Oh…my aching hip flexors!

Sooo…I went to a five hour retreat today…where we had to sit on the floor the entire time…because that’s the “Buddhist” thing to do.  I could have sat in one of the few chairs they had available…or even gone into another room where the lecture was being broadcasted on a television…but no…I wanted to be close to the action.

Today’s Dharma talk was on The Sutra of The Recollection of the Noble Three Jewels.  It was kind of a big deal because our teacher, Khentrul Lodrö Thayé Rinpoche (Rinpoche for short), had only given this lecture once before.  So we’re special.  :)

He’s really funny too…not scary or strict like I was worried he might be?  I was still too nervous to talk to him during breaks, though.

He speaks English pretty well, but I guess he’s not entirely fluent?  He gives most of the talk in Tibetan, and he has a translator that translates what he says into English.  It’s sometimes difficult to translate from Tibetan to English because there are some concepts in Tibetan that just don’t exist in the English language.

So today was day one.  Tomorrow, I go in for another 5 hours.  Hurray!

In addition, there have been a few people requesting if he would conduct the Bodhisattva Vow Ceremony.  I’m undecided as of now…but I’ll likely participate and take the vows.

We’ll see…  I’m just enjoying the cultural exchange and the wisdom that Eastern philosophy has to offer us Westerners.

This is a different lecture from a while back at a different Tibetan center…but it’ll give you an idea of what it’s like going to one of these retreats.