Interdependence on the Spiritual Path - how I ended up spending 12 years in retreat - Part II

[@DougDeYoung-gt4id]

I heard a story from my teacher about a monk that retreated from his village to a monastery high in the mountains. He spent many years there pursuing liberation. The monastery became his home and he was very happy with his choice to leave his old life behind for this journey to enlightenment. He had gathered up many gifts from his teachers and peers that were like the sweetest thing he ever tasted. One day his teacher came to him and told him that he needed to leave the monastery and go back to his village and share the sweets with anyone that would partake. No joke. I heard this about 10 years ago when I was a few years into retreat. It must be part of the cycle of reciprocal maintenance. There is really no where to retreat to. Everywhere you go you are there. 🙏 Thanks for sharing your treats. In this Work I don't think you can escape paying it forward. ❤

[@ultimatemeaning]

😄😄😄

[@aleixortizcanto3265]

As always, thank you very much for your wisely selected sharings, Lama Karma Choga.

[@ultimatemeaning]

🙏🙏🙏

[@urgenlama7302]

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu 🙏🙏🙏

[@PP-G]

Wow! Thank you for such an emotional from the heart film Lama Choga So inspiring,such a compelling story.

[@thoughtfog]

Thank you. Liam bowing from Michigan.

[@ultimatemeaning]

Hello Liam in Michigan I hope you had a wonderful 2024 on that 2025 will be full of positivity and possibilities♥♥♥

[@wordscapes5690]

Wonderful, thank you. Very inspiring. Id love to take my practice more seriously. Unfortunately, I have RA and am riddled with related health issues that would just be a disturbance to other monastics who would need to assist me instead of concentrating on their own practice. If you are ill, it can be a blessing in many ways. It keeps you at home and forces you to think, read, and meditate.

[@juancervantes932]

Very thought provoking and personal thanks for sharing!

[@ultimatemeaning]

Very personal to me Juan and it brings back strong memories and feelings🙏🙏🙏

[@franzhaas5597]

I'm always motivated by stories like this. Thank you for sharing.

[@ultimatemeaning]

More to come next week

[@franzhaas5597]

@@ultimatemeaning aaaalllright!

[@daren9718]

Very much appreciated. Thank you.

[@ultimatemeaning]

My pleasure, my friend

[@jaimy-van-elteren]

My brother, you are on the right path. ❤

[@ultimatemeaning]

Thank you, my friend. I hope you're enjoying this story. ♥♥♥

[@PonderKnowledge2226]

Buddhism just kept pulling you towards it haha it is crazy how the world works. Lots of lessons Lama Choga, and what a life you have lived, must feel nice to reflect on it from a place of clarity.

[@ultimatemeaning]

🙏🙏🙏

[@donellacurley4941]

Grateful for this Lama🙏🙏🙏

[@ultimatemeaning]

🙏🙏🙏

[@charlesw6976]

Thank you for sharing that story.

[@ultimatemeaning]

🙏🙏🙏

[@karma.tsultrim]

Thank you very much for sharing. Your story speaks to me. (Also, it's kind of funny how I also went in(to) yoga for a while first, and took steps in Zen and Theravada until I've found myself (home) in Vajrayana. But apart from that: I appreciate your words expressing the pursuit, the call(ing).

[@ultimatemeaning]

བཀྲ་བཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་ལགས།། Nice to meet you and thank you for sharing your story. I hope you had a wonderful 2024 on that 2025 will be full of positivity and possibilities♥♥♥

[@krobbins8395]

Hello fellow traveler. I knew when I was 5. I remember thinking oh NO I'm back and this place is mean and foriegn haha. I spent a lot of time doing yoga as a child but was discouraged from do so! Life when on and the 2nd marriage which was a disaster but yes the children and a codependent realrionship. I got very sick in that realrionship but found something that was undeniable that it couldn't contuine. There is a certain kind of wisdom that comes from it. Now I'm free to explore so I've become very independent. Thanks for sharing your story it seems we have somethings in common.

[@ultimatemeaning]

And likewise, thank you for sharing your story that takes courage♥♥♥

[@Bonnie.and.the.cats666]

THANK YOU♡ i truly appreciate you sharing how you became a monk it brings me a sense of inspiration. i'm unsure if i can even thank you enough because i feel like your channel has helped me greatly in the beginning of my practice. i'm excited to countinue my practice i feel like i have a sense of direction now. so again thank you, thank you so much♡♡

[@ultimatemeaning]

That is truly hardening my friend if I can help someone find enthusiasm for practice or rekindle their enthusiasm that it makes all this work worthwhile♥♥♥

[@GunasekarSelvamani]

❤️🙏

[@ultimatemeaning]

♥♥♥

[@murphylhunn]

Thank you

[@ultimatemeaning]

🙏🙏🙏

[@nowheretogobuteverywhere1266]

Thanks to you i started attending the Kagyu Samye Dzong centre in London for lectures and meditation practice:)

[@ultimatemeaning]

Lama Zangmo is truly excellent and committed to the dharma ♥♥♥

[@nowheretogobuteverywhere1266]

@ultimatemeaning Thank you! You have inspired me to take on the path. I havent met him but look forward to do so soon:) I wish you happy holidays to you and your family ❤️

[@FranK-td5jq]

Fantastic video! I just finished your recommendation Beginners Manualnd by Suzuki. It was such a fantastic read! It helped a lot with my meditation, keep it simple stupid 😅 Anyway I hope you have a good day Chainsaw!

[@ultimatemeaning]

Great instruction for anyone starting out on the spiritual path and experience practitioners as well🙏🙏🙏

[@David-ml1be]

I am in a position to leave my life for a monastery. I would like to try buddhism full on. This isnt something i can do part time with all these things pulling me away. The Buddhist communities by me dont use English. Its all Vietnamese communities or more new age/secular Buddhism. How do i begin this quest? I am in the middle of deconverting from christianity. I was frequenting a local orthodox christian monastery and am known on a first name basis there. Its a life ive already seen in a different form and am drawn to.

[@fascistphilosophy5649]

wow congrats, you're all talk . ...... i think I'm actually doing it, successfully... after 20 years of grasping i think i've got it...... i manage 4 hours daily usual practice, not included supplemental practices (exercise and qigong,) ........... but you know what bro I dunno if i'm going to tell you. yur the one in the costume preaching, afterall.

[@Ms.coconut928]

🙏🙏🙏🙂

[@ultimatemeaning]

🙏🙏🙏

[@philmcdonald6088]

❤

[@LukeAdcock-pu1zn]

Thank you for the story. Any input on the balance between trying to find a teacher vs trusting the right one will come along? I've tried to connect with several systems/lineages, primarily through the internet, but it's often felt like forcing a connection that's not actually there!

[@ultimatemeaning]

The essential balance is to make sincere aspirations to meet a teacher and into the path but at the same time to engage in your own research and primarily that means to study the path. On this applies to whatever spiritual tradition you want to engage with because you will only be properly informed of what is and is not an authentic teacher if you understand the qualities associated with a teacher and in order to do that, you need to study. Hope this helps

[@annatchorzewska]

Thank you, I feel like we know each other since 2005, and you reappear in my life again, only to make me realise I am ready. As I always knew things will unfold. I can not find a teacher, what should I do?😊

[@ultimatemeaning]

Do we know each other Hannah? The first thing to do is to make aspiration to meet authentic teacher and to truly enter the path and it is based on the strength of your aspirations then you will hopefully experience a ripening of your previous, for listening to the Dharma. But in the meantime, it's really important to study, because it is to study that you will come to understand the qualities of authentic teacher and then you will be able to identify those qualities when you infect meet one. And this is often the case that we encounter noble beings but we do not recognise them. Hope this helps ♥🧡🧡

[@annatchorzewska]

@ We do know each other, but I might not be equipped well enough to explain that. Also I am committed since many years, but able to narrow the research as all of the people I come across caring the lesson, just miss structure. Do I have to adopt structure of others and follow their path or can I find the way to make my own? Thank you for your time, hope I am not taking you away from your family and friends.

[@matsalesfl]

👏

[@ultimatemeaning]

🙏🙏🙏

[@coldwater-101]

do you think we need some maturity from experiencing life as a lay practitioner or just aim for spiritual life when we had the will and opportunity?

[@ultimatemeaning]

In general worldly experiences are said to be a positive thing and they are if you're considering a worldly life because you need very experiences like for example the experience of being cheated by an employer or dealing with rejection in love. These are not considered important when seeking liberation and awakening. If at a young age you develop pronunciation for the mundane world and they'll apply yourself with vigour to your practice. You are likely to get better results than if you also had a lot of worldly experiences. I hope you had a wonderful 2024 on that 2025 will be full of positivity and possibilities♥♥♥

[@analyticalhermeneutics]

🥲🙏💛

[@ultimatemeaning]

♥♥♥

[@nofilter3810]

Is that a picture of Jesus in the back?

[@ultimatemeaning]

Yes, it is kind of a woke Jesus or a hippie Jesus. It is a work of appropriation art made by the previous resident of the property. I left it on the wall cause it makes me laugh.

[@karencontestabile6064]

​@@ultimatemeaningNo holy man should be laughed at. Shame on you for judging.

[@VostSms]

What is naive in believing in the possibility of syncretism, such as creating our own new-age movement ?

[@ultimatemeaning]

Well, you could say that this is exactly what the Buddha did. But the point here isn't to say it's impossible to formulate a new spiritual tradition, what I'm saying is it's naive to believe that an ordinary confused being such as myself could do better than the stages of the past. And this is apparent if you look at all the different spiritual traditions that have have been handed down throughout the past only a handful of survived the test of time in any significant form. What's the time of Jesus? For example there were many other religious cults, but almost none of these still exist except as references in history books

[@beginnersguide4556]

But, my teacher dose not want to teach Buddhism. He's a Doctor and a Good man taking care of people World Wide so i understand. It's hard to explain Epilepsy and a Unique Mind to anyone else Because it ( LOOKS - SELFISH ) Nonmatter what.? There is No Pease for ( INVISIBLE DISEASES. ) 🌄Ask Chester Bennington.🌍🌎🌏

[@xhealmeplease]

Reality is reality. The most you can get out of sprituality is control of you mind and body. This is to acomplish goals in life, to see a prespective of life you really want. Whether or not there is some sort of afterlife(i hope) to be reincarnated would be a gift

[@ultimatemeaning]

thanks for sharing that 🙏🙏🙏

[@TheCenturion123]

Thank you

[@WanderingYogiThailand]

😎🙏🏻🪷💙

[@ultimatemeaning]

💚