Freedom, Pointing-Out Instructions, and Dharma Study

I have just come from an amazing weekend of teachings given here in Florida by Bardor Tulku Rinpoche of Kunzang Palchen Ling in Red Hook, New York, and formerly of His Holiness Karmapa’s North American seat, Karma Triyana Dharmachakra in Woodstock, New York.

Bardor Tulku Rinpoche (hereinafter referred to as BTR, for brevity’s sake) is recognized as the rebirth of one of Guru Rinpoche’s (Padmasambhava’s) 25 main disciples, Nub Sangye Yeshe, and also as the rebirth of the 19th-century terton (treasure text finder), Terchen Barway Dorje.

BTR taught this past weekend on three of Barway Dorje’s songs that have been published in the book Treasury of Eloquence: The Songs of Barway Dorje. For those who are interested, the songs are on pages 120-130 of the book.

The songs, composed for one of Barway Dorje’s consorts, Tsering Yangchen or Tseyang, are beautiful, clear, and heart-felt instructions in dharma practice; they also contain pointing out (as in, pointing out the nature of mind) instructions from teacher to disciple. Lama Yeshe Gyamtso, who was translating for BTR, told us that Tseyang is said to have attained fruition after practicing Barway Dorje’s instructions.

Pointing-out instructions are some of the most sought-after and mysterious teachings in the whole of Vajrayana Buddhism. It’s said that Buddhahood can be obtained in a single instant given the right match between teacher, student, and pointing-out instruction.

One of the things BTR explained—and which I have felt, intuitively, over the last several years—is that teachers give pointing-out instructions all the time. Because of different affinities and karmic connections, however, students often fail to realize when these instructions are being given. It takes the student’s doing the right preparation work (which I think may be different for every student) and the student’s meeting his or her karmically-connected teacher, in order for the pointing-out instructions to really work—so that the student can be introduced to the true nature of his or her own mind.

Rinpoche explained that in Tibet, it was common for teachers to instruct their students to attend different teachers, or go to specific places to meditate; this was because often, the teachers could tell which other teachers would be of the greatest benefit to students, because of the karmic threads that tied teacher and student together. Rinpoche used Milarepa as an example; Milarepa was sent to Marpa by one of Mila’s other teachers.

It was also common for students to take teachings and empowerments from many different teachers, until they found the teacher with whom they had their heart connection; this practice was not frowned upon or discouraged, but rather accepted and even expected.

The freedom to take teachings from different teachers, Rinpoche explained, is not only necessary but also essential for successful dharma practice. Freedom is your right as a student—morally and legally—to study with whomever you choose.

It is important, Rinpoche told us, to follow your faith.

And then, Rinpoche added, no one should prevent students from choosing with whom they will study—to do so is not only an error, it is a grave error.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I carry some baggage around the issues of freedom. I have lost two jobs that I’ve liked because of situations in which I found myself unable to sit silent while things were happening that were just plain wrong. In each case, the things that went awry were big things, not petty ones, and were fraught with questions involving racial relations and how organizations deal, or fail to deal, with issues of racial prejudice and freedom of speech.

I have not written about these things in detail on this blog, because I’m hoping eventually to have the time and mental space to deal with them in another format. But I want to be clear for readers that with regard to issues of freedom, I have always come out on the side of “for” rather than “against,” even when that stand has wound up hurting me. And I can say, with no hesitation, that if I ever were offered a re-do of these situations, I’d do exactly the same things—or I couldn’t face myself in the mirror every morning (which, at my age, is fairly hard to do!).

As some of the readers of this blog may know, there has been a bit of a dustup at KTD over the past couple years involving who is and is not able to teach there, and with whom KTD- and KTC-affiliated students should and should not study. It is not my intention to rehash this history, because the facts are available elsewhere on line.

But when I hear things, as I did this weekend, that trouble me, then I have to wonder: Am I enabling such troubling situations to continue if I remain silent? Is it my dharma duty to speak out? Or are the sangha and I better served if I simply shut up and do my practice?

Most of the sangha members I talked to about these issues urged silence and caution. I decided I wanted to hear what Rinpoche had to say, so I asked him; my question was the last one at the question-and-answer session on the last day of the teachings.

“Rinpoche,” I asked, “last night in the empowerment, you used the term ‘fierce devotion.’ So when I hear about people being banned from teaching in certain places, and students being discouraged from attending certain teachers, that raises a lot of ‘fierce devotion’ for me.”

Lama Yeshe Gyamtso stopped me right there, and explained that the term “fierce devotion” means intense devotion, not anger. I was happy to hear that, because part of my question was going to be, “What is meant by ‘fierce devotion’?”

I explained that I was not asking out of anger, but rather out of a strong protective instinct—dare I invoke the words “mama grizzly”?—to protect the students’ freedoms to choose their teachers, to protect the teachers’ livelihoods, and to protect the people responsible for imposing limitations from the negative karma involved in their actions.

Lama Yeshe Gyamtso then let the question go forward, and I got my answer.

You have many freedoms in this country, Rinpoche said. One of those freedoms is freedom of speech, and Rinpoche said he would never tell any of his students what to say, or what not to say.

I had a feeling much like the one I had in graduate school when my professor, who was teaching our class in Social Reality and Human Organizations, stood up and said, “Issues of power and authority in organizations are never issues of power and authority; they are issues of fear and insecurity.” I wanted to stand up and cheer!

So when I hear things like the ones I heard this weekend—that a brilliant Western translator and teacher has been banned from teaching at certain Western centers, not by a Rinpoche but by another Western lama—I have to wonder: What kind of dharma traditions do we really want to create here in this wild dharma borderland of North America?

Do we want to stand on the side of freedom or oppression? What organizational decisions and structures do we want to support? I think the times call for some serious introspection and questioning for all of us who are involved in Vajrayana practice in the West.

With freedom comes responsibility. Part of that responsibility, it seems to me, is learning how to trust yourself, follow your faith, and make your own decisions, rather than letting other people make those decisions for you.

These kinds of situations are especially hard for people who, like me, have feet planted in a couple of different—and sometimes conflicting—dharma camps. How can we revere our teachers and the dharma, yet object with lovingkindness and compassion instead of anger and hatred when we see things happening that we feel, in our guts, are just plain wrong?

I know that I will continue to struggle with such questions, and I trust that one day, the answers will become clear.

In the meantime, I think I just got permission from Rinpoche to say a lot more than I have said previously about my observations and concerns.

Oh, and the picture of the sandhill cranes, above: They were in attendance for the full weekend of teachings. Some people even saw them dancing!

And when Rinpoche began to speak about pointing out instructions, the cranes began to call.

A Word Witch welcomes thoughtful comments framed through the lenses of lovingkindness and compassion. Comments are moderated and may take a couple of days to show up; please be patient.

Kind, Kind Root Guru

Namo!

Kind, kind root guru,

We have long been connected through deep aspiration

You are committed to kindness; don't abandon me now!

Kind, single father: regard me with wisdom.

I am tormented by chains of karma and kleshas.

I am ignorant, stupid, and infantile.

I may be swept away by the waves of my suffering in the ocean of samsara.

Compassionate one, grasp me with the hook of your kindness.

When I embark on the path of the essence, supreme means,

My heart may be poisoned by the demon of pointless depression.

I may sink into the quicksand of distraction and laziness.

Kind one, extend the long arm of your power.

In the darkness of my obscurations' clouds,

I do not see the authentic essence, absolute truth.

I wander about, blinded by self-fixation.

One with blessing, grant me eyes of wisdom.

Your devoted child prays to you from afar.

Please hold me with great compassion.

Now, later, between, and always,

Hold me, beings' protector, supreme guru.

Beyond a moment's separation,

Grant the blessing of your mind uniting with mine.

Written by Barway Dorje at the request of a young woman named Tseyang. Virtue!

From Treasury of Eloquence: The Songs of Barway Dorje, translated by Yeshe Gyamtso, KTD Publications, 2007, p. 279.

KTD 10-Day Teachings/Guru Rinpoche Day

Today is Guru Rinpoche day, according to the Tibetan calendar, and it was an eventful one for several reasons.

There was a beautiful ceremony tonight called “Shower of Blessings” that honored Guru Rinpoche (Sanskrit: Padmasambhava), who was responsible for solidifying the practice of Buddhism in Tibet and who is responsible for ensuring the spread of Buddhism to any borderland—like the USA.

There were, of course, the magnificent teachings about Machik Labdron—no, I have not forgotten about her—being given by KTD’s abbot, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche.

There was my own interview with Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche this morning, an auspicious day for that since I have always felt drawn to Guru Rinpoche.

But the loveliest part of the day was an impromptu talk given by Khenpo at the end of the afternoon’s question-and-answer session, which he cut short by saying, “Now I am going to tell you a little bit of truth.”

Rinpoche talked (in Tibetan) for a long time. He wept; he laughed; he wept and laughed again. At the end of his talk, his translator—the gifted Lama Yeshe Gyamtso—asked Rinpoche for clarification for parts of the translation. This back-and-forth went on for a while; Lama Yeshe apologized to us, saying he wasn’t sure that his translation could capture the emotion that Khenpo had conveyed.

Khenpo began by giving some history of the founding of KTD. In 1959-60, His Holiness the 16^th Karmapa (hereinafter referred to as HHK 16) fled Tibet and settled in Sikkim. Since he was a refugee, he did not have means of survival; he had a hard time. Many of the Sikkimese people had faith, however, and one family in particular has served both HHK 16 and HHK 17 well.

This family “did the best service” by taking in HHK 16 and other lamas, giving them a place to live and making sure the lamas got better food than the family did. This is the family of Kunzang-la, newly appointed to KTD’s Board of Directors; her brother was responsible for the successful restoration of Rumtek, Karmapa’s monastery in Sikkim, after it had fallen into disrepair. This family “remained steady, and their samaya is pure,” according to Rinpoche.

Rinpoche then announced that HHK 17 had recently made some announcements with regard to the administration of KTD. Tenzin Chonyi, who has been president of the organization for many years, will remain president for five years. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche will remain on the board, and Kunzang-la is a new trustee.

“I have no qualities to remain on the board,” Rinpoche said, but added that he had agreed to stay on at Karmapa’s request. No qualities. Hmmmm. I would debate that.

Khenpo also announced that he had chosen Lama Kathy Wesley and Lama David Bole to be new board members. He said that he trusts Lama Kathy “as much as I trust my own heart,” and mentioned Lama David’s administrative abilities and even-tempered disposition while in retreat.

Khenpo then gave some background on Bardor Tulku Rinpoche (hereinafter referred to as BTR), who has for many years been the primary teacher who travels to teach at KTD’s affiliated centers. When BTR was only 12 years old, he was on his own in India after escaping from Tibet. Because he prayed one-pointedly, he was able to reach Rumtek, where he was adopted by HHK 16 as “the son of his heart.” There were two other young men who had that same close relationship with HHK 16; these were Tenzin Chonyi or Tenzin-la, and Shamar Rinpoche’s brother, Jigme-la. The training and lives of these three young men were closely supervised by HHK 16.

When HHK 16 was gifted with the land that became KTD, he chose Tenzin-la to stay in America to oversee that center. Jigme-la went to a center in France. “It is like sending away my eyes and heart,” HHK 16 said, but the young men were sent for the dharma, “not for ordinary purposes,” according to Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche.

Later, when BTR came to KTD, “he wore a tool belt for almost 15 years” while the monastery was being built. While construction was ongoing, Khenpo traveled and taught and founded 30 dharma centers throughout the country.

Khenpo had received three commands from HHK 16: to build a monastery, to start a three-year retreat, and to “take care of Tenzin-la if he has problems in the future.” Khenpo said that the 16^th Karmapa made this last statement with tears in his eyes.

This year, Bardor Tulku Rinpoche has resigned as a director of KTD (though he still teaches at the monastery). Khenpo explained that BTR is now 60 years old and has his own terma (treasure text) lineage to preserve, and that he has a lot to do and not much time to waste.

Note from A Word Witch: BTR also has his own new center, Kunzang Palchen Ling, across the river in Red Hook, New York.

“Now about my nephew,” Khenpo said. His nephew is Lama Karma Drodul, who is three people in one—teacher, translator (since he teaches in English), and attendant. Khenpo remarked that because of these skills, the affiliate centers “could save money” by inviting Lama Karma to teach.

Note from A Word Witch: Lama Karma is a shining presence at these teachings, always friendly and approachable when seen out and about, competent and clear when leading Mahakala or other practices, and compassionate in his translations during interviews. KTD is fortunate to have him.

Khenpo Ugyen Tenzin will continue to travel and teach, accompanied by his translator, Jigme Nyima.

KKR then said that he will continue to ask Lama Yeshe Gyamtso to translate for him when he can; everyone clapped enthusiastically.

Note from A Word Witch: I had heard a rumor earlier in the week that this was Lama Yeshe’s last year to translate for the 10-day teachings, so I asked him; that rumor is not true.

Khenpo closed his talk by saying, “We need to remember what we are about.”

We are not involved in the dharma to acquire position or rank, Khenpo said, but to fulfill His Holiness Karmapa’s aspirations and vision. That is our only purpose—to implement Karmapa’s vision.

Many people, myself included, were very moved by Rinpoche’s wise words. He said what needed to be said, and on an auspicious day to boot. This is a talk I will remember for a long, long time.

Liberation Through Hearing: Tibetan Buddhist Mantras for Animals

A number of years ago, I was given a wonderful tape of the Buddhist teacher Kalu Rinpoche chanting for the benefit of animals. The story, according to Lama Yeshe Gyamtso—who translated for Kalu Rinpoche at the beginning of the tape—was that a barrel full of cockroaches had been exterminated in New York City, and Rinpoche was chanting mantras so that the roaches would have better rebirths—as humans, perhaps, and with better chances of meeting authentic dharma teachers in their next lives.

Over the years, copies of the tape were made and passed around among those of us in our local dharma group. Many of us played the tape when we had animals who were sick or dying. When I mentioned the tape on a Buddhist discussion list to which I belong, the Kagyu list at Yahoo Groups, quite a number of people asked if I could send them copies. The world is obviously full of animal lovers!

More time passed, and with the realization that people were interested in recordings of teachers chanting for the benefit of pets and other creatures, our local dharma group asked our guiding teacher, Bardor Tulku Rinpoche, if he would make a recording that we could sell as a fundraiser for the Florida Tibetan Buddhist Center at Osprey Cove on Lake Santa Fe—an ambitious project, over 100 acres in size, that will create a place where people from the Southeast can benefit by receiving dharma teachings.

Bardor Tulku Rinpoche kindly and generously agreed, and the result is the CD Liberation Through Hearing: Tibetan Buddhist Mantras for Animals.

The CD includes the following recitations: Words of Auspiciousness, Mantra of Buddha Shakyamuni, Manta of Amitayus, Mantra of Medicine Buddha, Mantra of Avalokiteshvara, Karmapa Khyenno, Mantra of Tara, Longevity Mantra of White Tara, Mantra of Guru Padmasambhava, Sukhavati Aspiration Prayer and Amitabha Mantra, Mantra of Generosity, and Dedication of Merit.

Single copies of Liberation Through Hearing can be purchased from Namse Bangdzo. To purchase bulk quantities at a discount, contact the Gainesville (Florida) KTC, P.O. Box 358824, Gainesville, Florida 32635.

A side note about the history of this project: The original tape recorded by Kalu Rinpoche came to me from my first local dharma teacher, Frances Norwood. Frances was a wonderful person who was instrumental in starting me on the Buddhist path, and I miss her all the time; she died in 2001.