Thursday

The Boundary Issue

By Joseph Pascutazz

There’s a lot that goes into making your solitary retreat a seamless container…

Spacious as it is, Karmê Chöling is a tightly knit community. We mind each other’s business. Boundary issues abound. In a good way, I think, as in: “The boundaries are dissolving.” The walls here are paper thin and seemingly transparent. The house’s acoustics let sound travel through corners by way of higher dimensions. Sometimes you feel like you’re walking around without any skin. “No privacy,” the Vidyadhara says, urging us to completely open our hearts to the world.

Though it turns out that some boundaries may be necessary. People are always asking me, “How many people do you have in the cabins right now?” I tell them, half-jokingly, “That is classified information.” Sometimes it’s really hard not to divulge retreats secrets. I’m in the retreats secret business after all. And I catch myself slipping up occasionally. It’s a constant effort to maintain that seamless container.

We always remind people not to trespass upon the retreats area. But, occasionally, no matter how much we warn them, people venture past the ‘DON’T GO THERE!’ signs. 

We’d just installed a second warning sign in the driveway to Vaishravana. I was on retreat there, sunning myself on the porch, enjoying the cool breeze and warm light. A strange person jogged up the driveway. When this individual saw me sitting there, half-naked, like a mountain yogi wrapped only in a tiger skin skirt—they realized they’d made a terrible mistake. Of course, they were genuinely sorry for trespassing upon my retreat. They didn’t think there was anyone in the cabin. I forgave them and sent them on their way with a warning: “You should always assume there is someone in the cabin.”

People are so curious about what the cabins are like and what might be going on inside them. We try to tell them that solitary retreatants often come from hundreds of miles away, from distant countries, planning for months in advance, rearranging their lives to afford the precious chance to come here and practice in strict seclusion. It’s such a rare opportunity in this speedy world to have time and space to devote yourself wholeheartedly to the Dharma. Not only is time alone away from it all highly beneficial—it’s an absolute necessity in this dark age. There aren’t many places where you can find such a supportive, well-maintained container.

Sometimes people wander into the woods and stumble upon one of those mysterious tiny houses hidden among the towering pines. A retreatant might think a retinue of chatty Dakinis was setting up camp nearby. So have I heard. But I don’t want you to think it’s Grand Central Station up there. Most of the time your only companions are millions of crickets rubbing their wings together like tiny violins.

You might hear and see many things while on solitary retreat. It all depends on your state of mind. Alone with yourself for days and weeks at a time, it can become hard to tell what’s going on inside your head and what’s happening outside. You hear an odd voice chanting the heart sutra echo off the surrounding hills. A new person raw and rugged appears suddenly in the mirror. When the boundary between you and the universe for a moment dissolves…

With a Deep Bow,
Joseph Pascutazz
Retreats Master
Karmê Chöling

RATE INCREASE STARTING JUNE 1ST  Starting this June 1st we will be increasing our rates by $10 per night. If you’d like to book a retreat and pay the old rate please do so by this coming June 1st. After June 1st our prices will be as follows:    5-6 nights…………….$65 / night.    7-10 nights…………..$55 / night.    11-28 nights…………$50 / night.    29-56 nights…………$45 / night.    56+ nights……………$40 / night.    Scorpion Seal……….$65 / night. Thank you for supporting Solitary Retreats at Karmê Chöling!