Tue, 25 Jul 2006
Ari
Ari-ma translates for Garchen Rinpoche and visited us in Baltimore earlier this year. I went searching for info on her on the web and found this post about the three year retreatants in Alamora. It was about to be lost to the web and to preserve it I'm posting it here.
Dear Friends and Family Members of the Almora Retreatants,
On Christmas Day of 2004 I had the good fortune of visiting Almora and conveying to the retreatants greetings, blessings, advice for practice and chocolate from Kyabje Garchen Rinpoche.
At that time it was not possible for me to meet with the retreatants in person, as they had not quite yet completed the purification practice of Vajrasattva. I did, however, receive messages from Rachel and Rolf about their great joy at having the opportunity to practice intensively in seclusion.
Today I received a letter from Rachel. She wrote of the mutual friendship and support that has arisen among the retreatants and of the great fortune of engaging in these precious practices in retreat. Despite the hardships, this is truly one of the happiest times of her life.
At this time the retreatants are just about to complete the Guru Yoga practice and begin the Bodhicitta section of the Fivefold Mahamudra.
Although it is a sacrifice for us to be separated from the retreatants for such a long time, by holding them in our thoughts and prayers, the sense of separation disappears and we can be an actual support to them.
With sincere best wishes,
Ari Kiev
