Mandala Messenger

Pray for Peace!

 

 

"Go toward the light," they say.  For a generation now, literature in the "Death and Dying" movement has been informing people that they will experience a great white light at the time of death.   Survivors of near-death experiences have documented this vision of light, and authors and coaches in this movement have tried to prepare people for that experience. 

Yet none of the reports of near-death experience tells the rest of the story. 

In a public teaching some years ago, Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, KPC Spiritual Director, explained a few of the principles behind the Vajrayana Buddhist practice of P'howa, the transfer of consciousness at the time of death.  "We have a certain white vision and there is a feeling of moving through a tunnel and all that stuff they wrote in the books--a lot of it is right. But they don't tell you about the part that happens after that . . . ."

As the constituents that we think of as "life" are dissolving, we experience a whole sequence of brilliant lights.  Then there is an instant of opportunity:  the clear or black light.  "At that moment," she says, "When all of the constituents dissolve, then comes the face that is, to the practitioner, recognized as the clear, uncontrived, natural, conditionless face that is our nature." 

 

Without training, the moment of opportunity is easy to miss. The ordinary person experiences this event as a loss of consciousness, an ending.  As Jetsunma describes it, using the analogy of breathing, "There is this pause between the inhalation and the exhalation where nothing new actually arises quite yet." 

"What is the thing that we recognize at that time?  It's not a thing. . . .  It is no thing, and yet it is the ground essence that is our nature, the ground of being."  She explains, "We're not talking about some external divine reality that we have to go towards. . . . The revelation of that arising is so intimate and so profound and it is that revelation that we look to accomplish."

So, why not just amend the instructions . . . and look for the "right" light?

It's just not easy to accomplish!  As Jetsunma points out, "We are ordinary sentient beings lost in samsara.  We have been conceptualizing self-nature since time out of mind.  We have unbelievably strong habitual tendencies." 

As with any difficult accomplishment, it takes practice.  "We have to apply the causes by which the mind is ripened and ready for such a thing," Jetsunma says, "and one such practice is the Guru Yoga.  When correctly done, it can lead to this result of recognition."  Guru Yoga is the practice of meditating on the spiritual teacher as the embodiment of the Mind of Enlightenment. It's not about the person; it's about the method. "The teacher provides for you a way to connect with our ultimate teacher, the Buddha. . . . Outwardly that seems to be the physical manifestation of the Buddha as we have heard about in history, and inwardly it is a gradual familiarity with our own nature that is Buddha, our own nature."

The choice we need to make is to look to the teacher for the method, then to align our minds, through practice, with the teacher's mind.  This is not an ordinary relationship, she points out.  "This teacher knows your nature.  This teacher recognizes this potential, this nature, this seed, and the relationship is completely based on that." 

Our responsibility as students is to determine that this relationship is extraordinary.  In this way, she says, "We begin to understand that if it arises from the Buddha nature and it is the Buddha nature and that is our nature, then when we see the teacher we have at last seen our own face.  It is the beginning.  It is that precious moment when that face that is our nature arises in some way that we can recognize."

Click here for a free download of a teaching on Guru Yoga. 

 

To purchase the teaching from which the story above was adapted,  click here and scroll down to the title, "How to Awaken from Non-Recognition."

When the Guru Is on Retreat:  An Opportunity to Connect!

 

In fact, we have the additional opportunity to support Jetunma's current retreat financially. Making a donation in any amount strengthens the spiritual connection with the teacher by an exchange of energy, and one is actually able to benefit from the blessings of the retreat by supporting it.

 

We are happy to report that the RV, to which so many have contributed, turns out to work very well for its intended purpose.  It lets Jetsunma continue her work with her rescued dogs and still be able to travel spontaneously for periods of retreat or teaching.  She found it very comfortable, and it enabled an incredibly swift trip--with no overnight stops, the travelers reached Dakini Valley in eastern Arizona after only 51 hours on the road from Maryland. 

 

Before Jetsunma left, we made a down payment on this wonderful vehicle.  Now another $10,000 payment is due on December 1.  Would you like to see that RV arrive in a neighborhood near you some day?  Create the causes!  You can contribute here.  (Mark the Memo Box "JAL Retreat.")

Or, if you wish to pursue other methods of donation, contact Editor:  kpc@tara.org.  You may also call the KPC office in Maryland:  301-349-0440. Please leave a message, and someone will be glad to call you back.

May all beings benefit from your generosity, and from the generosity of the teachers who return, lifetime after lifetime, for our sake! 

This Year It's the Women's Turn!

The nuns join a number of compatriots already in India under MBRP sponsorship.  In 2005 and 2006, the MBRP sent a total of ten young men to Namdroling, who are reportedly studying very well. Once they have finished their multi-year training, they will form the core of the next generation of Buddhist monks at Khamar Monastery.

Fortunately, the women's departure for India has been delayed to late December, because while we are very, very close to raising the funds for their sponsorship, we are not quite there yet.  (Specifically, we are still looking to raise $1,500.)

One of the primary reasons for sending these Mongolian nuns to the TSD Nunnery is that they are afforded exactly the same world-class education as the monks. A Canadian woman, Damchoe Wangmo, studies there and blogs about it at Reflections of Reflections, where she recently posted a wonderful photo of the full class of nuns involved in the nine-year shedra program of Buddhist philosophical studies.

To learn about this groundbreaking project to help deepen the practice of Mongolian Buddhist nuns, and how you might contribute, please click here. Any funds collected above what they need for travel and basic necessities will be placed in an emergency health care fund for all of the MBRP-sponsored Mongolian Buddhists studying abroad.

To get an inside view as the project develops on Dreaming of Danzan Ravjaa, the blog published by MBRP Director Konchog Norbu.

Schedule for Sunday, November 23

KPC Annual Holiday Bazaar and Open House

Saturday, December 1

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

What do Buddhists do for the holidays?  Join us for our annual Holiday Bazaar and Open House, Saturday December 1, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and find out!  Discover the perfect holiday gift at the Silent Auction and Mani Jewel gift store, featuring rare and unusual crystals and haiku/calligraphy gifts created on the spot.  Enjoy complimentary hot cider and tours of the temple.  Indulge in a scrumptious lunch buffet, then stock up on our Bake Sale goodies for your holiday guests.  Relax and gain insight with individual sessions of reflexology, iridology, and astrology.  Reflect and rejuvenate with a walk through the 65 acre Peace Park or with quiet time in the 24 hour Prayer Room. 18400 River Road, Poolesville.  Contact kpc@tara.org for more information.

Of course, we're looking for volunteers of all kinds:  for services, baking, set up, clean up.  (You know what it takes!)  Contact Ani Cara:  kpc@tara.org.  

About "Mongolian Ping Pong":  A ping pong ball, found floating in a stream, becomes the source of wonderment for three young boys who live in the remote grasslands of Mongolia, a magnificent landscape little changed since the time of Genghis Khan. Bilike, the ball's discoverer, assumes it's a bird's egg. His wizened grandmother proclaims it a magic pearl. Unconvinced, the boys take the ball to the monastery, but even the grassland's most knowledgeable inhabitants are stumped. When a television show (seen on the region's only set) reveals that the object is the "national ball of China," the determined young scouts decide to embark upon a journey to return the precious talisman to the Chinese capital of Beijing, crossing the Gobi Desert.

When:    Saturday, December 8 at 6:30 p.m.

Where:   KPC Buddhist Temple (site of the Garuda Aviary)

                                           Saturday, November 24

 4:00 p.m.   Amitabha and Chenrezig Practice at the

Sunday, November 25

10:30 a.m. Stabilizing the Mind Meditation Class

To call in for the Teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, dial 1-712-432-2000 and press 82721 followed by the # sign.  It is considered auspicious to make an offering at the time of receiving teaching.  Please go to tara.org and note in the memo space "Sunday Teaching."