With so many difficult circumstances taking place in the world today, it can be tempting to shut down, act out or numb out. A master of the heart cultivation (Lojong) tradition once said, “When the world seems full of darkness, transform adversity into the path of awakening.”

In this one-day retreat, Lama Willa and Lama Liz explored what it means to transform adversity into awakening; how to keep our hearts open when fear and aggression seem to dominate the discourses around us. We consider what kinds of skillful means contemplative traditions have to offer these troubled times: ways of being and knowing that can form the basis for an appropriate, resilient response to the world’s pain.