From December 2-7, 2024, in Kyoto, Japan, Geshe Michael Roach brought to a successful close a 14-year odyssey through the profound teachings of Liberation Thrust into the Palm of Your Hand, Pabongka Rinpoche’s brilliant teaching on the steps on the path. A record-breaking 250+ people attended The Spark of Joy in person, with many more (1,600+) joining online from countries all over the world. It sold out and was the largest in-person Asian Classics Institute gathering since well before the pandemic.
The Spark of Joy was a very sociable event held at Kyoto's charming Ace Hotel that had lots of places to hang out and get to know fellow practitioners from many different countries. The first day featured an enjoyable, celebratory opening-night dinner with ACI teachers and fellow participants. The people who attended made strong, lasting connections with each other that will fuel shared dharma activities long after the event concluded. The intensive teachings made a big impact on students around the world.
"Joining the lam rim, I started to discover and develop a better version of myself by gaining a much deeper understanding of life." —Lavinia Pirvu, Romania
"I feel happy when I invite friends to attend the lam rim! In lam rim, I learned a lot about ancient wisdom, meditation, and the cause and effect of a seed. It changed my life and got me what I wanted." —Tia Aya Liem, Indonesia
A number of different organizations that follow Geshe Michael's teachings participated and shared cooperation, like the Sedona College of International Management, Mental Seeds, Asian Legacy Library, SKAA (Sedona College Alumni Association), and Raw Diamond. Yoga Studies Institute teachers like Connie O'Brien and ALL's John Brady taught special in-person classes on The Source of All My Good to enthusiastic audiences. Senior Asian Classics Institute teachers held Q&A sessions that engaged students and featured special appearances by several senior practitioners who completed three-year retreats. The Spark of Joy symposia were well-attended and sparked many interesting discussions, enabling participants to experience different teachers and learn different practices.
We celebrated finishing this amazing lam rim with full days of great teachings, beginning with great yoga classes at 6 a.m. and transformative morning meditations guided by ACI teachers and practitioners, and finishing our last classes of the day around 7 pm. In between there was plenty of time to experience the beauty of Kyoto, socialize with old and new friends, and reflect on profound teachings.
The last day saw a grand finale when everyone trekked over to the Prince Hotel on the other side of Kyoto to hear world-renowned organization expert, Japan's own Marie Kondo, talk with Geshe Michael about the parallels that organizing your living space share with organizing your mind. Titled Organize Your Mind/Organize Your World, the evening event was very successful. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from two global icons in the fields of personal transformation and mindfulness. Marie Kondo, creator of the KonMari method and the Emmy Award-winning star of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, joined Geshe Michael for a discussion that combined the magic of tidying your external environment with the art of organizing your inner world. We were able to discover how clarity, joy, and purpose arise when these two elements come together. The discussion was interpreted in multiple languages and re-broadcasting options were available for participants in different time zones.
For many people, The Spark of Joy was bittersweet. Participants could feel a mandala of 14 years dissolving, a long journey of shared inspiration and tremendous learning coming to an end as a brilliant teacher held our attention and shared many insights and much wisdom with us. The emotion ran high. A student gave a small gift of a framed photo of Geshe Michael to all the teachers, and tears were shed when it was opened. Kyoto was a very meaningful journey's end for many.
But the ultimate outcome, as with all of Geshe Michael's teachings, is joyful and hopeful. Participants got a tantalizing taste of what is coming next from Geshe Michael and Asian Classics Institute in the new year—a whole new way of learning the traditions and classics of timeless wisdom in an innovative, different way. Called The Five Houses, ACI's new structure will be something exciting and provocative to explore in 2025 and subsequent years.
Come on the new journey with us as the old journey comes to a close!