Dear Friends
Well I didn't think anything could be more amazing than yesterday, but
little did I know that today I would learn that I was heading for Buddhist Hell
and that performing a Hindu puja (offering and prayer observance) to an elephant-headed
God could move me very deeply.
Our day began at breakfast in the Hotel Ngudrup in the company of an
international cohort of guests who are here to assist with [translating Tibetan
into English, for example] or attend the teachings by Drupon Rinpoche.
The teachings are given at a school for children from the Himalayas who
would not otherwise have an education and is funded by donations made to
Trungpa Rinpoche for his charitable works. This means that to go to the
teachings we can walk through the playground of the school with is between the
dormitory and the classroom building. I stopped in a corner to take a
picture and was engaged in conversation by a charming 7-year old boy who told
me in his clear, pan-pipe bright young voice that I was very beautiful.
Not a bad start to the day.
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| Students, monks, and nuns listen to the teaching of Drupon Rinpoche at Thrangu Rinphche's school, Shree Mangal Dvip, in Boudha |
The teachings being offered are a condensed summary of the 84,000 lessons the Buddha is said to have given in his life. One of the things that the Rinpoche told us this morning is that we have to believe in reincarnation or we will go to hell. Also we were informed that even if we practice assiduously for years, if we screw up once, all that good effort is erased. Well, I guess that the tradition we practice in our sangha in Chico in is not called "the secular meditation movement" for nothing. :-) and our whole sangha will be roasting marshmallows together in "the hot place" some day.
Even though we learned that there is no hope of achieving nirvana, we'll go
back again tomorrow. The first picture below is an effort on the iPhone
to show you the hall where the teachings are being given. Drupon Rinpoche
is sitting in the center just off the stage under a picture of Trungpa Rinpoche
that is overexposed in the image. Below and to his right is the translator,
David Karma Chopel. In the maroon robes on the left of the picture are
the nuns and on the right are the priests and in the back are the multi-colored
and multi-national laypersons.
Well, OK, that all is pretty tame and Tibetan Buddhist teachings can be
found in good ol' Chico, California.
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| A view of Patan's Durbar Square from a nearby restaurant's roof |
Today's afternoon excursion was to the last of the three medieval
city-states in the Kathmandu valley, Patan. Its temple and royal palace
area is even more spectacular architecturally than Bhaktapur even though it is
much smaller than the same area in Kathmandu. We were able to enter the courtyard
of the former royal palace where we enjoyed the very refined, delicate woodcarvings
that are part of the famous Newari woodwork that adorns their buildings both
historic and new. Large-scale Hindu Temples in various architectural
styles dazzle the eyes as you walk along between them and the other former
royal palace buildings. This is a place a person could spend days soaking
up the details of the buildings while watching the daily coming and going of
the city's inhabitants.
We visited the Golden Temple, a Buddhist pagoda and monastery that has
occupied the site since 1409 and has some very fine statuary to enjoy while
watching the very active offering and prayer ceremonies going on all around
you. Donna's tummy was not feeling well, and our guide suggested that
there was a healer behind the temple that she might see. He was a very
short fellow whose method of healing was through vibrations created in large bowls
made of a special metal alloy and sometimes called "singing bowls."
He held the bottom of a bowl to Donna's stomach and struck its sides
alternately in the "6:00 and 9:00 positions" rhythmically with a
rubber mallet. As he did this Donna reported feeling the energy of the
vibrations move into and relax her crampy abdomen. After the experience
she decided that one of the bowls had to go home with her to Forest Ranch.
We hope it is also able to help her out in the hotel room next door!
Today by email I learned that my dear friend Ann Ponzio will be having
thyroid surgery this Tuesday and I wanted to do something here in Nepal to send
prayerful energy to her and her surgeon, so I asked our guide Gudu which Hindu
god would be appropriate for me to make an offering to. He said, "Well,
of course that would be Ganesh, the elephant-headed god who can ensure
success." So he helped me buy the needed articles for the puja and
lead me through the process. First Gudu lit several sticks of incense and
instructed me to make circles around the statue and state what I wished for Ann
and Dr. Farwell. I then set the incense on the edge of the base of the
statue to continue burning. Then I lit four small candles we had laid out
in front of the Ganesh statue with ONLY my right hand. Then Gudu directed
me as I pressed sweets made especially for pujas (sorry Ann, they were not
chocolate even though I asked if they had that option) into the curve in
Ganesh's trunk, onto the lips of his consort, and onto their hands and feet
(this is when the little birds started to fly into the alcove with me and the
statues and the incense and candles and Gudu). The sweets did not really
stick very well and were pretty crumbly and not very tasty (Gudu told me I
could take one home.) The last step was to place a garland of orange
marigolds on Ganesh's head. While I was performing this ritual, several
people popped into the alcove to touch their heads on the front edge of the
platform where the statues rest. Happily, no one got close enough to the
candles to add burning hair to the puja.
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| The puja in process. The incense having been circled is resting on the edge of the altar. |
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| The puja completed, Ganesh is resplendent in his fresh marigold "lei". |
When I was finished I realized that I was very moved by this process.
I felt emotionally fulfilled and enriched by doing these new-for-me
observances, and, of course, I hope they help Dr. Farwell work at his best and
Ann to recover quickly. The picture below shows Ganesh and his consort
after the puja was finished. Obviously I was not the first person to make
offerings to him recently as he and his consort are well dusted with red pigment.
We made our way back to Boudha to meet Tsultrim, the son of one of Karma's
Nepali friends, Tsering who lives and works in the US. We spent the
evening with Tsering's wife and children in the elegant prayer room of their
flat. It has a very large, intricate alter at one end, thangkas lining
the other walls, and at least 3 pictures of the Dalai Lama at various stages of
his live. This family of Tibetan refugees lives here in Nepal but they
cannot vote and the Nepali Police thwarted even their voting in the recent
election in the Tibetan Government in exile. Pressure from China has increased
the harassment and arrest of these refugees if they make pubic protest.
They welcomed us with great warmth and great food.
Time for bed.
Hoping you all are well and that it is still raining in California.
Love,
Marian
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