Less than 24 hrs until departure...

Hello dear Sangha,
Less than 24 hrs until we begin our trip to India and yet it feels like the journey has already started. I find myself wanting to slow down already, progressively getting in retreat mode when there is so much left to do. Never having been on an itinerant retreat i wonder at the dynamic about being outwardly effective while being inwardly focused. This might be my first learning of the trip... to navigate airport security successfully while already being partially inward focused. Is it perhaps a useful skill to prepare for re-entry? Too soon to tell... and definitely too soon to think about...
For now, I am looking forward to seeing those of you embarking on NWA/KLM in Chicago tomorrow. I am flying out on AF later that afternoon and will love to see you off to your flight to Amsterdam. Until India.
Many blessings, Trilbu

Birthdays

I've learned over the years that we have many kinds of birthdays. Those deep life-changing moments when we know we will never be the same. Those times when are born into a new era of our own lives. Those times when we wear our names like a piece of clothing we have outgrown.

Sometimes we know right away when this happens -- sometimes we even know before it happens. But often we do not know until later. We discover it through trying to be who we thought we were, but finally having to realize that it isn't working. We are no longer the same, and it pains us to try to be the old identity. We often identify the change because nothing seems right, and we eliminate everything until we realize that it is just that we can no longer meet old expectations of ourselves.

We are new, fresh, and we brighten once we have this new outlook.

So today I am suddenly thinking of one of these birthdays. One birthday that I knew would be life changing before it happened. This day isn't the first time I was in India, although when I arrived I struggled with knowing that I would never be the same -- that it was too late to go back, that I was forever changed. No, am I thinking of another birthday. I am thinking of the day I was ordained.

It never mattered to me what day I was ordained. The fact that I slid into a new way of being -- a marvelous state of growth -- was what mattered. Like the best fertilizer for your garden plants. The best dirt and sunshine and water all rolled into one. The freedom to shed ordinary obligations to TV and materialism without explanation. The ability to put all my Dharma effort into a high interest account.

That is the birthday I remember. But the date didn't matter. The fact that I ARRIVED mattered.

But now that we are returning to the land of that sacred pilgrimage, I remember that this birth date is quite close. And five days later, another monastic's.

Now it matters to me, just a bit, because on the first full day we arrive in India, it will be my birthday. And in another way, it will be your birthday too.

I look forward to celebrating with all of you.

Student of Rinpoche's with Pancreatic Cancer

Hello, Ngwang Pema had the good idea that I should post to the blog info about Jim Underwood, one of my buddies in West Virginia (who by the way has spent many months on different years doing development work for Tibetans in Tibet). He recently became a student of Rinpoche's. Unfortunately he has pancreatic cancer. His friends have been given a list of some sangha members' email addresses and this blog for faster notification in India.

Should someone see an entry about his condition worsen on the Blog while we are traveling, please notify Rinpoche and myself asap. Thanks, Changchub

[You can also post a comment under this blog entry.]

Process of arrival

I wanted to take some time to post to this blog as I think it is truly a wonderful forum to share what is now happening and also what is yet to come. I thank Pema for all her hard work in setting this up and teaching others how to use it. I also thank those that have taken the time to share their thoughts up to this point and also encourage others to participate.

That being said...I wanted to share a saying that another practitioner shared with me this evening. I feel that it is very appropriate in light of the discussions occurring about not getting too excited before we even arrive in India. The saying that I would like to share with you all is: Hasten Slowly, you will soon arrive (Milarepa).

I am sure that one could be led on many trains of thought in reading or hearing this particular saying. Personally, when I heard this I was, once again, back sitting at the start of another retreat, this past summer actually, listening to an opening session about the different levels of arrival to a retreat. In reflecting on that teaching, I recall that there were multiple levels of arrival that were discussed, beginning with preparation.

Even now while we are preparing for pilgrimage, as we have been doing fairly strongly for several weeks now, we are in a process of arriving that will progress to include a physical arrival to the retreat location as well as an energetic arrival to the present moment. In that way I look at arrival as a process in addition to simply an outcome. Since arrival is a process it seems like it should be approached as a marathon rather than a sprint. That being said, running a marathon requires a different strategy than running a sprint to achieve a successful outcome...sustained rather than one short burst...therefore, prepare but maintain that frame of mind that this is like a marathon rather than like a sprint.

I hope that sharing this was helfpul...it was for me. May your preparations go smoothly, practice well and see you all soon...

My bathroom sink

being suuucchhh a traveler I come up with a idea for packing. I have a double sink in my bathroom and I toss the needed items in the sink to keep them from wandering back to theur original hiding places. Now getting up there as I this morning throw a suitcase on top. This like a crazy christmas tree idea.

please pack light and better to have layers - not need a swim suit -

I looking forward to Potala guest house momo and crispy beef. I just ate frozen bagged momo and EH!

Habits

I have a habit of posting to our travel logs quite often. I like to see the pages fill with thoughts and ideas in our community, and I guess I feel some responsibility to help fill the pages. I also like feel that the folks 'back home' have a sense for the myriad wonderous things that happen.

Today I ran across this quote:

If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.

Although it can be interpreted many ways, I took it to mean that when we approach life as the learner and not as the expert, that we end up with a wealth of knowledge that upholds us and serves as a stable platform. I also took it to mean that our doubts could be the basis of transformation but our unflexible, rigid viewpoints leave us no room for something greater, even when they are pretty good viewpoints to have.

What does it mean for those of us who are preparing for India -- those of us who have never been overseas? Perhaps it means that when mixed with the right approach, our doubts are really just a great potential for learning and growing. That not knowing for sure, or doubting what you know or feeling a little insecure about the trip might just be a doorway to something greater, something deeper and more profound than if you approach it thinking you know what it is all about.

If you have ever had a doubt rampaging like a wild elephant, this might just be good news.

Then again I look at the quote it and think -- what does it mean really?

Preparation

Hello to all and thank you again Pema for setting up this blog.

My thoughts on "Preparing for Pilgrimage" feel very scattered and difficult to put into words but I'm going to try. I can still feel the resonance in Rinpoche's voice the first time I heard her say..."next year(2007) winter retreat will be India". I knew immediately that I was "going to India" even though it did not seem feasible or probable on the outside. So the preparation began over a year ago and here we are 2 weeks away...and the preparation continues. I can't remember at all who I thought I'd be when the time came to actually go, but...ready or not here I come.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity to be in a position to hear the dharma coming from the pure place from which Rinpoche teaches and soon we'll be with her in the sacred places of India. I'm hoping to be able to be there in a place of clarity without expectations or projections. And so the preparation and practice continues for now.

See you all soon,
Drichab

Illumination

There is something inside that is always ready to wake up to a new opportunity, a diamond day. As we make preparations let us stay in the present moment and work from there. In the moment, we become alive to the possibilities not just in India, but also the possibilites in where we are today. In this way, all friends and family are invited to participate with us in this great journey toward illumination.

Containing enthusiasm and preparing engergetically

I appreciated Sangmo sharing Rinpoche's cautions about becoming too excited about the upcoming pilgramage. I've had so much to accomplish before we leave that I've not had any time to prepare or give thought to this pilgrimage. I know that it is better for me to avoid having expectations or assumptions about what this experience will be like. I can't possible know or anticipate; only hope that I will be receptive. I know that once I arrive at the airport I will put my work and family responsibilities behind me and seek to be fully present for what transpires moment by moment.

If there is some other form of energetic preparation that I might engage in prior to that time, I would welcome suggestions from Rinpoche and others.

Thank you Pema for all the time and careful attention you have given to creating this forum for our communication. I know my family will appreciate it, it will be a wonderful way to share with our brothers and sisters who will be with us energetically, and will provide a valuable record of observations and experiences of the journey.

Hello

much love to all
pema dorje

Sangmo's thoughts

Good November Sunday morning out there. It is a wee bit nippy outside here in Wisconsin (okay, maybe more than a wee bit), and Ngawang Pema has requested that I post something as a test of this blog site that is more valuable to read than "testing, testing", so I am posting thoughts about preparing for pilgrimage.

Some of you are so excited to go that you are already packed. People are discussing immunizations, how to get visas and what kind of weather we can expect; how to pack and a plethora of details to take care of the outer experience. By the way, Rinpoche told me just a couple of days ago to let everyone know to not get too excited too soon, or you may use up all your enthusiasm energy getting ready and not have enough left for the actual pilgrimage. So I recommend you approach this like a marathon. Pace your enthusiasm, and save the biggest burst for the actual trip itself.

While people are planning and packing, I am amazed and delighted at how people are turning interior and asking themselves the deeper questions of pilgrimage (including myself). I have fielded questions from a number of people who want more information about various levels of vows (from lay vows on up); who want to understand them deeply and look inside at their own levels of commitment to living dharma, and becoming living dharma. There must be something about preparing to walk in the places where Lord Buddha walked, and taking teachings in the places that Lord Buddha taught, that strikes a deep resonance within us. How deeply am I ready to drink of the dharma? How ready am I to change? Who am I willing to become?

may there be a rain of dharma