Let’s allow ourselves to dream…

Attract beneficial energies, not for oneself, but for the good of others.

A mother deeply attached to her child might, consciously or unconsciously, set up all sorts of strategies to lead them toward the person she believes could satisfy her son or daughter in married life.

A person unhappy in their relationship might, consciously or unconsciously, cultivate all kinds of thoughts to attract the man or woman they believe could meet their expectations. A friend might advise a couple going through turbulence to take distance, to separate or “take a break,” instead of encouraging dialogue, weighing pros and cons, and taking constructive action to rebuild on healthy foundations.

In short, we see that energy can be directed toward mundane ends—and this is very dangerous. As soon as it serves worldly purposes, we are in the realm of black magic.

Let us remember Milarepa, who once used the extraordinary powers of his practice to destroy the village and the people who had brought so much suffering to his mother and ruined her life.

Fortunately, Milarepa later realized his error, sought out a new master, and demonstrated exceptional resilience. His awakened practice has since become an example for countless practitioners.

Recognizing that we are all beings in suffering, seeking happiness

It is therefore essential that our dreams and energies be directed toward actions that generate happiness for others.

We must be aware of our interdependence and always remember that suffering is inherent to all beings. Whether rich or poor, in good health or ill, everyone suffers one way or another at some point.

We must realize that just as we do not wish to suffer and we long for happiness, so too do all beings. Absolutely all beings. Even—and often especially—the one who harms others. The malice that emanates from someone has its root only in their own suffering, too intense, unbearable, and unmanageable. A person not guided in the path of resilience turns instead to anger, and from there it is but a step to cruelty. But we must never forget: such a person is still suffering.

So, each of us, at our own level, must act with generosity. There are different kinds of generosity—we will return to this in another article.

Today, however, the purpose of this article is to present our dream.

We are now on February 21, 2023, Tibetan New Year (Losar), the first day of the 15 Days of Miracles, during which the Buddha performed extraordinary feats to silence those who doubted his path. It is said that during this period, actions—good or bad—are multiplied hundreds of thousands of millions of times.

So let us take advantage of this time, when good actions are especially auspicious, to share our dream.

A Brief Return to the Roots of the Dream

I, Valérie, the one writing these lines, first came to India when I was only ten and a half years old. That was several decades ago. India was very different then. So much misery, so much suffering, so much distress, so much poverty. The modernity we see today had not yet reached the country.

Confronted with this vision, I realized that there were several worlds on this earth, several lives. Many inequalities. The ghosts of those sick, deformed bodies have haunted me all my life. The ghosts of hungry children, begging for a piece of bread, have remained constantly in my thoughts. The absurdity was immense: abundance in our lands, and despair of nothingness in theirs.

Urgyen lived a childhood not always easy, with ups and downs. Times of dry bread, times of hardship, in a country where people were not even granted an identity. The denial of identity is the first step toward denying belonging—to family, to community, to a people. He was confronted with the uncertainty of tomorrow, where the elderly could be left destitute if their descendants were no longer there. He was confronted with childhood without a future, where education did not reach the villages. To stay or to flee were the only options. To stay meant to extinguish one’s dreams. To flee meant to transform a dream into reality.

As for me, in my professional work I have always made it a point to donate a percentage of earnings from my activities to people in need.

When Urgyen joined me in my activity of organizing journeys abroad, we expanded this approach to include his wishes. Until then, I had been donating a percentage toward monasteries or children. With his arrival, we decided to direct a percentage toward both children and elders, as you can read here.

But behind all of this, we have been building a larger project.

Each Their Dream… United in a Common Mandala

For my part, for about ten years I have carried a great dream.

The dream of creating a multitude of “family homes” for orphans.

Each home would include teachers who are both educators and parental figures, much like the Tibetan schools in exile created by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s sister.

But these places would remain on the scale of a family: about ten children, adult caregivers, an education focused on science, while also offering the benefits of Buddhist meditation, Tibetan yogic practices, and an openness to ecology.

Urgyen, for his part, has long dreamed of creating places of welcome for the elderly. To finally allow these people to live decently, to eat properly, not to be abandoned in loneliness, and to be medically supported.

Over the years, we saw these two dreams slowly come together, take shape.

A mandala of the heart.

The Mandala of the Heart

The children’s homes become neighbors of the elders’ homes.

Thus the link is created.

The children receive the advice, stories, life experiences, and wisdom of the elders. The elders receive the vitality, energy, joy, and playfulness of the children.

They nourish one another, mutually.

And for this to exist, of course, an economic model is needed. This is where a third element joins the two: a spiritual tourism activity—a place where the spiritual traveler can come to practice and recharge.

Here, meditation, teachings, and Tibetan medical yoga sessions can benefit children, elders, and visitors alike.

The interaction between these three poles becomes total:

• The tourism pole nourishes financially the poles of children and elders, while itself being nourished spiritually and holistically.

• The children’s pole nourishes the elders’ pole, while being nourished by it.

• The elders’ pole nourishes the children’s pole, while being nourished by it.

• The spiritual teachings (meditation, Buddhism, Tibetan yogas) nourish all three poles.

Moreover, the tourism pole could offer visitors the opportunity to contribute to the children’s education through voluntary teaching in science, languages, and more.

This is our dream—our Mandala of the Heart.

May this Mandala of the Heart come into being one day.
May many Mandalas of the Heart spread across our planet.

A Mandala of the Heart, to manifest Buddhism in action.