The children’s summer program expanded to a full week in August this year. From one Saturday to the next, our sangha was blessed with the sound and spirit of children’s joy and playfulness. It was time once again for the younger generation to bring their parents along for fun by the pond at Rigdzin Ling.
Bruce Darby arrived with an outrageous work-in-progress: two pairs of strap-on stilts. Once the stilts were ready for testing, it wasn’t long before the children and a few brave adults were tottering and towering over all of us. Glen Sandvoss brought along a fresh bag of clay, just waiting to be transformed. So children and their parents fashioned clay ocarinas, which we actually managed to get back from the kiln by the week’s end.
The arts and crafts activities focused mainly on sewing, woodworking, and designing all manner of little boats to sail on the pond. Inger brought us—among other things—a children’s mobile lemonade stand and homemade ice cream, hand-cranked by many eager arms. Some of our dharma activities included making a Tara sand mandala with Dorje Kirsten; attending Rigdzin Ling’s weekly Riwo Sangchod practice; and helping to prepare and offer a Red Tara tsok. On some afternoons, Candy Palmo read us some Buddhist animal wisdom stories. Whenever she tried to stop, a cry went up: “Another one! Another one!” Kim McLaughlin showed us how to create some seed-syllable transparencies that were so cool that even the adults wanted to make one to take home.
Let’s go to the river! Canyon Creek beckoned to us all on those hot August afternoons; we were only too grateful to swim in its cool, invigorating waters. Toward the end of the week, a group of older children had the good fortune to go rafting thanks to the generosity of David and Dana Steinhauser, while those of us who stayed behind got to cool off with homemade ice cream.
On Friday, the children participated in a ceremony to save lives. After briefly discussing their intention, they sprinkled blessed water on crickets and worms obtained from a bait shop, blew mantra onto them, and set them free in the flower garden. That evening, there was a hot dog roast for families by the pond. On the next and final day, a morning treasure hunt sent the children racing about the Gonpa, sorting out the clues.
Last but not least, the children offered the sangha a real treat: they entertained us with a short skit, circus tricks, silly jokes, and stilt walking. They even drafted Leo the golden retriever as their circus dog! After lunch, as suddenly as they had appeared and just like the sand mandala, the children were gone, off to their homes and school preparations. It was truly a delight to host such a wonderful group of children at the Gonpa, and we can’t wait until they come again.
—Nancy Barton
The children’s summer program expanded to a full week in August this year. From one Saturday to the next, our sangha was blessed with the sound and spirit of children’s joy and playfulness. It was time once again for the younger generation to bring their parents along for fun by the pond at Rigdzin Ling.
Bruce Darby arrived with an outrageous work-in-progress: two pairs of strap-on stilts. Once the stilts were ready for testing, it wasn’t long before the children and a few brave adults were tottering and towering over all of us. Glen Sandvoss brought along a fresh bag of clay, just waiting to be transformed. So children and their parents fashioned clay ocarinas, which we actually managed to get back from the kiln by the week’s end.
The arts and crafts activities focused mainly on sewing, woodworking, and designing all manner of little boats to sail on the pond. Inger brought us—among other things—a children’s mobile lemonade stand and homemade ice cream, hand-cranked by many eager arms. Some of our dharma activities included making a Tara sand mandala with Dorje Kirsten; attending Rigdzin Ling’s weekly Riwo Sangchod practice; and helping to prepare and offer a Red Tara tsok. On some afternoons, Candy Palmo read us some Buddhist animal wisdom stories. Whenever she tried to stop, a cry went up: “Another one! Another one!” Kim McLaughlin showed us how to create some seed-syllable transparencies that were so cool that even the adults wanted to make one to take home.
Let’s go to the river! Canyon Creek beckoned to us all on those hot August afternoons; we were only too grateful to swim in its cool, invigorating waters. Toward the end of the week, a group of older children had the good fortune to go rafting thanks to the generosity of David and Dana Steinhauser, while those of us who stayed behind got to cool off with homemade ice cream.
On Friday, the children participated in a ceremony to save lives. After briefly discussing their intention, they sprinkled blessed water on crickets and worms obtained from a bait shop, blew mantra onto them, and set them free in the flower garden. That evening, there was a hot dog roast for families by the pond. On the next and final day, a morning treasure hunt sent the children racing about the Gonpa, sorting out the clues.
Last but not least, the children offered the sangha a real treat: they entertained us with a short skit, circus tricks, silly jokes, and stilt walking. They even drafted Leo the golden retriever as their circus dog! After lunch, as suddenly as they had appeared and just like the sand mandala, the children were gone, off to their homes and school preparations. It was truly a delight to host such a wonderful group of children at the Gonpa, and we can’t wait until they come again.
—Nancy Barton
The children’s summer program expanded to a full week in August this year. From one Saturday to the next, our sangha was blessed with the sound and spirit of children’s joy and playfulness. It was time once again for the younger generation to bring their parents along for fun by the pond at Rigdzin Ling.
Bruce Darby arrived with an outrageous work-in-progress: two pairs of strap-on stilts. Once the stilts were ready for testing, it wasn’t long before the children and a few brave adults were tottering and towering over all of us. Glen Sandvoss brought along a fresh bag of clay, just waiting to be transformed. So children and their parents fashioned clay ocarinas, which we actually managed to get back from the kiln by the week’s end.
The arts and crafts activities focused mainly on sewing, woodworking, and designing all manner of little boats to sail on the pond. Inger brought us—among other things—a children’s mobile lemonade stand and homemade ice cream, hand-cranked by many eager arms. Some of our dharma activities included making a Tara sand mandala with Dorje Kirsten; attending Rigdzin Ling’s weekly Riwo Sangchod practice; and helping to prepare and offer a Red Tara tsok. On some afternoons, Candy Palmo read us some Buddhist animal wisdom stories. Whenever she tried to stop, a cry went up: “Another one! Another one!” Kim McLaughlin showed us how to create some seed-syllable transparencies that were so cool that even the adults wanted to make one to take home.
Let’s go to the river! Canyon Creek beckoned to us all on those hot August afternoons; we were only too grateful to swim in its cool, invigorating waters. Toward the end of the week, a group of older children had the good fortune to go rafting thanks to the generosity of David and Dana Steinhauser, while those of us who stayed behind got to cool off with homemade ice cream.
On Friday, the children participated in a ceremony to save lives. After briefly discussing their intention, they sprinkled blessed water on crickets and worms obtained from a bait shop, blew mantra onto them, and set them free in the flower garden. That evening, there was a hot dog roast for families by the pond. On the next and final day, a morning treasure hunt sent the children racing about the Gonpa, sorting out the clues.
Last but not least, the children offered the sangha a real treat: they entertained us with a short skit, circus tricks, silly jokes, and stilt walking. They even drafted Leo the golden retriever as their circus dog! After lunch, as suddenly as they had appeared and just like the sand mandala, the children were gone, off to their homes and school preparations. It was truly a delight to host such a wonderful group of children at the Gonpa, and we can’t wait until they come again.
—Nancy Barton
The children’s summer program expanded to a full week in August this year. From one Saturday to the next, our sangha was blessed with the sound and spirit of children’s joy and playfulness. It was time once again for the younger generation to bring their parents along for fun by the pond at Rigdzin Ling.
Bruce Darby arrived with an outrageous work-in-progress: two pairs of strap-on stilts. Once the stilts were ready for testing, it wasn’t long before the children and a few brave adults were tottering and towering over all of us. Glen Sandvoss brought along a fresh bag of clay, just waiting to be transformed. So children and their parents fashioned clay ocarinas, which we actually managed to get back from the kiln by the week’s end.
The arts and crafts activities focused mainly on sewing, woodworking, and designing all manner of little boats to sail on the pond. Inger brought us—among other things—a children’s mobile lemonade stand and homemade ice cream, hand-cranked by many eager arms. Some of our dharma activities included making a Tara sand mandala with Dorje Kirsten; attending Rigdzin Ling’s weekly Riwo Sangchod practice; and helping to prepare and offer a Red Tara tsok. On some afternoons, Candy Palmo read us some Buddhist animal wisdom stories. Whenever she tried to stop, a cry went up: “Another one! Another one!” Kim McLaughlin showed us how to create some seed-syllable transparencies that were so cool that even the adults wanted to make one to take home.
Let’s go to the river! Canyon Creek beckoned to us all on those hot August afternoons; we were only too grateful to swim in its cool, invigorating waters. Toward the end of the week, a group of older children had the good fortune to go rafting thanks to the generosity of David and Dana Steinhauser, while those of us who stayed behind got to cool off with homemade ice cream.
On Friday, the children participated in a ceremony to save lives. After briefly discussing their intention, they sprinkled blessed water on crickets and worms obtained from a bait shop, blew mantra onto them, and set them free in the flower garden. That evening, there was a hot dog roast for families by the pond. On the next and final day, a morning treasure hunt sent the children racing about the Gonpa, sorting out the clues.
Last but not least, the children offered the sangha a real treat: they entertained us with a short skit, circus tricks, silly jokes, and stilt walking. They even drafted Leo the golden retriever as their circus dog! After lunch, as suddenly as they had appeared and just like the sand mandala, the children were gone, off to their homes and school preparations. It was truly a delight to host such a wonderful group of children at the Gonpa, and we can’t wait until they come again.
—Nancy Barton
The children’s summer program expanded to a full week in August this year. From one Saturday to the next, our sangha was blessed with the sound and spirit of children’s joy and playfulness. It was time once again for the younger generation to bring their parents along for fun by the pond at Rigdzin Ling.
Bruce Darby arrived with an outrageous work-in-progress: two pairs of strap-on stilts. Once the stilts were ready for testing, it wasn’t long before the children and a few brave adults were tottering and towering over all of us. Glen Sandvoss brought along a fresh bag of clay, just waiting to be transformed. So children and their parents fashioned clay ocarinas, which we actually managed to get back from the kiln by the week’s end.
The arts and crafts activities focused mainly on sewing, woodworking, and designing all manner of little boats to sail on the pond. Inger brought us—among other things—a children’s mobile lemonade stand and homemade ice cream, hand-cranked by many eager arms. Some of our dharma activities included making a Tara sand mandala with Dorje Kirsten; attending Rigdzin Ling’s weekly Riwo Sangchod practice; and helping to prepare and offer a Red Tara tsok. On some afternoons, Candy Palmo read us some Buddhist animal wisdom stories. Whenever she tried to stop, a cry went up: “Another one! Another one!” Kim McLaughlin showed us how to create some seed-syllable transparencies that were so cool that even the adults wanted to make one to take home.
Let’s go to the river! Canyon Creek beckoned to us all on those hot August afternoons; we were only too grateful to swim in its cool, invigorating waters. Toward the end of the week, a group of older children had the good fortune to go rafting thanks to the generosity of David and Dana Steinhauser, while those of us who stayed behind got to cool off with homemade ice cream.
On Friday, the children participated in a ceremony to save lives. After briefly discussing their intention, they sprinkled blessed water on crickets and worms obtained from a bait shop, blew mantra onto them, and set them free in the flower garden. That evening, there was a hot dog roast for families by the pond. On the next and final day, a morning treasure hunt sent the children racing about the Gonpa, sorting out the clues.
Last but not least, the children offered the sangha a real treat: they entertained us with a short skit, circus tricks, silly jokes, and stilt walking. They even drafted Leo the golden retriever as their circus dog! After lunch, as suddenly as they had appeared and just like the sand mandala, the children were gone, off to their homes and school preparations. It was truly a delight to host such a wonderful group of children at the Gonpa, and we can’t wait until they come again.
—Nancy Barton
