May You Have Long Life!

The Thousand Stars Foundation wishes everyone happiness and prosperity for the New Year. May Buddhas of longevity, particularly Amitayus and White Tara grant all of you long life!

Long-life Mantras:

Amitayus Mantra (From Long-life Empowerment conducted by Kundrol Mongyal Lhasray Rinpoche, December 2006)

Om Namo Drum Abarimita Ayujnyana Hrih Hung Drum Soha
คาถาพระอมิตายุส: โอม นาโม ดรุม อาบาริมิตา อยุจานา หรี ฮุง ดรุม โซฮา

White Tara Mantra (From White Tara Empowerment conducted by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, November 2007)

Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayu Bunye Jana Putrim Kuru Soha
คาถาพระแม่ตาราขาว: โอม ตาเร ตุตตาเร ตูเร มามา อายุ ปุญเญ จานา ปูทริม กูรู โซฮา

I would like to encourage all of us to offer flowers to Buddha and recite these long-life mantras, particularly for our teachersl. They have been kind to us by traveling to Thailand to teach us and show us the way towards enlightenment.



Arranging flower vases for the New Year

What to Bring to Khadiravana

For Guru Rinpoche retreatants, please bring:

1. Comfortable but polite outfit. Any color is fine.
2. Light jacket or sweater - it can be cold at night.
3. Comfortable shoes
4. Sleeping bag
5. Mosquito repellent
6. Torchlight
7. Personal belongings & medicine

DTAC phone can't be used at Khadiravana. The signal stops near the Nongplub district office. AIS can be used.

We will use the following at the Stupa ceremony on the 10th. Please bring a little bit of each if you feel like sharing them with us.

Offerings to Buddha (Tsog):
1. Biscuits, cookies, candies
2. Fruits
3. Flowers
4. Fruit juice or other nutricious drink

Burnt fragrant offerings (Sang):
1. Rice and other grains
2. Biscuits, cookies and other kinds of snacks which have no egg or meat
3. Small pieces of plain cloth in 5 colors.
4. Small pieces of plain paper in 5 colors.

The Foundation will provide three vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals per day, hot and cold drinks, snacks and fruits. For accommodation, tents of various sizes, mainly for 1 or 2 persons, will be arranged. We just finished building temporary shower rooms and toilets near the tent location. Apart from these, there are other shower rooms and toilets near the office house in the mango grove. This is where we'll have our meals.

I'm leaving for Khadiravana tomorrow to prepare the site and will be back soon after the New year holidays. Please contact Worawanna if you have any questions about the event.

I hope everyone enjoys the natural environment in a Tibetan-Thai style at Khadiravana.

Travelling to Khadiravana

For those who want to attend the Great Stupa ceremony on January 10 and have no transportation, please contact Worawanna Petchkij at worawora@gmail.com, Tel. 086-7228129 by the 5th. The Foundation will help arrange transportation by an air-conditioned van. A round trip costs 400 baht. The van will pick up participants at the Foundation House on the 10th at 6.00 AM. and leave Khadiravana for Bangkok at 2.30 PM.

For those who want to attend the Guru Rinpoche Retreat and leave on the 12, the Foundation will take you to the Hua-Hin market. From there you can get a public van to the Victory Monument. It costs 180 baht.

Everyone is welcome to have lunch with Rinpoche after the ceremony on the 10th.

Please bring a sleeping bag if you join the retreat. The Foundation will take care of camping facilities. Participants are also welcome to join the retreat only during the daytime. There are many guesthouses and hotels in downtown Hua-Hin for a reasonable price.

We apologize if our invitation card arrives late or if you don't get an invitation card at all. Invitation document can be downloaded here.

Rinpoche

Mongyal - Hungchen Rinpoche's and Lhasray Rinpoche's Monastery in northern Kham, which is presently Dzakhok, Dege county, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.



Mongayl Lhasray Rinpoche, holder of the Kundrol Dragpa lineage and his son Chimed Rigzin (Sang-ngag Lingpa Rinpoche)

Yungdrung Lhateng

Kuntu Zangbo's heart mantra: Ah A Ka Sa Le Od A Yang Om Tu



Inside a retreat cabin, where a monk meditates and studies



Yungdrung Lhateng, one of Emperor Qianlong's monasteries in the 18th century. It was converted to Gelugpa in the 15th century. It was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Later on it was reconverted into Bon.



With Pema Rigzin and novices



Before reciting Chod.



On the way to Yungdrung Lhateng Monastery in Jinchuan town. There's a bus to Barkham county, seat of the Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, about 6 hours from Chengdu. From Barkham, there's a local bus to Jinchuan taking about 2 hours.



A Gyalrongba

Palden Lhamo

Protectress Palden Lhamo (Shri Devi), wrathful emanation of Tara whose practice is specially transmitted through the Kundrol Dragpa lineage.

The Three Deathless Ones

Guru Padmasambhava or Yungdrung Tongdrol. In the Bon Tradition he received Dzogchen Teaching from Jetapihritsa (believed to be one and the same as Garab Dorje) and his father Drenpa Namkha, whose transmissions came both directly from Kunto Zangbo (Samantabhadra) and from various masters who have achieved rainbow bodies.


Tsewang Rigzin. Together with Drenpa Namkha and Guru Rinpoche, they spread the essence of Dzogchen teaching.


Drenpa Namkha. He is also known as Chepung Drenpa Namkha as well as Lhachen Drenpa Namkha. He was believed to transmit Bon teachings to Vairocana, an eighth century Tibetan Buddhist monk.

The name Drenpa Namkha is not to be confused with Drenpa Namkha of a later period. The latter one is also called Drenpa Yeshe Dragpa.
____

There is so much to be learned about these great masters. A large number of Tibetan texts have not been translated and thus are inaccessible to us. The problem we face today is that our knowledge comes mainly from limited sources. In addition, Tibetan lamas do not usually study and practice other traditions. Hence, many of them have limited knowledge concerning other traditions. This is why being a rimed or non-sectarian practitioner is extremely important. Besides, there are many confusing names. For example, there are two Drenpa Namkhas who are different persons. Garab Dorje and Jetapihritsa are believed to be the same person, though they have different names.

I can use my own name as an example. In Tibet I am called Kesang Dawa. In Thailand my name is Krisadawan. This is one and the same person with different labels. Suppose 100 years from now there's another person named Kesang Dawa and she is not the same person as I. We cannot say that the later Kesang Dawa and the present-day Kesang Dawa are one and the same. If we understand this fact, there is not so much confusion. The key is that we have to be broad-minded and do a lot of investigation before we come to a conclusion and make any assessment.

On Guru Rinpoche's Birth

I pray to Ogyan Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava
May all obstacles be removed and may all wishes be fulfilled!

While in Chengdu, I met an abbot who proposed me a very interesting and important project. He wanted to edit and publish Guru Rinpoche's life as has been written by Sangje Lingpa, a great terton of the 18th century who was Kundrol Dragpa's root lama. Sangje Lingpa was a rimed practitioner who combined both Bon and Nyingma teachings. Together with Kundrol Dragpa they spread the New Bon teaching in Gyalrong. Their teaching flourished even in the court of Gyalrong kings. And Sangje Lingpa himself became Qianglong Emperor's master. The Emperor presented him a drubcho (ritual musical instrument) with a picture of hen and dragon and his name on it.

Sangje Lingpa's writing on Guru Rinpoche is titled "Thang yig kun snang gsal sgron" or a clear illumination to all related to Guru Rinpoche's life. For him as well as Dorje Lingpa's kathang (Guru's life) of the Nyingma tradition, Guru Rinpoche was born two ways: from parents and miraculously (born naturally on a lotus). But this text focuses on the first way of birth. Other more commonly known kathangs are in the Nyingma tradition such as Tag Shamba's Pema Kathang (Stag sham pa'i padma'i bka' thang) and Longse Kathang (Klong gsal bka' thang). These texts first describe Guru Rinpoche as being born of parents and later on by a miraculous way. The emphasis is, however, on the second.

If we believe that beings can be born of various ways, there is no confusion or suspicion in this case. Tibetans talk about four ways of births, namely born of parents, born miraculously, born because of warmth and born from an egg. Given the marvellous life of Guru Rinpoche who is Buddha on earth, it's natural that there are more than one of his life history.

In Sangje Lingpa's kathang, his father is Drenpa Namkha (Dranpa Namkha'), his mother is Dakini Oten Pama ('od ldan 'ba' ma), his younger brother is Tsewang Rigzin. Guru himself is called Yungdrung Thongdrol.

Drenpa Namkha, Tsewang Rigzin and Guru Rinpoche are known as the "Three Deathless Ones" the father and his twin sons. They form the basis of the New Bon Tradition which emphasizes that Bon and Buddhism are essentially the same, but via different lineages.

Remebering Gyalrong and Yungdrung Lhateng

Gyalrong is the name of a Tibetan region, which is to the southeast of Kham. Thai people know this region through the famous Jiujaigo. The people there are called Gyalrongbas. They look like Tibetan, dress a similar outfit but speak a different language called Gyalrong language. Sadly, nowadays they mainly speak Chinese and are illiterate in Tibetan.

Before I went to Chengdu this time, I planned to visit Gyalrong, particularly the Yungdrung Lhateng Monastery in Jinchuan, where I visited in January and met a lama named Pema Rigzin. His lineage is renowned for Chod practice. He himself finished a three year retreat at Dokden Monastery in Aba county before being appointed to look after this monastery. He also finished one and a half year Chod retreat and had gone to 108 springs to recite Chod alone.

Once he came to see Lhasray Rinpoche and asked him for his advice in managing this monastery. He said the people in Gyalrong do not pay much attention to monks and do not make offering. So it's hard for monks to sustain themselves. Rinpoche suggested him and his monks to perform a feast offering to the protectress Palden Lhamo. He said when Hungchen Rinpoche was living, Yungdrung Lhateng was one of his temples and he made it a special place for a practice on Palden Lhamo. Pema Rigzin followed his advice. Although the monastery didn't have much food, he offered the protectress all the tsampa they had. After that it was like a miracle. The monastery made a progress. More and more people come and offer the monks food. But since the Gyalrongbas do not eat yak's meat and they raise mainly pigs, the monks decided to become vegetarians.

When we were there in January, there were only 5 monks. There's a Chinese old lady from Xinjiang who came to look after them. Even though we were there for only 2 nights, it was a special experience. The first day I jotted down all the things needed to be done when one wants to practice Chod. The second day I made prostrations to Palden Lhamo in the assembly hall. I felt an urge to do so when I stepped inside the hall. I felt special blessings from Hungchen Rinpoche and Lhasray Rinpoche. While I was prostrating, Pema Rigzin recited the prayer to Palden Lhamo. The sound of his drum is still vivid in my memory even now. That night we recited Chod together using Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche's text and recited the prayer for bardo beings using Hungchen Rinpoche's text.

The reason I talked about Gyalrong is not only because I miss Yungdrung Lhateng but also because Gyalrong is a special region where many termas in the New Bon tradition have been discovered. One of the greatest masters of our time Kundrol Dragpa (b. 1700) or the first Kundrol started the rimed movement there. Hungchen Rinpoche is his 6th reincarnation.

Updates and Thanks

I got home after a week's trip to Chengdu. We just finished unpacking our things. It's auspicious to see that we brought home many ten or sacred objects related to Guru Rinpoche. They are a huge thangka of Guru Rinpoche with Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal and Dakini Mandarava painted by an Amdo artist from Yontan's hometown in Aba, smaller thangkas of Guru by Kham artists, a gold image of Guru, a model for clay image of Guru, a picture of Guru with a short prayer and a cloth depicting Guru siddhi mantra. We also brought many prayer flags and victory banners for the Stupa ceremony.

Talking about the ceremony, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Khun Prachum, Khun Areerat, Miao, Nuch and particularly Khun Jick who helped with the invitation cards and contacted concerned parties for ceremonial tents and accommodating tents for retreatans. Khun Jick has made contribution to Rinpoche's plane ticket for 25,000 baht and offered to help share the cost of renting the tents with Khun Koh. Each tent costs 12,000 baht. We might need 2 tents.

Thanks are also due to Dr. Bundit and his friends who are willing to come and cook for us on the ceremony day and throughout the Guru Rinpoche retreat. I'm sure we all will be very healthy. Talking about Dr. Bundit, I was happy to see the tiny Buddha image which he gave me specially placed on an altar in Lhasray Rinpoche's prayer room. It's placed next to Hungchen Rinpoche's Tara terma. Rinpoche said he treasured this special gift from Thailand.

Our Tara retreat center is only a year old. We need a lot of help to develop it so that it can accommodate practitioners and do great work for sentient beings. And now we carry a big responsibility of building a great stupa for world peace. We would appreciate any support anyone would like to contribute towards our Stupa project, particularly the upcoming organization of the foundation stone laying ceremony and Rinpoche's Dharma teaching in Thailand.

While I was in Chengdu, Khun Chanchai from Riwoche Dharma Center came to see Ajarn Soraj. He gave the Foundation 600 small images of Guru Rinpoche. We are grateful to his kindness.

Before I left Chengdu, I went to see Rinpoche again. He told us that an important lama Yungdrung Gawa from the Hor lineage just passed away in Lhasa. There's a story about him on TV last night. His family asked Rinpoche to attend the funeral in Lhasa and travel to his hometown in Nagchu to attend the cremation. Rinpoche said although he wished to be there because Yungdrung Gawa had done so much for the Dharma and his father was Hungchen Rinpoche's student, he felt that it's extremely important for him to travel to Thailand and work for the Tara Great Stupa. He said in general the foundation stone laying ceremony in Tibet took one and a half day to complete and required several monks to perform the ritual with the lama. But he didn't want us to spend so much money on monks' traveling expenses this time. He said after the construction began and we were about to fill in the inside of the Stupa we would need to invite several monks who would come and pray for 2 or 3 months before Rinpoche's arrival. When the time comes, the Foundation will hold a big ceremony and will extend our invitation to the general public again.

A Visit to an Image Carving and Thangka Painting Place

This morning Lhasray Rinpoche took us to visit a place in Chingdu (about 1 hour from Chengdu) where several thangka painters and image carvers from Chamdo reside. We are impressed with their work. Unfortunately, the carvers have gone to their hometown to celebrate the New Year. We met only the painters who are young men. Rinpoche was friendly with them. He advised them to do good work in painting paying special attention to right proportion and even a minute detail. This will be a great way to preserve Tibetan culture. It's not all right for them to think only about money, as a statue or image cannot be measured by the amount of money. However, the price one sets should be quite satisfactory to both oneself and others who are interested in buying it. In this way, the work is in accord with the law of karma. If the painter thinks only about money, the piece of art can be quite bad and the painter is at risk of going to a lower realm after he or she dies.



Thangka of Buddha in nirmanakaya form depicting his twelve great deeds



Gyalchen Namtho Sray (Rgyal chen rnam thos sras), one of the lokapalas



Green Tara in gold



Teacher and student watching Buddha statue, wishing a similar image to be built in Thailand



Beautiful Buddha image (Jowo Rinpoche) with great quality



Giving advice to the thangka selling manager and painters

Lhasray Rinpoche's Activities in Thailand

Tentative Schedule: January 2008

Day 1 (Sun Jan 6)
Arrival in Bangkok

Day 2 (Mon Jan 7)
Have dinner with the Tara Great Stupa Working Group and the manager of the Buddha carving factory

Day 3 (Tue Jan 8)
Preparation for the Tara Great Stupa Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony

Day 4 (Wed Jan 9)
Leave for Khadiravana; Arrangement for the Ceremony

Day 5 (Thur Jan 10)
Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony (11.09-13.00 hrs.)
Guru Rinpoche Retreat (15.00-21.30 hrs. with several breaks in between)

Day 6 (Fri Jan 11)
Guru Rinpoche Retreat (9.00-21.30 hrs.)

Day 7 (Sat Jan 12)
Guru Rinpoche Retreat continued
Guru Rinpoche Empowerment (11.09-13.30 hrs.)

Day 8-10 (Sun-Tue Jan 13-15)
Rinpoche's personal retreat at Khadiravana

Day 11 ( Wed Jan 16)
Visit the Buddha carving factory in Nakhorn Prathom; Return to Bangkok

Day 12 (Thur Jan 17)
Meet with the Tara Great Stupa Working Group

Day 13 (Fri Jan 18)
Leave for Chiang Mai; Visit temples and stupas there

Day 14 (Sat Jan 19)
Visit Lamphun
Dharma teaching in Chiang Mai

Day 15 (Sun Jan 20)
Leave for Chiang Rai; Visit temples and Khun Areerat's land

Day 16 (Mon Jan 21)
Return to Bangkok

Day 17 (Mon Jan 22)
Prayer and Offering to Palden Lhamo

Day 18 (Tue Jan 23)
Dharma talk on Bardo and how to prepare oneself for death at the Foundation House (7-9 pm)

Day 19 (Wed Jan 24)
Dharma talk on Bardo and Gyalwa Rignga, the Five Buddhas Families at the Foundation House (7-9 pm)

Day 20 (Thur Jan 25)
Return to Chengdu

Prayer to Guru Rinpoche

Hrih! pechung chewa thragya sowa dep
wached chewa thragya togpa dzod
samba chewa thragya drubwa sho
drodon chewa thragya drubjur jig
Om Ah Hung Bendza Guru Pema Siddhi Hung!

Hrih! I pray to Padmasambhava one billion times,
May one billion obstacles be removed!
May one billion wishes be fulfilled!
May one billion benefits of beings be accomplished!
Om Ah Hung Bendza Guru Pema Sitthi Hung

Mongyal Lhasray Tshognyi Gyatso Rinpoche has written this while residing in Chengdu for the purpose of the Bonpo Kanjur in the auspicious iron bird year. May it be realized accordingly! Tashi!
---

Lhasray Rinpoche gave us the above prayer when we asked him for a short prayer to Guru Rinpoche which is easy to memorize. Rinpoche said this prayer is intended to bring great benefits and remove obstacles which are common when one does the Dharma work.

Prostration: Why and How

Many people wonder about how to do full prostration and why it is important to do it in holy place. Here is the explanation from Latri Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche:

The main purpose of prostrations is to purify the nonvirtuous deeds and negativities of the body. In Tibetan, the word chak means sweeping away the impurities of the body. One does prostrations in front of a statue, in a temple, in a holy place, in front of one's teacher, and so on...

There are two kinds of prostrations: the full prostrations (kyang chak), where you lay down the full length of your body; and the easier and shorter prostrations (kum chak), where the five branches of your body (your forehead, both hands, and both knees) touch the ground while you do a recitation prayer with the visualization of the deities and the enlightened ones.

The most important aspect of this practice is again one's pure intention. In Tibet there is a tradition of of circumambulating holy mountains like Kongpo Bonri, the mountain of Bon in the Kongpo Valley blessed by Tonpa Shenrab himself, by doing prostrations after every step.

Prostrations are not the only way to purify bodily negativities. You can also purify them by circumambulating temples or other holy mountains. Another way is also to participate in the construction of a temple or other holy place such as a stupa or a sand mandala.

How to Do Prostrations

1. Stand straight
2. Bring your arms up in front of you
3. Palms up. This symbolizes offering to the whole world.
4. Lift your hands higher, and when you reach the level of your crown wheel put your palms together. This is the offering to the enlightened ones.
5. Touch your hands to your crown wheel, then your throat wheel, and then your heart wheel. This way you receive the blessings of the body, speech and mind of the enlightened ones.
6. Then sweep your hands down your body, symbolizing sweeping away the negativities.
7. Kneel down,
8. Stretch your body flat on the ground,
9. Bring your arms and hands straight on your head,
10. Flat on the floor.
11. Remain in this position for a few seconds,
12. Then stand up and repeat these same steps three times.
After the third, stand up and repeat only the part with the hands.

The text says that the more you challenge yourself and the more pure intention you have for this practice, the more blessings you will receive. Thus, the most important thing is to have proper motivation, full devotion, and precise visualization. Otherwise, doing prostrations will be just physical exercise. It is best to do prostrations in holy places. It is believed that you multiply merits by cultivating this practice.

From "Open the Door to Bon"
Drawing: Khun Ek (Atipong Padanupong)

Meeting Rinpoche Again

I came back to Chengdu yesterday and will be here for about a week. The main purposes are to take care of HE Kundrol Mongyal Lhasray Rinpoche's and Sang-ngag Lingpa Rinpoche's visas and plane tickets and to do some preparation work for the upcoming foundation stone laying ceremony and Guru Rinpoche retreat. Unfortunately, because of the lack of time and harsh winter in Kham, I won't be able to travel to Dzachukha and Jyekundo to visit Dakini Hermitage and the Pathang school which the Foundation has been supporting.

We showed Rinpoche the plans of the one-meter high model of the Tara Great Stupa and a dharma pavillion that Jun, Lek and Glaang drew for Khadiravana. Rinpoche was greatly interested in them. After that we talked about the function of the foundation hill of the Tara Great Stupa. We wanted to build a shrine hall to place the five families Buddhas. Our original idea was to build Amitabha Buddha's shrine hall which will be like Sukhavati on earth. But later on we expanded the hall to include the other four Buddha families, namely Vairocana, Amoghasitthi, Aksobhaya and Ratanasambhava. There are Bonpo names for these deities. But I use the more common names here.

Rinpoche said the idea of the five families Buddhas or gyalwa rig nga in Tibetan was a very important one. They represent the five natural elements that make up our body. When we die, these elements which we have borrowed return to the universe. If anyone practices the dharma well, he or she may be born in one of these five families Buddhas and ultimately becomes one and the same as Samantabhadra, the dharma kaya (bon ku) of all Buddhas.

In Tibetan custom when someone dies, they request a lama to recite a prayer to the five Buddha families. These Buddhas also represent five wisdoms or the mastery of five defilements, namely hatred, jealousy, pride, attachment, and ignorance.

We updated Rinpoche on the activities we did in the past two months such as the lectures by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche and his visit to Khadiravana, the lectures by Phakchok Rinpoche, the meeting with many helpful people related to the Tara Great Stupa and the preparation work needed to be done for the Stupa ceremony and Guru Rinpoche retreat. He commented that it was great that the Foundation did so many things for Tibetan Buddhism. I shared with him the parrot story that Ringu Rinpoche told us. Rinpoche smiled when he heard about the great efforts the compassionate parrot did while trying to extinguish the fire and save other animals'lives. We talked about Ringu Rinpoche a little bit. He said his uncle's wife and Ringu Rinpoche's mother were relatives and Ringu Monastery and Mongyal Monastery were located in the same vicinity in Dzakhok, Dege county in northern Kham. Then we talked about Sikkhim. Rinpoche related a story about his late father Hungchen Drotu Linpa Rinpoche's visit to Sikkhim, where he discovered a terma.

We asked Rinpoche for a short prayer to Guru Rinpoche so that we can make a small Guru gift to everyone who attends the empowerment. Rinpoche will give a short prayer which he composed and published in the Tripitaka he edited several years ago. He said this short prayer was a powerful one which is intended to remove obstacles and to increase benefits.

We also talked about Ganesha, a Hindu god who has been popular in Thailand. Rinpoche told us an amazing thing that Hungchen Rinpoche had a terma composing of several sadhana texts of this god.

Before we left Rinpoche's residence, we talked about the Tara Great Stupa again. Rinpoche said the present world was full of ills, turmoils, conflicts and disasters. The Stupa would be like a medicine to cure these diseases.

Mt. Sumeru as Mandala

The earth is perfumed with scented water and is strewn with flowers,
Adorned as well with Sumeru, the four continents, the sun and moon.
By imagining and offering these as aBuddha realm,
May all living beings here come to enjoy pure realms.
Om! Guru Tara! The Vajra Mandala: the gathering, swelling ocean of clouds of offerings Hung!

I think of Mt. Kailash or Mt. Sumeru. Soon we'll get there and be able to recite this prayer while visualizing and offering the mountain as the supreme mandala to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. As a natural stupa, Mt. Kailash is the source of all goodness, the heart of Buddha. It is a divine place that ordinary beings can perceive, experience, and get inspired. It is a symbol of hope for everlasting peace and happiness in this realm of conflicts, atrocities and suffering.

But the real sacred mountain, the real mandala is not outside us. It is in fact very near us - in our heart and mind.

Great Day

Today is the 8th day of the month. In Theravada Buddhism we remember Buddha Shakyamuni and in Vajrayana Buddhism we make special prayers to Mother Tara and Medicine Buddha. All day long I did a couple of works that are related to the Tara Great Project: contacting a factory manager about the making of the Tara Stupa model, arranging invitation cards for the foundation stone laying ceremony, preparing clay for a stupa tsa tsa, talking to K. Thamrong of the Thai-Tibet Center about making an image of Green Tara for our water project at Khadiravana, and meeting TV people who came to ask questions about Green Tara. It was truly a special day with great blessing and great help from my students and friends of the Foundation.

In addition, we had Dr. Tsedor Nyarongsha at our Foundation House. Many patients came. Among them were Teng's friend from Malaysia who shares our love for Tibetan tea and Tibetan culture, and Ven. Pasanno of the Aphaykhiri Monastery in Colorado. Ven. Pasanno is a student of the late great master Ven. Ajarn Cha. Presently he is abbot of the mentioned temple. We had a good talk. He lived in Thailand for 20 some years before going to the US. He said having lived there, he came to know more about Vajrayana Buddhism and had met a wonderful Nyingma master Tulshik Rinpoche. He expressed his appreciation of the Foundation's work, particularly the building of the Great Stupa. He accepted our invitation to come back to the Foundation, not as a patient, but as a speaker for our 1000 Stars series lectures.

The night ended with more work on the invitation cards and the prayer to the 21 Taras and Mandala Offering.

Guru Rinpoche's Sacred Image

Sacred Image of Guru Rinpoche with the phurpa terma in the heart at Dakini Khabcho Wangmo Monastery, Nyarong, Kham, Eastern Tibet.

Om Ah Hung Banza Guru Pema Siddhi Hung

Guru Rinpoche Retreat

The 1000 Stars Foundation is holding a three-day Guru Rinpoche retreat on January 10-12, 2008 at the Tara Khadiravana Retreat Center. The retreat will start in the afternoon of January 10 (after the stupa foundation stone laying ceremony) and will be concluded by the Guru Rinpoche empowerment in the late morning of January 12. His Eminence Kundrol Mongyal Lhasray Rinpoche will lead the retreat and conduct the empowerment. Sang-ngag Lingpa Rinpoche (Lhasray Rinpoche's son who is a tulku of a great terton or treasure revealer) will also preside in the ceremony and join us in the retreat and empowerment.

Lhasray Rinpoche is a senior Dzogchen master from the New Bon Tradition. His family inherited directly from the lineage of Buddha Tempa Sherab. His late father Hungchen Drotu Lingpa and older sister Khabcho Wangmo were one of the greatest tertons Tibet has known. Lhasray Rinpoche is also a great master in the Nyingma lineage. His life story is a noble one full of wisdom, compassion, patience, diligence and faith in Buddhism. Although he was imprisoned for 21 years, he turned his prison cell into a meditation place and he developed no hatred or any negative thought towards those who made him suffer.

Tentative Program

January 10
10.30 Gather at Khadiravana
11.09 Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony (The general public is welcome.)
13.00 Lunch
15.00 Guru Rinpoche Retreat; Dharma teaching
17.00 Break
18.00 Dinner
19.30 Meditation and prayer
21.30 Rest

January 11
8.00 Breakfast
9.00 Blessing the Tara statue for Khadiravana water project; Dharma teaching
10.30 Tea break
11.00 Meditation and prayer
12.00 Lunch
13.00 Mantra recitation
15.00 Tea break
15.30 Making of clay stupa; Mantra recitation
17.00 Break
18.00 Dinner
19.30 Meditation and prayer
21.30 Rest

January 12
8.00 Breakfast
9.00 Making of clay stupa; Rinpoche preparing for the empowerment
10.30 Tea break
11.09 Guru Rinpoche Empowerment
13.30 Lunch
End of Retreat

Registration fees for the three-day retreat: 1,500 baht; for the empowerment only: 600 baht.
There is no registration fee for those who wish to attend the foundation stone laying ceremony only.

The fees will conribute to the round-trip airfares of the two Rinpoches between Chengdu and Bangkok and will cover Rinpoches' and retreatants' meals, camping gear and other necessary expenses.

More detail, please contact Worawanna Petchkij at worawora@gmail.com or Parida Sukprasert at aimer_nuch@hotmail.com.

Registration closes on January 5, 2008.

Looking at "Bon" in a New Light (2)

Excerpt from "On Zhang Zhung and Bon" by Christopher I. Beckwith, Professor of Tibetan Studies at Indiana University

The Bon sect is certainly different from, for example, the Rnying ma (Nyingma) sect, or the Sa skya (Sakya) sect—which are markedly different from each other—but that should hardly be a reason for saying it is ‘non-Buddhist’. Zen Buddhism is
radically different from Theravada Buddhism, both of which are in turn markedly different from Tantric Buddhism. Every known national form of Buddhism practiced today embodies innovative elements that are particular to it, and indeed, the same statement may be made about every major world religion.

It is important to note that although the Bonpos are generally represented as heterodox, Tibetan literature does not say Bon is ‘non-Buddhist’ and is thus to be distinguished from the other Tibetan religious sects, which are, by contrast, ‘Buddhist’, as so many claim. Bonpos are accused by other Buddhists of violating Buddhist strictures against killing animals, among other things, but such accusations are to be expected in sectarian polemics...

In conclusion, the fact that Bon is different from other Tibetan Buddhist traditions is one of the things that makes it so interesting, but the idea that it was ever anything but a Buddhist religious tradition which arose in the phyi
dar (chidar) period seems not to be supportable.

(Chidar is the period of later spread of Buddhism from India into Tibet around the 11th century. - Krisadawan)

Looking at "Bon" in a New Light

Bon means dharma. But the very word turned out to be one of the most misunderstood and prejudiced words in Tibetan religious history. For Bonpos (practitioners of Bon), their religious tradition is Buddhist, an authentic one long before Buddhism in India began. This spiritual tradition has its center in Zhang Zhung, which is presently around Mt. Kailash. It has been in Tibet before the spread of Buddhism from India in the 7th century A.D. It traced its origin to Buddha Tempa Sherab, who they believe to be one and the same as Buddha Shakyamuni.

For many non-Bonpos, Bonpos are outcast, shamans and products of the tradition that sacrifices animals. I don't know how the stereotype and misunderstanding began. As a student and practitioner of this lineage, I didn't find anything that can be characterized as animal sacrifice or even shamanism. If there is one, it is the Bodhisattva's imagination of offering one's own flesh and blood to pretas so that they are appeased and can cultivate loving-kindness for others. But this practice which we call "chod" cutting through egoism is also found in other Buddist sects.

Once there are stereotypes, it is hard to fix them. I have met many Bonpos who prefer to hide their identity for fear of not being accepted. I have also met Bonpos who told me that they could not use the term Buddhism to describe their tradition. They have to resort to the term Bon religion which others use.

I used to ask myself how a tradition like Bon that teaches the law of Karma, dependent origination, emptiness and clarity as the two most important qualities of Buddha nature, Bodhicitta and the path of enlightenment can be non-Buddhist. What do we use as a criterion to call what is Buddhist and what is not?

21 Taras

Before the empowerment, Rinpoche told us about Tara. She used to be a human being just like us. Once she was a princess who made a vow to stay in Samsara as a female form until all beings are liberated. She made a wish that anyone who heard her name or recited it would be freed from all levels of obstacles, be they business failure, accident, animal problem (outer level), bodily illness (inner level), and ignorance (secret level). And their wishes are fulfilled.

Rinpoche related many stories about Tara's kindness. He talked about Atisha, a strong devotee to Tara. Once in Tibet he became seriously ill. He prayed to Tara. She asked him to recite the praise to 21 Taras 10,000 times within one day. But he said he couldn't do it, so she gave him a short summary which constitutes the essence of the 21 Taras practice.

Om! Homage to the Venerable Arya Tara!
Tare, Homage, heroic Tara,
Tuttare, Savioress liberating all fears,
Ture, Lady granting all aims,
Soha syllables, To You I respectfully bow!

Each Tara in the 21 Taras praise has special characteristic. 16 Taras are associated with the removal of obstacles resulting from animals and natural disasters. 4 Taras are associated with activities. And there is one major Tara, Green Tara.

The sadhana used for the empowerment is the terma or treasure text Chokgyur Lingpa received from Guru Rinpoche directly. From Chokgyur Lingpa, it was transmitted to his son Tsering Norbu, who passed it on to Samten Gyatso. The latter is HH 15th Karmapa's teacher. Samten Gyatso then transmitted it to Tulku Ugyen, who was HH 16th Karmapa's teacher. Phakchok Rinpoche received the transmission from Tulku Ugyen, his late grandfather.

Phakchok Rinpoche's Dharma Teaching at Chula and the 21 Taras Empowerment

Rinpoche demonstrating how to meditate with the two thumbs combied. This method works well for those who need alertness in their meditation.



Dharma teaching on mind training in the morning





Rinpoche wearing the philosopher and lama hat at the empowerment. The hat has two ends symbolizing Mantrayana and Sutrayana.



Mandala for the 21 Taras empowerment. The Taras from the Mandala and from the Lama's forehead dissolve into us and we visualize ourself as Tara. Our body, speech and mind are no different from those of Tara.



Group photo after the empowerment

Common and Uncommon Sense in Buddhism

Dr. Any Lowe kindly sent me this informative summary of Phakchok Rinpoche's teaching at the Siam Society on December 13, 7.30-9 pm.

There were about 50 people who came to hear this teaching. Only a few of whom had already heard the teachings of Phatchok Rinpoche earlier in the day at Chula University. The people in the audience looked very affluent and seemed to be rather tense prior to the teaching. It took a few minutes for Rinpoche to penetrate this rather formal and stuffy atmosphere. After a short while Rinpoche managed to get people to start laughing at themselves and then the real teaching was able to begin. Rinpoche was echoing the "mind training" he had taught earlier in the day at Chula university in a slightly repackaged way.

TonightRinpoche explained that the "common" way to think was to be a victim of our emotions, where as the "uncommon" way was to practice compassion and meditation. Rinpoche reminded the audience that we should practice increasing our awareness of negative emotions. Then we should investigate where these negative emotions originate. Rinpoche said that eventually we would realize that all emotions are intrinsically impermanent and devoid of substance. We should begin to
train our minds to cut the dualist connection between the subject and the object. Having achieved greater awareness of our emotions the next stage was to develop greater sensitivity towards deeply rooted "lower levels" of emotional currents. The only way to achieve this was through meditation over a long period of time. By so doing our propensity to being a victim of our own emotions would gradually diminish. This process was quite subtle because we have to learn how to both recognize that know how to skillfully deal with our emotions without either engaging with the emotions or denying the existence of
the emotions. Rinpoche explained that even after many years of meditation it was still possible that low levels of negative energy "currents" would persist. This is no problem as long it is dealt with by the development of our own meditation. He said that the Tibetan word for this process [bunjung?] meant "arise" and "tame". First we develop awareness of our negative emotions and then we must learn how to tame them.

Rinpoche's teaching was peppered with numerous and very amusing anecdotes about his trials and tribulations of evolution from his formal recognition as a Rinpoche to his gradual understanding of what it was to be a Buddhist. Rinpoche said that he only really became a Buddhism when he was 18 years old. Before then he had is a state of confusion during the 11 years from the age of 7 when he was recognized as a Rinpoche until his 18th birthday . With the help of his teachers his was able to begin to understand what being a Buddhist really meant when he reached 18.

There were many questions asked of Rinpoche and he gave elaborate answers to them all. The teaching would have gone longer but the time allocated by the Siam Society had already been exceeded so the teaching finished around 21.00. Several members of the audiences requested that Rinpoche return to Bangkok soon and give more general teachings as well as specific Vajrayana teachings. Rinpoche smiled and replied that he would like to return to Thailand when he could.

"Me"

Rinpoche stressed the significance of searching the "me" or "tua chan/tua kuu" in Thai. We tend to cling to our identity caused by being selfishness which has the root cause in ignorance. This is truly ironical because when we are born we are really nothing. We have even no name and during the first 6 months to one year we don't know our own names. Yet, we later develop attachment to our name, our body, etc. He related a story of a friend from the US who visited him in Nepal. This friend got panicked when she found that her passport was lost. She said she was totally lost because her identity was gone. But he told her that it's only a piece of paper. You still have everything that forms yourself. How can you say that your identity no longer exists.

Apart from name, things like passport, we have big attachment to our body. But when we examine what the body is, what the part of body is, we cannot specifically pinpoint its exact location.

Rinpoche quotes Buddha saying that if we have a slight doubt on the "me" thing, we really shake Samsara.

Four Qualities of Meditation

Before we retired for lunch, Rinpoche explained about the four qualities of meditation and asked us to meditate while being aware of these qualities. They are (1) calmness, (2) clearness or clarity, (3) one-pointedness, and (4) without distraction. He related some interesting characteristics or anecdotes of each as follows:

Calmness is the ability to keep the mind calm and peaceful. This is facilitated by having the right posture. Rinpoche talked about many kinds of postures which support good meditation. For example, the meditator sits cross-legged with (1) straight spine, (2) mouth slightly open, (3) eyes open (but not seeing anything in particular), (4) tongue touching palate, (5) chin tugged in, (6) thumbs touching little fingers pressing on vein, (7) the mudra in (6) placed around the waist. This is called "The Seven Posture of Vairocana," which requires great effort. He said this posture is torturing in the first week, okay in the second week and blissful in the third week. Having good posture enhances calmness of mind.

Clarity is sometimes called mindfulness. He said he preferred the former because the latter connotes a too active mind. Clearness doesn't require any working. It's naturally clear.

One-pointedness is the ability to concentrate on something in meditation. Once one of his western students complained that one-pointedness was difficult to develop. So he asked him to look at his girl friend's picture and meditate on her. Having done that, he found one-pointedness easy to do. The point is we can use anything as a support of visualization to practice this quality. The key is it has to be something we are familiar with, be it computer, Buddha's photo, or even a breath.

Without distraction is the ability to meditate without being disturbed by other causes. There are two kind of distractions which are compared to "robber" and "thief". The first one attacks us abruptly. When we are suddenly disturbed, we lose meditation. The second one does the work gradually, like a thief stealthily comes. They are like big current and small current which interrupt the flow of mediation. If we do not have this quality, we can't meditate well.

He stressed the importance of not expecting or doubting these qualities to happen while we are meditating. We are just relaxed and are aware of these qualities. It's important to learn how to meditate correctly; otherwise, we just waste our time.

Four Techniques of Mind Training

We just finished the first day teaching by HH Phakchok Rinpoche. It was a full day of inspiring and lively talk. Rinpoche emphasized the importance of taming our mind. He said many people might wonder how mind which is so corrupted by negative emotions and unwholesome thoughts can become clean. According to him, it does seem that our mind is like chacoal which is inherently black and can't be washed away or whitened. But Buddha tells us that each one of us, even a dog and other kinds of beings, has the Buddha nature (tathagatagarbha), which is pure, clean and full of wisdom from the beginning. Hence, the task of taming our mind is possible.

Since our life is so active, i.e. we do so many things in a day, we need many techniques to train our mind. For example, when we work, we need one technique. When someone says negative things to us and we feel angry, we need another technique. When we go to temple and feel calm, we need one more technique. He talked about four specific techniques, namely (1) seeing one's negative emotions and thoughts such as anger, jealousy, pride, (2) developing positive emotions and thoughts such as loving kindness, compassion, Bodhicitta, (3) examing the root cause of problem, which is the "me", and (4) meditating without conceptual thoughts, no matter whether they are positive or negative ones. This can be done via shamatha meditation for peaceful mind and vipassana meditation for the understanding of the real nature of things.

HH Phakchok Rinpoche's Dharma Teaching (2)

The 1000 Stars Foundation is grateful to the generous support of the following contributors. Because of their support, we meet the expenses of the rent for the conference hall. And we are able to provide all participants vegetarian lunches and tea/coffee breaks.

________________

Contributors for His Holiness Phakchok Rinpoche's Dharma Teaching, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
December 12-13, 2007

Noppawan Pienwutthikul (นพวรรณ เพียรวุฒิกุล) 1,200 Baht
Areerat Sirikhoon (อารีรัตน์ ศิริคูณ) 1,000
Jaroen Trongwaranon (เจริญ ตรงวรานนท์) 5,000
Yeh Yen-chu 10,000
Lee Siewhwa 2,000
Ganda and Lassy 2,000
Jit Tanthasathian (จิตร์ ตัณฑเสถียร) 20,000

Total 41,200 Baht

HH Phakchok Rinpoche's Dharma Teaching

HH Phakchok Rinpoche has arrived in Bangkok. He looks well and is as cheerful as before. He asked me to tell anyone who wanted to attend the Green Tara Empowerment on Dec 13 to refrain from eating meat for one day.

So this is just a reminder that the teaching will be held at Room 105 Mahachulalongkorn Building, Chulalongkorn University starting with mind training on Dec 12. This will be followed by how to cultivate compassion on the second day. The Empowerment is scheduled at 3 pm. It won't take more than 2 hours.

The building is opposite to the auditorium. Parking is limited. Please consider coming by taxi or sky train. The nearest station is Siam, where you can walk to the venue (15 minutes). There is no registration fee. Tea/coffee and snacks will be served. There are canteens near the meeting hall. Vegetarian meal can be bought there.

Change from the Within

These days I have been working on a book recounting my prostration experience in Tibet this past May. I was sick for 2 full days, couldn't eat anything and couldn't prostrate. Yontan suspected that it was caused by my stomach being too cold when I prostrated inside a tunnel near the Gongga Airport in Lhasa. Because I couldn't prostrate, we had to walk instead. When my condition didn't seem to improve, we decided to make a phonecall to Lhasray Rinpoche. We requested him to do some prayer removing obstacles from my journey.

When I wrote this part, I thought the reader might misunderstand that in Vajrayana Buddhism there's a kind of black magic or some spiritual power that can grant everything we want to achieve, no matter whether it is sickness or mastery over weather. This misunderstanding can occur easily if the person sees an unfamiliar ritual or a thangka depicting angry-faced dharmapalas or dakinis wearing skull mala.

If anyone gets a chance to understand the teaching in Vajrayaya, he or she will know that the essence is transformation of the mind. It's simple but profound. There's nothing exotic or full of superstition. Vajrayana teaches us to have self realization and change ourself from the within. It helps us understand our own nature and the nature of all things. It guides us to have a right understanding about Samsara and Nirvana, which exist not on the outer plane but are in our own mind. Samsara and Nirvana are states of our mind. Practicing the Dharma is a way to change our samsaric mind into enlightened mind.

หลายคนอาจจะคิดว่าชาวทิเบตเน้นพลังลึกลับที่สามารถจะอำนวยพรให้ทุกอย่างให้เป็นไปตามความปรารถนาไม่ว่าจะเป็นการขจัดการเจ็บป่วย หรือแม้แต่การคุมดินฟ้าอากาศ ความคิดนี้อาจจะเกิดขึ้นได้ง่ายๆเมื่อเขาได้เห็นพิธีกรรมหรือรูปภาพทิเบตที่บางครั้งแสดงภาพพระโพธิสัตว์ปางดุหรือฑากินีที่มีเครื่องประดับเป็นสร้อยกระดูก
แต่ถ้าใครได้เข้าใจคำสอนในพระพุทธศาสนาวัชรยาน จะรู้ว่าหัวใจหลักของวัชรยานคือการฝึกจิต เป็นคำสอนที่เรียบง่ายแต่มีความหมายลึกซึ้ง ไม่ได้มีอะไรที่พิสดารหรือเต็มไปด้วยเรื่องลึกลับไสยศาสตร์เลย วัชรยานสอนเราให้เกิดการตระหนักรู้เพื่อเปลี่ยนตัวเราจากข้างใน ไม่ใช่เปลี่ยนจากข้างนอก วัชรยานสอนให้เราแต่ละคนรู้จักตัวเราเอง ให้เข้าใจสภาวะธรรมชาติของสิ่งต่างๆ ให้มีมุมมองที่ถูกต้องเกี่ยวกับสังสารวัฏและนิพพานซึ่งไม่ได้อยู่ภายนอก แต่อยู่ในใจของเราแต่ละคน สังสารวัฏเป็นสภาวะของจิตเช่นเดียวกับนิพพาน วัชรยานชี้หนทางของการเปลี่ยนจิตสังสัารวัฏให้เป็นจิตตรัสรู้

How to Develop Patience

Soraj will focus on "khanti" or the perfection of patience in his talk on Bodhicaryavatara tomorrow. Let me quote an excerpt from Chapter 6:

"Anger destroys all the good conduct, such as generosity and worshiping the Sugatas, that has been acquired over thousands of eons.

There is no vice like hatred, and there is no austerity like patience. Therefore, one should earnestly cultivate patience in various ways.

The mind does not find peace, nor does it enjoy pleasure and joy, nor does it find sleep or fortitude when the thorn of hatred dwells in the heart..."

ความโกรธทำลายความดีงามทั้งหมด อาทิทานและการบูชาพระสุคตเจ้า อันผู้ปฏิบัติได้สั่งสมมาเป็นเวลานับพันๆกัป

ไม่มีความชั่วใดเหมือนกับโทสะ และไม่มีตบะใดเหมือนกับขันติ ดังนั้นเราจึงควรฝึกฝนขันติด้วยวิธีการต่างๆกัน

จิตจะไม่พบความสงบ ความพอใจหรือความยินดีใดๆ หรือพบกับการนอนหลับหรือความเข้มแข็ง หากหนามอันได้แก่โทสะยังเสียดแทงอยู่...

English text: A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life by Shantideva, translated by Vesna A. Wallace and B. Alan Wallace.
Thai translation by Soraj.

Announcement: 1000 Stars Lecture this Sunday Dec 9

There will be a lecture on "Shantideva's Bodhicaryavatara (Part 2)" this Sunday December 9, 2007 at the Foundation's House on Laprao Soi 11. The lecture will start at 1.30 pm (not 12.00 as announced previously). Interested persons are welcome!

"Ghost Buddha"

When we learn to stop and be truly alive in the present moment, we are in touch with what's going on within and around us. We aren't carried away by the past, the future, our thinking, ideas, emotions, and projects. Often we think that our ideas about things are the reality of that thing. Our notion of the Buddha may just be an idea and may be far from reality. Buddha is not a reality that exists outside of us, but is our own true nature. The Buddha outside ourselves was a human being who was born, lived, and died. For us to seek such a Buddha would be to seek a shadow, a ghost Buddha, and at some point our idea of Buddha would become an obstacle for us.

From "Nothing to Do, Nowhere to Go" (2007) by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Memories from the Nov 29 Lecture

Feedback from a Student

I would like to thank you for the opportunities to listen to Rinpoche's Dharma teaching and particularly for the chance to go to Khadiravana. I told Miow that Khadiravana was a very special place because simply stepping inside I felt peace of mind, calm and could forget all the negative things.

When I listened to Rinpoche's, I felt things were improving, surprisingly. I thought about the story of waves and the sea. It sounds simple but if no one teaches me I won't be able to think about it myself.

More from Khadiravana

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Lassy and Ampol



Ringu Rinpoche underneath the ancient banyan tree



Prayer flag



Andy, Rinpoche's first western student who now lives in Thailand



Taking a group photo in front of the first Mantra Stupa

More from the Empowerment and Khadiravana

Krisadawan, father, Ken, Soraj



Our beloved Taiwanese mother



Yontan, Yungdrung Tsomo (Miow) and Nuch



The three architects Glaang, Lek and Jun attending the ceremony despite their busy schedule.



Yontan and Kris preparing the Mandala



White Tara Mandala



White Tara or Cindamani Chakra Tara. Buddha of compassion who particularly grants long life blessing.

Thanks to our special friends Ganda and Lassy for these lovely photos.

Don't Let Anger Remain in Your Mind

I came from a family of 6 siblings. I'm close to the two elder sisters. My youngest sister, the six child of the family is 11 years younger than me. Both of us sometimes misunderstand each other. Many years ago we were upset with each other and we didn't talk for a long time. A few years ago we started to talk to each other again and recently we have been communicating by email. My sister is now living with her husband and children in Phnom Penh. This morning she wrote to me and apologized for the incident in the past which created a distance between the two of us. She said the anger was caused by her thinking that I didn't love her enough. Although it's not always pleasant to be reminded of the negative experience, I would like to thank her to openly acknowledge her feeling and to be willing to go beyond it. I related this incident because I thought it's extremely important that we understand ourselves, we understand our loved ones, friends and anyone we know, and we do not let anger remain in our mind. Anger will create disharmony, harm ourselves, and in many cases can lead to hatred, one of the most negative feelings of all. Because of anger, we can't be happy, despite the fact that happiness and inner peace are natural qualities of human beings. To make sure that there is no trace of anger left in our heart, it's wise to talk about it openly just like my sister did.

Here is the main message I told my sister:

"The past is the past. We should focus only on the present in which we love and care for each other. If we have no karmic connection in the past, we wouldn't have been born as sisters in this life. Ringu Tulku Rinpoche told everybody to be relaxed and calm, as this is the true nature of our mind. It's important to remain peaceful, calm and happy no matter what situation we find ourself. This training will help us particularly at the moment of death, when great suffering arises because the five elements collapse and consciousness has no support. Confused mind, angry mind, sad mind will only lead to more suffering and rebirth in a lower realm.

Vajrayana Buddism is in essence the same as Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism (like the one practiced
by Thich Nhat Hanh). Only the path is different. The main message is to spread our love and compassion to everyone, including devas, asuras, pretas and hell beings. After all, we are not separated from them. We are being just like them. Vajrayana Buddhism specially emphasizes the Buddha nature which is inherent in all of us."

Being angry, we obstruct our mind from being like the mind of Buddha.

Sizzling Sausages and Visualization

A participant told Ringu Tulku Rinpoche that he felt uncomfortable with the Tibetan way of meditation, namely visualizing deities. He preferred the Theravada way of meditating by focusing his attention on the breath. Rinpoche said in that case there's no need for him to do any visualization. He should just continue with the breath technique. Then Rinpoche recounted a funny story about a dying Khampa. On his deathbed, he was advised by his lama to visualize Buddha Amitabha in Sukhavati above the crown of his head. But the man said he couldn't do it. He could only think of sausages. So the lama asked him to visualize sizzling sausages instead. And when he could do that, the lama asked him to visualize further that the saussages are in Sukhavati. With this technique, the dying Khampa could focus his mind on Buddha Amitabha and his Pure Realm. He did well at the moment of his death because his mind was calm and concentrated on something positive.

What Is Mind Training?

Mind training is a clear way of seeing, reflecting, contemplating and understanding how things really are and what is best for me and others. It takes time for our mind to be trained this way, as we are prone to behave and think in a certain way due to our habitual tendencies. These tendencies are due to the five posions (kleshas), namely attachment, anger, ignorance, jealousy and arrogance. Ignorance or ma-rigpa in Tibetan is the root cause of everything. We cannot behave properly if we don't have the right view, if we are ignorant of what is good for us and others. There are both positive and negative sides of attachment. The positive one, for example, is compassion. I love all sentient beings and I really wish to help them. Anger is the most negative poison that can lead to malevalence and great suffering. For example, if someone says something negative about us, we might feel upset. The moment we are angry, it's nothing good at all. The one who is hurt is not others, but ourself. We can't be angry and happy at the same time. And when we are angry at something or someone, we usually get moody all day long. It's not logical to stay angry, because if we do we can never be happy. Understanding this and trying to change our conduct and way of reacting to emotions is what we call "mind training".

From Ringu Tulku Rinpoche's talk on mind training, November 29, 2007.

What to Do with Negative Emotions

Last night after the talk one person asked Ringu Rinpoche what to do if negative emotions arise. He said even though negative emotions are natural things that happen just like waves in the sea or shadows which can't be separated from ourselves, they do indeed bring suffering. Hence, there is a need to deal with them, not to let them become our master. The best thing to do is not to think about what has happened. In general, people have a tendency to be indulged in the emotions, no matter whether it is sadness or anger and thus hurt themselves. We keep thinking why things happen the way they do, why this and that person says something negative about us. We have to understand that it's not useful to keep thinking about what happened. When sadness or anger comes, just observe it and understand that it will naturally go away, in the same manner as when it comes.

There are many ways for us to train our mind so that we know how to deal with negative emotions. One of the ways is to meditate. But meditation doesn't mean simply to sit cross-legged in a prayer room. Meditation is to make our mind flexible so that it becomes the way we want it to be, as the following saying. "Let your body be on your seat, let your mind be in your body and let there be ease". Meditation is a way to bring the mind home. The mind is here and now, not thinking about the past or worrying about the future. Timing is not important. It can be 5 or 10 minutes each time. We need to be relaxed and focus our mind on something positive, which can be as simple as our breath. We can do this anywhere. Meditating often and learning to understand the nature of all things will help calm our mind and bring more long-lasting happiness.

Rinpoche said many people complain that they can't be relaxed because they are too busy and they have no time for meditation. He said that's a wrong attitude because the busier we are, the more relaxed we need to be. This is because being busy can bring stress and anxiety which will do harm to ourselves. If we are relaxed, we can work more efficiently.

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche's Visit to Khadiravana

Growing Khadira (Acacia catechu) or Sengteng in Tibetan




Blessing the Stupa site



Blessing Krisadawan's retreat cabin