- admin
- July 9, 2025
- 4:14 pm
India January – April 2025
January 2025 Ondy travelled to India where she had been invited to teach at two well established and respected meditation centres for an intense four-month trip.
Ondy taught three courses at Root institute, Bodhgaya https://www.rootinstitute.ngo
as described below:
The Buddhist Attitude
The Seven-Point Mind Training text written by the 12th Century Tibetan Buddhist master, Geshe Chekhawa, is as relevant for us today as it always has been, and not just for the ordained Buddhist community. During this 10 day retreat we will have the time to examine in more detail its profundity, and how by taking this succinct advice as our guide, transform the view of ourselves and others to create the attitude suitable for traversing the rocky road to enlightenment.
teachings & commentary, meditation, discussion and self-reflection.
Concepts:
· The roots of wisdom and compassion – the suffering of samsara
· Adopting the ultimate view of reality – investigating emptiness
· Developing the altruistic attitude – training in Bodhicitta
· Mind training – thought transformation
Change your Mind to Change your Life
We can change our partners, change our looks and change our homes to give us a sense of starting afresh and welcoming new experiences into our lives. Unfortunately, because these changes are external they often lead to similar discontentment somewhere down the line, and renewed efforts to find something else to satisfy our desires.
In this 5-day course, we will consider how changing mental and emotional habits and tendencies can transform our lives and fulfil us in a way that does not rely on the volatile and uncertain circumstances of our lives, but continues to deepen and fulfil us as we draw on our inner strength and unique personal reservoirs of wellbeing.
Concepts covered:
· The nature of the mind
· Using mindful awareness in our everyday lives
· Transforming problems into opportunities for self-development
· Emotional resilience
Finding Happiness (in an uncertain world)
From our earliest memories of life, we are taught to seek happiness through looking outwards in the world – for status, achievements and the self-worth that comes through romantic relationships. We all know that these are indeed rewarding but can bring in themselves many problems. If we continue to replace broken dreams and disappointments with more external goals, it is likely that we repeat a self-defeating habit.
In this course we will consider what we mean by that loaded word “Love” and how Buddhist teachings can help us find a more authentic and reliable source of happiness that cannot be hi-jacked by the vicissitudes of life.
Concepts covered:
- Love and Compassion
- Nurturing a healthy relationship with our egos
- Emotional resilience
- Self-worth
Ondy was delighted that Maitreya School took such an interest in her book “Ten Thousand Days of Summer and even more thrilled when they decided they wished to make it a School Reader. Take a look at their newsletter for the full story.
Root, 2025 – some evaluations
What a wonderful week with you! Your wisdom and gentle words were inspiring. I learned so much. Safe travels and oh the fortunate people who have yet to meet you. Diane (Change your Mind to Change your Life)
“Thank you, Ondy! It was such a great retreat, I’m leaving with so much love and compassion in my heart. Thank you for being such an amazing guide.”
Oorja (Finding Happiness in an Uncertain World)
In late February, Ondy headed for the Himalayas where she became a visiting residential teacher at Tushita Meditation Centre https://tushita.info in Dharamshala and taught four courses/retreats as described below:
The Spiritual Warrior
Enlightened “heroes” or “warriors” are highly altruistic beings who have the wisdom to realise that by dedicating themselves to the welfare of other sentient beings, the fulfilment of their own interest comes automatically as a by-product.”
The Dalai Lama
Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment
What does it mean to be a Spiritual Warrior? How can we engage in a spiritual path that puts our self-development first and avoids the extremes of materialism and hedonism in a world that is dominated by greed and selfishness?
In this course we will consider the attributes of one who is on an inner crusade and how we too can be authentic spiritual practitioners and “fulfil our own interests”.
We will consider:
· The wisdom we need to overcome our self-grasping
· How we can develop the courage to live life without being influenced by the conventions of society’s norms
· Understand what genuine self-esteem is – the prerequisite to sustain the inner conviction we need to stay on a path of kindness and compassion
All that is required is a genuine interest in spiritual development and the wish to deepen our understanding of Buddhist psychology.
Meeting The Medicine Buddha – An opportunity to build a relationship with the Buddha of Healing
Normally people think that Medicine Buddha is for healing but it’s not only that! You can use the Medicine Buddha practice for ANY purpose, ANY problem, ANYTHING. The Medicine Buddha practice is so precious. Lama Zopa Rinpoche
This retreat is the perfect opportunity to spend time developing a relationship with the Medicine Buddha deities and thereby strengthen our own constructive qualities of healing and problem solving.
The retreat will include teachings and meditations on:
- Suffering and its causes
- Interconnection
- How to develop compassion for self and others
- How to visualise and utilise the healing energy manifested by the practice.
The main part of the retreat consists of the Medicine Buddha sadhana practice with mantra recitation and visualisation sessions to generate positive outcomes for ourselves, others and our troubled world.
Ondy taught two 10 day retreats on Basic Buddhism PLUS
An Introduction to Buddhism.
These retreats are the perfect way to learn about all the basic concepts of Buddhist Philosophy and Psychology and attract hundreds of travellers who come to this region to learn about Meditation and the Path to Enlightenment.
So many evaluations had to be captured in this way!
85 students attended the first course and 140, the second!
