But more than that - as a number of bloggers immediately pointed out - it led to questioning the point of idyllic retreats in general. If William Blake could find heaven in a grain of sand... Is it really necessary to retreat to settings of unimaginable tranquility in order to attain tranquility? And even if you got it, how long would it last?
"There is the story of the monk who went off to his cave and meditated for seven years and concentrated on purifying the mind. When he emerged into the light of common day at the end of that time, he was thoughtlessly shoved aside by a small child. And instantly lost his temper. Farewell, merit."
Those small irritations of life do not feature on retreats. Nor do emails, cell phones, crowded subways, traffic jams, getting meters read, tackling the taxman, dealing with a sick child or cross spouse. Of course, the belief that you can actually "get away from it all" turns out to be illusory, and you inevitably discover you have brought "it all" with you in your luggage! But the speed of one's reaction slows down, not to mention the good effect of having one's bodily needs looked after.
The temptation is to see a retreat as a break: spiritual time-off to counter everyday stress. Indeed, one's busy-ness does generally calm down and one's defenses do drop. If only, you think, life were always so tension-free, how easy it would be to be nice/wise/compassionate.
by Naseem Khan
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