Dear Friend,
This
is Snow again. It has been a long time since I last wrote, though I am glad we
have been able to catch up on the phone a few times.
After
my last letter, I traveled to Vancouver, B.C., to seek further teachings from
my Buddhist master. I arrived on the evening of August 10th, spoke with my
master the following day, and immediately entered a silent retreat as the Lama
directed. After a week of retreat, I spent two days learning directly from my
Lama before returning to retreat for another three days. I had hoped to visit a
friend while in Vancouver, but plans didn’t work out. Even so, the retreat was
incredibly grounding, and I am deeply grateful for it. It was my very first
retreat, and I absolutely loved the experience.
My
travels went smoothly, but a couple of days after returning home to Virginia, I
came down with a cough and a fever. Aside from having COVID-19 in the past,
this was the first time I had been sick since moving to the United States. It
lasted for an entire month, and the symptoms actually felt worse than COVID.
Throughout it all, however, I kept a clear mind, knowing that it would
eventually pass and that I would recover.
For
over a month, I could do nothing but rest in bed. The cough and fever were
persistent, with my temperature hovering between 37.5°C and 38.5°C almost every
day. I completely lost my appetite, eating only once a day or sometimes once
every few days. I felt no hunger, no energy, and no desires—I just slept. By
the end of August, as I began to turn a corner, I started studying the Dharma
teachings I received from my Lama, and I began practicing three days later. By
September 11th, the practice had become part of my daily routine. I am so
grateful for the Dharma; even while bedridden, I felt my time wasn't wasted.
I
am completely well now and doing much better as I adjust to retirement. Having
worked continuously since I was 20 years old, retiring initially brought a
sense of emptiness and left me feeling a bit lost. Unwinding 46 years of
career-related tension is quite a task, and I am still learning how to do it.
But writing to you again is a wonderful sign that I am finding my footing, and
I know I will be just fine.
I painted my
outdoor chairs as light purple and I really like them now. I am sitting on it
and took a picture to attach it here so you can see me again.
Recently,
I attended a death doula training class and absolutely loved it. The instructor
is a hospice nurse who has cared for over a thousand people at the end of their
lives, and her depth of knowledge is remarkable. She wrote a book called The
Good Death, which I bought and am currently reading. It reminds me that
while our culture tends to avoid talking about death—pretending it will never
happen—it is the one absolute certainty in an impermanent world. From a
Buddhist perspective, death is not the end, but the beginning of a new chapter.
It is simply like changing clothes; when the old body no longer works, we move
on to a new one. This is what I truly believe. Even with my medical background
as a doctor in China and a nurse in the US, the spiritual side of death still
felt somewhat foreign to me, which is why I find Susanne's book so captivating.
If you are interested, I would love to order a copy and have it shipped to you.
Let me know!
I
think my husband is just waking up from his nap, so I will close for now. I
look forward to talking to you again soon.
Love,
Snow
Saturday, October 24, 2026
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