Thubten Palden Sherab works as a teacher of English for foreign students at a college in Newcastle.

"I met Sifu in 1997 when I joined his Gongfu classes as a university student. After completing university I took on a series of jobs that would lead me nowhere. Then Sifu advised that I take a course to teach English as a foreign language (ESOL). In a total leap of faith I followed Sifu's advice. Before the course was finished I was offered a voluntary post and from there some paid work. I was eventually offered a job at the largest college in the North East which is now ranked among the top three FE colleges in the country. Through following Sifu's advise promptly and with faith I was able to move on. Whenever we follow Sifu's advice things flow naturally; there are fewer obstacles.

In my home life too Sifu's guidance is indispensable. Sifu's teaching helped me through a difficult separation from my former partner and allowed the outcome to be far less acrimonious and more harmonious than when following my own ideas. When finally my son did move to another city with his mother our relationship was such that he was able to cope much more readily with the change.

During the Pathgate annual retreat in Greece we see many unusual events. Last year I was with a group of students who travelled to the retreat site early to assist in setting up. Greece is not known for rain during summer yet as we neared the town of Epidavros, near to where the retreat is held there was a heavy rain storm. As we stopped on a ridge overlooking the bay we saw a double rainbow over the area of the retreat, the most vivid I have seen. It was a most auspicious sign of the blessing. One might see the occurrence of this rainbow as coincidence and think no more of it but this was not an isolated incident as I have seen many such examples of unusual weather around Sifu that correspond to the material or stage of a particular teaching of Sifu's."