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| The monastery is in a state of transition (as is everything in life). The shrine building has rooms upstairs for the teachers and that is where Lamala stayed. There are also dorm rooms temporarity in the shrine building with the women's dorm (about eight beds) in the libary on the first floor just off from the shrine and the men's dorm (about eight beds) in the 'kitchen' in the basement. To get to the men's dorm you go down the stairs and then go through the green door (shown above) while passing the wood shop on your right. It is a way cool wood shop with all kinds of nice tools, really a nice guy kind of place, and a lovely smell of saw dust. All of the wood working is done locally in this wood shop, at least for now. When the new building is occupied they are thinking that rooms for monks will be built in the current workshop area under the shrine. |
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| The restrooms are through the double door opening all the way through the workshop (on the left here). When we arrived and checked in, we were each given 'work' assignments, part of a spiritual practice they call karma yoga. Most were helping out in the kitchen and such, but I was given 'Tsok'. I had to ask what Tsok was. It is 'blessed food' for festivals and such. My particular job was to take food items like raisins, dried pinapple, nuts, and gummy bears out of the boxes that they had been shipped in (and recently arrived in) and into one gallon food storage bags which I then placed in plastic bins. They have found that cardboard boxes are not mouse proof and so they need to store food differently. |
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| I worked in the Tsok room (shown here) which was just off the wood shop (along the right as you go through the wood shop on the way to the bathrooms shown above) and 'broke down' the boxes shown here. The raisins were a real challenge as the clumped badly (very hard to work with) and the nuts were the easiest. While I was working one morning, a Lama was also working preparing Tsok from oatmeal, oil, .... On Satruday afternoon, Ingrid, part of the local staff, took us on a tour of the shrine building. Ingrid showed us the enclave inside the main entrance to the shrine room (below) as well as the Tara Shrine Room (a smaller room). Part of the weekend retreat was to do the normally daily chants at the monastery which were normally done in the Tara Shrine Room. From 5AM to 6AM there was the Green Tara chant, from 5PM to 6PM there was the Mahakala chant, and from 7PM to 8PM there was the Chenrezik chant. |
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| At the very back of the old building is the dishroom and kitchen, shown above. Next to the kitchen is the dining room (previously part of the shrine room until they built the shrine building). Here are Leslie and my brother, Michael having tea there. |
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| The cook, Robin, shown here between Leslie and Connie, generally waits until everyone has been through the serving line (shown below) before serving himself and eating. The other half of the old shrine room is the living room, also shown below. There were over 30 people taking the retreat and that along with the nromal staff was too many for the dining room and so many people would eat in the living room. |
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| On Saturday, Lamala's family who lives in the NY area arrived to visit. They are shown above and here. They are Lamala's sister with his nephew (her son), his niece in law, and his grand nieces. |
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This page was last updated on November 4, 2009.
