Dalai Lama Teaching for Mongolians

His Holiness the Dalai Lama began a five-day teaching at the Main Temple in Dharmasala on December 22, at the request of Gandan Thegchenling Monastery of Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

Some 250 Buddhists from Mongolia, mainly monks from the monastery, are attending the teachings. Hundreds of Tibetans, a sizeable number of Buddhists from Korea and western countries, and some Chinese Buddhists attended the first day of teachings. Accordingly, simultaneous translation of the teachings is made available in English, Mongolian, Chinese and Korean on FM channels.

Of the five days, the initial two days’ teachings, between 1300hrs and 1600hrs, are devoted to conferment of the 13 Deity Yamantaka Initiation. His Holiness will formally give teachings on Lobsang Choekyen’s Lama Choepa (Guru Puja) on December 23 to 26 from 0800 hrs to 1130hrs.

Meaningfulness and Money

I have a great deal of affection and respect for the Zangdokpalri Foundation for Great Compassion, and in this regard want to pass along the following solicitation that Moke Mokotoff, the Foundation's President, recently sent to interested parties. I think it is well written, to-the-point, and sensible. I hope that after you read this, you will consider sending something to them before the end of the year:

In our culture we are consciously or unconsciously seeking meaningfulness for our money. Even if we feel we don't have enough money, that in itself gives money meaningfulness. And of course there are those with "too much" money who seek luxury and high quality consumption to give their money meaning. A tantric, direct way to give our money meaning is to give it away. Doing so with a good heart to a needy cause, if maintaining a selfless view of both subject and object one accesses the buddhanature and experiences an uncontrived non attachment, liberation ... taking the result as the path.

In this society giving is emphasized at the end of the year, and at this time some of us are accessing the tax advantages of reducing our taxable annual income by means of donation to a registered 501(c)(3) charity.

Though yet again the healing and teaching tour of the last 4 months at 30 venues by Dungse Rigdzin Dorje and the nuns and monks of Zangdokpalri was the most successful so far due to the generosity of those like you who attended and donated; nevertheless, the value of those donations when sent back to the Himalayas was less than 80% of what it was last year due to the devaluation of the dollar. . In addition prices for commodities have considerably inflated in India. On top of that the monastic community has increased in population nearly 30%, there are now 120 monks and 100 nuns who are supported only by donations....I think you can see where I am going with this. We may have raised 10% more this year, but it fulfills only 50% of the needs.

The good news is that a donor has offered to match whatever donations come in before the end of the year. Thus if you give a dollar, the nuns and monks receive two dollars.

Your donation large or small is part of a rain of generosity that nurtures a very wonderful Buddhist community in one of the poorest areas on the planet. A bit more than a dollar a day can provide food, lodging and clothing for a nun or monk who assiduously studies and practices traditional Buddhist teachings.

Please consider sending a tax deductible donation of any amount to:

The Zangdokpalri Foundation for Great Compassion 130 7th Avenue Box 221 New York, NY 10011

Or donate online at: http://www.zangdokpalri.org/howtohelp.html

Naturally Occurring Timeless Awareness

Naturally occurring timeless awareness--utterly lucid
awakened mind--
is something marvelous and superb, primordially and
spontaneously present.
It is the treasury from which comes the universe of appearances
and possibilities, whether of samsara or nirvana.
Homage to that unwavering state, free of elaboration.

--Longchenpa

New Face in Town

Look who showed up last night! Look at the ears on this charmer, and bear in mind this little critter is four to six weeks old, tops. Feature-wise, I really can't say if this a rabbit or a hare: this may well indeed be a baby hare, or the beginnings of a very big rabbit.

Anyway, here is the new friend---named Bamboo Rabbit, who joins Rabbit Rinpoche and Mister Bee-man among the "indoor set," not to be confused with the "outdoor set," managed by Little Caesar and his family....eh... "Family."

Nyingma NASCAR

I think we may have a driver - Tsem Tulku Rinpoche - the "Neon Lama." Yes, I know he's a Gelugpa. Yes, I know he prefers disco dancing. Yes, I know he does stand-up comedy. Yes, I know he has worked as a fashion model. I just happen to think he might be a suitable candidate.

Rebuilding Stupas

There are an estimated 24,000 stupas in need of restoration around the world. So why not restore them? This organization aims to facilitate the task of restoration, and as such, this seems a worthwhile effort to support.

Buddhists Who Like Rabbits

There are some sites we wish to share with other rabbit fanciers:

(1) http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/hrs.html H.A.R.E.
(2) http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html The mother of all rabbit medicine resources - by vets for vets.
(3) http://www.rabbithealth101.com/nonprofit.html Rabbit rescue groups
(4) http://www.rabbit.org/ House Rabbit Society
(5) http://www.arba.net/ American Rabbit Breeders Association - We do not endorse their policies, but they are out there, and sooner or later you have to deal with them.
(6) http://www.threerabbits.net/ Notes about the Buddhist three rabbit motif.

Tibeto-Logic and Thor-bu

Here is a well written blog by a guy named Dan. Think of it as a curiosity shop filled with old stuff you buy, take home, and immediately misplace. You find it later, decide you never use it and therefore don't need it, so you sell it. Likely as not, Dan buys it, and puts it back on the shelf. You then discover you needed it after all, so you wind up buying it again!

We once had the unsettling experience of listening to a rather inexperienced (he didn't read Tibetan and had yet to attempt his three-year retreat) western monk complain about western scholars (who do read Tibetan and have completed their three-year retreats). "They are always so... certain of themselves," he said, uncertainly. "It's...it's... arrogant!"

Don't know why, but it puts one in mind of Mark Twain's comment to the effect that when he was young, his father was stupid. However, as he got older, he was surprised to find out how much his old man had learned.

Subscribe to Tibeto-Logic, and you'll be surprised to find out how much the old man learned.

While you're at it, subscribe to Thor bu, as well, and be surprised to find out how much the young man learned.

Note: This item illustrated with rabbit picture because (a) we wanted an excuse, and (b) have just named two latest rabbits "Tibeto," and "Thorbu."

Bodhidharma's Grave in China

There is a most interesting video explaining circumstances surrounding Bodhidharma's burial site in China. What is particularly instructive is to see the numbers of ethnic Han attending the anniversary ceremonies.

Eastern Fortress of Evident Treasure

Tenpa Rinpoche's newest book, Eastern Fortress of Evident Treasure is in pre-production and should be available very shortly. As in the case of his remarkable book High Desert, we will be offering a free download for a limited period (in exchange for your comments/review/whatever), after which the printed edition will go on sale. However, this will be a limited edition --- we are only doing 108 copies.

It is difficult to categorize this new book. Basically, it is a stand-alone collection of Rinpoche's original prayers and practices, together with brief commentaries. Yet, there is a continuity to the work which enables it to be simply read, in which case it becomes an "inner narrative," something like High Desert. In the meantime, contact us if you are interested in reserving a copy of this exciting new work.

There Is Hope for America: Vajra Guru Phan-Yon

Above, unretouched evidentiary screenshot demonstrates somebody at U.S. Central Command using the search string "OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM - ENGLISH" to access this site.

I think we should send them to Karma Lingpa's commentary on the benefits of the Vajra Guru mantra:

Vajra Guru Phan-Yon

HERE IS contained the Commentary on the Mystic Syllables and the Benefits of the Vajra Guru Mantra, which appears in the Terma of Tulku Karma Lingpa.
A NA DZA SHA MA WA ZHA MA RGA RMA
Vajra Guru Deva Dakini Hum
I do homage to the Lama, the Yidam, and the Dakini.
The dakini Yeshe Tsogyal spoke:
I, Yeshe Tsogyal, who am a mere woman, having made an offering of a vast mandala, outer, inner, and secret to my Guru, now make this request. O Master Padmasambhava, please grant to us, we who are the people of Tibet, your unending aid and assistance in this present life and in all future lives. There has never been be-fore, nor will there be in the future a boon as great as you. I have no doubt that even I, who am a mere woman, shall be given your sad-hana which is itself like pure and precious nectar.
I see that there will come a time in the distant future when human beings will possess fickle intellects and ever changing opinions. They will be very excitable, impatient, and excessively prone to violence. They will cling to heretical views regarding the Holy Dharma. In particular, they will slander and belittle the Doctrine of the Supremely Secret Mantras. At that time, for all sentient beings, the three great evils of disease, poverty, and warfare with terrifying weapons will greatly increase.
In particular, there will come a time of terrible suffering for Tibet and the Tibetan people when troubles will spread with great devastation across the three regions of China, Tibet, and Central Asia; just like when a nest of ants is broken and the ants swarm out.
You, O Guru, have proclaimed many skillful means for curing these ills. Nevertheless, for the people of those future times there will be neither time nor opportunity for the practice of sadhana. Only a very few people will even have the desire to practice. On every hand, disturbances and distractions will be exceedingly strong and powerful. Human beings will be unable to agree among themselves. Even the materials necessary for puja and the preparations for sadhana practice will be incomplete. In such evil times, it will be extremely difficult to avert or reverse those trends. In such times as those, O Guru, if one should rely solely on your sadhana which is the Vajra Guru Mantra, what benefit and advantage shall come from this? For the sake of those future beings with inferior intel-lects, who are devoid of deep spiritual understanding, please tell us.
Then the Great Master spoke:
O faithful daughter, what you have said is very true. Nevertheless, in such future periods as those, it is still certain that from practice there shall come forth benefits both immediate and ulti-mate for all sentient beings. I shall conceal the eighteen kinds of Termas; such as earth treasures, water treasures, rock treasures, sky treasures and so on, that will contain countless numbers of sadhanas and secret teachings. In those evil times, the skillful methods of those who possess good karma and the auspicious co-incidence of events [rten ‘brel ‘grig] are exceedingly difficult to accomplish. Such times are characterized by the exhaustion of what-ever merit sentient beings may possess.
Nevertheless, if at such places as the twenty four Great Places of Pilgrimage, or in the temples and villages, or on the peak of a great mountain, or on the shore of a great river, or in the uplands and lowlands which are inhabited by gods, demons, and ghosts, should anyone who possesses the secret vows and mantras, or monks possessing the vows of the Sangha, or even a layman of devout faith or a woman of good character, having intensely cultivated the intention to attain Enlightenment; should any of them be able to repeat the essence of the Vajra Guru Mantra one hundred times or one thousand times or ten thousand or one hundred thousand or one million or one hundred million times or as many times as possible, the resulting power and benefits shall be inconceivable to the human mind. Moreover, in all the directions of space, disease, poverty, warfare, hostile armies, civil strife, famine, dire prophecies and ill omens, all these evils shall be averted. In every direction, the good fortune of healthy cattle, abundant crops, and rain in its season shall come. In one’s present life, in all future lives and in the narrow, difficult passage of the Bardo, to the superior person I shall be known in my real presence, to the intermediate person I shall appear as a vision, and to the inferior person I shall speak to him in his dreams. In addition, it is certain that they shall, having perfected gradually the paths and stages, enter the land of Camaradvipa as vidyadharas both male and female.
If one but repeats the mantra uninterruptedly one hundred times a day, he will come into the thoughts of others appearing in a favorable fashion. There will effortlessly come to him abundant food, wealth, and good fortune. If one repeats the mantra as many as one thousand times or ten thousand times and so on, he shall gain control over the minds of others and it is certain that he shall attain power and blessing. If one repeats the mantra one hundred thousand or ten million times or more, he will accumulate all the power of the Three Worlds and gain control over the three Realms of Existence. Gods and demons shall become his servants and he shall attain without any impediment whatsoever the four magical rites. He is then able to immeasurably assist all sentient beings as much as he desires. If one is able to count as many as thirty million or seventy million recitations, then all the Buddhas of the three times of past, present, and future shall always be with him. Indeed, he shall be identical with me. All the gods, rakshasas, and fierce mountain deities shall promise to listen to his commands and obey them, accomplishing whatever he entrusts to them.
The superior person will attain in this very life the Rainbow Body. The intermediate person will on the occasion of the Chi-khai Bardo realize the clear light of self-illumination [‘od-gsal]. Even the inferior person, once having seen my face in the Bardo, will be de-livered from the arising of appearances [that normally appear there], and having been reborn in Camaradvipa, he shall give immeasurable aid to all sentient beings.
The dakini Yeshe Tsogyal further requested:
O Great Master, we thank you for such a great boon of vast and immeasurable power and benefit. However, for the sake of future sentient beings, please expound briefly in sutra fashion, on the immeasurable power and benefit of the commentary on the mystic syllables of the Mantra of Guru Padma.
Then the Great Master spoke:
O daughter of a noble family, that which is called the Vajra Guru Mantra is not only my name, but represents the very heart or vital essence of the Yidams, the four types of Tantras, the Nine Vehicles, and the eighty four thousand sections of the Dharma. This Mantra is complete and perfect for it is the very essence of all the Buddhas of the three times, of all the Gurus, Devatas, Dakinis, and Dharmapalas. If one should ask what marks the cause of this per-fection, then let him listen well and fix it firmly in his mind. Let him repeat the mantra again and again. Let him write it down. Then let him instruct and explain its meaning to all sentient beings of future ages.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

As for the OM, AH, and HUM, they are the supreme essence of the Body, Speech, and Mind. VAJRA is the supreme essence of the Vajra family, GURU is the supreme essence of the Jewel family, PADMA is the supreme essence of the lotus family, and SIDDHI is the supreme essence of the karma family. As for HUM, it is the su-preme essence of the Tathagata family.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

As for OM, it is the perfection of the Sambhogakaya which em-bodies the Buddhas of the five families. AH is the perfection complete and unchanging of the Dharmakaya. HUM is the perfection in the space before one of the Guru, who is the Nirmanakaya. VAJRA is the perfection of the divine assembly of Herukas. GURU is the perfection of the divine assembly of Guru Vidyadharas. PADMA is the perfection of the divine assembly of Dakinis and Shakinis. SID-DHI is the vital energy [prana, srog] of all the Wealth Gods and Treasure Lords. HUM in the vital energy of all the Dharmapalas without exception.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

As for OM, AH, and HUM, they are the vital energies of the three types of Tantras. VAJRA is the vital energy of the two sections called the Vinaya and the Sutras. GURU is the vital energy of the two Abidharma and Kriya Tantras. PADMA is the vital energy of the two Upaya Tantras and Yoga Tantras. SIDDHI is the vital energy of the two Mahayoga and Anuyogas. HUM is the vital energy of the Atiyoga.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

OM, AH, and HUM will purify all obscurations that derive from the Three Poisons. VAJRA will purify all obscurations that derive from hatred. GURU will purify all obscurations that derive from pride. PADMA will purify all obscurations that derive from greed. SIDDHI will purify all obscurations that derive from envy. By HUM, all obscurations that derive from the defilements will be purified.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

By OM, AH, and HUM, one will obtain the Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya. By VAJRA, one will obtain the Mirror-like Gnosis [jnana]. By GURU, one will obtain the Gnosis of Sameness. By PADMA, one will obtain the Discriminating Gnosis. By SIDDHI, one will obtain the All-Accomplishing Gnosis. By HUM, one will perfectly obtain all that derives from Gnosis.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

By OM, AH, and HUM, one will control gods, demons, and men. By VAJRA, one will control such hostile spirits as Gandharvas and fire spirits. By GURU, one will control such hostile spirits as Yama and the Rakshasas. By PADMA, one will control such hostile spirits as water sprites and air spirits. By SIDDHI, one will control such hostile spirits as Yakshas and powerful demons. By HUM, one will control such hostile spirits as Planetary Genii and Earth Lords.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

By OM, AH, and HUM, one will attain the Six Perfections. By VAJRA, one will realize all the magical rites that are peaceful. By GURU, one will realize all the magical rites that increase prosperity. By PADMA, one will realize all the magical rites of over-powered enchantment. By SIDDHI, one will realize all the magical rites of worldly success. By HUM, one will realize all the magical rites that are terrifying.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

By OM, AH, and HUM, one will counteract the magical influences of both Lamas and Bönpos. By VAJRA, one will counteract the hostile influences of the nemesis of the gods. By GURU, one will counteract the hostile influences of gods, rakshasas, and nature deities. By PADMA, one will counteract the hostile influences of minor worldly deities and demons. By SIDDHI, one will counteract the hostile influences of Nagas and Earth Lords. By HUM, one will counteract all the hostile influences of gods, demons, and men.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

By OM, AH, and HUM, one will vanquish the militant hosts of the Five Poisons. By VAJRA, one will vanquish the militant hosts that derive from hatred. By GURU, one will vanquish the militant hosts that derive from pride. By PADMA, one will vanquish the militant hosts that derive from greed. By SIDDHI, one will vanquish the militant hosts that derive from envy. By HUM, one will van-quish the militant hosts of gods, demons, and men.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

By OM, AH, and HUM, one will obtain the siddhis of Body, Speech, and Mind. By VAJRA, one will obtain the siddhis of the Peaceful and Wrathful deities [Yi-dam zhi-khro]. By GURU, one will obtain the siddhis of the Vidyadhara Guru. By PADMA, one will obtain the siddhis of the Dakinis and Dharmapalas. By SIDDHI, one will obtain siddhis both ordinary and supreme. By HUM, one will obtain all conceivable siddhis.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

By OM, AH, and HUM, one will transmigrate to the Primordial Realm. By VAJRA, one will transmigrate to the realm of Manifest Happiness which is in the eastern direction. By GURU, one will transmigrate to the Fortunate Realm, which is in the southern direction. By PADMA, one will transmigrate to the Realm of Great Bliss, which is in the western direction. By SIDDHI, one will transmigrate to the Supreme Realm, which is in the northern direction. By HUM, one will transmigrate to the Unshakeable Realm, which is in the center.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

By OM, AH, and HUM, one will obtain the vidyadhara of the Three Bodies. By VAJRA, one will obtain the vidyadhara, which is established in the first stage. By GURU, one will obtain the vidyadhara of the power of longevity. By PADMA, one will obtain the vidyadhara of the Mahamudra. By SIDDHI, one will obtain the vidyadhara which is self-created [lhun-grub]. By HUM, one will obtain the vidyadhara which is completely matured.

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum

If one pronounces this Vajra Guru Mantra just one time, then even if misery and illness come, the merit of this shall be greater than the entire expanse of Jambudvipa. For all those sentient beings who look at, listen to, and remember this mantra, it is certain that they shall both males and females become vidyadharas. The true words of the Vajra Guru never fail. If it does not happen that one attains his desire as I have said, then I, Padma, have failed all sentient beings. However, since it is certain that I do not fail, then one should practice sadhana as I have instructed. If one is unable to chant the mantra repeatedly, he should mount it atop a high pole as a victory banner, for without doubt the very winds will carry it to all sentient beings. Alternatively, he should draw it on wood, stone, earth, and so on, and having consecrated and empowered it [rab-gnas], then place it in a high place along the road. Seeing this there, all beings shall be purified of disease, evil spirits, and obscurations. At such a place, the coming and going of demons and rakshasas are brought to a halt. Alternatively, one should write it with gold ink on pure, dark blue paper and then bind it up. Thus evil spirits, devils, and ghosts will be unable to do any harm or injury. One having died, if it is burned with the corpse, a rainbow will then appear. Moreover, it is certain that he will transmigrate into the Great Bliss [bde-chen]. If one repeatedly writes and reads this mantra, then surely he shall pass beyond any measure of virtue.

For the sake of all future sentient beings, I shall write this down and conceal it. Then let my son who possesses fortunate karma recover it.
SAMAYA! GYA GYA GYA!
(This is my secret vow, thrice sealed!)
Let it be kept secret from those with heretical views.
GYA GYA GYA!
However, let it be given to all those who are firm in their vows.
Tulku Karma Lingpa recovered the hidden treasure and copied this from the Shog-ser.

NOTES
The text of the present work is in the form of a dialogue between the Tibetan princess, Yeshe Tsogyal and her Guru, Padmasambhava. This text is a commentary on the hidden significance of the syllables of the Vajra Guru Mantra of Padmasambhava. It is an extract of a larger work, the Shog-ser, belonging to a Terma discovered by the great Terma Master Karma Lingpa. This master is also responsible for discovery of the famous Bardo Thosgrol, or “Tibetan Book of the Dead.” He is remarkable, in that his first discoveries occurred when he was but fifteen years of age. This is an authoritative translation from the original Tibetan language edition, which dates from the fourteenth century.

Somewhere, A Boy and His Rabbit

I'll be taking a lengthy rest from this web log, beginning today. While I'm gone, there might be a couple of posts from my friends, or something from me that was "already in the can," as they say in Hollywood, but live content will go silent after this post.

Somewhere, a boy and his rabbit are always praying for your happiness.

Nine Bad Omens: Ngenpa Gu Dzom

"I walked into the middle of a featureless field,
I shot an arrow into the center of the cloudless sky:
I did not care if it was a good day or a bad day."

Ngenpa Gu Dzom, or the "Nine Bad Omens" day is the sixth day of the eleventh Tibetan month... tomorrow, as it happens. It starts at noon on Saturday and lasts until noon Sunday.

Here is what Alex Berzin has to say: "During this period, most Tibetans do not try to do any special religious or other positive practices, but instead go on picnics, relax, and play. The history of this custom is that at the time of the Buddha, one person tried to accomplish many positive deeds this day, but nine bad things befell him. Buddha advised that on this date each year in the future, it is best not to try to accomplish much good."

Everybody remembers Nine Bad Omens, but everybody forgets it is immediately followed by Zangpo Chu Dzom, or "Ten Auspicious Omens," which starts on noon Sunday and lasts until noon Monday.

Alex reminds us: "On this day, at the time of the Buddha, ten wonderful things happened to that same person when he continued trying to do what was constructive. This period, then, is considered very favorable for positive projects but, in general, Tibetans also take this time for picnics and games."

Vehicles

Yesterday, I mentioned the 84,000 categories of the Buddha's teachings. These are contained in the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana vehicles. There is also a fourth category of vehicle that deserves mention and that is...

We are in the early, early, early planning stages of a land, air, and sea expedition to visit Central Asian archaeological sites of cultural significance (read: Buddhist hot spots). Let me explain that although I am doing some of the planning, it is likely that others will be doing the expeditioning. This is one of the ways I deal with deteriorating health: I learn to live vicariously. Be this as it may, the project is an exciting one, and gives a handy excuse to spend time pouring over maps, satellite photos, and informant reports (oops!) which is something I am still able to do.

The plan is to start out in the Mojave, just to shake out the equipment. Then, the vehicles will go to Long Beach and load on the proverbial slow boat to China. When the vehicles are dockside in China, the personnel will fly in and begin the drive to the Gobi. There is some thought that after Mongolia, the expedition may move on to the eastern Tibetan Autonomous Region, to assess remote medical service delivery issues (read: monks need dental care). In point of fact, we may skip Mongolia altogether and just concentrate on T.A.R.---going there in a fraternal attempt to openly repudiate the failed doctrine of separatism---but we are still working with that.

While it is more likely than not that the expedition will travel in specially kitted-out but otherwise standard 4x4 vehicles, the expedition "chase" truck will be rather a different matter:


This is not a Land Rover; rather, this is a Unimog outfitted for the Gobi. I like the colour. Maybe we could paint the Medicine Buddha on the sides.

I'm partial to Pinzgauers myself---6x6 is better than 4x4---but they don't necessarily lend themselves to large superstructures. The only Land Rover I ever saw that looks like it could past muster is this monster, built for a Canadian dentist who delivers rural care. This might well be a model for the T.A.R:


American firms are also getting into the act. This is an expedition vehicle built for the Baja 1000:


I can already hear the screeching and howling from the e-monkey tree: "It isn't Buddhist!" "We want to see credentials!" "Who authorized this?" "What on earth are trucks doing on a Buddhist blog?"

Sigh.

If I had the energy, I would sponsor a Nyingmapa team for NASCAR, with the Vajra Guru Mantra painted on the sides of the car, an image of Dorje Drollo on the hood, Jetsunma's dance mix of the Seven Line Prayer blasting out of loudspeakers on the roof, and Junior Rinpoche behind the wheel. Every weekend, eleventy million rednecks would see the "Liberator," and instead of checkered flags we'd have prayer flags.

Ask not what Buddhism can do for you.

Ask instead what you can do for all sentient beings.

The Acme Discourse

"Makin' up things to do...
Not runnin' in all directions tryin' to find you...
I'm just rollin' with the flow...
Goin' where the lonely go."
----Merle Haggard

I saw this in a cartoon once, so it must be true.

Aladdin is working for this old guy who goes around the quartier, hollering "New lamps for old... new lamps for old." The old guy gives the used lamps to Aladdin to polish. Aladdin sits around polishing lamps all day, and this is the basic routine. Except one day, Aladdin polishes a rather singular sort of lamp, and a genie pops out. Seems this genie has been trapped for centuries, waiting for somebody to release him by means of rubbing the lamp.

You with me so far?

Naturally, the genie is grateful to Aladdin for rubbing the lamp so he decides to grant Aladdin three wishes. Why his gratitude is limited to just three wishes is something nobody knows. Speaking personally, if I was imprisoned in a lamp for centuries and somebody let me out, I would be good for more than three wishes. However, maybe this is a genie thing and I am missing some subtle, internal logic or higher symbolism. Maybe three wishes is par for the course in these circumstances. You also have to wonder why Aladdin didn't make his first wish for more wishes. Maybe he didn't want to use up all the wishes. Maybe he wanted to leave some wishes for others. Maybe the three wishes are a euphemism for the three jewels.

It's up to you.
Anyway, Aladdin gets three wishes, after which he has all sorts of adventures, the moral of which I forget. In my mind, this cartoon sort of runs into the one where Mickey Mouse steals the sorcerer's wand and winds up with brooms carrying buckets. I mean, it's the same sort of message: don't tinker with the force unless you know what you're doing. Just stick to polishing lamps or sweeping up after the sorcerer.

I know that I don't entirely approve of the premise but I do understand why, in postwar America, it became necessary to subliminally beam messages like, "Be content with what you are." You had guys coming back from Europe and the Pacific who had been and done; they had flown with the Angel of Death, they had walked with the Grim Reaper, they knew the combination to the lock, and they knew where to find the warm center. All of a sudden, these guys were back on planet earth and they had to go work in soda fountains.

Nevertheless, the message had an unintended, secondary effect, because it reaffirmed our basic delusional belief that you can swap old lamps for new lamps and all your dreams will come true.

So, this is what we do. When things are not to our liking, then instead of working with them, we just swap old lamps for new lamps and start wishing. This is observed to perfection in what passes for an interpersonal relationship in this society. If the "significant other" doesn't work out, we just say, "Oh, well... time to move on," and then we start rubbing and wishing with somebody else. The thing to understand, however, is that nothing is going to work out. Every meeting is destined to end in parting. Every hot obsession is destined to end in icy indifference. It snows in the desert, don't you know? Sooner or later, the blush is always going to leave the rose.

That is certainly one way to look at things, and if you are into labels, you could even say that is a "Buddhist way of looking at things." Except, you would be incorrect. There is no "Buddhist way of looking at things." There are, in fact, 84,000 categories of Buddha's teachings, and each one is an absolutely truthful and foolproof means to permanent happiness. People ask me all the time, "What do Buddhists think about this, what do Buddhists think about that?" I never know how to answer them. The moment we let our view harden, we lose whatever truth may have been originally implicit in that moment. We lose the spontaneous wonder that is inherent in those 84,000 categories.

Be this as it may, I still sit and ponder about the lamp refurbishing business that is the subtext of our desires. I wonder why we let ourselves get trapped into thinking next time is going to be different. Different how? More importantly, different why? And I am not speaking about relationships now... I am speaking about the fundamental misconception that there is something called enlightenment and that it is right around our corner... the fundamental misconception we have that eventually colors everything we do as Buddhists: the thing I call the "it."

If we meditate, we will get "it."

I saw so-and-so Rinpoche today, and he really had "it."

We went to a puja, and I really felt "it."

The new-for-old thesis subsumes an "it" which becomes the locus of who we are, where we are, and what we are. For example: tomorrow, you are sitting in a coffee shop when in strides the Dalai Lama and he suddenly proclaims you the 10th incarnation of Billy Bob Rinpoche. Ten minutes prior, you were just Billy Bob, but now you are a living saint.

Well, that certainly explains a few things... and just wait until those kids who laughed at you in the 4th grade read the New York Times.

Life is now very, very good. People are flocking to you in droves, you can spout off whatever nonsense jumps to mind, and people will actually take it seriously. Scholars will be having discussions like, "Well, I think what Billy Bob Rinpoche really said was...," and "I disagree... I think the Tenth William Robert Rinpoche's essential thesis is..." People will be kissing your ass for sunshine and calling it guru yoga. People will be calling you the sole refuge because they're too scared to think for themselves. And there you are, sitting on the brocade cushion, thinking you have "it" all under control, except your stomach is churning. You don't have "it" under control at all. You are still plain vanilla Billy Bob, with 4th grade laughter ringing in your ears.

You can't authentically trade some hypothetical status predicated on the past for the reality of spontaneously present actions. Really, the only thing you can do is come to some realization about the nature of mind that no longer allows for the ideations of "it" to be a factor in your view. Or, to put this another way: just take "it" out of the equation.

Now, having argued that new-lamps-for-old is a flawed approach, let me reverse the premise and argue that it is perfection.

Just as the lotus arises stainlessly from the mud, so does the wish-granting quality that lies implicit in the lamp of awareness respond to the application of effort wherein one seeks to removes the dust of mistaken beliefs.......

(ah... ahh... ahhh.... ahchoo! )

Excuse me? Did we just red-line the bullshit-o-meter?


I think Popeye Rinpoche put this succinctly: I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam.

That would have been in the root tantra, mind you.

Remember when the Bluto Demon attempted to deconstruct Popeye Rinpoche, inspiring Popeye Rinpoche to perform the Spinach-Eating Rite and liberate the living snot out of the Bluto Demon, thus securing the one-pointed absorption of the activity mudra Olive Oil Khandro?

Yeah... I liked that one, too.

However, to continue with our earlier example, let us now imagine that one fine day you get a call from Gotso Sharpie and he says, "Hey, Billy Bob... got bad news and good news. First, the Dalai Lama is terribly sorry but he made a mistake. You're not the Tenth Billy Bob Rinpoche anymore. We're gonna' lay that one on a relative, instead."

You ask, "So what's the bad news?"

Gotso Sharpie says, "The bad news is he can't make mistakes, he's the embodiment of love, and love means never having to say you're sorry. Nepotism is one thing... but tough love is quite another... Billy Bob, you're on your own."

Now, all of a sudden, you have to stop relying on your hypothetical status predicated on the past and start relying on actual ability. You are no longer artificially enabled; rather, you are inherently enabled. All the concepts that seem so charming in the abstract must now become an ever-present, self-arising potential... an authentic possibility, if you like to put it that way... wherein you accept the responsibility without trying to control the experience.

In 1959, when Tibetans started trickling across the border, nobody knew who anybody was anymore. Heaven and earth really changed places. A little less than a decade later, when the first Tibetan teachers started coming to the West, there was no way to judge who was who. Now, with benefit of hindsight, it all seems so easy, but at the time anybody could say anything about anything.

So, not knowing that we should immediately dash ourselves on the ground in full prostration, sell the family farm and make offerings of gold, we simply listened to what these guys had to say. I mean, how could anybody take anything on face value? On face value, Trungpa Rinpoche was a frequently intoxicated poet--- a sort of religious Dylan Thomas, raging at the dying of the light. On face value, there were a bunch of other guys who couldn't speak a word of English but who sat on thrones and rang bells, and later went on shopping sprees.

We listened, and we thought about what we heard, and we did a little research here and there, and we arrived at our various conclusions. We didn't really look at the messengers. We listened to the message, and we liked what we heard well enough to let it shape our lives.

Our lives can be over anytime.

It is like packing for a trip.

What will we take with us?

What will we believe?

What will we hold dear?

What do we keep?

What do we discard?



Among my greatest lamas
I include a butcher,
a prostitute, and a bandit.

-----Kyabje Kunzang Dorje Rinpoche

This big cartoon about Tibetan Buddhism with its philosopher cats and dogs, and magical mice and ducks, and birds (and rabbits) is not the feature film, but it is still sometimes useful to watch it as if it were the feature film.

We have all been to the movies. We have all sorts of reasons for going and we have all sorts of rituals such as parking, walking to the theater, buying popcorn, etc. We settle in, and sometimes what we see makes us laugh, sometimes it makes us cry. We get on the edge of the seat for the action scenes. We get ideas from the romantic scenes. We yell at the characters, "Hey...stupid....watch out for the gun!"

We have this entire "experience" predicated on illusion, and when we leave the theater, we can have impressions and ideas and so forth, but fundamentally, we understand that all we have done is go see a movie. We may buy the t-shirt, dress up in drag and watch Rocky Horror one zillion times, but we can still say, "It's just a movie."

O.K.

New lamps for old means going into the multiplex, watching a few scenes of the first movie, then jumping up and going to the second screen for a few scenes. We believe there is this guy or girl...this us, or this it...who is moving between the screening rooms. It means being trapped in the dialectic of seemingly going to the movie, or even having the movie come to us. It subsumes a focality to which reports are being made and by which decisions are being made.



But, when we watch cartoons on Saturday morning, we don't think like that. We see the coyote feel the pain from Acme, but in the next second he's up again and chasing the road runner. We think, "Aw, that's just a cartoon... that stuff ain't real." We don't care if it is this cartoon or that cartoon. We watch without watching.

And then we go about our business, maybe eating Cheerios or listening to Merle Haggard, going where the lonely go.

It was snowing today and I wandered around, thinking about you. I would say that I miss you, except that is like saying I want to replay the same scene in the movie over and over again. I guess I forgive you, except there is no subject requiring faith. I still think of no other besides you. Here, there are no new lamps for old. There is only what seems to happen frame by frame, and that stuff ain't real.

Up in the hills I turned my back to the sun and watched my shadow. I looked in the sky and saw the shadow appear there, as well, and then I looked around at all the empty mines.

I thought about miners who dig in the wrong places.

I thought about all the gold they never find.

I do not understand why such misunderstanding is possible, when treasure is so clearly in evidence.

Capricorn Shoulder

“On the joint of the right shoulder and upper arm, are the thirty channels of the thirty-day division of Capricorn.”

“The first channels of the action-faculty cakras to die at the end of a completed life are those of the right shoulder joint.”

The Kalachakratantra can be so cheerful.

They call it “over fifty shoulder” most places, and I do not know that anyone has ever come up with a definitive treatment. My Chinese doctor friend from S'hai used to take a very long needle and slam it into the right hip. While the patient was reacting to this, he grabbed the arm and started working the shoulder in a circular motion. This usually reduced the patient to tears. I once asked him why he used the needle in the hip, and he just smiled and said "endorphins." He said that the right shoulder figured in strokes --- he said he could predict who would have a stroke by examining their shoulder.

He predicted one for me and in that he was quite correct.

It must come as a terrible shock to Baby Boom Buddhists, but we are all rapidly approaching the "end of a completed life." Tomorrow is not guaranteed to any of us. Neither is a trouble-free conclusion to today.

The bus is coming and first we are going under and then we are getting on. Since this is absolutely, positively in the works, doesn't it make sense to set aside more and more time each day to practice? Doesn't it make sense to start making provisions?

Tell me the truth... you feeling a little discomfort in the shoulder?

Commentarianism

Here is a handy link to the Center for Buddhist Studies Blog at Columbia University. These are guys who can use phrases like, "the cult of Padmasambhava," and get paid for it.

Comes the Peace

Comes the Peace: My Journey to Forgiveness is a book about a young Western boy who was placed in a Tibetan monastery by his mother. It is published by Wisdom Books, and I think it should be required reading. I am reprinting the advertising copy in full, below:

"The extraordinary true story of a young American boy dumped in Nepal by his hippy parents at the age of three, who was then placed in a Tibetan monastery at six and his later arduous teenage quest to rediscover his roots and forgive his family. "At 17 with only a few meagre possessions and speaking little English, Daja Wangchuk Meston caught a plane to America, the unfamiliar land of which he was a citizen, to try and uncover his identity and mend long-severed ties with his family. In the early 1970s, when he was three years old he had been left in the care of a Tibetan family who in turn put him in Kopan monastery, where he was ordained as a monk at six. There, he was ostracized by the other young boy monks, who taunted him for his Caucasian physical traits, left so hungry he stole scraps of bread, and slept on a flea-infested straw mat. He longed for his mother's embrace, but she, turning her back on her rich Hollywood upbringing, (her father was renowned for the Bonanza Western TV series) had become a nun known as Ani Wongmo and thought her child would impede her spiritual journey. "The story of Wangchuk's self-generated ouster from Kopan monastery - he pretended to have slept with a prostitute - his eventual migration to the USA, his lifelong attempt to understand and reconnect with his parents, and his eventual and dangerous work on behalf of Tibetan rights under Chinese oppression make for compelling reading. "Wangchuk finally used his Buddhist upbringing and the love of a good woman - his young Tibetan wife- to learn that forgiving others can play a critical role in healing a damaged heart."

Western Atavism and Tibetan Buddhism

Quick... a freshly-flayed, elephant-hide cape symbolizes what?

If you were born in the West, does the symbolism of ancient India---filtered through medieval Indo-Tibetan cultural norms--- mean anything to you at all on a visceral level?

We had this discussion recently, in the context of the absolute horror that is "Western Buddhism." We wondered aloud if it wouldn't be useful to start cataloging the visceral triggers that do evoke response, and compare them to the visceral triggers used in Tibetan Buddhism. I mean, in the initial stages, it all seems so quaint to have somebody foreign playing or struggling with English, finding all sorts of poetry that native speakers don't immediately find. It is, after all, imported... and that is what we seem to crave so much: a strangeness thoroughly unlike the Catholicism or Judaism or snake-handling of our forefathers. But, as we move right along, does mumbling about somebody else's subconscious images really do any good?

When the Tibetans started slavishly imitating the Indians they invited in for a dose of civilization, they weren't exactly erudite. They didn't have a written language, per se (actually, they did, but that's another story), so they had to invent one which would allow them to accurately translate the languages of their masters, as distinct from expressing their own imagery. Somewhere along the way, they started dividing mantra from prayer. The mantra belonged to India while the prayer belonged to Tibet, the latter originating in the spoken language, by which means it felt natural to express deeply held concepts. This, in turn, led to the rich minefield of commentary, for which latter-day Tibetan scholars are justly famous. In Tibetan Buddhism, we have commentaries on commentaries on commentaries, and then we have commentaries on those commentaries. All of these commentaries are one guy saying what he thinks another guy said, and it seems there is no end in sight.

This is just one more reason why the terma tradition is so valuable: it is quite simply original. If there is a language involved, it is dakini language, but the decoding of this language does not involve interpretation --- it is quite simply the terton's authentic experience.

You can learn all the symbolism quite perfectly, you know? Then I suppose you can be a symbolic Buddhist. On the other hand, you can get past all that to the meaning... to the heart of the matter, as it were... and actually improve your view.

Maybe you can write your own prayers.

I see this from time to time, and it is outrageous how theistic they become: "Oh, Lordy, Lordy... be my Buddha, save my bacon." I suppose this is an understandable by-product of our heritage, but it underscores how deeply infected we are with theistic normatives. That being the case---and here is the tricky point---how valid is it, then, to rely on Western symbols versus Indo-Tibetan symbols? Our little visceral triggers apparently do not come without monotheistic baggage.

Maybe the best solution is to operate from direct experience, and let the prayers write themselves.

I mean... who you gonna' call?

Unclogging the Bunny

When your Bunny gets clogged up, it is no laughing matter. What does a constipated lagomorpha cuniculis have to do with Vajrayana Buddhism, you ask? Just about everything, I answer, because there ain't gonna' be no sunshine anywhere until we get him unclogged.

Naturally, I consulted experts---my daughter, who is a D.V.M., and my friend Dr. Pema, who is a D.V.M.---and then played the consensus. For those of you who are faced with this nightmare in the future, take an eyedropper and administer pineapple juice. Then, after about a day or so, take a 1/4 teaspoon of probiotics, mix it in with the pineapple juice, and then use the eyedropper to pick up the contents of the teaspoon. You can play Billie Holiday records while you do this, for atmospheric reasons.



Then, of course, you snatch up the little stinker and eyedropper-in the mixture (the loading end, not the firing end).

The pineapple juice and probiotic does the trick. Rabbit is unclogged and leaves medications to return to meditations.

This rainbow appeared within an hour after the little rabbit went about his business. Now, I am not making any assertions here ...far from it... I am merely reporting the facts as I witnessed them: the rabbit crapped, the rainbow appeared, and I heard a chorus of dakinis intoning songs of gratitude from the high heavens.

Click here for an introduction to the Incredible Healing Rabbit series of videos from India.