It has been a beautiful autumn on the East Coast of the States and a season I often miss due to attending programs in India. My father’s house is in front of a small woods so there is an abundance of deer, fox and a host of birds which make a suburban life more interesting.
I relish the changing colors, stocking up on my favorite apples, walking in the brisk air and reminiscing about a full and enjoyable summer. I started September in the Boston area at a program with His Eminence Ling Rinpoche at Kurukulla Center. I then visited dear sisters and brothers in the Toronto area at Lama Yeshe Ling and taught a weekend program on getting relationships right (as if a nun knows anything about that!). When I flew home from Buffalo, we somehow went directly over Philadelphia on a clear day and I was able to get a great photo of my hometown.
I’ve also been doing a lot of teaching in the Philly area including a talk to World Religions classes at a local high school which was very fun.
I then returned a couple of times to New York to lead a meditation evening and weekend on Master Shantideva’s Chapter 8 (Meditation and Developing Bodhichitta) of the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life and then was in the Washington, DC area to teach a daylong at Guyhasamaja Center in northern Virginia. I was also able to catch up with some old friends from when I lived there including some of their pets who don’t realize they are dogs, but think they are people. I also enjoyed visiting some of my haunts – the monuments are so glorious at night so I took myself on a tour one evening.
More recently I taught 3 Skype classes to our group in Miami which seemed to go very well.
While in New York I had the great pleasure of spending some time with dear friend, Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely in the audience at the Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
On November 17, I leave for a 3-week teaching tour in Mexico to which I really looking forward. The travel is getting tiring, but I so enjoy meeting the students and hope in the near future I may have a bit more stable base.