Parvati Magazine November 2013 | Page 11

MEDITATION
global responsibility. Yet
some part of me yearned
for the land of my birth,
missed the great pine
trees, maple forests, even
the weeds and the cloud
formations, the flaming
autumn hills, the sparkles
of the first snowfall, the
great expanse of potential in the land called Canada. The strength of the
Canadian Shield, rocks so
ancient they were here
long before humans were
even thought of, carried
a siren song to me that
called me home.
Finally, after years of wandering, I came home,
feeling that here was
the place where I could
stand, without fear or favour. Mine for the seven
generations of my ancestors who preceded me
and mine to steward for
the seven generations to
come. I have never regretted that decision.
I have often wondered
since arriving home in
1979 if the land of one’s
birth exerts some kind of
magnetic pull on us. Just
as we are magnetized by

attraction into a womb,
could we be pulled into
existence by our birth
land? Sometimes when
a student is experiencing
difficulty, I wonder if he or
she needs to ‘go home’
for a time, to re-connect
to something fundamental about their origins.
But in at least one case, I
know that this is not true.
A long term student,
struggling with perennial
unhappiness, ‘found’ his
land root in another country far from his birth land.
He feels a distinct sense of
belonging whenever he
goes there, as I feel here
in Canada.
For me it is a palpable
physical feeling. Each
time I step on ‘my’ island,
I feel as if my centre of
gravity has become lower. My walk is different;
my abdomen relaxes, my
feet connect and chakras
open. I am ‘home’ and I
‘belong’. Our dog Arthur,
born in the district, would
suddenly revert to puppyhood, tearing around in
circles upon arrival, even

into his old age, until finally illness overtook him.
All the esoteric exercises I
have learned and taught
cannot compare to this
simple feeling of joyous
connection. Perhaps part
of the awakened state
is just that, a moment of
deep connection to the
land and to our planet. A
moment of ‘isness’ that is
inherently ‘right’. Just this
breath, just this moment,
just here, just now.
I wish this experience for
all beings, and my heart
breaks for the lost children
of the planet for whom
each day has nothing but
fear, even terror and rootlessness, their homes and
lives destroyed by the
greed, hatred and delusion of so many war filled
places.
Sarva Mangalam.
© 2013 by Catherine Rathbun

Catherine Rathbun received her traditional teaching name, Lama Jetsun
Yeshe, from Ven. Karma Thinley Rinpoche, a lineage master of the Sakya
and Kagyu traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, in 2002. She taught meditation at
York University (1989 to 1997) and is the founding teacher at Friends of the
Heart, a meditation centre in Toronto. With a background in dance — she
was a member of the National Ballet Company of Canada from 1962 to
1963 — and a modern dance career in England (1967-69). She is the author
of Developing the World Mind and Clear Heart, Open Mind, and is currently
working on a new book called Waiting for Truffles: Meditations for Daily
Living. For more on Catherine, please visit www.friendsoftheheart.com.