Dear Dakini's Whisper Friends,

For the Dakini's Whisper community, August has been "retreat month," a time during  which Khandro-la has encouraged us to engage in retreat both personal and communal. Retreat is of course an important commitment that we make as students of Dakini's Whisper and of Vajrayana Buddhism. It is, more than anything else, an invitation to our own authenticity--and what we find therein may be surprising!

Over a five day period from August 9 through August 14, nine people joined Khandro-la in a journey that led us from the cool forests of Oregon's Willamette Valley up into the high desert of the Cascades Mountains. All of the participants, coming from Washington D.C., Kentucky, Maine and Idaho in addition to Oregon, received the common Chö empowerment and several important transmissions, including that necessary to perform the 5 Dakinis sadhana practice. We performed Chö and subtle body practice in the wilderness, hiking to several waterfalls and a pristine alpine lake, and we set up several improvised gompas (shrine halls), the first in a large tipi and the second in the living room of a sangha residence.

All in all, it was a retreat quite emblematic of our wandering lineage, animated not merely by the lovely scenery but in a much fuller way by the lineage blessings flowing so clearly and accessibly through Khandro-la's teachings. Although many of us were meeting for the first time, there was a sense of a deep shared connection that only became more resonant as the retreat went on and we shared further tsok feasts, mantra recitations, meals, and hikes together.

There's something rather lonely about going back home and being "on one's own" again, but at the same time, there's a way that the blessings of retreat simply continue to flow. Next year, of course, we should be able to pick up right where we left off, our individual hearts of the Way having ripened that much more in the meanwhile. 

After deep retreat in August, a few new exciting programs will be coming up in September as below. Please remember to check the DW site and calendar for forthcoming events. In early October, we will have our second annual online retreat, open to all. Try to keep this time free.

Warmly,

Ryan

DW Team, US Coordinator