During the period between March 14 and 17 a group of twenty men, including myself, gathered at the new Pema Kilaya Buddhist Temple on Whidbey Island for our second annual Men’s Retreat. This was an auspicious event as it was the first formal teaching and practice event to occur in the new, just finished Temple. In fact, the first task we men gathering for the event had to accomplish was cleaning up after the construction crew who completed their work just hours prior to the Retreat’s opening session.
Having been a member of different men’s groups for the past eighteen years, I can attest to the healing power of such gatherings, especially when all the men are aligned and guided by someone as gifted and inspiring as Dza Kilung Rinpoche. We were also blessed by the calm effective management of Warren Berto, the man who initially suggested creating an annual Men’s Retreat to Rinpoche and who has been the guiding force behind it both years.
Although I will not write about the specific content of the Retreat, I can report that the thread of email comments from participating men following the event made it clear that most everyone was deeply affected by the experience.
We began the two full days (Friday and Saturday) with a traditional Riwo Sangcho smoke offering and cleansing ceremony that set the tone for the balance of the Retreat. Riwo Sangcho is an ancient Tibetan ritual offering that works to heal and repair the environment and environmental spirits, purify negativity, remove obstacles, increase life energy, subdue destructive influences and benefit all sentient beings – especially those participating in the ceremony.
With that foundation as our base, we twenty men shared a special bond that flowed naturally from Rinpoche’s teachings to practices to simple quiet times. All this occurred without a great deal of management or external leadership direction. Instead, men stepped up to do whatever was needed, be that washing the dishes or making sure that Rinpoche had what he needed to lead the Vajra Kilaya sadhana that appeared as a change in the schedule only hours prior to it actually occurring.
This simple, yet elegant form of interaction between men of heart allowed each of us to step away from our ordinary daily routines and into a brotherhood of spiritual consciousness that focused on the welfare of all sentient beings. Thus, this group of twenty men who came from as far as the East Coast was able to follow Rinpoche’s guidance in laying another layer of masculine support in the foundation for all that will follow at Pema Kilaya’s auspicious new Temple and to ease the suffering of all beings.
If this type of spiritual practice – especially with men in the Seattle area – is of interest to you, check out Pema Kilaya’s website and / or join us for the weekly Monday meditation when Kilung Rinpoche is present. His travel and teaching schedule can also be found on the Pema Kilaya website. Also, feel free to contact me, and perhaps you’ll join us at the 2020 Men’s Retreat.
L. Steven Sieden is a writer, event producer and global futurist. His books include “Buckminster Fuller’s Universe” and “A Fuller View, Buckminster Fuller’s Vision of Hope and Abundance For All”. He has been reviewing Seattle area theatre and live entertainment since 2012.
