Letter from Paula and Camilo

During our stay in Colombia, the sisters were hosted Jaime and Maria while the brothers stayed in Paula and Camilo's house, a beautiful couple with two children who have the aspiration to share the practice in their country.

last picture with Camilo and Paula before leaving to the airport

A few days after we left, Paula wrote us this warm-hearted email with picture :
Dear brothers and sisters,
Since you left our house until now, I continue to sing in my mind "dear friends, dear friends, let me tell you how I feel, you have given me such treasures I love you so, I love you so"... and I continue to thank on the wonderful miracle of sharing these days with you... in our home and country. 

So, I am sending our first Sangha meeting picture and a short note to inform you it was a beautiful gathering. 15 of our retreat friends joined and after singing and meditating... a compassionate deep listening sharing took place on how the retreat had lead to meaningful and important transformations in each one. 

I feel very positive about this renewed Sangha :) Your visit has given us the strength and inspiration to build-up a constant and growing community that will help us to evolve our practice.  

Thank you brothers, thank you sisters... and happy continuation along the tour. I hope you continue to spread your love in many Latin American hearts. 

A lotus to you,
Paula

first gathering of the Bogota lay Sangha...happy continuation!!

Thank you!!

Thursday, the 9th of October

Already before the start of the activities tonight at the Universidad del Sinu, the distributors of Thay’s books in Colombia are selling a lot of different titles. As the 150 participants have settled in, we are pleased to notice the presence of one teenager, a few little girls and babies who seem to appreciate the joyful and peaceful energy of this kind of crowd. We know by experience by the youngest members of the family training in mindfulness are often the ones who remind and stimulate the practice in their homes. ‘Mom, enjoy your breathing!’ To start with, Camilo animates a "Maria dice" game, which is the spanish equivalent of "Simon says", so as to relax the atmosphere and see whether we're truly listening.

Camilo the clown and 4-year-old Paz, his daughter/assistant

The focus of our sharing tonight is how to take care of the energy of anger. We also offer the fourth mindfulness training which is listening deeply and speaking compassionately in order to restore a loving communication in our relationships.

walking meditation in the corridor of the university

Joaquin leads the deep relaxation to help us heal and renew every corner of our body and mind, then we get the surprise of a green tangerine meditation. Somehow we never lose the thrill of peeling the fruit next to our ear or tasting the juice of the first section when we have taken a long while before being told ‘Ok now, let’s chew a couple of times!’ Later, workshops take place with different subjects which our friends have signed up for : reducing stress, cultivating happiness in daily life, meditation and health, loving speech and deep listening, helping people with mental illness... Despite the limited time, we go in depth and feel brotherhood and sisterhood growing in the Sangha of Bogota.

Wednesday, the 8th of October

We jump into the recently-nicknamed ‘Mahayana’ minibus, squeezed amongst numerous sitting mats and  cushions, to go to the Andine University of Bogota for a public talk. About 130 people of all ages have expressed their wish to discover the taste of mindfulness.

Brother Phap Lieu, talented as he is to make everyone feel at ease, introduces the pratice of sitting meditation by saying that ''Meditation is a game with our mind: each time our thoughts send us away, we come back to our body and smile!'', and he continues with ''We are here to take care of our inner peace...so if we fall asleep it is OK!''. Brother Phap Luu then introduces some practices such as walking meditation, listening to the bell, and hugging meditation, focusing on the necessity of tenderness with ourselves during the pratice. Sister Boi Nghiem continues the talk, focusing on the great power of our 2 hands, demonstrating how to generate love for oneself while holding them tenderly and seeing how our mother's hands are still present in our hands, so as to heal feelings of grief.

looking deeply at one's hand

She concludes: « Nothing can be more faithful than our 2 hands and our breathing!» so as to remind us of our ability we to take refuge in ourselves in any given situation.

Tuesday, the 7th of October

Our last breakfast in Ecuador with our hosts Adela and her daughter Adriana is, as always, a feast of colorful fruits, delicious avocados, and brotherhood and sisterhood. We are very grateful to both of them for their warm hospitality and we hope that they will realise their beautiful aspiration to make the CDI a meeting point for the local Sangha and to introduce the practice to the field of psychology and education.

Brother Phap Luu contemplating Bogota

We arrive in the afternoon in Bogota, Colombia, welcomed by our smiling Sangha friend Jimena and a quite fresh weather comparing to what we have been expecting. The appartment of Paula and Camilo opens its doors for us; once more time we feel touched and grateful for such hospitality, and we are curious and joyful to discover this new country as we start planning the coming days.