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2008
Kamalashila's Blog

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Friday 19 December, 01:31 pm
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I have finally moved here. That is, Yashobodhi and I have moved all our stuff here temporarily (we're in the second dome up in the picture above, in the thing that looks a bit like an igloo) and, after the next retreat is over, we will be setting up a retreat cabin somewhere in the hills.

So I’m glad to be back now at ecoDharma, currently deep in snow but that's melting now! It's been a very full year, getting to this point.

My plan for the next two years is to stay here pretty much full time, deepening practice, developing the community with the others here, studying and writing. I have my book on the Elements to finish, and I'd also like to spend this time reviewing my understanding of Dharma and hopefully taking it further in this new environment.
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Seminar on Buddhism and Nature

Sunday 09 November, 06:34 pm
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I'm currently in the midst of what Dharmapala College calls the 'community of enquiry' discussions which are part of the build up towards the Buddha's Nature seminar happening next weekend. The 'community' in this case consists of the six of us who will be presenting material: Yashobodhi, Guhyapati, myself, Saramati, Akuppa and Aranyaka - we're spending a whole week looking at all manner of issues connected with an ecological expression of Buddhadharma which is very satisfying. Three of us (the first three) have recently started living together in the ecoDharma centre in Spain and this is an excellent way for us to engage with some of the core principles of what we are setting up there.
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Back to Bee Valley

Wednesday 01 October, 02:21 pm
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Arrived back home last night after a month in UK and Holland. Over three days, we drove our rusty old VW camper all the way from Amsterdam through Belgium and France, heading for where we now live, ecoDharma just on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. We had an adventure right at the end. The camper's clutch went 2 km into the Vielha Tunnel near the border. A police escort out of the tunnel - into spectacular views of the Pyrenees - then a recovery vehicle all the way to Isona, the nearest small town.

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It is wonderful to be back! To the silence and the atmosphere of ecoDharma where there are still a few people around after the working retreat which has been going on all the time we've been away. This morning we went to have a look at the new garden that has been constructed below one of the houses which is built on an enormous rock.
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A New Site

Wednesday 24 September, 12:45 pm
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  • A Dharma Realm reclaimed: Snowdonia 2005

WELCOME to this new site, with its blog and super neat organisation. As I write I’m in Amsterdam, enjoying ten days of easy living after the muddy fun and games of the recent Elemental Being retreat, upon which it rained much. Maybe the new neatness is influenced by our (Yashobodhi and I) having the run of Sadara’s comfortable flat near the centre of town, right next to a canal ...and his fast broadband. Thanks Sadara: now at last I have a space to revamp the site I cobbled together five years ago, on a mobile connection, in a tent in Tipi Valley!

I hope you like the change. You could let me know. I know the old site had a certain rough charm (see kamalashila.co.uk/oldsite, not just for nostalgia, but to find what I’ve not yet ported to this one!) - but redoing it on a mac with RapidWeaver gives me the chance to transform it into a communication tool that I can update easily and on a whim. Well, let’s hope that’s what it becomes. At least, it’s a place where some of my friends can give me some feedback now I’m moving to the mountains.

The retreat centre in Spain is a long way away from everywhere. So this website is going to be an important way for you and I (if you want) to communicate Dharma and stay in touch. And I will probably be fiddling with it for ages before I’m happy with the way it’s working. So please keep coming back and letting me know your responses. No promises, but suggestions will be much appreciated.

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