Testimonials

Monlam Journeys group trip to the 26th annual Kagyu Monlam in Bodhgaya was unforgettable. We purified some negative Karma through long train delays and accumulated much merit by practicing under the Bodhi tree with His Holiness Karmapa for world peace.

We made many new friends that now feel like family, we practiced patience and generosity and tested our limits. Our senses worked overtime with the new sights, smells, colors and sounds. We stuck together as the intense emotions from being face to face with the suffering around us stirred us up and broke our hearts and we shared stories of all the precious moments we hope never to forget.

It was an honor to lead you all and I look forward to the next time we meet.

Laura Durand, Bodhgaya March 2009

I find it hard to put in words my experience of India, all the people/places, fun/fear and total and complete awe.

The two most memorable are: getting my spot and hearing His Holiness the17th Karmapa for the first time and holding a heavy metal spoon and feeding hundreds of hungry children lunch in the Kalachakra field.

India was wild and wonderful and I can’t wait to get back there.

Alison Pepper, February 2009

One of the most amazing things about being in Bodhgaya at the Kagyu Monlam was the great international diversity of the crowd in attendance. At the Karmapa’s teachings for westerners afterwards, they announced that 69 countries were represented!

During one of the days of the Monlam, the radio I was using proved unable to receive the English translation station that day, but the Spanish language station came in very clearly. So, I listened to very profound Dharma teaching in Spanish for over an hour, and estimate that I understood about 90 percent of it. And, I’m sure I was listening much more mindfully than I would have to the same teaching in English!

Richard Darsie, January 2009

Laura was so well organized and I felt completely taken care of. She set up private interviews for the group with Thrangu Rinpoche, Mingyur Rinpoche, Jamgon Kongtrol Rinpoche,Kalu Rinpoche, Gyaltsap Rinpoche and His Holiness Karmapa. How incredibly amazing!! Plus we were able to volunteer with His Holiness’s sister as she fed hundreds of beggar’s lunch during the monlam.

We also all volunteered to help with the Western Teachings at Tergar Monastery. We divided into teams and played an integral role each day in helping the event run smoothly. I highly recommend this tour.

Anonymous

I am thinking about our trip, our experience, and the friendships that resulted.

We were so lucky, weren’t we?

Most of all, I remember His Holiness talking about peace and being that peace when we returned home.

May all of our aspirations for peace be fulfilled.

Susan Neumeier, January 2009

Everyone said that going to India would change my perspective on life – I didn’t really believe them but, in fact, it is true! Somehow it is harder to be complacent about what we have in the west and the huge disparity of wealth, opportunity and resources.

Here is an interesting ripple effect from this trip. I connected with a man who had built a little school in a village near Tergar Monastery. He was granted land as a prize for excelling in his studies at university in Delhi. He decided to use it to build a school for all the children of the neighboring villages who were too poor to go to school otherwise. He has about 90 children between the ages of 3 and 12, sitting on the dirt floor, with no supplies except slates, chalk, a few exercise books and pencils. He hires 3 teachers at $50 US a month. I wrote to Steve Mustain, the director of the Shambhala school in Halifax about him, and Steve wrote back suggesting that the students send him the money that they raise at the next coffee house which they do one about once a term for a charity of some kind. It could be as much as $1000, enough to cover the salaries of 2 teachers for a year, or maybe to finish the building, buy supplies…………lots of potential for that amount of money. I am really excited about that and being able to further the connection.

Jackie Mitchell, January 2009

Our Monlam Journey with Laura Durand was the best of both worlds: lots of activities and events planned but also flexibility when we needed it. The support of the group was fantastic – we shared the ups and downs and helped each other through the rough spots. Laura was an amazing advocate for us and negotiated our way through bus tours, train stations and rickshaw rides which was a training in and of itself: India 101. I learned alot from Laura.

Alannah Wells, April 2009