Hello friends,
I hope you are doing well. The seven of us on the land miss all of you and your energy. This is the second retreat season interrupted by Covid. Incredibly, still there is something to be said for having this unique opportunity to be caretakers of this immense and spiritual land. In this letter, I’d like to share a brief update from the land.
Nature’s Magic
As you might imagine, with the absence of many humans moving and living about, nature really takes center stage. For me, walking out of the Temple from our Green Tara practice on Saturday nights and hearing the sounds of birds and frogs from far off filling the air while the bees are buzzing in the flowers at your feet is pure magic.
Spring has come and gone, and the beginning of summer is here as I write. Although it’s still extremely dry in Colorado, we have been blessed with weekly rains, so we have many beautiful blooming flowers. The sunsets have been spectacular as always, with all kinds of colors coming into play. And of course, the far-off evening thunderstorms that roll across the sky have been spectacular to watch.
Many of you know that we have a pair of geese that return year after year to lay eggs at the base of Guru Rinpoche in the middle of Padmasambhava pond. Mama Goose and Papa Goose (Mamaji and Papaji) had two hatchlings born on Mother’s Day. They are such good parents.
Community Practice
We have a small yet strong practice community. Each of us holds a different practice every night. You are invited to join us for our 5:00 PM (MT) practices. We livestream our evening practices every Tuesday (The Mandala of the Five Wisdom Dakinis) and Thursday (The Mandala of the Five Buddhas). Please see the sangha calendar for links.
On-Site Retreats
Due to Covid, we are still not open officially. However, we are slowly welcoming visitors and continue to host solo retreatants. We have someone close to ending a year-long retreat, another who just started a six-month retreat and a sangha member who is entering her fourth year of a five-year treat. Having a beautiful place where people can do retreats is why Lama Tsultrim established Tara Mandala. It feels great knowing we have these practitioners strewn throughout the forest.
We invite you to consider doing a solo retreat here. All retreat lengths are welcome, including weekend, week-long and multi-year stays. We have some cabin openings coming up towards the end of the summer. If you have not done a retreat here, I encourage you to experience it! You can reserve a retreat cabin here.
Looking Forward
Those of us on the land are really excited about two things already in our sights. Like all of you, we are looking forward to opening up the land again fully. We are currently anticipating things continuing to get better and expecting to open for our summer 2022 season as we usually do. Our Programs team is already working on the schedule, and next summer is looking special.
And secondly, and more immediately, we are very excited about the arrival of Tulku Ösel and his family back to the land. He, Cady, Jalu, and Bodhi are returning in 83 days, but who’s counting? It will be great having their energy on the land.
Please take care of yourselves and know we are here taking care of the land until you get back.
With appreciation,
Clifton Carmody
Director Of Operations
Tara Mandala
Photos: Deer (Deborah Howe), sunset (Bodhi Stroupe)
