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 - Mar 12, 2005

Let's say a big thank you to Venerable, this time in Spanish. "uno, dose, tres- Muchos Gracias Venerable Thubten Chodron!"

• Well, our Yogi friend Larry, wanted me to share with you a special 'power' that you all have for our motivation…
• We are going to do an experiment to uncover this 'power.'
• If you have returned your spoon to its proper home raise your hand because you're going to need another one.
• First a little background:
  • Do you remember when Kyensur Rinpoche told us of his story about the goat? When he was debating at first he was sure that the goat outside was not a Buddha, but simply a goat. And by the end of the debate he was no longer sure if the goat was a Buddha or not.
• So, that is your background, here is the experiment: Pick up the spoon and look at it. Acknowledge that what your eye consciousness perceives and what your mind is labeling is indeed a spoon. This is fine, yes?
• Now, close your eyes (say a few short mantras like the magic words).
• Ok, without opening your eyes, can you allow your mind to imagine a fork in your hand…?
• Indeed, in this moment our minds can imagine there is a fork in our hand.
  (Ok, you can put your spoon down and stop holding it like a crazy person.)
• We live most of our lives accepting what our limited senses tell us as "real." We limit our potential to see beyond appearances, to use our power of mind.

• The experiment demonstrates that our mind is beyond the mere senses.
• And, with this understanding of your power to label things, comes responsibility. And we must have a good motivation for using it.
• It is said that the Buddha can emanate anywhere anytime, yeah?
• Let's think: Ok, Venerable, yes we can all easily see her as a Buddha, yeah? Look at how our minds are when we are near Venerable. Is the mind: sharper, more balanced, cleaner, happier? Perhaps you cannot even describe what the feeling is when Venerable simply smiles at you.
• Who else could be a Buddha?
• If we used our power to label each other as Vajrasattva, what would our minds' be like?
  (Could Susan, Tracy, or even our Turkey friend be Vajrasattva?)
• Our mindfulness would increase tenfold and in turn, our meditations would have extra energy and our Dharma family harmony would continue with its pureness!
• Take a few minutes to allow your mind to feel the presence of the Buddha. We're sitting right next to Vajrasattva, and always under the watchful eye of Venerable. Feel your mind shift from 2D to 3D- and have faith in this!
• Homework: Go through your day and question 20 times: "Could he, she, it, that be Vajrasattva? If so what is he trying to teach me?" And tally on your arm or whatever until you have 20 (this is a good practice for mindfulness).

Bonus quote: "You do not have to be anybody or be anywhere right now." Venerable Chodron.