Ven. Gyelse's blog

I find it hard to keep two blogs going at once, so you can catch the latest news on the orchard site retreat building on my other blog: www.amirta.nilestyle.com

thanks for visiting

gyelse

Front of the strawbale

Here is a better picture of the part of my family woh came to help me in August put on the roof

In this picture, my son Nile, his friend Alessandra, my nephew Josh, brother Robert and me. We are up at the dome after a long days work.

August 25th

We made a lot of progress in the month of August.

The monsoons have made everything green and we are having another spring, it is so beautiful.  The orchard has had lots of fruit to share with all this summer: apricots, plums, peaches, apples, pears, and grapes so far.

The earth bag walls were finished, the bond beam poured, and my brother, son, his girl friend, and my nephew came for a week and put on the most beautiful roof.

We were then able to turn our attention to the Strawbale, which had been under plastic for about a month, and a little worse for the wear and tear.  Trying to keep plastic on anything here is a challenge as the winds can be so strong.  One morning we had come back and the wind had whipped the plastic up into the plum tree and totally shredded the plastic.  The plum tree seemed find. Well this last week we got the plywood on the roof of the strawbale too. As we finished we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

The end of the day today

The earthbag with its new roof

looking up at the roof from inside the earthbag

The arch and it's support waiting to remove it until it is totally dry

The almost finished roof on the Strawbale.  We finished today, but i didn't take a picture

Me and my family who came to help build.

Now back to the earth bag to start cobbing and plastering.

OMG it is hard to believe that it has been three months since i have written on this blog.  I have been keeping my other blog up to date if you want to see the progression of what i have been doing.  You  can find it at http://amirta.nilestyle.com.

Since i last wrote, we have erected the straw bale kitchen and bath and the walls of the earth bag are going up.

The exterior of the earth bag.

Building the arch

The straw bale-- it now hids under plastic to protect it from the monsoons untill we can get the roof on it.

We are moving right along here in the retreat valley.  Karen and Christine's house has the outer stucco on it, windows and outside stairs in.  And while that sits and cures Keving & crew will start Ven. Jigme's house. Then moving up the valley a bit Nicole is working on two houses, this week will see the foundation for Ven. Chukyi's house get poured, as well as the bond beam for Ven. Kunga's earth bag buildings (see blog entry "Round 2). Doug & crew are woking on the interiors of two retreat houses, the outsides being done. Then up the valley and to the west Rob is working on Jessica and Stephane's house, it has two buildings and one of them has a roof on it. And then before you get to Earle's ("Building with bullets") is the one i am working on in the orchard.  Tomorrow we start to make the forms so we can pour the foundations on friday. Yea, a long time getting here. 

Photos to come..

Oh yea i forgot, Suzy has been plugging away cobbing one of the straw bale houses, getting the outside ready for its first slip coat before plastering.

It is busy here in the retreat valley.

come and join us, there's lots to do, good fun and company.

I will be leading a Je Tsongkapa retreat in Northern California for 6 days at the end of April.  Come and join us.  Or come to DM and help us build.

I have been working hard on my retreat site.  The foundation trench is dug for the strawbale building, and next in line is the trench for the earth bag.  I hope to start that tomorrow.  Meanwhile the orchard is in full bloom, the bees are buzzing, the perfume is intoxicating and wow, the blossoms are beautiful.

It has taken more than a month to get to this point.

                       The spring blossoms

Thanks to my son Nile, I now have another place you can go to look to see what is happening: http://amirta.nilestyle.com/

January 23rd,

We had quite a bit of snow last night, well 3 inches when i woke up this morning.  By the time i took this photo most of it had melted away.  This picture is looking north out over part of our retreat valley.

Yea, I finally finished my house plans the first week in December, after 9 months of trying to get them finished.  That's a long story.  And i received the permit to build just before Christmas.  It was such a wonderful Christmas gift.

The day after i finished my plans i flew to California to stay with my mum who had been very sick and needed some help to get back up on her feet. I spent two weeks with her, helping her with the myriad things that she needed help with until she was strong enough to do them on her own.  This was a special time as we will probably not spend that much time together again before i go into retreat. Going home this time felt very much to be a part of preparing for retreat.  There's the inner getting ready and the outer getting ready.

The Christmas holidays were spent again with family, a last Christmas for maybe 4 years with my son and brothers, and step-mom.  It is hard to believe that i won't see them for that long.  Going into a 3 year retreat must seem totally crazy to most people.  To give up all the business of life, and embark on probably greatest adventure of my life--to sit in deep meditation and transform my mind into a wise and loving mind and thus the world as well.

                                                                                                    my little brother and friends

After the holis, i had the fortune to go and teach one of my favorite meditations--Tong Len, Giving and Taking Upon the breath.  In this meditation you take away all of someone's suffering and give them happiness.  You do this using your breath.  As you breath in, you take their suffering into your heart and destroy it with you love and wisdom and then you give them happiness as you breathe out.

Now I am back at Diamond Mountain, with my new building permit and i am excited to start building.  I need to level a terrace in the orchard where my cabin site is and then the foundations can be built.  There are a few people here, not many, and the crews are stretched thin, as 4 more cabins are being built, so i will have to wait.  Until then i am helping to make others cabins happen, building, measuring, what ever is needed.  I am impatient, it has been so many months of waiting and i feel like there is so little time, but i know that what i am doing will  not only help others get into retreat but will help me to too.