I started to subscribe to your wonderful Caretaker Gazette about four years before I retired. Since then I have traveled around the world just reading ads in your paper and virtually meeting the people without every meeting them in person. It has been a very interesting journey testing different opportunities and waiting for right one. It may sound funny but I felt that the ads in your paper were a kind of personal letter from the Universe destined for me.
One day there was a Caretaker Gazette ad that would change my life forever.
The ad contained the magic words, "Ratna Ling"; in Tibetan this means Jewel Crest or Jewel Garden and it is gorgeous! Ratna Ling is a place where volunteers work while simultaneously studying ancient wisdom under the direction of Tarthang Tulku, a Tibetan Lama who has lived in America since 1968. This would prove to be the experience of life time.
My name is Chris Kowalski; I’m a retired merchant marine chief engineer officer. Over my 20 years at sea, I’ve learned to respect the forces of nature and even enjoy them. Enter Ratna Ling, with over 100 acres of pristine beauty in Northern California, just a short distance from the Pacific Ocean. It became my home for almost a year. Surrounded by majestic redwoods and wildlife; wild turkeys, deer and rabbits, I had the privilege of having nature at my fingertips. I worked as a volunteer maintenance engineer while at the same time growing spiritually through meditation, Tibetan yoga (kum nye) and teachings performed by highly qualified professionals on a wide range of interesting subjects. An atmosphere of self-discipline and respect to others allowed me to discover my own hidden potentials and taught me to silence my mind and calm my pain and fears that had still been sitting hidden after my car accident some years ago.
The property even had tennis courts and years ago Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova played exhibition games there. With the help of my young volunteer friends we made the neglected courts operational again. Thanks to Barr the Director, we got top of the line equipment and two months after my arrival, Sunday tennis school became a fact. I could teach dozens of people of all ages my beloved sport. Daily yoga exercises did miracles for my arthritic legs with many thanks to my Yoga teachers for their guidance.
In Ratna Ling you can meet volunteers from all over the world. Lots of young people come here every year to learn ancient wisdom on how to silence the mind while living in this sometimes crazy world of ours. With the blessings of Tibetan Lama Tarthang Tulku and his generous friends, Ratna Ling is shaping up to be a place where West and East will meet on the subjects of science, spirituality and holistic healing to exchange experiences and knowledge for the benefit of all humankind. This very modern retreat center offers regular workshops in meditations, Tibetan Yoga, and healing lectures for people in need and will have a meeting center with world class symposium capacity. One of the most interesting adventures you may ever experience is at Ratna Ling.
Ratna Ling also has Dharma Publishing and the Yeshe De press house. These are modern facilities where you can be a part of Yeshe De, Ancient Texts Preservation Project, a visionary project of the Lama. Printing and distributing books and publishing sacred arts and texts are part of project. Dharma Publishing offers 11 highly recommended books by Tarthang Tulku helping to create balance and harmony in yourself and the world. Not many of us know that Tibet has been under Chinese occupation for over 40 years. Many innocent people die, monasteries have been destroyed and ancient texts burned. Ancient wisdom and texts are like the rain forest. We must preserve them for next generations at all costs, otherwise our civilization will suffocate slowly from endless wars, suffering ignorance and greed.
My story will not be complete if I didn’t mention my personal assistant, a golden retriever named Yeshe. She was with me eight hours a day taking care of property maintenance, waiting patiently in the golf cart for our intimate walks through the forest, and of course greeting me every morning. I already miss my friends and mentors and look forward to seeing them again.
Thank you Caretaker Gazette, for letting me share my story. I am grateful for your Gazette helping me to connect with people and places and for discovering this world.
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