Much to learn...

I experienced something this last Saturday that I never did before, I went for a day retreat at a Tibetan Buddhist temple in Madison. The retreat was on mindfulness and meditation, I have MUCH to learn.

First off, sure... I have meditated in the past, but not for a full hour before breakfast, again for an hour after breakfast, and then did walking meditation. I learned that there is much more to Tibetan Buddhist meditation than just quieting ones mind. That is the first stage of learning to meditate. No... there is more... there is meditating on a question or a teaching and trying to figure out what it means to you. I think that is beautiful, but I was no means prepared for the day or that kind of concept. It was intense -- I did not make it through the full day.

After the walking meditation we had an hour of teachings by one of the monks, during that teaching I learned that the topic of the retreat, "The Eight Verses of Thought Transformation" regarding the 8 key attributes that a Bodhisattva embodies or has attained, was considered to be an advanced topic. I was not "there" with my understanding of Buddhist teachings. I did meet some very nice and extremely interesting people during the small group discussion, but I left after lunch. I took in a lot that morning, and I know I have much to learn...

The topic and the day was slightly intimidating, which I think is a little ironic because I have never found anything about Buddhist teachings as intimidating, but my exposure in the past was only what I did through reading or other types of self-discovery. To actually be physically at a temple and with others to learn about teachings is a whole new ball of wax. It was a beautiful experience and I am glad I did it.