Have been on a 4 day lay retreat with Thay for 6000 people and a 3 day retreat for just the international sangha- the 80 lay people from around the world whom are accompanying him.
The four day retreat consisted of walking meditation, a dharma talk, dharma discussion and lots of food for lunch and dinner. The dharma talks were basic but covered family relationships and dealing with anger. I have heard that Thay repeats himself a lot- and it has been true of this trip. But every time he speaks you hear something different to learn. In the three day retreat our dharma teacher Tony from Australia gave a talk on the mindfulness trainings and I took four out of the five mindfulness trainings in a beautiful ceremony (I omitted the one about consumption because I drink alcohol). I like how the mindfulness trainings are viewed as aspirations not rules. We had a tea ceremony at which people shared their experiences and particularly about the nature of interbeing. It was so moving it made me want to cry with joy- especially after we did a hugging meditation. My new dharma name is compassionate nourishment of the heart- "of the heart" is the root name of anyone whom is taught by Thay (or in our case on behalf of Thay) and we are the 42nd or 43rd generation of his Zen lineage.
In my case I want to nourish compassion for myself, my loved ones and the entire planet.
This whole trip makes me think peace is possible and I hope that i can spread the dharma joy around.
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