The beautiful ecology and spirituality center Punto Zero, near the city of Putaendo, hosts our public weekend retreat. The majority of the 100 participants are from Chile but a few have traveled all the way from Argentina and Peru. During the orientation, our breath is seen as the heart of a camelia flower and the practices of sitting meditation, walking meditation, mindful eating, noble silence... as the petals of the flower. Outside, the mountains, the gardens filled with rosemary, almond trees and cactuses, the little ponds, the brook and the sinuous paths make an ideal setting for walking meditation. ‘Breathe, smile and go slowly.’ The authors of this blog won’t tell you how delicious and healthy the food served at Punto Zero is, in order to avoid watering seeds of greed and jealousy in anyone!! Suffice to say that we practice mindful eating really well. After a well-deserved total relaxation session, we split in 6 different Dharma Discussion groups, amongst which one is reserved for meditation teachers and one for young people. We take care of our bodies by practicing zen jogging, automassage, qigong, yoga and taichi.
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| automassage outside, surrounded by the beautiful Chilean mountains |
On the second day, after the morning meditation we wake up to our indivisible connection with Mother Earth. Placing our forehead on the ground in the child’s pose, we release feelings of alienation, remember what is truly essential for our happiness as a human community and vow to transform the habits which harm our precious Planet. During the Dharma talk, Brother Phap Luu explains fundamental buddhist teachings such as the Noble Eightfold Path, the two aspects of buddhist meditation : stopping and looking deeply –samatha and vipassana, and appropriate attention –yoniso manaskara. He also teaches how to recognize, accept, embrace and look deeply into a painful emotion. Sr Boi Nghiem shares about the importance of loving oneself, being kind to oneself and how to put into practice the 6 Plum Village mantras that have the power to heal and improve our relationships :
- Darling, I am here for you.
- I know you are there and that makes me very happy.
- I know you suffer and that is why I am here for you.
- Darling, I suffer. Please help me.
- This is a happy moment.
- Darling, you are partly right.
Sister Hai Nghiem is very touched when, during Dharma sharing, a mother relates that this morning, thanks to the Dharma talk, she was able to resolve a dispute with her 18-year old daughter by using the mantras.
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| group picture of the retreatants before saying goodbye! |
The end of this retreat also marks the end of our events here. We feel truly grateful to have had the opportunity to sow good seeds in the soil of Chile, to have met many kind and warm-hearted people and to have received lots of inspiration and support on our path of practice. ¡Muchas gracias Chile!
