a year has passed since my first retreat under the guidance of venerables from plum village...
so timely to do a 2nd retreat under the same tradition =)
being free from silly pre-conceptions n beliefs this time round,
that "zen dun sing" etc haha
i find myself enjoying this retreat so much more =)
i actualli realli enjoy the singing sessions so much
and my favorite song is:
happiness is here n now
Happiness is here and now
i have dropped my worries
nowhere to go, nothing to do
no longer in a hurry
Happiness is here n now
i have dropped my worries,
somwhere to go, something to do
but i dun need to hurry
of cse unfortunately i can't literally sing it to u =p
if u noticed, the lyrics of each song deserve a dharma talk on its own =)
as a member of the organising comm,
i felt so paiseh that i could contribute so little due to the business of my work life...
i realli appreciate n grateful for the rest of the team who put in so much efforts to make this retreat happen n so wonderful, thank u my dear frens =D
but nevertheless coming to retreat, i just have to drop all these n enjoy da retreat keke
it was truly an "international event" with venerables n participants coming from all over the world,
argentina, france, germany, demark, canada, china, vietnam, indonesia, thailand, malaysia n s'pore...
its so wonderful to hear so many different languages n versions of the same songs that we sing during the singing sessions... cool =)
as i said during my entry for the previous retreat,
the approach from this school of zen is truly a different flavor of zen that i was more "used to"
little sitting (something personally i might wished for more),
nice long walks enjoying the present moment,
singing, dharma talks, discussions and even group presentations
its realli have the feel of more like a zen camp =)
but its truly refreshing and rejuvenating weekend for mi,
n help to strengthen the light of mindfulness within muh =)
been reading regularly Thay's books n i think i am benefiting more n more from his teachings,
his teachings so gentle so gently touching my everyday life =D
just breathing in breathing out, the miracle of mindfulness
share another favorite song related to this miracle
(is there such a thing as more than 1 favorite song? doesn't matter pls enjoy)
Breathing in Breathing out
breathing in breathing out
breathing in breathing out
i'm blooming as a flower
i am fresh as the dew
i am solid as a mountain
i am firm as the earth
i am free
breathing in breathing out
breathing in breathing out
i'm water reflecting what is real, what is true
and i feel there is a space
deep inside mi
i am free i am free i am free
