Videha’s invitation to visit his home, a beautiful workshop venue in the Italian Alps.
We are part of nature, we are waves of a single ocean. To live in nature is a great help for us in moving on the Path. I remember Osho’s words: “Nature is nothing more than a thin veil over God, and only those who know how to lift that veil become familiar with the truth of Life.”
I have a deep sense that being in tune with nature allows us to return to our essential selves.
I love mountains, and to live there has always been my dream, my particular vision. I discovered the Maira Valley, in the Italian Alps, about 12 years ago, invited by a fellow participant at a Sufi event in an Osho festival. Since then I’ve been returning each year to lead groups, until, just three years ago, life events colluded in my leaving Rome, the city where I’d been based, and without hesitation I took the great jump, to come and make these mountains my home.
With the help of some local sannyasin friends, I found this beautiful place. It took a full two years of hard work to complete the necessary renovation, but the result has been wonderful. Out of all this work, creativity has blossomed.
It’s not just my home, it’s an Osho meditation space – and this is very meaningful to me.
On a personal level it is a great joy, a blessing, to live in such an amazing environment, in the midst of the mountains. In a life much devoted to travel – mostly in the East, in India, Nepal, Ladakh, Tibet, Central Asia, Japan – again and again I seek out the high, remote places.
More important, though, is to have created a small meditation centre, a kind of temple, dedicated to Osho’s vision, his teachings, his wisdom, his love.
This is a place for everyone who feels called to spend some time here, in this beauty and silence, for awareness groups and meditation retreats. I have been so touched, surprised even, and naturally full of gratitude for the incredible support that I’ve received on every level, energetically, materially, affective, from so many friends. Without all this support the place would never have become so beautiful.
It has also been necessary to immerse myself in the world of the ‘market place’ – real estate, property development, construction – something quite new for me, from which I have learned much.
Now that I’m here, with the main work all done, I sometimes find myself reflecting, with a sense of wonder and heartfelt reverence: “Wow! – am I really living here?”
For all this to happen, Osho has been the essential element, the ocean and the sky. I feel open to so many possibilities, support keeps on flowing, and all this just increases my love and passion, my gratitude and devotion to our Master.
With my whole heart I hope this may contribute towards sharing Osho’s profundity and love with all those who quest towards self-knowledge, towards meditation, howsoever this might transpire.
In these troubled times, with so much uncertainty and turmoil in international affairs, the maelstrom of samsara threatens to engulf us all. It feels particularly important for us, as seekers, sannyasins, Osho disciples, not to lose our sense of direction, but to hold to our purpose as we learn to dive into our being.
That is what this place is for.
I called this place Osho Mokurai.
Mokurai was a Japanese Zen Master; Osho spoke about him.
Mokurai means ‘Silent Thunder’. Right away, I loved this – it feels so right for this place, so much in tune, in harmony with it. It stands for the power of nature, that silent presence, forceful, unfathomable, immanent, immense. Sometimes there is thunder; sometimes just the silence… and sometimes there is the miracle of both together.
Osho Mokurai consists of two buildings, which together can accommodate 18-20 people. There are two kitchens, plus a Buddha Hall of approximately 70 square metres, with two huge windows opening out to the drama of valley and mountain. The extensive grounds include a Zen garden (a long-cherished dream), a Stupa, a Tibetan bridge, an open-air fireplace…
I planted many beautiful trees, moved huge rocks into place, laid paths of stone, and gave to each of them the names of different Masters and Mystics, both female and male.
As I see it, the Buddha Hall here is not limited to the walled space inside the house, but includes all the mountains, the valley, the infinite sky – a vast, immense Buddha Hall.
Osho Mokurai is at an altitude of 1,600 metres; just behind us, the mountain reaches up to 3,000 metres.
All around, there are so many beautiful places to visit: rivers, waterfalls, forests, mountain lakes, endless mountain treks – all of them offering an opportunity to sink into meditation. The whole valley is still quite pristine, unspoiled by tourism. Deer and other wildlife are part of the everchanging play of nature. It’s fabulous throughout the year, but most especially so in the autumn – ahh, those incredible colours – quite magical!
Osho Mokurai offers that rare, prized thing: something very strong, profound, intense, a place for committed meditators. Here, there is a dance of power, of energy, and then also this silence, this doing nothing. Relax, take it in: the song or the silence of nature, outside, inside…
Long ago, Maira valley had a reputation as a place for heretics, somewhere they could take shelter from the overbearing church authority. I can relate to this!
Here it’s possible to experience, to hear, what Osho on several occasions called the “ancient music of the pines.” Just listen – it’s all around, it surrounds us.
Or, in the words of this profound and beautiful Haiku:
The old pine
speaks divine wisdom.
The secret bird
manifests eternal truth.
Osho Mokurai is a place where wonder, gratitude, profundity and love coexist within the matrix of meditation.
Info: oshomokurai.com – oshomokurai.com
Videha: Phone (WhatsApp) +39 3895204233 – videha1@gmail.com
Next event at Mokurai will be: The Wind of Emptiness (PDF), 1 – 14 August 2023. A 14-day Meditation Camp and Retreat. Sufi and Sufi-Zen.
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