November 29 – December 2, 2017
The first weekend of December in Israel felt nothing like winter. Unfazed by the 25 deg weather, our Dzogchen community gathered around in a small village on a beautiful beach to learn the dance of the six spaces. We could see the sun colors the sky in violet and red as it set into the sea right from the entrance to the pagoda where we danced and thanks to the bright sky we could swim during lunch. Most importantly, we learned how to dance on the mandala.
We were fortunate to have had Zoli as an instructor. With his deep knowledge of Buddhist teachings and radiant energy he shared with us the gifts of the body, speech and mind– the logical understanding of the teaching, the singing, and the steps of the dance. While some were able to float like dakinis right from the beginning, some of us felt as graceful as mountains. It was due to the joyous support of the teacher, the practice, and the community that the emotional burden that often accompanies physical limitation was transformed into fun.
The interface between the dance – geometry in movement, the geometry of the mandala, the frequencies of the mantras and the frequencies of colors seamlessly weave together to bring about harmony and change on the three levels of body, speech, and mind of our individual bodies as well those of our planet. There is great depth to be excavated there about the potential of this interface for healing and transformation, and it is interesting that this embodied wisdom was revealed through the art of bodiless movement in dream and is continuously revealed through the floating of bodies in space.
Although Zoli told us miraculous stories about climate changes caused by the dance, our efforts yielded no rain. Still, the transformation of negative emotions brought about by the vajra dance was probably the real miracle. A story is told in the Jewish tradition about Honi Hameagel, a man who in ancient times drew a circle on earth and danced in it until showers blessed our arid corner of the world. The intricate relations between geometry, movement, prayer and transformation were known to some degree in many traditions but were unfortunately lost with time. We are fortunate to receive these teachings and to revive and multiply their effect through our practice.
Sharon Avital
