This January I had the great privilege of being a guest at Tashi Kyil Monastic Institute outside of Dehradun, India. I have been interested in Buddhist teaching and practice for a couple of decades. However, outside of books by Chogyam Trungpa and the Dalai Lama, I had had little contact with the Tibetans. My experience at Tashi Kyil was a deeply moving lesson in sincerity and hospitality. This was not a place where strange and exotic yogic practices were undertaken. Their teachings and practices were simple and profound. They were centered in the heart. They were based on two principles: loving-kindness and non-attachment. It was interesting how these work together. From one perspective they may seem mutually exclusive. However, as I would experience firsthand, the presence of guests provides a precious opportunity to bring these two values into a kind of seamless expression. Continue reading →