DRBY Conference - Day 1

I’m actually writing this post at the airport right now because one, there is no (free) internet access, and two, I still have about half an hour before I board. Lets see if I can finish these post(s) about the DRBY conference before I take off.

At around 6:45ish am, Dede, Andrew, and I forced ourselves to get up took turns taking showers and getting ready, finally descending the stairs for breakfast at around 7:15am. A little groggy but nevertheless enthused about the conference, we finished our lovely feast and along with two large containers of my aunt’s Vietnamese sour soup (canh chua), we arrived in BBM at around 8:30, right on time. After tacking on our nametags and receiving our conference packet, we hustled into the Buddha Hall for the orientation and the Keynote talk titled “Wisdom and Blessings” with Dharma Master Heng Sure. (Pictures: the seat cushions; DM Heng Sure giving his talk)

Following was a brief meditation session which included stretching led by Owen and an introduction by Chin He Shr. There were quite a few people in the hall and so the stretching part entailed some bumping and jostling of neighbors, but I think everyone enjoyed getting their energy pumped up. The sit was also really nice, albeit short, and you could really feel the focus and good energy in the room. After meal offering, LUNCH TIME!! Prepared by various laywomen from BBM and DRBY, we were all treated to a scrumptious meal :) (Pictures: stretching; Chin He Shr; Laura decorating a cake)

The next several hours consisted of two workshop sessions, and in eah block there were a possible two different sessions one could attend. So for workshop one, there was “Introduction to the Sutras” by Dr. Martin Verhoeven and “The Dharma of Relating to People” with Doug Powers. The second workshop included “When Were You Last Happy” led by DM Heng Sure and “Perfecting the Wisdom Within” with Ron Epstein. (Pictures: Doug Powers; some people in the audience; in DM Heng Sure's workshop)

A short tea and snack break ensued and then we were invited to attend a session called “Integral Mahayana Meditation with Instructions” (iMam) with DM Chin He. Instead of just sitting, iMam included an array of different practices divided into segments that complemented each other. We did bowing and affirmations first, then some stretching, segments of meditation sitting aiming to focus the mind, and then some walking meditation, and ending with the Dedication of Merit. It was nice to be so active because being as sitting still for a period of time is not exactly my favorite thing to do, I was very receptive to the bowing and walking. Then, dinner!! (Pictures: the twin's cookies; Isabelle!!; getting dinner)


The next few activities on the schedule included a Q&A/icebreaker type of activity and then evening ceremony and ending with lecture. However, Mike, Andrew, Amanda, Christina, Dede, and I decided to go to downtown Berkeley instead and so we went to get some gelato, watched the Free Tibet rally, and walked around Telegraph and UC Berkeley. By around 8pm we headed back to BBM and was in time for the end of Earth Hour, the end of lecture, and the end of the first day of the conference. (Pictures: in front of Milano Gelato; the Free Tibet rally; in UCB; preparing for the next day's meal; SMILE; Earth Hour)

When we got home, Dede, Jonathan, Andrew, and I ate some instant noodles prepared specially by Andrew, and chatted for awhile before heading back upstairs. I spent about half an hour trying to get my pictures to upload on Facebook – which didn’t work – and Dede and I drifted off the sleep soon after, both exhausted from the day’s festivities.Well, I’m about to board soon and although I didn’t finish the entry, I did finish writing about one day of the conference! :) Will continue when I’m back in SAN DIEGO!! (Pictures: I just like these - Maxine, Anne, Amanda, and Christina; the stained glass windows)

More pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=32951&l=a411a&id=697717340