Beginning with Presence and Gratitude
We were invited to sit quietly, eyes closed, and allow ourselves to be fully present and feel gratitude—for the teachings, for the supportive presence of the sangha, and for the opportunity to slow down and meet ourselves fully in this moment.
A guided body scan helped us settle, bringing attention to each part of the body and allowing the mind to rest in awareness and kindness. This grounding practice reminded us that the body is often the most immediate doorway into present-moment experience.
The body is often the most immediate doorway into awareness and present-moment experience.
Retreat Structure
The retreat balanced silence and shared reflection in a way that supported depth of practice. The morning focused on alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation, allowing for mindful attention to both stillness and movement. Space to rest or stretch encouraged listening to the body rather than forcing stillness.
After a simple brown-bag lunch, the afternoon shifted to a workshop exploring the Bodhisattva gaze and group discussion on how that perspective helps us approach life—and ourselves—with greater wisdom, compassion, and love.
Working with Conditioned Patterns
The retreat invited us to notice habitual responses to difficulty and stress, such as impatience, judgment, withdrawal, or blame. We explored how dukkha—frustration, grief, discomfort—arises not only from external circumstances but from the ways we respond. By observing these conditioned patterns, we can step back from reactive habits and ask, “How do we respond when difficulties arise?” Even sensing where tension or contraction resides in the body creates the possibility for choice.
Two Truths / Two Arrows (practical frame)
On the relative level we meet pain and difficulty (the first arrow). The second arrow is the added suffering created by stories, judgments, and resistance. Recognizing this difference—pain is inevitable; additional suffering is optional—gives us a practical choice in how to respond.
Several contemplative tools helped us explore these patterns in practice.
Three Bodies, Archetypal Supports, and the Five Buddha Mandalas
The Three Bodies of the Buddha (Nirmanakaya — embodied; Sambhogakaya — bliss/energy; Dharmakaya — formless awareness) served as approachable lenses for practice. For example, noticing a tightened chest or clenched jaw (Nirmanakaya) could be followed by imagining the radiant, courageous qualities of the Sambhogakaya, then resting in the spaciousness of the Dharmakaya to loosen identification with the story. Participants found this sequence helped them step back from narratives about past and future and meet the present with steadier presence.
The Five Buddha Mandalas provided a practical map: habitual tendencies such as fear, grasping, anger, pride, or envy can be linked to awakened counterparts like mirror-like clarity, discriminating insight, and all-accomplishing compassion. Rather than theoretical study, we practiced embodying these qualities in simple ways—softening shoulders, relaxing the jaw, choosing one small compassionate action—that made them accessible in daily life.
Archetypal micro-practice (repeatable anywhere)
- Name the pattern you notice (anger, fear, comparison).
- Choose a transforming quality (mirror-like clarity for anger; generosity for grasping; all-accomplishing energy for fear).
- Embody it for one minute: imagine the figure or quality, place a hand on the body, breathe into that felt sense, then take one small compassionate action informed by that quality.
Using a figure such as Green Tara is practical and immediate: briefly imagine the figure’s presence or qualities, name one or two qualities silently (for example, “readiness to help; compassionate action”), breathe them into the body, and let that quality guide the next step—internal (softening, self-compassion) or external (a kind action, a boundary).
Somatic and Practical Tools
Somatic attention and simple protocols tied the contemplative frames to daily life. We practiced RAIN (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) as a step-by-step method for meeting contraction: recognize a felt tightness, allow it to be present, investigate its shape in body and mind, and nurture it with care.
Mindful self-compassion and gratitude were emphasized as ways to broaden perspective—first by recognizing that suffering is shared and then by deliberately softening toward ourselves. We were reminded of a central teaching: “the only way out is through.” Transformation comes from staying with what is present rather than trying to fix or bypass it.
Participants described how these approaches landed in daily life. Many noticed that reactivity often concealed deeper layers—sadness, grief, or shame—and that asking, “What does this part of me need right now?” shifted them from problem-solving into direct feeling, opening space for compassion. Others found that a single breath or body-check could act as a circuit breaker—slowing the reactive loop enough to choose a helpful response. Padmadharini emphasized building these habits on the cushion so they are accessible under pressure: repeated small practices create the muscle memory to remember when we’re caught.
Closing Thoughts and Takeaways
The retreat was a lived exploration of the Bodhisattva gaze: noticing conditioned responses, opening to awareness, and cultivating compassion. Workshop exercises invited us to try on the question, “What would a Bodhisattva see here?” and to feel how that change of perspective shifts perception and action. Even brief interventions—pausing, breathing, noticing bodily tension, or calling to mind an archetypal quality—ripple outward into more skillful engagement.
Padmadharini modeled how long practice softens identification with story. She reminded us that awakening does not remove problems; it changes our relationship to them so they no longer define us. She also taught that compassion must be wise: holding love and boundaries together is part of mature practice.
We closed by returning to simplicity: the breath and the body as constant anchors. The final practice invited us to sense felt energy in the body, follow it outward until it opens into boundless space, and use the breath to dissolve suffering into kindness that radiates outward.
Closing practice (takeaway): when you find yourself spinning out, stop and breathe. Bring attention to felt energy in the body, imagine breathing in suffering and breathing out kindness, and let that kindness expand beyond yourself.
Padmadharini’s reminder: “The breath is our best friend. When you find yourself spinning out, just stop and breathe.”
Participants left with practical tools, contemplative frameworks, and embodied experience—a reminder that transformation is not about fixing circumstances, but about awakening to the spacious, compassionate awareness always available within.
About Padmadharini
Padmadharini has more than four decades of meditation practice and teaching experience. Her work blends training as a chaplain, coach, and secular mindfulness teacher with somatic and focusing methods. She brings warmth, practical skill, and deep contemplative insight to retreats and workshops, guiding participants in practices that are both grounded and transformative.
