Dear Dharma Friends,

This spring has brought welcome rains to northern New Mexico! We are eagerly anticipating the lovely mountain greens of Taos Ski Valley where the 2-wk Self-Not Self & the Creative Process Mt wildflower field

Retreat takes place in July at the Columbine Inn. There are still some spaces open ... and also scholarship funds available for those who would not otherwise be able to come. If lack of money is keeping you from joining us for this unique retreat (or any of our other retreats), please consider contacting our office to discuss financial support. We will do all we are able to help you participate in our retreats.
And, this month we are honored to feature a piece addressing the Buddhist perspective on climate change by Sayadaw Vivekananda. We hope you will find it inspirational!

with metta, Cathy Viele The Mountain Hermitage

Explore the joy & insight of meditation-in-action

SELF-NOT SELF

& THE CREATIVE PROCESS

A unique 2-week retreat grounded in
the Vipassana tradition

Guiding Teacher:

Marcia Rose

Assisted by Movement Teacher
Wynn Fricke &

Writing Teacher Sean Murphy

July 11-25, 2014 at the Columbine Inn
in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico

This very special retreat offers a unique opportunity for Dharma students to engage in two weeks of practice grounded in the Vipassana teachings & practice with an orientation towards investigating 'not-self' in relationship to the creative process.

One need not have experience with any

of these creative modalities to participate in this retreat.

Retreatants will have exclusive use of the Columbine Inn in beautiful Taos Ski Valley.

SLIDING SCALE FEES

Two weeks: $1310 - $1460 -

$1610

Partial scholarships available -

application necessary.

In this issue...

* Self-Not Self & the Creative Process Retreat

*Sayadaw Vivekananda on Climate Change & the Buddha Dhamma

* November Concentration Retreat
* 10th Anniversary Fundraising

"... in the footprint of the Buddha..."

SAMATHA/
CONCENTRATION

RETREAT

with Marcia Rose &

Nikki Mirghafori

November1-18, 2014

San Geronimo Lodge

in Taos

Guidance offered to experienced students for development & nurturing of deep concentration leading towards Jhana in the lineage of Burmese meditation master

Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw.

Small group size at Hermitage retreats helps to create a more intimate experience & easier access to teachers.

Sliding Scale Fee
for 18 days:

(low) $1,625
(actual cost) $1,775 (benefactor) $1,925

Additional Scholarship support available -
application required

Photos from April Month-long Retreat...

...are now on website!

CLICK HERE

Reflections from Sayadaw U Vivekananda

....on Climate change & the Buddha Dhamma

A recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report tells us that, "It is extremely likely...that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century." Given this, what should our attitude towards nature

and the environment be? We can turn to the wisdom traditions of the world's religions in search of inspiration,
      The Buddhist community has pondered the issue of climate change deeply over the last couple of decades. As early as June 1986, H.H. Dalai Lama offered "An Ethical Approach to Environmental Protection." The seminal 2009 book "A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency" brought together contributions from Buddhist teachers in many traditions and helped to focus the attention of the Buddhist community on climate change issues.
      Well-known Buddhist ethicist Peter Harvey wrote "...the Buddhist ideal for humanity's relationship with animals, plants and the landscape is one of harmonious co-operation. Buddhism emphasizes a disciplining and overcoming of the negativities within the conditioned nature of the human heart. Such an approach goes hand-in-hand with a friendly attitude to the environment."
      The Buddhist practice of loving kindness or mettā invites us to wish for the welfare and happiness of all beings: "Whatever living beings there be: feeble or strong, tall, stout or medium, short, small or large, without exception: seen or unseen, those dwelling far or near, those who are born or those who are to be born, may all beings be happy!"
     Compassion or karuṇā moves the heart of the good towards observing the pain of others, inspiring us to shelter and embrace the distressed. The Pali commentaries explain karuṇā as the desire to remove harm and suffering or dukkha from others. Witnessing the suffering of species threatened by extinction calls us to alleviate this suffering.
       Movements such as Buddhism and Jainism in India have emphasized ahiṃsā or non-violence. This practice encourages sympathy (dayā) and a trembling of the heart (anukampā) for living creatures, cultivating increased empathy with them based on awareness that others dislike pain and death just as much as we do. As the Dhammapada notes, "All tremble at violence, all fear death. Comparing oneself with others one should neither kill nor cause to kill."
      The law of karma supports compassion and motivates us to follow this precept, as we cannot intentionally harm beings without bringing harm to ourselves in the future. Thus when the Buddha found some children molesting a snake with sticks, he said, "Whoeve White flowers underneath

r, seeking his/her own happiness, and who harms pleasure-loving beings with the rod gets no happiness hereafter."
Out of gratitude for the bounty of resources nature provides us, we should prote

ct and care for nature. The Petavatthu states: "If one were to sleep or sit under the shade of a tree, one may not break the branches of that tree. If one does so, one is an evil, false friend."

H.H. Dalai Lama leaves no doubt about our responsibility to take action to protect the future of our planet and ensure the survival of human kind: "The key thing is the sense of universal responsibility; that is the real source of strength, the real source of happiness. If our generation exploits everything available - the trees, the water, and the minerals - without any care for the coming generations or the future, then we are at fault, aren't we?"

[For a fuller version of this reflection, complete with citations, please click HERE.]

Sayadaw U Vivekananda has trained under the Ven. Sayadaw U Panditabhivamsa of Myanmar since 1988. He is the resident teacher at Panditarama Lumbini International Vipassana Meditation Center, Lumbini, Nepal, and has been teaching Vipassana meditation and Brahma Vihara meditation in the tradition of the Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw since 1998 in Lumbini, Nepal, the United States, Europe, Australia, and Israel. Sayadaw will be teaching again at The Mountain Hermitage in summer 2016.

Please don't forget...

As The Mountain Hermitage celebrates our 10th year ...

...we offer you thanks for all we have accomplished together in fellowship and our powerful shared purpose, and we invite you to join your commitment with ours with a generous donation of whatever amount you feel you can contribute.

Thank you!

...and click here to visit us on Facebook

We are also deeply grateful to those who offer their dana to The Mountain Hermitage year after year through vital volunteer work that enables us to continue our retreats. In celebration of their spirit of generosity, we will share some profiles in upcoming issues.

For more information on all these retreats, you can contact us....

(575) 758-0633 or hermitage@mountainhermitage.org

Limited scholarship support available for all of our retreats. Application Necessary.

Extensive information on the website: www.mountainhermitage.org

May our practice serve towards the welfare, the happiness & the awakening of all beings.