by Sergio Oliva
Chögyal Namkhai Norbu at public talk in Cordoba, Argentina
Some minutes later the Master would be flying to Sao Paulo. It seemed a month had elapsed, but it was only ten days from his arrival. Once Rinpoche told us that when traveling by train from university to his house, he sometimes would fall asleep for an instant and, in that brief moment, he would have very long dreams. We had the same feeling with this intense and altering retreat, in which we experienced all seasons in just a few days, like fleeting settings that appeared and disappeared in a dream.
The Teaching of the retreat was one of the Twenty-One Fundamental Dzogchen Semde texts, Khyungchen, The Great Garuda, of the first five translations made by Vairocana in the 8th century. The Master transmitted the lung of the instructions about this text that, according to what he clarified, has an interesting explanation of the view, application and behavior and gave, in the purest Dzogchen style, the essence of the teachings through the three statements of Guru Garab Dorje.
Retreat with Chögyal Namkhai Norbu at Tashigar South
The retreat was the concluding part of a series called “The Well-Being Path” that started with a breathing course by Fabio Andrico in the city of Córdoba, with the participation of more than forty people; then went on with a Yantra Yoga, Vajra Dance and Khaita demonstration by the lake of Villa Carlos Paz, as well as a public talk by our Master at the National University of Córdoba, one of the oldest in South America, attended by four hundred people.
Fabio Andrico teaching Breathing in Cordoba, Argentina
This was a very special retreat, organized according to the principle of generosity, as it is the teaching and our Master’s wish. His vision took us to a wonderful experience. The opening, fostered by the free entrance method of payment of the retreat, gave its fruit. The people’s answer evidenced through participation: there were around three hundred and fifty people in the Gonpa, out of whom more than two hundred were new, receiving the high non-duality teaching in the clear and direct way our Master is used to do. In the evenings, everything was dance and joy. Harmony reigned in Tashigar South. The spirit of collaboration and respect manifested in people and made the sense of community arise without the need of further explanations.
When we spoke to the Master about this, he said that the result was not the fruit of a method but a sign that the Community was maturing. By the end of the retreat, the Master, blissful, threw sweets and chocolates like blessings among the people and we all shared with him that state of joy that, with no obstacles, filled the space.
At the airport’s café, the time past smoothly with coffee’s smell and his illuminated smile. Once more, the rite of farewell. Once more, the looks and the hope of returning.
When He left, some golden feathers were left in the air.
Public Talk by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu at the National University of Córdoba
Public presentation of Khaita at Carlos Paz
Public presentation of Vajra Dance in Carlos Paz
Newly authorized first level Yantra Yoga instructors
Yantra Yoga with Letitia Recepter at Tashigar South
