Summer News from Europe

At the tomb of Hazrat Yusha (the prophet Joshua), peace be upon him, with members of the Istanbul circle. Credit: Sophia Aydin.

At the tomb of Hazrat Yusha (the prophet Joshua), peace be upon him, with members of the Istanbul circle. Credit: Sophia Aydin.

Greetings of peace to all who read this. It has been an eventful summer, beginning with gatherings in Washington and New York, continuing with retreats in Turkey and Switzerland, and leading on to the current Suluk training in Epernon, which is to be followed by meetings in Katwijk and Paris.

Gulrukh Patel, who so wonderfully organized the Zenith Camp this year, has asked me to write some reflections on the two weeks my family and I recently spent there.

In brief, it was an extraordinary time—thanks be to the One. Perched among swirling mists on a mountainside spangled with wildflowers, the Camp is a caravanserai for mystic travelers. Most are from Europe, but some hail from Asia, Africa, and the Americas. During our stay we saw many old friends and met many new ones.

A group photo at the end of the Sufi-Buddhist Dialogue at Camp Zenith. Credit: Michael Peuckert.

A group photo at the end of the Sufi-Buddhist Dialogue at Camp Zenith. Credit: Michael Peuckert.

It rained often, but the sun was never long absent. Glorious music was all around. Murshid’s singing zikr was our daily sustenance, a time when the whole Camp gathered. We talked, we meditated, we walked, we prayed, we sang, and we broke bread. Ven. Karma Lekshe Tsomo, whom I had not seen in thirty years, communicated the heart of the Buddhist tradition.

This year, to offset its carbon emissions, the Camp is supporting a project to recycle bicycles for distribution in Africa. We were mindful that, as we gathered, battles were raging and tragedies unfolding in Gaza, the Ukraine, Libya, and Iraq. We hope and pray that the spirit of Love, Harmony and Beauty, so palpable at the Camp, will more and more spread throughout the world, dissolving the barriers that needlessly divide the human family.

Ticino Landscape. Credit: Rasulan Inayat-Khan.

Ticino Landscape. Credit: Rasulan Inayat-Khan.