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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Emma - Lopen Ani Pema Deki

Good morning.

I have just come out of a period of solitary retreat in the mountains of Bhutan. I find such times of stepping back and concentrating on clearing my mind and assessing how things are going to be so helpful.

In Tibetan the word for retreat is tsam which actually simply means a boundary, to draw a line and someone who is in retreat is a tsam pa, someone who has deliberately drawn this line for a set period of time.

The drawing of a line can be for any length of time and actually anywhere but in Buddhism it does need to be a deliberate, chosen decision and one arising from a place of compassion for self and others.

On my path there have been so many things to learn and one of them is renunciation and the question of what is sufficient for mental contentment. This becomes very real when one enters a formal retreat where the house or hut is very simple and you think deliberately ‘what do I want to take with me, to take beyond this boundary.

For me it was a good supply of food and a duvet for the body and for the mind a clear timetable of practices of prayer and meditation to do throughout the day and I came out feeling energised and ready to play my part in the great dance of life once more.

I wish you good luck with finding your own peace, with drawing your own lines and knowing what is sufficient for your own contentment.

‘May all beings be at peace and may this begin with us’

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