My first real connection with the Sangha that was to become my future Dharma family left a profound and deep impression on me, for this was to be a summer spent working harder than I ever had, pushing through some serious and well overdue purification and much needed self adjustment.
Living in the US I had developed some habits that many of you may be aware of; destructive and aggressive habits that. wereof great detriment to me and all those around me, and at this point I was unable to fix them on my own. I needed help, and I will be forever grateful to those at Le Bost for graciously taking me in for the summer, working me to the bone quite literally, and giving me something to be proud of that was so much bigger than myself. Working with the masonry team I was helping in my own small way to put up the outside walls, while in my own mind and heart I was trying my best to tear the walls down.
I always said I would come back and though it has taken me twelve years, I am finally here once more. Back to Le Bost where the Temple that was then just in the process of being built is now a towering structure of unforeseen beauty and wonder. What was once grey concrete and stone is glimmering paint and shining metal, statues and incredible paintings adorn every surface, amazing mandalas on the ceilings, warm wood on the floor. It is so incredible I felt like crying when I entered the room for the first time. Taking it all in at once is impossible, it is grandiose in the purest possible way. I had imagined it in my mind so many times, but in person it is so much more so. I felt my heart melt. I felt like I was finally coming home. Like I had left a piece of myself here over a decade ago and finally reconnected with a long lost part of myself. It was here that I first felt like a part of a family. It was here that I first took a stand against the worst parts of me and emerged victorious on some level. It was here that I was welcomed into something so much greater than anything I had ever dreamed of. And it is here that Karmapa will give the empowerment of Amityus tomorrow, and that is as good a reason as I’ll ever have to come back home.
