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

Motivations by Miles - Jan 3, 2005

If you die with bodhichitta, the thought of benefiting others, then this is a self-supporting action so that definitely nobody needs to pray for you, and you will be guided by yourself. If you die with this thought, you will never get reborn in the hell, hungry ghost, or animal realms.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Let us imagine something we truly adore. A person or a thing, perhaps the Vegan muffins that we had for lunch. What comes to mind? Are we filtering this through our desire? Luckily we have the opportunity to be here. A place where we can fix this. We have 8hrs of a re-adjustment, refurbishing, bringing our minds back to where we actually never left. We are SO lucky.

We have these perfect conditions to learn how to benefit numberless beings, but these circumstances will not last. Though we think our life will go on for many years we might not make it out of here this morning. Taking note in this silence, we can see how lucky we are. Our heart naturally opens and the mind can rest in this, familiarizing it so it won't get swept away ever again.