on the beach with the "Shariputra".

 

... during all that time, the time of the preparation of the Longsal retreat, the main activity in general, that is to say predominant every day, was the beach in the morning.

It was usually early; I would say at 9:00 a.m. In general, one was waiting for Rinpoche on the beach.

That morning maybe, I had arrived a little bit earlier, or Rinpoche took a little bit longer. I was doing the short thun between two little boats, between two [peñeros] that were on the sand not in the water. I was protected, that is to say, that I was not very visible. and Rinpoche arrived with Fabio, I don't remember if Rosa was present. When he passed in front of the peñeros, he stopped, turned around and looked at me and said something like: "Michel, what are you doing? here, we are normal people. We don't want to be seen as weirdos here! So, practice is at your house." - Something like that, not his exact words, but very definitive.

It was clear that any action ... although, of course we were a very particular group, hippie and all this, but let's say, within an accepted social classification. But not as practitioners of a particular religion. No no no no, the teacher didn't want that.

In general, there are many things, that have to do with the beach.

We often did "Shariputra" -(laughs)- "shariputra" was throwing water and water with the hands, to new people, newcomers, who stood in the center of a circle that we formed together with the master. There were many people who came and came, from outside for the Longsal retreats and for the other retreat, the one that would be before, the retreat for the instructors.

Then, the new people would stand in the center and we would half drown them by throwing water on them. That was "Shariputra".

It was generally associated, before or after with bathing. I already told you that every morning we went to bathe, and as Zaragoza is a cold-water beach, apparently, because the winds come from behind. The trade winds come from the land and push the water that has warmed up in the sand, pushing it towards the open sea, and that water that moves away is replaced by cold water coming from the bottom. Because, while the water at Playa El Agua is warm, in Zaragoza it is cold. And, everyone, including Europeans, Fabio, and Adriano in particular, had a hard time getting into that cold water.

It was hard for me but I didn't say it, and I always tried to enter the water with the teacher. But the teacher saw that I was suffering when I went in. That day he said to me, "Michael, don't feel the cold. Be the cold." - well, believe it or not, but from that moment, from that day, and for years, now I don't know if it still works for me, but for years I was able to enter with the master in the water without feeling the cold. At least, not in the way I felt it before.

Yes, then, that capacity of integration, you would say to me, if I am an accomplished person, it is not very extraordinary for me to do this. I mean, I think it would be a consequence of a spiritual realization, right? But I don't think I'm at that level. (laughs).

But I was able to receive that direct transmission of being able to bathe without feeling the cold.

Then, little by little we would swim further out, passing the last little boats like El Lorena 2, I remember the name of that little fishing boat, but much bigger than a normal sardine boat.

We would go all the way out there. When we arrived, everybody would do the plancha and the Song of Vajra and then, we would come back and maybe do the "Shariputra".

That was more or less the tradition we had at that time, it was very, very nice.

Not everybody would hold until the end of the Song of Vajra because of the cold, and some would go back earlier but in general, people would come and go back with the teacher, throwing sand, laughing, and finishing on the beach with the "Shariputra".