Vajrasattva Retreat 2005:

On 5 January 2005, a three-month Vajrasattva Retreat was held at Sravasti Abbey. During the retreat, each morning the participants took turns leading their fellow retreatants in cultivating a good motivation for their meditation that day. You may want to read one of these motivations each morning to inspire your practice

A Dream During Vajrasattva Retreat by Anonymous

The person who had this dream was participating in the retreat from afar, doing one session a day.

I was in a dark town full of "bad" people. This town was a few feet away from a cliff which was about ten stories high. For some reason, one of the people and I were thrown off the cliff. Next thing, we were both clinging to the vertical wall. It looked as if we were about three stories below the cliff and seven stories above the crushing waves and rocks at the bottom. I told him to lead the way. But he just stared back with a blank expression in his face.

I looked closer and realized there was no way to go up, down, or sideways, so I decided to jump and get over the anguish. I threw myself backwards into the air. My mind was storming with thoughts, wondering if it would hurt when I hit the rocks and water, feeling so alone and helpless, mourning how cold the world can be, etc.

Suddenly I thought, "Wait a minute! Shouldn`t I be thinking about something specific now that I am about to hit rock bottom?" YES! Refuge. And from the deepest part of me I took refuge in Vajrasattva. And slowly but surely, as I kept falling down, Vajrasattva appeared cross-legged with his legs sustaining my head. I wasn`t alone anymore. After a little while, I felt the rocks and ocean getting nearer as I was dropping and just a few meters before crashing into them, Vajrasattva made me float rapidly upwards and deposited me on top of the cliff.

I woke up. I wish I had had a chance to help the other guy, but he just disappeared from my memory in that moment.