Kulaprabha

Practice in the City - an extract from the Cambridge Buddhist Centre Mandala News, 2007 Autumn Issue.

Judith Rumgay recalls the Urban Retreat led by Kulaprabha

The week of the 14- 19 October 2007 heralded a new venture at the Centre, as Kulaprabha -  retreat team leader at Taraloka - led an urban retreat. Sixteen people came together on Day One for a full day of meditation and reflection on the forthcoming attempt to deepen their practice by evoking the experience of being on retreat while living out their normal everyday lives. Participants clarified their personal goals for the week, chose the meditation and other spiritual practices that they would use, identified reminders that would trigger ‘retreat mode’ and contemplated how they would meet the likely challenges ahead.

For the following five days, the urban retreatants pursued their aspirations, drawing on the support of the group in a variety of ways: early morning meditation and breakfast at the Centre; buddying with a fellow participant; a midweek review meeting; individual interviews with Kulaprabha; reporting in via email; and supper followed by a puja to celebrate the week’s completion.

Sceptics who adhere to the belief that retreat is only possible in remote rural settings, as far from the distractions of home and work as possible, would be surprised by the richness of this experience. Kulaprabha drew our attention at the outset to the importance of maintaining and strengthening practice in the context of everyday life, with all its distractions, irritations and challenges. Drawing on a work delightfully entitled The Embossed Teakettle, she quoted this graphic metaphor for the ‘life of activity compared with life of calm’:

Because the lotus that blooms in the water withers when it comes near to fire, fire is the dread enemy of the lotus. Yet the lotus that blooms from the midst of flames becomes all the more beautiful and fragrant the nearer the fire rages.

Participants found their own idiosyncratic ways to stimulate ‘retreat mode’

• sticking post-it messages on the cupboards saying ‘one thing at a time’;
• taking a short walk to reduce the pace of a hectic working day;
• or restricting - even relinquishing activities such as emailing, watching television or reading novels.

For those who managed it (a surprising number!), the early morning meditation and breakfast at the Centre brought a strong sense of mutual engagement in retreat and helped to sustain involvement throughout the day. Others, some of whom could attend only a few of the retreat meetings, nevertheless reported that they benefited from the knowledge that they were sharing in a venture in which diverse lives were connected by a unifying theme and aspiration. Some recounted their progress in keeping to their resolves by email, thus spurring their incentive to have something positive to report.

During the week, Kulaprabha led several events that were open to non-participants in the Urban Retreat. A study session for women on the perfection of wisdom, which included a guided meditation, was thought provoking: Kulaprabha drew attention to the significance of our ‘gut’ emotional reactions to the Buddha’s deeper teachings, suggesting we could often learn more about deepening our practice by attending to these than by attempting to maintain study as a purely ‘head’ exercise. A talk and guided meditation on the Brahma Viharas, given to the Tuesday lunchtime Drop-in class was well attended and provided an experience of reflection and meditation on positive emotions that many regular attenders there would not have gained elsewhere. Kulaprabha’s talk to Sangha Night, on the subject of taking risks and going forth, was inspirational, combining several strands of the Buddha’s teachings with illustrations from her personal experience.

Finally, a rousing finale to the week was provided by a day for women, devoted to the appreciation of Tara through a series of short talks interspersed with reflection and meditation, finishing with a puja.

Between all these activities, Kulaprabha managed to find time to catch up with old friends, sample Cambridge cafes and take in a classical concert. It was a great privilege to have the opportunity to learn from her in a variety of different settings and, in the context of the Urban Retreat, to feel that she too was engaging in and learning from a new project. All those who participated were unanimous in the opinion that future Urban Retreats would offer a great opportunity for Sangha building as well as personal development.