A DREAM

Tenzin Osel Hita has had a dream since his young adulthood. This dream includes the creation of intentional ecovillage communities fostering a sustainable lifestyle where community living is valued and practiced.

At a talk at FPMT’s Land of Medicine Buddha last year, Osel shared some of his vision. A spark was ignited. Executive director, Mer Stafford, offered LMB, an environmentally conscious meditation and retreat center in 108 acres of redwoods at the foot of the Santa Cruz mountains in California, as the host site for Osel to pilot some of his signature concepts. A four-day event was planned for August, auspiciously starting on the day that Lord Buddha’s first teaching is celebrated, August 4.

Other Buddhist centers in California and Florida also invited Osel. The tour was organized by Jacie Keeley, secretary to the late Lama Thubten Yeshe. In May, out of the blue, Osel invited Jacie to join him as his coordinator and secretary. “This was remarkable,” said Jacie. “We had interacted on only three previous occasions. He said I could take as long as I needed to make my decision, but, of course, I responded immediately and told him my commitment is lifetime to lifetime.”

Osel arrived in the States late July. He caught up with old friends  and met with Mer  and the team and LMB staff.