(Geshe Chekawa, compiler of the Seven-Point Mind Training)

I spent the days up to New Year co-leading the online Love Without Limits retreat with Advayasiddhi.  It was great that over 180 of you could join us.  I also really enjoyed our meditation after the retreat to see in the New Year at midnight UK time. It was very good having some Australians, who were already 11 hours into their New Year, coming to join us for a second celebration!

Now I’m doing a few weeks of personal retreat at home. I’ve mainly been meditating, but today I dug out some books and folders of notes on the Seven-Point Mind Training. I’ll be reading a little each day to feed that inspiration into my retreat. It will prepare me for the two online retreats for Order members that I’m leading soon on this material. (Dates are 30 Jan – 04 Feb and 18 – 23 Mar).

The Mind training is a treasure trove of skilful methods for working with your thoughts and emotions, especially in difficult times, which have been used for a thousand years. So it feels very appropriate to be doing retreats on it now.  I’ve practised aspects of it since the 1970s, and at times it has felt like a lifesaver, or a ‘mindsaver’. I also spent the first six months of my three-year retreat working intensively with it, and came to appreciate its subtlety, practicality and power even more.

So I hope to see many friends in the Order (and some of you I haven’t met yet!) on one or both of these retreats.  The retreats will be run from Adhisthana, and if you want to know more or would like to book you’ll find details in their programme.

With all good wishes for your health and Dharma practice,

Vessantara