By Ann Marshall
Planning for the upcoming Summer Retreat is all coming together, and June 7, TBBS Sherab Chamma Ling set up an information tent at a Habitat for Humanity event that showcased Comox Valley nonprofit community groups called Unity in Community.
Unity in Community was a great event, a beautiful sunny day; we raised some new awareness of our centre and activities, we got lots of ideas about ways to outreach and network into community as well as meeting with some of the dedicated volunteers of these worthwhile community building endeavors. The passion and service of people volunteering in non profits is always inspiring. I say volunteering specifically because this is such a huge driving engine of all forward thinking visions. I am in no way knocking those who are paid employees either, many go above and beyond because of their belief in the mission of their organization. So that got me to thinking about my personal lens on volunteering, when I lose the expectation of material benefits, then the egoic expectations rise to the fore, they become laid bare for me in an undiluted form.
I always try to bring each situation back to the core teachings and the path I want to walk. Generally I feel that I am playing whack-a-mole with my egoic expectations; I realize I have not actually learned much about working with my ego, except that it is a subtle shapeshifter. When I was more naïve, I thought my ego was less defined and less strong than others. Because of years (perhaps lifetimes!) of practice, I now see ego much more clearly in every moment, hidden in places that in previous times I wouldn’t even have recognized as ego traps, so consumed I was with the REALLY OBVIOUS flaws of others. LOL. I jest, but there is truth to that too. Blind spots are tricksy and when you do finally get a glimpse of one of your own, it can rock the foundations of your understanding of well, everything. Where is the equanimity and peace I was experiencing two years ago? Gone in a flash of insight. It is all so messy. This is why I am so grateful to have such a well thought out methodology and set of practices to rely on through the messy bits, and I am so grateful to the lineage of transmission that has preserved the sanity of these teaching into this current volatile age and place.
Which brings me back round to the upcoming heart drops retreat. Can’t wait. I know people will have fun at the Tibetan Cultural Evening event and that the Heart Drops of Sherab Chamma will enrich our connection to to the wisdom-loving mother. My big egoic hope is that a few new people are exposed to the Bon (dharma). For those of you who are coming out, back we swing into the realm of spiritual materialism, here are a few pictures of some of the over 20 items that will be available during the silent auction. The auction items will be on display at the event hall all day on June 28th, and the closing of bids and successful bidder announced toward the end of the dinner event that night. Tashi Dalek!
