoche. I didn’t see the bright shining eyes in him. He is a short and stocky man. In the small gathering that I was, however, I felt a glowing energy directly from him. I couldn’t pinpoint from where but I just felt it and it was exceptional.
6. One of my roommates did not really participate most of the sessions but just went hiking. He is recovering from Narcotic addition. I felt very compassionate toward his situation. He serves as a reminder for me how powerless we are over our addiction.
7. By virtue of being one of the few foreign Asian men there, some participants tell me their antidotes that make me laugh and perplex. Some of them responded immediately that “N” is not my real name. A blond woman who has been in the group for a long while and told me about “MIT” acronym and I didn’t get it for a while until she explained. Later on, she was happily saying that both she and her sister are married to ones. One guy told me about his travel experience to Kaoshung, Taiwan, where he saw Mickey Mouse in one of the Taoist temple and asked me why. One woman was raving about her China travel stories, and Wong Kar-wai to another man sitting next to me during breakfast.
8. The alternative free route up there works very well. Go to Baltimore, take I-83 to Harrisburg, and take I-81 to Scranton, and I-84 to New York. It is almost like a country road. It is very pretty but most of them are just 2 lane highways.
9. The subject that Rimpoche taught will require some time for me to digest. He talked a lot about Self-cherishing and self-grasping and why they are enemy to be destroyed. One thing that stuck in my head is about taking in other's suffering by practicing taking in my own suffering in the future... hmm.. very revolutionary idea.
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