On this page you can read the experience of participants from a variety of the activities and retreats that have been organised by Sanghaseva since 2004. If you have been on one of our retreats we would love to hear from you again please share your experience with us below
WozaMoya “Creating ripples” Reflections on the SanghaSeva Retreat in South Africa.
When Rob Burbea, Resident Teacher at Gaia House, heard Thanissara speak about the work of Woza Moya and her involvement in it, his immediate response was, that this might be an opportunity for SanghaSeva to get involved.
It seemed obvious. The Woza Moya Project, an Aids and HIV outreach project was initiated by Thanissara and Kittisaro and is associated with the Buddhist Retreat Centre near Ixopo. Located in KwaZulu Natal, Woza Moya works in the region with the highest infection rate in the whole of the African continent.
However, there were also arguments speaking against the idea: the long distance to travel and the cost it would involve for those wanting to participate; the implications of travelling by plane for climate change; the potential difficulties in a country like South Africa which has no long standing tradition of Dharma practise and is still recovering from decades of apartheid; potential security issues with crime thriving in a climate of poverty, social deprivation and injustice; an atmosphere of deep rooted anger caused by the harsh and dehumanizing realities of apartheid and the loss of privilege for some which came with the end of it.
So looking back, did it make sense, was it worth it, what did we achieve?
On the most obvious practical level all we did was dig some vegetable gardens to provide healthy food for families affected by the aids pandemic.
All we did was get involved with the production of greeting cards in Woza Moya's incoming-generating scheme for women affected by the virus.
Nothing which could not have been achieved without us. But it turned out that there were other ripples created that were profound and far reaching though not at first immediately obvious. Lets have a look at some of these “unexpected”outcomes:
For more than seven years Woza Moya has been fighting an uphill battle against the further spread of HIV and they are still struggling against deeply held taboos around sexuality and widespread resistance to behavioural change.
And the project workers, although warm-hearted, very engaged and compassionate people feel dispirited at times and overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of the problem.
At the end of our stay we received the feed back that our way of engaging with them and the project as a whole infused them with much-needed new energy and enthusiasm for their work. Energy which gave rise to new ideas:
One unforeseen but potentially extremely significant outcome of the SanghaSeva retreat was the foundation of the Khuphuka Project. This project will be based near Dharmagiri, Thanissara and Kittisaro's retreat centre. It will function in a similar way to Woza Moya but working mostly in townships. (please look at www.dharmagiri.org to find out more).
In many areas of South Africa it is still unusual to see white people walk along country roads on their way to work at such “menial tasks” as digging gardens.
Most members of the SanghaSeva Group had no experience of apartheid and did not grew up within its belief systems. Thus our interactions as white people with the Zulu people in the valley
were indeed rather different from what is still often the norm in South Africa. Existing boundaries, boundaries we ourselves weren't even that aware of, were challenged in an open-hearted, non-aggressive way.
One member of the group, born in South Africa but leaving the country as soon as she could as a young woman, shared that the retreat had a healing quality for her: “l always wanted to relate to black people in a different way than was expected from me whilst living in South Africa. This was the first time I had the opportunity to relate to black South Africans in a truly equal way. This is very important and healing for me”.
White South Africans joining the retreat reported equally, that the framework of the retreat offered the opportunity to relate differently with each other and supported the healing of wounds all too common in their country.
Being in contact with so much “human goodness” certainly had a very profound nourishing and inspiring impact on me. Just being together with like minded people, some of them already involved in amazing service work created a fertile ground for inspiration, ideas and future co-operations.
Of course we witnessed a lot of human suffering and on my return I was asked if it wasn't, at times, overwhelming. I think that even when meeting people in the midst of suffering, and for us Europeans, sometimes unimaginable hardship we can always connect with them on a level beyond their suffering. Just one human being meeting another human being. I never felt like I was there to help, a helper, and those people in the valley were to be helped. We just did what we did and each and every encounter felt to me enriching, heart opening, humbling, sometimes confusing and often, in a quiet way, very
joyful, but never overwhelming.
During our time together we had lively discussions about the vital role of service in relation to Dharma practice. Getting more and more aware that the movement towards service, generosity and care are natural and logical expressions and outcomes of one's practise.
For me SanghaSeva plays an important role in creating opportunities for service, opportunities to express one's care, love and generosity.
I think it is safe to say that the ripples of this retreat are still doing their work in many ways. Some of these ripples will fade out and others will manifest in concrete projects that will offer us opportunities to connect to our human goodness and our wish to alleviate suffering.
Kirsten
BUDDHIST RETREAT CENTRE, IXOPO
Black-faced monkeys like thunder on the roof
While I silently eat my meal.
A garden of flaming autumn trees,
Rolling leaves in the breeze,
Timeless undulating karki hills.
Clusters of simple habitations
On skyline and in the valley.
A world outside my regular familiar one
Of human dilemmas and disasters.
Yet within this idyllic setting
A secret plague makes it's relentless journey,
Sweeping all in it's path.
Interrupted only by a programme
Of drugs, obtained by a few
Where possible, but needed by many.
Difficult to comprehend the extent
Of the hidden suffering
Here in KwaZulu Natal.
Ros.
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Spending time with the beauty that dwells in the forest of bliss puts a smile in your being.
Tree planting sangha gathering
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Read Jessica's article about her time in Anandwan Leprosy community, published in Vogue September 2007.
Or download as a PDF Vogue Article - The Magic Touch
Soft irregular patter of olives as they drop on the tarpaulin,
guttural Arabic stuttering, plop,plop, plop go the olives, branches gently
swaying eyes surveying distant hill and terraces, a face the colour of
brick dust cracks into a smile, a hunched bent shapeless figure bends to
pick up plum coloured olives from the dusty ground. Plop, patter, patter
plop, plop, donkey starts to eeeor, sueak, squeal and gasp asthmatic sigh
of grief or even joy, who knows? And we all start laughing.
Olive oil the colour of nectar or honey and bread as timeless as the hills;
flat; warped and soft, hands deftly darting in, tearing, dipping, smearing
creamy hummous and shiny black olives, licking lips everything tastes
so good, appreciation all round as tastes of earth, fire , wind and water,
mingle with the smoky tea. It dosent get better than this..I dip my bread
in the beige hummous as humour surrounds me and the hubbub of people sharing
a meal that’s being torn apart appreciatively.
But I soon miss the olives, a welcome slurp of sunset coloured tea and
I am back in the swaying tree tops joyfully stripping the precious bitter
fruits and letting them fall. A Kestrel catches my eye as its deadly eye
scrutinizes the land for a movement that could be its meal, twisting and
turning like a balletic dance, circling joyously on the invisible warm
thermal. The continuous drone in the blue heavens, the angry roar of F16's-
'boys with their toys' I sigh to myself. I look up and only see the azure
sky and the disappearing kestrel as it soars higher and higher. The sun
pierces greyish clouds covering the surrounding hills in dark shadows;
sullen hills now as the sun descends into late afternoon.
Chris
Ba’rtaa - Jodats welcome, each persons funny little ways, the sound of airplanes flying over, Palestine, the kitchen in the clinic, people arriving from Middle-way, Janet and Aviv, Benoit talking, me crying, Nurit laughing, Ism, young guy talking fast, strange stories, changing identities, love for life, on buses with friends, holding hands in the sun with friends, no enemies, living life in the right way, tired of dharma, mired in karma, supersonic silence, walking in the rain, the bell ringing in the morning,
Muslims marrying Jews, bad breath, people wanting everything to be perfect, being touched by the generosity of strangers, see no evil, hear no evil, worrying about things we cant change, lost in a sea of progress, going back to school, Gabi sniffs, energy in space without any explanations, looking for answers, meditation or action, must be one or the other. "The other" always round the corner, but we never get to meet them, racism in a new country.
Countries are backward, but no one wants to go forward. Losing lives for imagined concepts or distant dreams, but it’s all ok in the end, no reason for despair, living and dying going on and on, why do people only want half the deal. so much love for some people, less love for others, doesn’t seem fair. If we dropped all our concepts, how could we make a problem?
Mudras on a daily basis. Growing a beard. Walls and checkpoints and young soldiers with big guns. Nobody seems to think this strange. Lila's hospitality. Always rushing to try and make sense of things but the answers never last.
Words of wisdom from a prophet, but who cares about the future, when all that’s past is never coming back.
Paulito
Israel Palestina postcard by Gabi
Read Steve's account of Picking Olives in a War Zone
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Being
in Sadhana Forest is an intense experience. Not always easy in the surprising
heat of late winter.
In the last two weeks of January, only a few weeks after the end of the
winter monsoon, a group of 19 of us joined the young community to help
bring new life to a barren area of South India. Their dream is to reforest
70 acres of land in the most sensitive and vegan way.
The community is led by the visionary Aviram, the ever-giving Yorit and
their full of life daughter Osher. Their watchmen from the local community
are felt to be both members of their community and their family. 
All
of them work with the tireless passion of people following their dream.
Our homes for these days were thatched huts and an enormous canvas pulled
over 100 year old towering native palms. Our beds were made in the traditional
way jute-rope hand-woven over wood. It was beautiful, humbling and very
very simple. Our home was a statement of the intention of the community;
spirituality borne of simplicity. In the kitchen they don't use sugar
or oil as they are cash-crops that deplete the earth. Nor do they have
dairy products because they feel it is wrong and unnecessary to cause
suffering to another living being. In every moment we were encouraged
to look deeply at the consequences of our lives, and to allow our connection
to nature to blossom.
Our work over the fortnight was to nurture the young tree saplings planted
during the recently passed m
onsoon.
Some had been buried in silt the now invisible river had left behind.
We divided into teams, and in twos and threes we silently worked among
these delicate but strong trees. One group re-revealing the bowl of earth
each plant sits in, another following with a watering can with natural
fertiliser in, giving each tree a good feed before the long wait to the
next rain, and the last group adding the mulch; dead leaves we collected
from the non-native trees.
This gentle nurturing work was possibly the single most transformative
part of our time here. A love flowed through us for each tree as the earth
is cleared, as the 
water
is offered, as the surrounding area is delicately decorated.
In the second week we were joined by Gemma from Opendharma. Which allowed
an even greater emphasis to dive into our inner process. Sitting in meditation
in the last remaining few metres of the ancient forest. Still standing
because it was protected by the gods themselves, the British, who destroyed
much of the native forest, knew better than to destroy the forest temples.
Having individual and group discussions in the shade, simply sharing our
lives, where we are, how we are.
Of course we also had time to rest, jump into the pool, and sing together
in the evenings. The whole retreat was physical in a way retreats are
so often not, but rewarding to the heart in a way they so need to be.
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Walk to Walk (Sponsored Walk for Polio Affected)
| A letter of thanks from Sanjay and his team |
From
2-9 June 2006 we walked a section of the South West Coast Path of Devon.
The aim of the walk was to raise funds for an Indian charity offering
physiotherapy. The idea of the walk came from our intention to continue
to support this invaluable work, as the charity is helping to get people
affected by Polio back on to their feet, we felt that we could walk so
that they may walk. This became what we envisage to be the first annual
Walk2Walk.
Our friend Sanjay runs this charity mostly with local volunteers, who on their days off work travel out to one of the poorest areas of Bihar state. There they offer basic medical care through a Homeopathic doctor, and physiotherapy to children who have or had polio, cerebral palsy and meningitis. Also they are able to relieve the discomfort of older people who have suffered strokes. The work of the charity is most obvious in the cases of Polio where the involvement of the team can be the difference between walking and not.
Our
walk began near Exmouth with a day of meditation and connecting to nature
through activities and discussions. On the next day, a Sunday, we were
joined by additional friends for one day and we began the walk. The feeling
of silently walking alongside the expansive sea is so precious. To be
doing so with a group holding the intention of positive change set the
mood for the whole walk. 
Some of us were walking to the edge of our limits, red faced and tired limbs, heavy breathing in the shade. But yet uplifted by the feeling that my limits are being met to help expand another’s.
On Sunday night many of the group who came for the one
day walk left but the sense of purpose they helped grow remained with
us. The route of the walk continually opened into amazing beauty of hidden
vales, silent woods and enormous views. It also offered us timely reminders
of our intentions through challenges both physical and emotional. It has
been a satisfying experience of deep 
transformation.
Together
we raised over £1,000 which will be enough to run the charity for
8 months. Although this is short of our dream of raising enough for the
year, the satisfaction that so much good has come of this action encourages
us to continue this fruitful path. We thank all of you who have made this
possible. We bow to your generous spirit.
If you were not able to help before but would now like
to support the work of Sanjay and his team, please contact
us
If you would like to donate via paypal
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A letter of thanks from Sanjay and his team
Namaste dear Friends
Very many thanks for the people who helped us in such
good work.
Please say thanks to everyone you know, and special thanks to you all
who are such great persons in the
world who want to support the suffering people in the world.
It was really great help to fill energy in our workers becouse we were
not paying them for long time. We did not have money but we still had
material to work, the staff knew that they will get salary in the end.
I am very much thankful to them for doing continue such good work without
pay.
Weather is crazy in Bihar now everyday storm and rain coming which will
disturb the monsoon.
I hope you all are doing ok there, I wish all the best for all people
who are supporting the work,
Namaste with love big hug,
Sanjay Kumar Shailendra
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Tree planting sangha gathering
...One begins to realise that there is the dharma to be followed and work to be done...
Sitting by the waters of the River at Inverness.
I feel that this that I call myself life is not fully commited to life.
Whilst I have worked towards a more balanced life and commitment it still
feels like this is only watching the water from the bank and not going
with the flow towards a fully liberated life.
What is it? Why is this so? My life three years or so ago was in turmoil,
now things are settling down more and there is an understanding between
the disillussionment that was, and in some ways still is, and the truth
that really pervades this, what this calls, existence. Well I am pretty
good at fooling myself and that is all this fool seems to do most of the
time and whilst I feel more comfortable in myself I am only a little more
at ease. When one looks at what has been done in the desire for more comfort
it is no wonder that ease with being seems rather distant, fear and doubt
seem to undermine heart and the mind is constantly unsettled but for some
reason one chooses to ignore this heart felt call and life is numbed,
comfortably numb (alas Pink Floyd, the Wall).
Each of us are reponsible for our actions and the illussion of comfort
and it's pursuit has cost us dearly. What became of the Beaver, the boar,
the wolf, the Lynx, the bear and of course the trees, what has become
of our connection with life? Scotland, like most of the UK, like most
of the world was once covered in trees a cosmic web of life and whilst
this remains part of history doesn't the saying go that history is in
the making. The disconnection with life and the minds constant pursuit
for comfort and pleasure, has created much suffering both to that which
I call myself and to all that is percieved to be beyond 'life and living'
the construction of which has created a hugh chasm in my heart. Healing
the heart and following it's call even through the thickest of doubt eventually
brings some insight and ease to the situation. The triple gem and it's
light that shines through the bodhisatvas will warm and come to the call
and slowly my heart warms from the deep freeze. One begins to realise
that there is the dharma to be followed and work to be done not for this
and that but because that is what is right for what is.
Finding a way and the Buddha points to a middleway that is non dual and
of complete compassion, between all extremes being at ease with what is
and not being pulled along by the desire for comfort at the expense of
living. Now can this really make a full commitment to what is and give
back what this has falsley identified as me, myself and I? Can we give
back to that which is unknown and of complete wilderness, the Beaver,
the boar, the wolf, the Lynx, the bear the trees? Healing can be a long
process and the trees for life project is I think something like 250 years
in which time we could easily be in another ice age, but maybe it won't
matter because all would have been done that needed to be.
Thank you to all those Bodhisatvas who work with life for life. Trees
for Life through the dharma for the dharma with the dharma helped to shed
a little more light on this heart and life that this calls me.
Derek
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The 
children live together, 
hearing impaired with visually impaired, in dormitory rooms surrounding a large play area. I would come here when school was over to just be with them.
I felt so good there. It definitely wasn't the most beautiful place, but there is something about the people that live in Anandwan that makes their environment soften. 
Is it the way they smile, eyes full of love, the way they run to meet a once returning friend, grab his hand and pull him 
eagerly into their life?
The truth is there is nothing better than being with people who want you around, and are happy to take you as you are.
We brought drums, flutes and chimes for the visually impaired boys, and watched them distribute the instruments then dance off in a circling pattern to a delightful cacophony. Some days when the energy was a little lower, and the instruments fewer, we could sit on the wall together and exchange songs. I loved to hear their young voices filling the air in call and response.
At the same time one or more of us would join the hearing impaired daily cricket match, and lose. The skills of the players would make them professionals in most western countries. It took a while for them to realise that I was really nowhere near their ability, despite being twice their height, but eventually the ball was bowled slowly to me, and I managed to hit it.
We communicated together in a "give us a clue" based sign language we all seemed to enjoy chatting in. Every day we could attempt more advanced concepts and even get a little abstract. And although neither side could be certain the other fully understood, how much does that matter when the conversation is so much fun?
With the visually impaired we were on more shaky ground they did not know much English, and we didn't know much Marati (their language). But once one knew our intentions, the Marati whispers went fast. Also we learnt a little Marati as time went by, but the universal language of touch and music communicated the most.
With the hearing impaired girls our connection was quite different, we were just hanging out. Although we played games sometimes, even more emphasis was on conversation. I would say they were more talented than the boys at explaining themselves, and we got to know more about their lives, their families, their ambitions and dreams. I feel they got to know more about us too.
The girls were full of opinions, especially about the visual world. They would always let us know when our clothes were scruffy, and ask the women why they hadn't brushed their hair that day. But they did this with such caring that it was never offensive, and more loving than if they hadn't.
My heart softens when I remember them.
When visitors would come to look around Anandwan, the girls would sometimes be asked to line up and receive sweets. Each time they would demand a few extra sweets and bring them over to share with us. Then we would all sit on their beds smacking sweet fruity chews together, while the TV played silently, and our fingers danced.
The best days of my life.
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Tree planting sangha gathering
| ...Una experiencia maravillosa... (memories in spanish by Vincent Aba) |
Leaning into the wind Wind blowing Somewhere not far away Flying with the wind |
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Open moor lands, dark woods. Not so wild wild boar, like cuddly toys, Rain,wet,cold,wild,wonderful Tired evenings by the fire Oneness |
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...Una experiencia maravillosa... (memories in spanish by Vincent Aba)
Estar una semana con la sangha, a restaurar el bosque fue una experiencia maravillosa, a todos los niveles. Primero estuve haciendo algo que para mi significa mucho, plantar árboles: dar oxigeno a la Tierra, darle vida, agua, dar sombra o casa para los animales, y sobre todo devolverle a los highlands su antigua forma de bosque. Al estar una semana en la naturaleza, a conectar con ella, a sentir el viento, la lluvia, el sol, al admirar los arco iris y todas las tonalidades de verde que se encuentran allí, hizo que me llenara de energía, de paz. Y sentía que hacía algo que beneficiaba a todos, sin tener expectativas de resultado ya que estaba haciendo algo que tiene una dimensión temporal muy diferente a la que estamos acostumbrados: estaba haciendo algo que tenía consecuencias a largo plazo.
Además, compartir ese trabajo con la sangha es algo que me ha llenado aun más, porque he podido conocer a personas que han elegido un cierto camino en la vida, y eso me ha inspirado mucho. Y las charlas del Dharma también fueron interesantes, al compartir nuestras experiencias y opiniones sobre temas muy diversos, y apoyándonos los unos a los otros.
Lo que más me ha gustado es que no había ningún tipo de presión, me he sentido muy libre aunque estuviéramos en grupo. Al trabajar a veces en silencio, que sea solo o con otra persona, me ha permitido conectar mejor con la naturaleza y conmigo mismo. Poder vivir el momento presente, hacer las cosas a mi propio ritmo.
Otra cosa que me pareció muy interesante, es que estuvimos haciendo trabajos muy diversos, desde recoger semillas, plantar árboles pero también cortándolos. Estuvimos trabajando en todos los diferentes ciclos de vida del bosque, y eso me llenó muchísimo.
Fue una semana muy especial para mí y ojala
muchas más personas vivirán esa experiencia que me ha aportado
tanto.
Vincent Aba
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| Introduction (by Lizzie &
Zohar) Memories of Anandwan (by Anke-ji) |
Introduction (by Lizzie & Zohar)
An experience of service as Dharma practice in Anandwan Leprosy Community, India
Yesterday afternoon after
a relaxing and very joyful time working in the fields we met an old man
and a group of people on their daily walk around Anandwan. 
We
were asked if we wanted to join them. As we started walking it occurred
to us that we were walking in the footsteps of a man who has radically
dedicated his life to selfless service and through that created a place
that seems to continuously breath a breath of love, kindness and care
to all those who live here or visit. Anandwan is a community dedicated
to a dignified life for all. Started fifty years ago by Baba Amte and
his family to heal leprosy patients, it offers all outcasts and rejects
of society an opportunity for a full and independent life. As Baba Amte
walked, supported by a nurse, he took in every sight with a sense of delight.
Everyone he passed stopped to bring their hands to their hearts, silently
acknowledging what a refuge this place had become for them. Baba Amte’s
intimacy with everyone and everything seemed to shine.
Ten friends have been here for three weeks exploring
the relationship between inner inquiry and outer action.
We have been working along side the people of Anandwan while supporting
each other through daily sitting practice and dharma discussion. Our work
includes helping in the kitchen, organizing activities for the blind and
mute children in the school, dressing wounds in the hospital and working
in the fields along side old women and men whose fingers and toes are
no longer there. Forgetting the differences between them and us, we have
become oblivious to the fact that limbs and fingers are missing.
What seems to shine through every blind face and
distorted body is the wholeness of a human life. Many of us came here
with an agenda of how we would help, wanting a purpose and physical concrete
evidence of our contribution. 
We
soon realized that although Anandwan runs very smoothly, and is not in
desperate need of our help, there is still value in us being here. This
provoked a deep investigation into the notion of giving. One insight that
has been very powerful is the understanding that just by being here and
participating fully in the daily rhythm there is a transformation: letting
go of expectations and connecting more to the simplicity of life living
itself. Not needing to know the outcome of our actions, whether they seem
concrete and obviously helpful like changing dressings in the hospital
or as intangible as simply working together in the fields.
Being touched and moved by the people here, by the earth and by each other and trusting in the love that flows through us all. What we do doesn’t seem as important as the way in which we do it.To use the words of Baba Amte ‘The joy in Anandwan is more infectious than the disease in Anandwan’.
We feel deeply inspired by the simple joy of life
here. Deeply infected by the love here. We have learnt that there is a 
very
simple way of giving, of being, not as a separate action but as part of
a greater whole. Both of us have been dipping in and out of service work
for the last five years. We have found during the time in Anandwan that
service combined with meditation and sangha support is a profound and
rich experience and as heart opening and liberating as a silent meditation
retreat.
For more information about Anandwan see their
website:
mss.niya.com or www.fearlessminds.com
you can also download Ridest's
Digest Baba Amte's interview
In the dharma, Lizzie and Zohar
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Memories of Anandwan (by Anke-ji)
Images of swept roads in the early morning, people walking the streets
on their way to work, collecting chai in a small metal container from
the communal kitchen before the sun has even risen.
White houses with round roofs and broken coloured tiles that reflect the
heat and keep the homes cool.
Rose gardens, lanes with big trees full of birds, lakes full of fish,
banana and chilli fields, pink flower bushes framing the road, schools
full of laughing children, hospitals with doctors that are committing
their life to the service of others.
Scenes of truly humble people raising their broken hands to a sincere
namaste, people with big smiles showing gratitude to be alive.
The
people of Anandwan have gained back their self respect and live a harmonious
respectful life among each other and somehow I feel a strong aliveness
radiating from their being.
I feel inspired, overwhelmed, touched by what I see and feel in the Forest
of Bliss.
My heart crumbles under the intensity of the beauty and love I see and
feel around me. New worlds open up and my view widens.
I feel this place is shaking every cell of my body, turning everything
upside down, leaving me on a new plane, somewhere where I haven't been
before but somewhere that offers more possibility and gives enormous freedom.
Coming to Anandwan to serve people I have first of all served myself.
Coming here to help I have helped myself.
Coming here to give to others I have given to myself.
I feel it's been a great privilege to have had the chance to come to such
a special and unique place, to meet such beautiful people and to be part
of their life for just a little bit.
I feel deep gratitude not only because Anandwan has helped me to look
at life in a different way but also because it has changed something deep
inside of me that is changing the way I live my life.
Anke-ji
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