Letter from Pema Khandro

Letter from Pema Khandro

“The spotless dharmakāya, luminous and clear, 

Is the buddha nature of all beings, 

Yet through their ignorance and clinging, 

They wander in the cycle of existence. 

In the wilderness of karma and defilement 

They stray in weariness. 

Today I will bring rest to their exhausted minds.”1

What if rivers, sky and ocean could wash away our suffering? What if our breath could liberate our minds? How can the body help us return to the basic sanity of what we already are? They are the questions that ring out from Dzogchen texts. They are profound questions about something so near and dear to us, our own suffering and the path to freedom from it. Moments of freedom from our own suffering really matter. Just to have relief for sometime. To lift the gaze and see the blue sky. To have a few days of being very calm in retreat or while sitting by a river.

I remember once sitting on a mountain top during a retreat, practicing the Separating Samsara and Nirvana practice and I noticed that how I was on that mountain top was different than how I was in my camper a few hours earlier. Something about the mountain, something about the space and that meditation opened me up further. Things felt more quiet and grand, simple and epic all at once. It was one of those moments we can have as human beings, with body as the sensitive instrument to interpret our world. Little moments like this are a good basis, like a food that nourishes us. But there is something that is difficult about remaining in them and finding them again. It is why we need training, and to take time out to practice. We need moments of freedom and moments of relief, but we also need the training necessary to be able to find that reliably – wherever we are, whatever is taking place. So that we can give that peace to ourselves as a medicine.

We do have a path forward from any moment of suffering, it is a way in and it is a way through at the same time. Dzogchen meditation often refers to body, speech and mind, the three gates, the three doors. This is how we practice meditation, it is a whole body affair. The body with all its horrors and beauties comes along. Emotion and speech in tow, not left behind. And mind engaged, compelled by our chosen object of focus. It takes some training on how to use the three doors, but we can gain confidence and find stability.

How often does it happen in our lives, where we synchronize the three doors in a state of settled peace, where the light of the three-fold awareness is on and focused in the same direction? Very rarely, despite it being such a relief. There is often a little part of us somewhere else and it could be that way for good reason. Sometimes where we are is very, very difficult. How things are can be overwhelming. Sometimes, absence is a coping mechanism because it is the best we can do. Being present is not so easy in a landscape of collective trauma, impending doom and bitter divides. Absence, denial, cutting off, tuning out, vegging out – it is understandable and even at times necessary. But there are better ways that relieve our suffering – more long-term solutions. It is something we attune deeply to in retreat – the wish to unravel our suffering at the root, doing the time, taking the actual time it takes to become an expert on our own state of being, to train well and find integrity with our own presence. It is good to find comfort and ease. It is why we retreat. To retreat is a pause from all our wandering to explore the basic energies that fuel our lives, to show up compassionately to what we are.

As we prepare for our annual Dzogchen retreat this weekend, I feel grateful to have this space to go deep together, to explore the wilderness of mind and the landscape body through these gentle, poetic and profound methods. Having survived the wildfires and the pandemic, it seems the most soothing and wonderful thing to do.

And particularly, to continue our annual retreat despite the obstacles of the last couple years, seems like a good omen, a spot of hope and optimism. Here is what we have planned:

• We will open with the lineage supplication, mandala offering and other lovely opening prayers led by the community.

• Every morning for three mornings, I will lead a study of Longchenpa’s Finding Comfort and Ease in the Nature of Mind as well as leading the semdzin, the holding onto the nature of mind practices.

• In the afternoon, our group leaders will lead community tea time, restorative yoga and Heart Sutra chanting. There will be Tsa lung practices, the inner yogas.

• Riwo Sangcho in the morning and short dream yoga in the evenings.

• There will be an evening time for dialogue and Q&A with me.

• One of my favorite parts of every retreat is the closing circle just before the end where we all talk.

• We will end by dedicating the merit to our loved ones. There will be instructions for how to sign up to do this.

• There are some parts of the retreat with cameras on and some with cameras off. We will let you know. Of course, you can always do what is best for you. This is not a caravan of despair and if you can come on camera, that is such a nice part of the retreat for all of us.

• I will offer the private meetings following the retreat.

• There is also an optional (but encouraged) fast from social media, with an optional conscious use of social media period in the evening time.

• We encourage you to take a weekend of silence during the breaks from the retreat if it is appropriate for you, so that even though you are at home, you are still in an inwardly focused place and taking a rest.

For the retreat, please prepare a place to practice throughout that is as quiet and undisturbed as possible. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just the best you can do is fine. A closet, a tent in the backyard, be creative and find a good space. I suggest having a small shrine set up there with a picture of a buddha and a candle and/or incense if you can. We use a photo or painting of Samantabhadra in consort; this is the symbol of Dzogchen. You can use whatever you have that uplifts your mind, it helps meditation to have an inspiring space.

I send millions of White Tara mantras out to all those who have been affected by covid and the wildfires that were north and south of Dakini Mountain. May all these beings find relief, rest and ultimate peace.

I look forward to seeing you this weekend, our beloved friends, sangha and members.

My very best to you always,

1. Longchenpa. Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind: Trilogy of Rest, Volume 1 . Shambhala. Kindle Edition.

DZOGCHEN RETREAT