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Miraculous Medicine to Transform the Bones and Return Home
The three-month Rains Retreat is a tradition that dates back more than 2,600 years, and today not only monastics but also lay practitioners—even through the internet—can participate in the form of “home retreat.” In the time of the Buddha, he spent three months in retreat at the Jetavana Monastery, and then stayed an extra month to gather the Sangha, meaning that each year he would often remain for about four months. The Rains Retreat gives practitioners a reason to decline outside invitations, to maintain a peaceful mind, and to nourish brotherhood through sitting meditation, walking meditation, silent meals, and Dharma discussions—each breath, each mindful step is a source of joy, happiness, and release.
There are two ways to heal our suffering:
- “Surgery”—to pull out the pain, treating it as an enemy that needs to be cut away.
- “Anesthetizing”—to let the seeds of suffering lie dormant, while nourishing positive elements in the present moment.
When we apply the Dharma doors in our daily life—each mindful step, each breath, each smile, each hour of sitting meditation or listening to the Dharma—happiness is present right away. Practice is not martial arts; it is the regular practice twice a day, morning and evening, that helps body and mind to be deeply transformed.