Plum Village 21 day retreat

Well I'm back! And what an amazing 3 weeks it has been. Different to what I expected but beautiful and challenging and wonderful. Thay was on superb form and delivered many stunning and powerful Dharma talks on "What happens when we die?" His energy and enthusiasm alone were amazing to experience, as well as the collective energy of 800 people practising mindfulness together.
For me, one of the most surprising and enjoyable elements of the retreat was the amount of time we spent outdoors. I realised I live such an indoors life at home, unconnected from the beautiful nature which is right there in the garden, and sanitised from other living beings. It has been such a joy to reconnect with the lessons from nature and I have written many poems because of this, which will eventually be shared on this blog. Even the mosquitos that bit me at night and the mouse that woke us up as it tried to eat my chocolate bar were accepted and welcomed as part of the cosmos being we all partake in, interbeing with each other in a wonderful dance.

 Not the clearest of pictures but so lovely to have one of Thay smiling and just being so happy to share his wisdom and teaching with us.

 And here's a close up of him inviting the bell, a true teaching in concentration and being in the here and now.