Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!
These are the words of the Mantra given by the Buddha in the Heart Sutra. Translated it means: "Gone, Gone, Gone Beyond, Gone Totally Beyond, Enlightened. So be it!". This is what His Holiness came to Indiana University to explain to an enthusiastic crowd of Buddhists, Christians, Muslims and other interested students of the Noble Laureate. For those who have never had the opportunity to hear His Holiness (and this was my first time) he really does project an incredible aura of peace and calm.
On Saturday he was at Conseco Field giving a public talk entitled "Facing Today’s Challenges with Wisdom and Compassion". His public talks are designed for general audiences and focus on ideals common to all religions such as peace, compassion, and forgiveness, but his 2 day/ 3 session address at IU was designed for the sangha, the community of Buddhists. It was our opportunity to receive the wisdom of the Buddha through this great spiritual teacher.
The day started with chanting from the monks of Drepung Loseling, where I attend teachings in Atlanta. One of my teachers, Geshe Ngawang Phende, was leading them. It was inspiring to say the least. The crowd was restless with anticipation, with a low din of conversations around the auditorium, but as soon as the monks stood signifying His Holiness's entry, all activity ceased until he finished his prostrations and climbed onto the throne and let out his signature laugh which can sooth anyone's soul. He began by addressing the interfaith members of the audience. Trappist monks, Catholic Bishops, Several Protestant ministers and a Muslim Imam were on the stage. Also on stage with the monks was his English interpreter, Geshe Thubten Jinpa. I mention him because he deserves endless respect for his ability to retain everything His Holiness was saying and relay it in full to the audience. At one point, His Holiness was on a role explaining the historical context of the sutra and didn't stop for translation for 20 minutes. The crowd let our a giggle when Geshe Jinpa was giving the nod and started with a long, " Sooooo... ummm".
The Heart Sutra is a very difficult scripture to explain. It conveys the core of the philosophy of emptiness around which Buddhism centers. I had been preparing for the teaching for weeks, studying different commentaries and reading His Holiness's book "The Essence of the Heart Sutra". (Thank goodness I did.) Yet, despite the complexity of the subject matter, everyone in attendance was able to come away with an overwhelming dose of his wisdom. My mind was racing all they way home, attempting to digest everything that was conveyed during the teachings. I also left realizing that I had been in the presence of an incredible human being; his teachings had already left a lasting impression on me but now, having been blessed to be in his presence, I knew it had been a time I would never forget.
Picture courtesy of
phayul.com
Stephan Talty has created a mesmerizing account of the events around the escape of His Holiness from the Chinese Occupation of Tibet. It expertly traces the background and decision making process of the Tibetan hierarchy that lead led to the eventual evacuation of the Norbulingka Palace and Lhasa. He wraps us in the stories of several individual's narratives from Athar Norbu, a Khampa guerilla turned CIA operative responsible for keeping the US informed of events in Tibet to Ngawang Thondup Markyid, a monk that served as a high official on the Council of Lhasa. The insights into the various aspects was wonderful, you feel there devotion, fear, and uncertainty as the events unfold around them. Talty describes the role of the international press in creating then destructing the myths about Tibet. He narrates the trek through the mountains and its effects on the life of His Holiness resulting in his policy of interviewing every refuge that arrives in Dharamsala. The book is a vivid account of this brief but turbulent and time in Tibetan history. The events it describes have been retold in various form but I found this to be one of the most insightful and open interpretations of the Chinese Occupation. A must read for anyone interested in the Tibetan culture and people.
Awesome book! It was like sitting with His Holiness and going through an old trunk and having him tell an anecdote about each item he pulls out. It starts with stories about his childhood and growing up. Many have been covered in other books or movies but Sofia Stril-Rever makes them fresh as if you were sitting across the table from him. The second section covers his life as a monk and covers many topics central to Buddhism. The third section is about being the Dalai Lama, it relates story from the political happenings in his life and serves as a reminder to all of the atrocities that have befallen his people and country.
Two Tibetan Monks carefully, slowly scrape a small stick down the side of a long funnel. Tiny grains of emerald green sand fall from the tip like paint from an artist's brush. Methodically, carefully, a montage of color and detail takes shape; a dul-tson-kyil-khor, the Tibetan words for “mandala of colored powders”. More commonly referred to as a Tibetan Sand Mandala, this mixture of painting, sculpting, drawing and patience is an art form that has been practiced in Tibetan for hundreds of years.
The venerable monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery have been working on this mandala since August 29th for a few hours a day, three days a week. It is being created to honor His Holiness the Dalai Lama when he visits Emory University in October.
The mandala itself is a depiction of a palace with a retinue of deities in the center surround by four gates and inner and outer walls. The outer walls are created with 5 colors( white,yellow, red, green, blue) representing faith, effort, memory, meditation, and wisdom. The gates in the center of each wall represent love, compassion, joy and equanimity – the Four Immeasurable Thoughts. In the center is an 8 petaled lotus flower representing the Lotus Family, the Buddha family that purifies passion into discriminating awareness.
At the center is Buddha Amitabha in the appearance of Avalokiteshvara. He is represented by a lotus flower symbolizing freedom from attachment. The deities surrounding him represent purified states of suffering. On the eastern red gate is Buddha Akshobhya in the form of a vajra symbolizing purified hatred.
On the southern yellow gate, the precious jewel representing Buddha Ratnasambhava symbolizes purified misery. On the white western gate sits Buddha Vaivochana as a dharma wheel symbolizing the purified aspect of ignorance. Finally on the green northern gate is the symbol of purified jealosy, Buddha Amogasiddhi as a flaming sword. The complete lotus serves to remind us of the importance of renunciation.
What else needs to be said about a classic? This book literally changed my life. When I first read the book I was in a really bad spot in my life and need to "change my perspective" and sure enough this book that me how. The 10th chapter of the book is entitled "Shifting Perspective". His Holiness explains his philosophy on perspective as such "The ability to look at events from different perspectives can be very helpful. Then, practicing this, one can use certain experiences, certain tragedies to develop a calmness of mind. One must realize that every phenomena, every event, has different aspects. Everything is of a relative nature." He goes on to explain that allowing our perspective to be so narrow and self-center just furthers our problems and doesn't allow us to see solutions.
