The long awaited summer full of bright hopes that everything will resume its natural course has passed. A lot of work has been done at Kunsangar North during the quarantine: we have been preparing to receive guests and our staff has been looking forward to hearing the sounds of mantras and invocations, bells and drums. But life is full of surprises and sometimes events unfold in a different way.
The children’s program, which was humbly initiated last winter during the holidays, has now spontaneously come back to life. In winter we had a few children of our practitioners and those who took care of them. In summer, as soon as the quarantine was over, a lot of children and teenagers arrived at the Gar. They were children of our practitioners, most of whom had received transmission, very little ones, who were not born yet when it was possible to receive it, and quite aware teenagers.
The Gar seemed to return to its original state as a pioneer camp! There was children’s laughter everywhere, and games and spontaneous concerts were organized. All the children attended the Ganapujas and helped to distribute offerings and take away plates. In a situation of uncertainty with the continuation of the transmission it’s very important to awaken children’s interest in the Teaching, to establish and strengthen Vajra connections and respect for the Gar, the place of the Teaching, and the wish to offer one’s work. And it happened by itself.
Children who were already teenagers expressed their wish to follow a retreat on the Vajra Dance that Benefits All Sentient Beings. Instructors Manidari Dobdonova and Tanya Pronicheva had this experience for the first time. It turned out that children learn quickly and dance very enthusiastically. They did two retreats – on the Vajra Dance that Benefits All Sentient Beings and the Dance of the Song of the Vajra.
I can’t express in words our feelings when we saw the children dancing the first part of the Dance of the Song of the Vajra during the Ganapuja. It would be great if this interest doesn’t fade away but transforms into a stable intention to deepen their knowledge. So now we are thinking how we can develop a Santi Maha Sangha program for children. It is the main news for now which outshines all others.
Marina Novitskaya,
Gekö of Kunsangar North
