Tomorrow Mitra is flying to Kigali, Rwanda to participate in the first Zen Peacemaker Bearing Witness Retreat in Rwanda.
After a few days of acclimatizing, the retreat will begin on Sunday night with thirty to forty participants (thirty of the participants are from Rwanda). They will start each day in Kigali, the country capital and move out to various memorial and genocide related sites. Personal stories will be told by people regarding many aspects of this profound disaster and they will hear about the works of many NGOs doing reconciliation and healing work in the country. They may even be meeting President Kagame. They will finish on April 16 and Mitra will arrive home on April 19.
Apparently, you can follow the retreat starting Monday April 12 via a daily blog that will be written by Fleet Maull (one of the people leading the retreat). I am told that you can follow the blog at the following website. However, I haven’t been able to find the appropriate link :-(
Perhaps it is best to start checking it after the retreat starts on April 12.
http://www.peacemakerinstitute.net/
http://www.peacemakerinstitute.net/
With great love, I hold Mitra in my heart and my thoughts as she goes through this experience.
Thank you Sei-in. I've been missing your presence on this blog.
ReplyDeleteMy love and best wishes to Mitra Lion-Heart. Your courage to face this immense pain and also find the hope of the people doing the healing, and become part of that healing process, is inspirational.
"The Great Way is not difficult for those who do not pick and choose.
When love and hate both disappear the way stands clear and undisguised"
love, Soshin
Thanks to both of you -- Mitra for your clarity about why you want to do this retreat and then taking the step to do it, and Sei-in for all that you're doing at home to create the space for Mitra to go. What an incredible opportunity to learn about facing suffering directly, thank you for sharing it with the sangha and bringing the lessons back to your life here. It will be good to talk with you when you get back. In the meantime will hold you close in sitting and in my heart & thoughts.
ReplyDeleteFleet's blog on the Peacemaker site is
http://www.peacemakerinstitute.net/profile/fleetmaull
Thanks for the comments and support Soshin and Joshua. If you are on Facebook, you can follow Fleet's blog through their page "Peacemaker Institute". The posts have been pretty intense...
ReplyDelete