Misty Mountains, Howling Monkeys
Tara's Pure Land

A seamless flight from Rio dropped us in Porto Alegre where we rolled into the arms of our loving friends. Jessica greeted us thankfully having received a warm welcome an hour earlier by Lia and friend who spoke not a word of English. Marge and her daughter Michaela ran up with Rita of the Green Tara Mobile. Marge’s sweetheart Jorge and the Zen nun Zuitan touched down from Florianopolis just moments later and we all hugged and babbled awaiting Trishana’s arrival.

Scanning every disembarking party we noticed a blond woman in mid thigh lime green boots, gathering her luggage. Marge recognized her as a national TV star. Zuitan was especially interested in documenting the fantastic contrast between her shaved head and modest gray robes with “SuperWoman”. Else was fantastically gracious and lovingly respectful when we asked for a picture.

We were all swept into our various vehicles and toodled on to a secret inner restaurant in town. Our friends had sent our elaborate dietary restrictions and all efforts were made to provide us with a gourmet meal. Tara dancers kept arriving until the little room was full of joyful talk. After dinner we headed into the mountains to Integria, the retreat center where we could rest and prepare for the weeks’ Tara Retreat.

Integria is about 100 kilometers from Porto Alegre, the most southern region of Brazil. The mountains are sparsely populated. Once severely logged, the rainforest is rejuvenating, and there is a strong awareness of ecological concerns. Integria is a very new center, the dream child of Estaban and Maria Alice. Their 50 hectare parcel is flush against a range of mountains inhabited by a vast array of wildlife. We were especially entertained by the Howler Monkeys. We never saw one of these shy friends but their howls echoed against the rocky cliffs that bordered our residential area. It sounded like rush hour traffic in Sao Paulo. We were informed that for the most part it was the male monkeys staking their turf but they also gave weather commentary, revving up especially loud before it rained. For most of the week we were at the retreat it rained so we were treated to a daily recital. The locals were ecstatic. They had been suffering under a severe drought.

The teaching and registration staff were housed in comfortable little chalets, each spacious bedroom having its own bathroom. Ours had a fabulous tub and we were so grateful for an evening to enjoy it. As soon as the retreat started there was not a moment of free time.

The next day the dancers arrived, They were housed in the “Mandala House”. Everything was clean and charming.

The teaching space was lovely, large windows overlooking the mountains, polished wooden floor. The acoustics were wonderful and we settled into profound sharing. Last year we had nine women and one man sign up for the Tara Dance student/teacher program. Due to generous donations by our International Tara Dance community all but two were able to attend the training. The rest of the participants were made up of women from the local area, many of them had been dancing in Marge’s mandala for two years. Three more women signed up for the student/teacher program, including our wonderful translator, France Rose from Sao Paulo.

The teachings went deep, the time flew. Full moon, Wesak found us dancing our prayers. Our hearts were open in infinite gratitude for the wonderful opportunity to share the magnificent view of the dharma, the teachings of liberation.

Mary Alice had been so taken by the dance and the teachings that she signed up to participate with us. Estaban managed to keep the kitchen rolling out the most delicious food and all efforts were made to satisfy our every need.

The monkeys continued to howl. The mist hung low over the mountains. Word had been sent out on the local coconut wireless, we heard that we were going to have an audience for our Dance Offering. The teaching room was too small and the thought of walking between the buildings in our saris in the rain forced us to move the festivities down to the dining hall. In that large building there was room for us all to dress, and the cars of our guests did not have to hazard the slippery, uphill jog to the teaching room.

Lama Padma Santen, a Brazilian Lama of Chadud’s lineage was our honored guest and to our delight he brought Zuitan. This was to be the first time the dance would be done in Portuguese. Aradna and Maria had been practicing all week, Anahata had wrestled the rented sound system into submission and I played my drum. Marge led the Mandala, we had three protectors and we were all magnificently transported by the experience.

Lama Santen gave a wonderful discourse about the significance of the dance, confirming many of the teachings that we had been working with all week. The staff rolled out some soup and snacks….the bread lovingly shaped into “Om Tare”. The cooks had been thrilled that the offering was in the dining hall so they could enjoy the music during our last day of rehearsals. The local people in the area are of German descent, still speaking the old German of their long ago ancestors. The two women wept at the beauty of the song and called their relatives to attend that evening. Mary Alice’s mother and sister came along with a couple of local musicians. After some Dances of Universal Peace and an extensive photo op they entertained us all with the samba and other local fare.

The next day we began our goodbyes, giving some of Lilliha’s patchwork altar cloths to our dear organizers and receiving some lovely gifts as well. Zali, our Tara of Fierce Compassion, a revered Yoga and Meditation instructor gave us a rug she had been crocheting all week. Many of the dancers stayed on to travel with us up to Khadro Ling, Chadud Tulku’s magnificent dharma center. As the crow flies it was just a hop away but it took our vans several hours through twisty mountain roads, heavy rain and mist to drop us at the center. It is magnificent what they have accomplished there. The Hla Khang (prayer hall) is enormous. Across the courtyard, a long row of towering prayer wheels are electrically turning, churning out constant prayers of blessing and purification. A short hop down from those, we were invited into a room of butter lamps. Anahata sponsored enough lamps for all the dancers to light, we all turned our minds to our personal concerns.

Around the corner we were dazzled by a freshly painted line of stupas and an enormous statue of Akshobya. Chagdud Tulku has given his students the practice of Akshobya, to help purify the darkest karmas.

At the end of the line of stupas was another long building with more huge prayer wheels, filled with mantra, turned by electricity but not yet painted. We circumambulated them. In the room with Vajrasattva mantras we prayed for the purification of all quarrels, disagreements and wars. The lower room had a medley of mantras and we summed them up with Om Mani Padme Hung, our voices echoing through the building, our prayers echoing through the world.

Our airport goodbye was just as boisterous as our welcome. Aldo came especially to see us off, we had missed his loving presence during the retreat. Jessica was resplendent in her sparkling Zebra outfit and our friends all sang us through the departure doors.

Out the window a rainbow pulsed, its brilliance arched above the local “Tam” airline. Tara’s Pure Land. Wherever we look, there She is.

Om Tare!!!
Prema and Anahata

To view the photos that accompany this story go to
http://homepage.mac.com/prematara/Brazil*2004/PhotoAlbum23.html
http://homepage.mac.com/prematara/Brazil*2004/PhotoAlbum24.html

I was too busy teaching to take many pictures and whenever I had a moment….the rain made the images….interesting, Esteban was kind enough to let me download his digital pictures into my computer. So most of these are his pictures. Thanks Esteban…..for everything.