Rabbit Rescue Report

Through the incredible kindness of a Digital Tibetan Buddhist Altar reader, who drove eight hours down to the desert to fetch me, I was able to travel yet another two hours further south, to a place called Rowland Heights: to the multimillion dollar home of a Chinese family from Beijing.

Arriving in the backyard of said home, I found four rabbits existing in absolutely terrible, terrible conditions. I removed them immediately, and brought them home, and you see them here in their triage cages, as I start to work with them.

Pictured above is the head troublemaker -- the Daddy -- who has lived on for two years eating nothing but lettuce; spoiled lettuce at that, got from the garbage bins of nearby grocery stores. Now, it was 108.5 F up in the desert, and down at Rowland Heights it was maybe running 95F to 100F, but he was housed in a dark, stinking, noisy, chicken coop with no water. He was prostrate in his cage, panting heavily, rolling over on his side.

Now, here is where it starts to get ugly. I asked the young lady of the house, together with her mother, why none of the rabbits had any water. I was told that they "Get enough water from the lettuce."

Above are the "Two Sisters." The rabbit in the back has been terribly traumatized, and is constantly protected by her sister. I do not know if she will ever be restored. They were in the cage below the male rabbit -- in the same filthy chicken coop, surrounded by aggressive, noisy chickens, who pecked at the rabbits through the cages. The hind legs of the Two Sisters are dyed green from permanently standing in layers of wet lettuce. 

This Little Stinker is six weeks old, the son of the male rabbit pictured above. His mother died in childbirth. He was kept in the same horrible conditions, but in the bottom cage, so the chickens could reach him easier. He was dehydrating, almost at the point of death. When he peed on me, his urine was so hot as to scalding.

None of these rabbits know how to eat rabbit food. None of these rabbits know how to get water from a water bottle. They are so scared and traumatized that they will not even take water from a water bowl.

I am concentrating on the Little Stinker and the Shy Sister first. I think Daddy and Big Sister will pull through O.K., so they come next. Of the four, I think Shy Sister has the worst chance of survival, followed by Little Stinker.

How can people of obvious wealth -- considerable wealth -- and the ability to care lavishly for themselves, stoop so low as to leave these rabbits in squalid conditions? They spoke roughly to the rabbits, saying many callous things that led me to believe they thought of the rabbits as mere playthings, upon which to vent their wicked impulses.

I feel so sorry for those people.

So, I am occupied caring for these poor critters, and I hope I can save them all.

Pleasure Like Heaven

New flags for Padmasambhava's Birthday, for Khandro-la

Those whose pleasure is like heaven
Are destined to be open and lovely.
My own love is just like this,
The dear child of heaven.

Like a blazing light,
With shining face,
My dear one -- a mind
So brilliant and limpid, so fascinating.

Their towering bodies,
Their majesty spent.
Conjoined deities rest,
My dear one, they are elegant and still.

My love is malleable, it is
The ornament of many things.
It is considered special and, in
Being special, it exhibits clarity.

Oh, my sweet one,
It satisfies desires.
The body ceases, but
Its precious form remains.

Into a far land of forever,
I shall trot out to meet you,
My own love,
In a place unattainable by day.

On this side, heaven
Appears calm and wide.
In speaking of it, perhaps,
When free of thought, I shall sing everything.

Through the prayer of good action,
May we experience no obstruction.
Oh, let us make the choice
And remain inseparable.

Fifth Noyon Khutagtu Danzanravjaa (1803-1856)

Guru Rinpoche's Birthday

Today is the tenth day of the sixth Tibetan month: Padmasambhava's Birthday according to the Lama Gongdu terma. I guess it would not be out of place to offer birthday cake for this evening's six o'clock puja. 

BREAKING: Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche Dies in Australia

Shambhala news outlets are reporting the sudden death this morning of Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche, 57, of an apparent heart attack, at Melbourne, Australia.

Truths, Noble and Ignoble

So, today we celebrate and attempt to recognize the first turning of the Wheel of the Dharma. What we are trying to recognize is not some historical event, like the Fourth of July, although that sort of historical recognition is, I think, inherently present in the form of a shared idea -- that Buddha was enlightened beneath the Bodhi Tree, that he sat for seven weeks, that there was this dialogue between Buddha and divinities, and so forth. 

Nobody alive today was there when these events supposedly happened. There is no contemporaneous record. There is just a simple, ex-post-facto agreement to agree. This is not peculiar to Buddhism's protohistory. This is how we humans do business on everything. We agree to agree that some proposition happened a certain way, and the agreement makes the proposition so. Our "truths" consist, then, of a series of agreements.

And, then again, some of our truths rise to a level above aggregate assumption; they rise to the level of nobility.

There are many, many versions or descriptions of the Four Noble Truths that we have agreed to agree Buddha delivered on or about the event commemorated by today's holiday. The one I like best is the one His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave in Helsinki, in 1988; later codified in his book Dzogchen: Heart Essence of the Great Perfection, underwritten by Sogyal Rinpoche twelve or thirteen years ago, and first published by the now defunct Snow Lion Publications in 2000. These are comments published under the title "Four Truths, Four Seals and Dzogchen."

"The general structure of Buddhist practice," said His Holiness, "is based on what are called the Four Noble Truths, which the Buddha taught in his very first public teaching. They constitute the foundation for the entire Buddhist path. They are:

1. the truth of suffering
2. the truth of its origin
3. the truth of its cessation
4. the truth of the path which leads to that cessation"

He continues:

"Buddha's teaching on the Four Noble Truths is based on the natural needs and desires of all living beings. All of us have a natural instinct to desire happiness and avoid suffering. Therefore the practice of Dharma should be a technique whereby we can fullfil that need. Since what we desire is happiness and what we do not desire is suffering, Buddha first taught the truth of suffering, so that we would be able to recognize suffering for what it is."

Now, you stop and think --- "Well, suffering should be easy enough to understand: no great insight there" --- but, you are mistaken. In many ways, suffering is the least understood aspect of our human existence. 

There is an entire apparatus, maintained by our false friend the ego, designed to convince us that we are not suffering, or if we are suffering, it is through no fault of our own. 

Suffering stays locked in our subconscious as an ever-present possibility, but one that we strive to avoid by means of suffering's own cause. 

This is quite profound. 

We think we might like to go for a swim. We throw an imaginary life preserver into a mirage, and then drown when the illusion evaporates.

You ask a hundred Buddhists, "Four Noble Truths?" and they will answer right enough: "Great stuff! Our stuff, you know? Buddhist stuff!" But, of those hundred, maybe one will be prepared to truly admit and fully accept the concept that we are suffering. 

Today, there are hundreds of articles on the Four Noble Truths being published all over the known Buddhist universe, and they are all illustrated with shiny pictures of Buddha teaching attentive and gifted students. 

You will note our illustration is of Buddha about to get a rock on his head. Why? Because, this world is suffering. Even Buddha had trouble with his relatives and wound up dying of food poisoning. This is not coming from "outside." This is coming from "inside." This is the mirage, remember?

Dalai Lama continues:

"Then although we may enjoy certain degrees of happiness even while we are subject to suffering, true happiness will always elude us as long as we carry the causes of suffering inside us. This is why in the second noble truth Buddha taught the importance of eliminating the origin of suffering, by first of all identifying it. With the third noble truth, he explained that as a result of recognizing that origin of suffering there is cessation, a state that is free from all suffering. Buddha then taught the fourth noble truth, the path that will ultimately lead us to that cessation."

These words are like a stout bridge to comfort. Please do not dismiss them as "too basic," or "baby stuff." To the contrary, it is through sound understanding of these principles that we can meet, and extract the benefit, of every situation, no matter how that situation is at first perceived.

I will give you just a quick example from recent personal experience. Everyone who knows me, knows that I had a rabbit as a companion, and that I was very attached to this rabbit. Many have heard that this rabbit passed away last month, and that I openly grieved for him. I loved him very much, you see? So, the grief was intense.

Because I have had the grand fortune to listen to many realized teachers, I jumped straight into the middle of this grief, to the point where I was incapacitated and exhausted. But, at the same time, miraculously, something else was taking place. 

I began removing the causes of the suffering, one by one, and as I did so, the treasure of bodhicitta began to glow. 

I immediately recognized that I would extend the love I had for my friend to all rabbits, to all sentient beings, and direct this to the eradication of the illusion of suffering that I was sharing with them -- this basic suffering of separation from ones we love, which arises from mistakenly divided perception of attachment and aversion: attachment to ones we love, and aversion to ones we don't love -- all of this born of the basic failure to recognize emptiness. 

That is where the compassion effortlessly arises, you see? No sloppy stuff needed. When you allow yourself to accept emptiness as it is, compassion needs no other cultivation. 

For example: I thought of all the simple, little children who had lost a pet rabbit, and how they cried, and how this was fundamentally essenceless... unnecessary... opposed to that which was an ever-present reality.... preventable.... curable. You get the idea, I am sure. You don't have to beat around, working gimmicks, and contrivances. Your heart breaks, bodhicitta awakes, that's all it takes. A thing that might otherwise be tightly fabricated, or constricted, becomes utterly spacious, all by itself.

Well, it is easy enough when you have a bodhisattva come as a rabbit to teach you. But, what if some terrible old man dies? What if some awful old customer like me passes away, much to everyone's enjoyment and relief? You might want to go out dining, and drinking. You might want to dance on the grave. If you had enough to drink, you might want to piss on the grave. Sounds like this might take a little bit more work, doesn't it?

What does Dalai Lama say?

"The conclusion, then, which we can derive from the teaching on the Four Noble Truths, is that this suffering that we do not want, and the happiness we long for, are both dependent, in the sense that they only arise in dependence upon their causes and conditions. The teaching on the Four Noble Truths in fact teaches us the principle of interdependent origination. Happiness, it shows us, comes about only as a result of the interaction of causes and conditions. At the same time, suffering can be avoided, but only if we are able to put an end to the causes and conditions that give rise to it. The teaching on the Four Noble Truths points out that this is our responsibility and we should take the initiative, on our own, to pursue a path that will lead to this end."

Regardless of whether we are mourning and grieving a beloved pet or gleefully urinating on some hated enemy's last resting place, we are delicately balanced on the intersection of knots in a net. 

Imagine you are trying to walk across a huge net, a hundred feet above the ground. Just to make it more interesting, imagine that you are trying to do this with your eyes closed. One false step, and you will fall to your doom. Meanwhile, in which direction are you going? You slide along the string until you reach a knot. Now you have four choices: slide back the way you came, or keep sliding in one of the three other directions. More than this, you see, there is an up and a down. 

I don't know about you, but the first thing I would do is stop, and open my eyes. Surely, this is some sort of suffering, but what sort?

Dalai Lama says:

"How to recognize suffering as suffering? There are three levels or types of suffering. The first is suffering which is obvious, technically called 'the suffering of suffering.' The second is 'the suffering of change,' and the third, 'the pervasive suffering of conditioning.'
1) 'The suffering of suffering' refers to all those self-evident experiences of suffering, like pain for example,  which we would normally identify as suffering.
2) 'The suffering of change' refers to experiences that we usually regard with pleasure or happiness but which, when we are engaged in them for too long, end up leading to frustration, dissatisfaction, and suffering... . The experience that we initially thought of as pleasure or happiness is revealed as something which does not last, since it changes into feelings of dissatisfaction. This kind of suffering is 'the suffering of change.'
3) The third type of suffering, 'the pervasive suffering of conditioning,' embodies a recognition which is unique to Buddhism. To explain this third level of suffering in greater detail, the fundamental tenets of Buddhist philosophy known as the four 'seals' or axioms of Buddhism need to be understood."

So, we will stop right here, and reflect that in this, the explanation of the first of the Four Noble Truths, in the very preliminary stages of discussion, we are being introduced to the greatest gift anyone could possibly give, i.e. the Four Seals. 

In the West, you never used to hear very much about the Four Seals. The teachers who came in the last century barely examined the subject. However, this is actually quite important. You might say it is ultimately important. Five years ago, Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse wrote an entire book on the subject, What Makes You Not a Buddhist, which turned out to be one of the four or five truly indispensable commentaries on Buddhism in the English language. I like this book so much I always give away copies to people I meet. 

The Four Seals are simple enough to state, and I believe Khyentse Rinpoche states them best as follows:

• All compounded things are impermanent.
• All emotions are pain.
• All things have no inherent existence.
• Nirvana is beyond concepts.

Actually, he does this a little more deeply and uniquely:

• If you cannot accept that all compounded or fabricated things are impermanent, if you believe that there is some essential substance or concept that is permanent, then you are not a Buddhist.
• If you cannot accept that all emotions are pain, if you believe that actually some emotions are purely pleasurable, then you are not a Buddhist.
• If you cannot accept that all phenomena are illusory and empty, if you believe that certain things do exist inherently, then you are not a Buddhist.
• And if you think that enlightenment exists within the spheres of time, space, and power, then you are not a Buddhist.

So, here we have the answer to crossing the net, and what to do about the soggy, soggy grave of that hateful old man. Not so difficult anymore, is it?

So, then, today is Chokhor Duchen for 2012. 

We believe that everything we do today -- positive or negative -- has a result that magnifies ten million times. All the Buddhists will be busy doing meritorious deeds, right up to the last fraction of a second of the full twenty-four hours.

I am in the western United States, in a high desert called the Mojave, and about all I have to offer you is this little appreciation -- as it comes to mind -- of great teachings and great teachers:

Watch out for falling rocks.

If there is any benefit, let it be yours.

Chokhor Duchen July 23, 2012

Chokhor Duchen -- one of our wonderful "ten million days" -- falls on Monday, 23 July 2012. So, what are we celebrating?

Chokhor Duchen celebrates the first turning of the Wheel of Dharma. For seven weeks following his enlightenment, Buddha did not teach. Yet, after encouragement from Indra and Brahma, he turned the Wheel of the Dharma, at Sarnath, teaching the Four Noble Truths.

What to do with today? Click this link and find out what we'll be doing.

"People can do this, but nobody does it."

She has never known a moment without pain. At eight, her leg was crushed in an avalanche and had to be crudely amputated in the field. At twenty-two, she was disowned by her family. When she was five months pregnant with her daughter, the baby's father left for good, never to be seen again.

But somehow.

Somehow.

Somehow, she made her way to America. Somehow, she found a minimum-wage job as a home health caregiver.

The years passed. To save money, she slept in the same bed with her 25 year old daughter, who has a minimum wage job cleaning out city buses.

The pair saved every penny they could earn. All they asked for was an honest wage for honest work.

Somehow, this past Sunday, Mrs. Dayangji Sherpa, from a one bedroom walk-up apartment in Woodside, Queens, New York, took USD $50,000. --- her entire life's savings -- and commissioned the full reading of the Kangyur, dedicating it to the welfare of all sentient beings. According to the New York Times, "For nearly 40 days, ending last week, about a dozen monks called from around the region read eight hours a day, aloud and simultaneously, seated cross-legged in a converted brick church in Elmhurst."

I pray that the name of Dayangji Sherpa, and that of her daughter Nima, be remembered forever in this land of America. 

One remark she made, in particular, sticks in my mind: "People can do this, but nobody does it."

May It Be Auspicious!

For Days Like These

"Though I've entered the path of the Dharma, I haven't put a stop to my erring ways.

Though I've entered the door of the Mahayana, I'm devoid of any beneficial thought for others.

Though I've received the four empowerments, I do not practice the development and completion phases of meditation.

O lama, free me from straying from the path!

Though I've not realized the View, I act as if a master of 'crazy wisdom'.

Though I'm distracted in my meditation, I let myself get stuck in mental gossip and concepts.

Though it's my own actions at fault, it's someone else that I blame.

O lama, free me from becoming to arrogant and opinionated, so stubborn and insensitive!

Though I may die tomorrow, I am full of craving for places, clothes and wealth.

Though I'm quite old, I'm not mature enough to have the slightest renunciation for samsara.

Though I've truly heard only a little dharma teaching, I pride myself on all my knowledge.

O lama, free me from such ignorance!

Though I may be rushing into danger, I go Dharma-socializing in crowds and public places, thinking I'm on a noble Dharma trip.

Though appearing calm and speaking softly, I haven't got rid of the attachment and aversion boiling inside.

O lama, free me from these eight samsaric dharmas!

Quickly rouse me from this deep sleep of ignorance!
Quickly set me free from this dismal self-imprisonment!

- Song of Renunciation, from the Longchen Nyingtik ngöndro, a revelation by Jigmé Lingpa

Dalai Lama Enthrones American New Abbot of Rato Monastery

Comes now great, good fortune in which we may all rejoice. His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama has enthroned former New York photographer and long time serious dharma student Nicholas "Nicky" Vreeland (grandson of the late, legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland) as the new abbot of Rato Monastery in southern India.

This is the first time a Westerner has been afforded such a high honor.

Meeting the Dalai Lama in 1979 led Vreeland to take ordination in 1985, and begin studies at the monastery he now leads. When he first arrived, there were 27 monks. There are now about 100 monks, between the ages of 6 and 90.

Upon granting the responsibility, the Dalai Lama told Vreeland, "Your special duty is to bridge Tibetan tradition and the Western world."

In addition to his new duties, Vreeland will continue as Director of The Tibet Center, in New York.

"His Holiness wishes to bring Western ideas into the Tibetan Buddhist monastic system," Vreeland remarked during a recent PBS interview. "And that comes from his recognition that is is essential ... that there be new air brought into these institutions."

May all things be in accord with Nicholas Vreeland's generous wishes for the benefit of all sentient beings, may his accomplishments be effortless, and may the word "obstacle" not even be heard. May we all support him in any and every way we can.

Think It Through

"Like anyone else, I too have the potential for violence; I too have anger in me. However, I try to recall that anger is a destructive emotion. I remind myself that scientists now say that anger is bad for our health; it eats into our immune system. So, anger destroys our peace of mind and our physical health. We shouldn't welcome it or think of it as natural or as a friend." -- H.H. Dalai Lama XIV

Never Leave Us

Happy Birthday to 

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet

Tenpa Rinpoche Hospitalized: UPDATED

This blog's editor, Tenpa Rinpoche, was taken by ambulance to an area hospital Monday night. He was admitted to the Cardiac Unit, where he remains in "guarded condition" with chest pain and difficulty breathing.

Tenpa Rinpoche was discharged Sunday evening, 1 July 2012, and is now resting at home.

Bhutan Tragedy: Rays of Hope

Tragically, Bhutan's centuries old Wangduephoedrang Dzong is no more: it has been totally destroyed by fire. However, due to the quick action of His Majesty the King of Bhutan -- who was personally involved in firefighting efforts -- and a fortuitous set of circumstances, many of the dzong's ancient treasures were saved.

Continuously, throughout the ordeal, firefighters and volunteers risked their own safety to recover precious images and books. These were quickly inventoried and conserved. Here, His Majesty examines some texts that were saved.

Fortunately, the dzong was undergoing renovation when the fire began. In consequence, many of the most precious images and books were all located in one place. Quick thinking and fast action combined to bring them to safety.

Arriving at the site with Her Majesty the Queen at his side, His Majesty rapidly organized a team of responders to recover the objects.

Although the character of impermanence has demonstrated itself in this sad incident, we can take some comfort that there was no loss of precious life, and that some of the dzong's most beloved treasures were saved.

We cannot help but admire Their Majesties the King and Queen of Bhutan, and the leadership they demonstrated in a time of trouble. Long Live Their Majesties, and our fraternal best wishes to the People of Bhutan. Hopefully, the Royal Government will soon inform us of ways in which we can all support recovery efforts.

Let a phoenix rise from these ashes and spread the light of Guru Rinpoche for all the world to see. Structures are impermanent, but faith is not.

UPDATED: Disaster In Bhutan

In what is being described as a "major cultural loss" to the Kingdom of Bhutan, the Wangduephodrang Dzong -- one of the oldest fortresses, dating to 1638 -- is ablaze at this hour. Firemen are unable to cope with the intense heat and strong winds, and the historic fort is burning out of control.

UPDATED: Following a heroic but ultimately futile struggle, during which even His Majesty the King came in person to help, the structure is deemed a total loss at this time. His Majesty has declared tomorrow a day of mourning for the loss of this national symbol. The following "before" and "after" photographs show some extent of the devastation.

Take the Fifth

The first day of the fifth Tibetan month this year was Wednesday, the 20th of June. This was the Summer Solstice; although, according to the Tibetans, Thursday, the 21st was the actual solstice.

We should call this the "birthday month," for we have several very important birthdays and anniversaries between 20th June and 19th July, when the lunar month ends.

First, on 24th June, we celebrate the birthday of the popular Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche VII. Next, on 25th June, we celebrate the anniversary of the wonderful Master of Masters: Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro (1893 - 1959). Then, on 26th June -- this is three days in a row, mind you -- we celebrate the birthday of Karmapa XVII, Ogyen Trinley Dorje (these birthdays according to the Western calendar).

We are barely getting started.

On June 29 -- the tenth day of the fifth month -- we celebrate Guru Rinpoche's birthday (according to the Mindrolling tradition). This is also Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche's birthday, so I am thinking we will need a mountain of offerings.

Tuesday, 3rd July is the Dzam Ling Chi Sang, or Local Deities Day, so there goes another mountain of offerings.

The 4th of July is reckoned as America's birthday -- no offense intended to greater North America, Central America, or South America -- but, so we are instructed from birth. This is also the one day of the year you are likely to encounter Kyabje Tarthang Rinpoche out and about, because it is his favorite U.S. holiday, and he celebrates it like he does everything else: vigorously. 

The rockets barely stop glaring when 6th July comes upon us: the birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV!

Friday, 13th July is Dakini Day this month, after which we are at leisure to rest up until 23rd July, the fourth day of the sixth month: this year's Chokhor Duchen (a so-called ten million day).

My advice is to lay in a huge supply of incense, flowers, rice, candles, prayer flags, and materials for cleaning and polishing. Get everything shining beforehand.

Because Guru Rinpoche's birthday is thought to occur on Guru Rinpoche Day this month, I am including the above photograph of a remarkable sculpture. I wish I knew who the sculptor is, so that credit could be given where credit is certainly due. Isn't it wonderful?

Happy Birthday, everybody!

A Triumphant Meeting

This photograph, memorializing June nineteenth's historic, first-time meeting between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi, has flashed around the world this week, creating joyous feelings wherever it is seen.

The two, iconic Nobel Prize winners held a private meeting in London, England, during which His Holiness presented The Lady with a rupa of Buddha.

These powerful images, by Jeremy Russell for Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, convey the feelings of both parties to the triumphant occasion. His Holiness holds Aung San Suu Kyi's hands in both his hands, above, and she seems absolutely moved and enraptured as the presentation is made.

Long Live Her Majesty

If one were attempting to visualize Yeshe Tsogyal, it would not be out of bounds to visualize Her Majesty the Druk Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Wangchuk, Queen of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Her Majesty celebrated her twenty-second birthday this month (on the most auspicious day of June 4th) by effortlessly winning hearts and minds everywhere she traveled. Those who have met her, describe her as a model of intelligence, grace, gentleness, and modesty. She known as being naturally warm-hearted, and spontaneously compassionate.

As Queen of Bhutan, Her Majesty is a Patron of the Dharma in the grand sense of the phrase, and has continually, from infancy until now, displayed a strong connection with the teachings.

Long Live Her Majesty, the Queen of Bhutan!

Marshimaro's Eulogy

Upon the occasion of his passing, this last Friday the 8th of June, and at the moment of his final breath, Marshimaro's consciousness immediately revealed itself in the Medicine Buddha's realm, "Beautiful to Behold." This happened like lightning, amid various signs. 

In the hours before his death, the Medicine Buddha mantra played continuously in Marshimaro's room. As his condition worsened, he stumbled to the floor beneath the small table where the playback device sits: something he had never done before. The mantra was the last thing Marshimaro heard. Since that time until now, his body exhibited no odor whatsoever, nor any leakage of bodily fluids.

Marshimaro was a gentle, kind, and intelligent rabbit. For example: if someone was crying, he would approach them, and touch them with his paw. He would also "chin" people and things. This is how a rabbit displays affection, and a sense of connection: by a glancing touch of his chin. 

Marshimaro would also display singular behavior during pujas or sadhanas. To everyone's amazement, he once tried to "sing" along with the Seven Line Prayer! From that time forward, we all began to understand that his communicative skills were extraordinary. I am comfortable telling you that from the day he was born until the day he died, he was continually exposed to mantra, the bell, and the drum. He learned to anticipate particular points in the sadhana, and would always sit in respectful attention, facing the altar.

People who witnessed Marshimaro's behavior usually thought I had "trained" him in some fashion, but this is not the case. He just came by attentiveness quite naturally: this was an expression of his personality. He was a spontaneously unique, loving sentient being who never harmed anything or anybody in his entire life -- not so much as the smallest insect.

When we experience the death of a being with whom we have some attachment phenomena, there is crying, sobbing, and sorrow. Emotions are in an uproar, and we shake with the force of these emotions. I am tremendously saddened by Marshimaro's death, and I have cried. I am openly grieving what I perceive as his death and my loss.

Ordinarily, this is not the best way to regard such matters. Nevertheless, this is how the ninety-nine point ninety-nine percent majority of us feel. This is what we experience: what we are thinking behind the sobs. Still, even this can be useful. Even this can be powerful enough to set an enormous, unifying presence in motion -- to release the deepest aspect of our being as humans.

As we experience grief, we can immediately tap into something limitlessly beneficial. Really, if we go ahead and embrace the grief, and just let it have free rein, there can come a moment when we think, "Oh... I do not want anybody else to ever experience anything like this! If I have to take it all, let me take it all. I want to do whatever is necessary to deliver others from the feelings I am feeling now."

So, this is the transformation of a beclouded emotion into the highest expression of aspirational bodhicitta -- right in the middle of the sobs and the selfishness. This is truly wonderful, you know? If you like, you can think of this as a gift. What it actually represents is clarity, so maybe you could call this the gift of clarity.

Because, in one stroke of clarity, fueled by powerful emotions that concentrate the mind, we recognize who we are, where we are, what we are, and the nature of our obligation to others. You can be sobbing, and screaming, saying, "Oh! Why did you leave me alone in this world?" and then, just like a blossoming perception of radiating light, you can transform this into, "From now on, I am going to do something so people will be delivered from this sort of anguish."

This is of immediate comfort: a kind of tranquilizer for space.

This morning, as I brought Marshimaro from the house to the grave, numerous animals began to appear. Two jackrabbits came at the same time -- a rarity -- and they literally stood watchful guard. This is unusual behavior on their part. Then after a time, numbers of field rabbits came from all directions, forming a sort of perimeter around the grave site. Ravens came, and roadrunners, and many birds from the sky. 

A tiny green hummingbird came and rested on a branch.

The sound of his wings as he flew away into a cloudless morning sky was Marshimaro's eulogy.

"Tibetan Buddhist" Cults Run Amok

“The major apprehension surrounding cults is not that they represent new religious creeds, dissenting political views, or alternative therapeutic methods. The driving concern is that these groups tend to abuse their members, and sometimes nonmembers, unlike bona fide new religious (and other) movements, which treat members and outsiders with relative respect.”

The April 2012 death by misadventure of a boy in Arizona -- what is now being cast as the "Tragedy at Diamond Mountain" -- has sharpened focus on out-of-control Tibetan Buddhist cults. If this tragedy leads to their eradication, then the death was not in vain: it would, in fact, be a fearless bodhisattva's gift. But, as it seems, the cults themselves are running amok, resisting all attempts to rein them in. Absent strong leadership, the road to their eradication will be rocky and steep.

The sad affair in Arizona has received international attention. It has also spawned considerable commentary in obscure reaches of the blogosphere. One of the more interesting discussions arises around reporting by Matthew Remski. What makes his work of some value is his genuine attempt to define what constitutes a cult.

Mr. Remski attempts to craft his definition with reference to three sources:

• An academic conference on cultism in 1985;
• A mental health professional's evaluation tool, the Group Psychological Abuse Scale [GPAS] from 1994;
• A forensic caution "On Using the Term 'Cult'" from 1986.

Of the three, I found the Group Psychological Abuse Scale to be the most useful diagnostic measure we might apply to Tibetan Buddhist cults. I would encourage readers to download this via the link above. Since it is only twenty-eight questions, we can read through it together. This is one of those "1 to 5" tests where "1" is "not at all," and "5" is "very characteristic."

1. The group does not tell members how to conduct their sex lives.

2. Women are directed to use their bodies for the purpose of recruiting or of manipulation.

3. The group advocates or implies that breaking the law is okay if it serves the interests of the group.

4. Members are expected to postpone or give up their personal, vocational, and educational goals in order to work for the group.

5. The group encourages ill members to get medical assistance.

6. Gaining political power is a major goal of the group.

7. Members believe that to leave the group would be death or eternal damnation for themselves or their families.

8. The group discourages members from displaying negative emotions.

9. Members feel they are part of a special elite.

10. The group teaches that persons who are critical of the group are in power of evil, satanic forces.

11. The group uses coercive persuasion and mind control.

12. The group approves of violence against outsiders (e.g., "satanic communists," etc.).

13. Members are expected to live with other members.

14. Members must abide by the group's guidelines regarding dating and intimate relationships.

15. People who stay in the group do so because they are deceived and manipulated.

16. The group teaches special exercises (e.g., meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues) to push doubts or negative thoughts out of consciousness.

17. Medical attention is discouraged, even though there may be a medical problem.

18. Members are expected to serve the group's leaders.

19. Raising money is a major goal of the group.

20. The group does not hesitate to threaten outside critics

21. Members are expected to make decisions without consulting the groups leader(s).

22. Members are just as capable of independent critical thinking as they were before they joined the group.

23. The group believes or implies its leader is divine.

24. Mind control is used without conscious consent of members.

25. Members feel little psychological pressure from leaders.

26. The group’s leader(s) rarely criticize members.

27. Recruiting members is a major goal of the group.

28. Members are expected to consult with leaders about most decisions, including those concerning work, child rearing, whether or not to visit relatives, etc.

Before using the above as a field assessment tool -- which seems a reasonable use -- we might want to consider the degree to which it does or does not jibe with legitimate Buddhist teachings on the subject. As to the latter, I can find no better resource than Trungpa Rinpoche's immortal commentary Buddhadharma Without Credentials, wherein he discusses what he calls the "perversion of sangha," which we have reprinted here at Digital Tibetan Buddhist Altar many times:

"Thus, if a person is self-righteously claiming to practice the buddhadharma, is using his practice as credentials, then he is simply playing ego's game. If a group of people do this together, then they reinforce each other in the same game. Inevitably they will pick a leader. Then the leader will have as his credentials the title 'head of the flock.' Then the members of the flock will have as their credentials the title 'member of such-and-such organization.' The leader and his flock reinforce each other's identities. As is said in the Sutra of the Treasury of Buddha, 'If someone teaches with ignorance, it is worse than if he took the lives of the inhabitants of three universes, because his ability to teach the dharma is impure.' Inevitably this organization, this collective ego, will look for further confirmation of its health and existence. It may even take as its credentials the transmission of the lineage, the teachings of the great masters, but it will be a prostitution of those teachings. It will involve itself in the ever-escalating game of one-upsmanship in order to enlarge its congregation. This one-upsmanship may take the form of collecting endorsements and diplomas, as well as the form of ambitious practice and adherence to the teachings. It will also see the success of rivals as a threat. The Buddha said that his teachings, like a lion, would never be destroyed by outsiders; it could only be destroyed from within like a lion's corpse consumed by maggots. This is the perversion of sangha. It is the dark-age style of spirituality, the operation of spiritual materialism."

So, now, with these two, mutually supportive resources -- these base lines, if you will -- we can try to identify what is and is not a Tibetan Buddhist cult. This, in any event, is the hard way. The easy way is to just use common sense, and constantly apply a handy rule of thumb: to what degree does this action/speech/situation benefit all sentient beings? Not is any abstract sense, mind you, but in a very practical sense. Coughing up thousands of dollars to purchase thrones doesn't really fly, now does it?

Having performed our assessments, what next? What do we do? Who do we tell? According to Dalai Lama's well publicized statement at a March 1993 "Western Buddhist" conference, it seems we have some sort of duty to alert others, or warn others, or simply inform others. But, whatever duty we have does not peacefully co-exist with our cultural assumptions. We assume that, if we step up, then "someone in authority" is also going to step up and denounce whatever rapscallions need denouncing.

This simply does not happen. It needs to happen, but it does not. The Tibetan teachers, who we take for granted as that "someone in authority," greet matters such as these with utter silence. It is their cultural assumption versus our cultural assumption, don't you see?

"For just under thirty years, Tibetan Buddhism has been spreading through the different continents of our earth. Lamas, tulkus, and Geshes have made an enormous contribution to the flowering of Tibetan Buddhism all over the world, aided by hundreds of thousands of students and disciples. During the same period, some rather unhealthy situations have arisen, and this has led to difficulties. Initially this was due to an excess of blind faith on the part of the disciples and also to certain teachers who eventually took advantage of their disciples' weaknesses. There have been scandals, financial and sexual abuses. Such things happen! As a result I must insist at this point that it is absolutely necessary that both disciples and teachers keep the goal in mind--to preserve a perfectly pure Dharma. It is the responsibility of us all to put an end to this type of unhealthy activity."
                    ---His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

Who are we talking about? We'll list just the alleged principal cults currently operating in the United States, inclusive of noted overseas command and control, or support mechanisms:

• Dorje Shugden. A clandestine operation designed by the Chinese intelligence services to stir up trouble for the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. (So many people realize this I cannot, professionally speaking, classify it as "covert.") Denounced by the Dalai Lama himself.
• "Geshe" Michael Roach. A cult of personality, denounced by the Office of the Dalai Lama. A number of organizations are grouped under the umbrella of this American fellow who claims to have received a Tibetan "geshe" degree, with only a rudimentary knowledge of Tibetan. He is the co-founder of Diamond Mountain -- the milieu that now becomes infamous owing to the death of Mr. Roach's romantic rival under peculiar circumstances.
• "Lama" Christie McNally. A cult of personality surrounding the ex-wife of Michael Roach; co-founder of Diamond Mountain, seemingly the bigamous wife of Ian Thorson, victim of the Arizona tragedy (her wedding to Mr. Thorson took place two months prior to her divorce from Mr. Roach becoming final). Claimed by her numerous followers to be a direct manifestation of Vajrayogini.
• True Buddha School. A showy operation managed from Taiwan, with no known connection to any legitimate Tibetan Buddhist lineage of which anybody is aware. Elaborate claims of divinity, "living Buddha," etc.
• Kunzang Palyul Choling (KPC). Also known as the New Palyul Lineage (NPL). Renamed from the Center for Discovery and New Life, formed from the Black Mountain Light Center, neither of which are nominally Buddhist organizations. A cult of personality surrounding former Christian New Age "channeler" Alyce Zeoli, a self-styled "Jetsunma" believed by her followers to represent the divine person of Princess Mandarava. The organization came to notice for the presence of a homosexual pedophile among its ordained, now serving twenty years in an Arizona prison. Subject of an expose by a Washington Post reporter entitled The Buddha from Brooklyn: A Tale of Spiritual Seduction. Outrageous on-line behavior, persecution of critics, and a suicide are associated with this cult. [Full disclosure: I had a bout with this group. The U.S. District Court judge stopped the fight and ruled in my favor: a first round TKO. The U.S. Department of Justice subsequently dismissed its own appeal of the decision.]
• New Kadampa Tradition (NKT). American front mechanism for the aforementioned Chinese black operation. These are the people you see costumed in robes, "demonstrating" against the Dalai Lama.
• Western Shugden Society (WSS). Headquartered in London; the "third area" designated for management of American activity associated with Dorje Shugden, New Kadampa Tradition, et al. These are straight up black operations managed by an active, hostile foreign power.
• Pathgate International. Headquartered in London; the "third area" designated for support of American activity associated with the New Palyul Lineage. Maintains a "fighting force" of martial artists; gives substantial financial support to New Palyul Lineage operations in the United States. Thought, on information and belief, to exhibit some cross-contamination among membership with Western Shugden Society, although overtly, the two are claimed as opposed.

These are the top eight problems that need to be fixed. From each of these centers of discord, tentacles of divisiveness reach toward all corners of Dharma in North America. These eight cults read "maximum" on the Group Psychological Abuse Scale, characterized by absolutely indefensible misbehavior and violation of the common vows of Vajrayana Buddhism. Each represents a clear and present danger to its membership, and to society at large. They are to be regarded as an openly notorious threat to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and other individuals in a position to refute their claims, and are individually thought, on information and belief, to be in possession of arms.

These groups are characterized by fundamental deceptions, requiring ever-escalating deception on the part of leaders and members in order to maintain secrecy. Examples are: individuals making claims of status to which they are not entitled; sexual misconduct; abuse of controlled substances; hostile agendas toward "outsiders;" hostile agendas toward "insiders;" fundraising irregularities; grandiose projects which cover schemes to divert funds, and so forth. Other examples are possible, but you get the general idea.

At the base, these cults are delusional. The "king and queen" aspect is clearly noted in most cases, as are absolutely absurd claims to infallible divinity, and morbid preoccupation with the outward signs and trappings of status. 

None of them can pass the Group Psychological Abuse test.

None of them can pass the Trungpa test.

If a teaching, teacher, or institution fails to embody renunciation mind, this is not Buddhism. If a teaching, teacher, or institution is preoccupied with the eight worldly dharmas, this is not Buddhism. There is a whole book written about this, by a real Buddhist teacher: What Makes You Not A Buddhist. I highly recommend this book.

It is all fun games until somebody loses an eye.

Somebody down in Arizona lost his life. I did not know him. Nevertheless, I would like to feel that he did not die in vain. If his death can spur the dismantling of these runaway cults, then it meant something. Otherwise it was just a waste.

Splitting hairs over who shot John is a scandalous insult. Seeking solace in long, drawn out philosophical arguments is just a means of avoidance.

Time to cowboy up and run these demonic varmints out of the territory. Otherwise, some day down the road, our kids and grandkids and great-grandkids are going to wonder why we didn't clean up this mess while we still had a chance.

I think we owe this one to the future.

[Of related interest -- http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com/2012/06/dirty-dancing.html]

Marshimaro Usagi (2005 - 2012)

Marshimaro Usagi, 24 June 2005 - 8 June 2012

My best friend suddenly passed away at 14:40 hours Pacific Time today. I helped deliver him into this world: it was his mother's first pregnancy, and she had difficulties. So, from the very first moment, we had a special bond. I was holding him again, as he passed away, stroking his fur, while we listened to the Medicine Buddha mantra.

Strange as it may seem, Marshimaro was an inspiration to me. He would often sit with me while I wrote. He would sit with me while I practiced. He had the ability to choose fortune cards, and had an amazing personality. During practice, he always knew the times for bells, drums, etc., and he always sat respectfully still, looking at the altar. 

We were very close, and I feel his death sharply. Such an awful illusion!