Lama Shree Narayan Singh, India, Tibet, Budhhism, HH Gwalwang Karmapa, Dalai Lama, Tibetan Healing

Lojong - IV

PART III

The Seven Offices

from

The Aspiration to Magnanimity.

With body, speech and mind we offer sincere homage

To all the Lions amongst men, those supreme,

The Tathagatas and their Sons of the past, present and future,

However many they may be in the transient realms in various directions.]

Through the power of this Aspiration to Magnanimity,

We mentally present ourselves before all the Victorious Ones,

In as many forms as there be atoms in the universe,

And offer them total obeisance.

Upon every single atom are a myriad Buddhas,

Dwelling amidst their Sons and others --

Thus, we envision the endless expanse of space

Entirely filled with the Victorious Ones.

We extoll their virtues, inexhaustible as the oceans,

Employing countless variations of melodious sounds,

We praise the excellence of all these Victorious Ones,

And glorify all the Sugatas together with their Sons.

We proffer to all these Victorious Ones,

The choicest of flowers, the finest of garlands,

Melodies, slaves and ornate parasols,

Exquisite lamps and incenses redolent.

We offer them ethereal raiments and scented waters,

Sachets of fragrant powders

From the smallest

To those as large as Mt. Meru,

The very finest, laid out in exceptional splendour.

Transcendant offerings filling all the Buddha-realms

We visualize and offer to all the Victorious Ones,

With the full force of our faith in Magnanimity,

We render them all homage and service!

Any and all evil actions of our bodies, utterances of speech,

Similarly thoughts in our minds, which we have performed,

When under the sway of passion, aggression and ignorance,

We atone for every one of them completely.

We rejoice in all the virtuous karma performed in the ten directions

By the Victorious Ones, their Sons, Lone Realizers,

Arhats, and those on various Stages of the Path,

As also by all beings.

They who are as lamps unto the worlds in the ten directions,

Who have traversed completely the Stages to Bodhi,

We earnestly exhort these, our Lord-Protectors,

To set in motion the unsurpassable Wheel of the Dharma.

With our hands joined in prayer, we implore those

Who intend to display their passing into nirvana,

To yet remain amongst us for the welfare and happiness of all beings,

For as many aeons as there be atoms in this universe.

Whatever virtue we have accumulated thus,

By performing obeisances, making offerings,

Atoning for our sins, rejoicing in the virtuosity of others,

Exhorting the Buddhas to impart instructions

And supplicating them to yet remain --

Even though this be slight,

We dedicate it all, together with

The entire Accumulations of ourselves and others,

That all may attain perfect enlightenment!

PART IV

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND OTHERS.

NGUL-CHHU THOG-MAY ZANG-PO, the author of the Lojong Dhoen Duen Ma rendered in this book, was also known as the Bodhisattva Asanga Shri Bhadra of Ngu-chhu. He was born at Phul-jung, to the south-west of the Great Seat of the Glorious Sakyapas. His father Koenchhog Pal was from To; his mother was Chhag-za Bumdroen. He was born in the Wood-sheep year of the fiftieth Rabjhung cycle, 1297 C.E.

Ordained a novice by Lama Pal-bar of the dynasty of Sam-ling, he received his full ordination from Jhhang-Sem Rin-chhen Goen-po, and was given the name Shri Bhadra. From Acharya Kuenga Gyaltshaen, Jamyang Khoen toen, and others, he received the Bodhisattva Precepts of both the traditions. He also studied the Sutras and Tantras extensively under them. Subsequently he attained the fruition of these teachings. In this way he attained complete mastery over the Dharma as expressed in the Nyingma, Kadam, Sakya, and other traditions then extant. As such there was nothing he did not know. He was given the name Thog-may, the 'Unobstructed One' because of his sharp intellect.

He devoted his entire life to the exposition and accomplishment of the Dharma. Using the methods of exposition, debate and composition, he nurtured the Buddha's Dispensation. He asserted repeatedly with confidence that he was unerringly a Lineage-Holder of the teachings of those known as the Six Ornaments and the Two Excellent Ones of India.

He was able to take on the sufferings and sickness of others upon himself. He gave generously to the poor without expecting anything in return or hoping for positive karmik fruition. For those who harmed him, he did naught but to benefit them in every possible way.

Merely by seeing him, people developed faith, compassion, disenchantment with the world, the Bodhichittas, meditational states, and various other positve qualities. He had direct visions of the One of Great Compassion, Arya Tara, and countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. From them also he received various teachings and so on. He was especially venerated by adept-scholars and the local residents of U and Tsang provinces. Amongst his principal disciples were his heart-son Lochhen Jhangtsay, the ommiscient Bhu-toen, Sakya Chhoje Dhampa and Soenam Gyaltshaen. They in their turns, became Lineage-Holders as well. He passed away in 1371 C.E., the year of the Earth Bird, accompanied by various auspicious and miraculous signs.

VEN. BAKHA RINPOCHHE, Pema Taendzin, is currently in his tenth incarnation. Rigdzin Namgyal, the first Bakha Rinpochhe, was contemporaneous with the Fifth Taala'i, Lama. The former had established the Nyingmapa Monastery at Bakha in Lower Po, Southern Tibet, at the spot where the illegitimate son of the Chinese princess betrothed to the Tibetan King Song-tsaen Gampo, was born, died, and buried. This gave the place its name 'Ba-Kha' : 'Ba' meaning 'concealed', and 'kha', 'surface'. It is located equidistant from Tag-sham monastery and Rinchhen Pung in Phu-lung where Rinpochhe had undergone his monastic training.

Rinpochhe was born in Upper Po into a Kamtshang* family as a first cousin of H.H. Dhrubwang Pema Norbhu Rinpochhe of Palyul, currently Head of the Nyingmapa tradition. When fourteen he completed the Kamtshang three year retreat at his uncle's instance. This he had done under the guidance of the late Trulku Sang-jay Dorje of Phulung, regarded highly as an accomplished Master of both the Nyingma and the Karma Kagyu traditions.

Soon after, the Chinese occupied Tibet and Rinpochhe fled of India. Here he initially spent a few years at the Young Lamas' Home School in Dalhousie, H.P. established by the late Mrs. Bedi, Kabir's English mother, subsequently ordained a full Bhikshuni and renowned as Gelongma Palmo. Later he moved to Kalimpong to serve H.H. the late Kyabje Dudjom Rinpochhe personally. He spent many years with H.H. during the course of which he received a large number of empowerments, vocal transmissions and commentaries from him.

Currently in his sixties, he is married in keeping with the life-style of his predecessors. Only the first and second Bakha Rinpochhes were monks. His father-in-law was Ri-wo-chhe Jedhrung Rinpochhe of the Taglung Kagyu. Their eldest is a girl. They have a son as well, currently a monk at Namodhrol Ling, Bylakuppe 576 104, Karnataka, the Seat of Palyul monastery in India. This is one of the six major institutions of the Nyingmapa tradition. Rinpochhe was a tutor to the Trulkus resident there. He is a softspoken, ordinary looking Tibetan, whose appearance skilfully hides his enlightened qualities within! He is also fluent in English and is now teaching the Dharma abroad.

*Kamtshang is another name of the Karma Kagyu tradition of which H.H. The Gyalwang Karmapa , Skt. Sri Jinendra karmapad, is the head.

III

VEN. SAKYA KHANPO SANGJAY TAENDZIN (1903-1990 C.E.) was born in Sakya, the youngest of three children of Dorje Gyalpo and Tshulthrim Drolma. His mother died when he was five, his father five years later. Thus orphaned, he entered the great Sakya Monastery at the age of ten. There he was ordained a novice by its Abbot, Rinchhen Gyaltshaen, from the throne of Drogoen Chhoegyal Phagpa. His monasitc training took him through the stages of Rig-lam, junior, intermediate, and senior. He graduated a Pay-kyang pa when he was eighteen.

Becoming a disciple of the great Khaenpo Dhrayag Thubtaen Zangpo, he spent the following years at Ngor Evam Chhoe-day N-alanda, Tshar Da Dhrang Mo Chhe, Tanag Thubtaen Namgyal, Jha Shong, and others, more specifically at Dray Yul Kye Mo'i Tshal, the seat of the all-knowing Sangjay Phel. At these places he studied the Six Principal Subjects of Vinaya, Abhidharma, Pramana, Pragya Paramita, Madhyamika and the Dom-sum Rab-yay.

At thirty seven he returned to the Great Sakya Monastery for his examinations. Successful in these, he was given the title of Ka-chu-pa. Later the same year, having proved himself through the processes of debate and exposition, he was conferred the title of Rabjampa.

Of the Vajrayana transmissions specific to his tradition, he received the Lam-dray, in its entirety, from H.H. Ngawang Kuenga Taenpa'i Gyaltshaen, the then Sakya Thridzin Rinpochhe. From Dhampa Rinpochhe, the Great Khaenpo of Ngor, he received in their totality, the profound commentaries on the Gyu de Kuen-tue, the Drub-thab Kuen-tue, Lam-dray, the Thirteen Golden Dharmas, and Ghur Zhal, in their outer, inner and secret aspects.

Subsequently he was instated as a Khaenpo by Taendzin Nyaendhrag Rinpochhe of Nalanda. He received his full ordination from Tsedong Rinpochhe, in the midst of a large assemblage of monks. Ever since, he has held inviolate the Four Fundamental Precepts, and the fifth of refraining from intoxicants, holding them dearer than life. Between the ages of eighteen and thirty-seven, Rinpochhe also studied under Masters of the other Buddhist traditions, from the provinces of U, Tsang, and Kham, receiving from them a large number of teachings and transmissions of the Sutra and Mantrayana.

His attention then turned towards intensive meditation. Of the retreats he has done, he spent a year in the 'hidden land' known as Khampa Lung. Three months he spent in Sakya. These were followed by various short retreats at Jha Shong, Ngor, Samyay, and other places.

He was then appointed Khaenpo for the institute of higher studies at Ngor. A year later he was instated as the Khaenpo for Tanag, a post he held fifteen years, until the occupation of Tibet by Communist China.

In the wake of these developments, he went south to Chhu Mig Gya Tsha in the district of Lo in northern Nepal. He summered there. That winter he moved to Kalimpong and Darjeeling, lower in the trans-Himalayas. H. H. the late Kyabje Dudjom Rinpochhe was giving the Rinchhen Terdzoe then, together with other profound teachings. He received them in their entirety. These over, he went to the Sakya Guru Monastery in Ghoom, Darjeeling, where he established himself. That was mid-1961.

That winter, requested to do so by H.H. the Taala'i Lama, he visited Buxa in Assam, where Tibetan refugees had been lodged en masse by the Govt. of India. There, subsequent to further examinations, he was conferred the title of the Sakya Khaenpo. Later he visited Varanasi, Mussourie, and Kushinagar. Wherever he went, he held discussions on pertinent issues concerning the furtherance of Himalayan Buddhism in exile, with Khaenpos of the other schools. He has also been graced on various occasions with imparting instructions to H.H. the Taala'i Lama himself, a rare distinction.

Back in Ghoom he established an institute for higher studies in his own monastery, where he taught till the very end. He ranked amongst the seniormost Masters of the Dharma in the world, commanding immense respect from the Buddhist community in Darjeeling and elsewhere.

In brief, Rinpochhe served the Dispensation though the triad of audition, analysis, and meditation. He performed the activities of a scholar through the triad of exposition, debate, and composition. Moreover he worked for the welfare and happiness for all, through the triad of sagacity, diligence, and magnanimity. Moreover he shunned Dharma politics but preferred to remain within the confines of the Buddha's teachings in their purest forms.

In these ways he utilized fully his precious human birth, replete with the free states and favourable conditions. His passing away in Ghoom was accompanied by many auspicious signs, indicating his high level of realisation.

He will be remembered for his wondrous Buddha Activities genuinely in the service of the Dispensation and accomplishing the welfare of beings -- a bright light which shone magnanimously on all in its boundless compassion and infinite wisdom!

LAMA SHREE NARAYAN SINGH was born into an ancient, aristocratic family of central Bihar nearly three years after India gained independance. At an early age he was sent to St. Paul's School, Darjeeling, a British-style Anglican Public School, a leader in the field of education. It was there that he spent eleven of his most formative years, obtaining both his Indian and Higher school Certificates rom the University of Cambridge. After a short two-year attendance at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, W.B., he found himself in the U.K. autumn, 1970. He worked there a year prior to joining M.I.T. in the USA the following autumn.

Introduced to Buddhism in the UK, he took to it immediately, under the guidance of the then Chao Khun Sobhana Dhammasuddhi, later the Ven. Vichitra Ratna Dhiravamsa. Subsequently, after a semester at MIT, when he first met Ven. Zurmang Dhrungpa Rinpochhe, (Ven. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche of Surmang) in Barnet, VT., USA, he knew that he had found his vocation. It took him another two months at MIT to confirm this, and March 1972 found him back at Tail of the Tiger, now Karme Choeling, at Barnet, VT., an aspirant, seeking Nirvana, deeply influenced by the counter culture.

A year later he returned to India at the instance of his two mothers who had visited him in the States early 1973. Soon afterwards he fled home, returning co-incidentally to the very same hills were he'd spent his childhood. He settled down in Sonada under the tutelage of Kyabje Kalu Rinpochhe who soon ordained him a novice. During the periods Rinpochhe travelled abroad, this translator found himself spending extended periods at various Nyingmapa and Kagyupa monasteries in sub-continental India. In this way, by the blessings of his Gurus, he has succeeded in transcending the bounds of sectarianism, sadly a deeply entrenched feature of the Buddha's Dispensation.

The karma of his previous lives thus activated, he has been exceptionally fortunate to receive the principal empowerments and vocal transmissions of all the various traditions of Himalayan Buddhism. His Masters include H.H. the XVIth. Gyalwang Karmapa, H.H. Kyabje Dudjom Rinpochhe, H.H. Kyabje Dhilgo Khyentse Rinpochhe, and Ven. Trulku Orgyaen Rinpochhe of Bauddhanath, Kathmandu. Special mention must be made of Ven. Golog Trulku Rinpochhe, initially of Darjeeling who cared for him spiritually like a concerend father between 1981 and 1995. He passed away early June of that year, followed ten days later by his own father.

Ven. Golog Rinpochhe, from the eastern region of Golog, was the fourth incarnation of the famous 'tertoen' Namchhoe Mingyur Dorje. He was a married Lama of the Nyingmapa tradition and a highly respected person in Darjeeling. During his travels in independent Tibet he had interacted extensively with various authentic Masters which had included Jetsuen Zhug-seb Rinpochhe, a lady saint of exceptional renown. Rinpoochhe had come to India actually prior to the Chinese takeover of Tibet. Content to live humbly and play the role of the ordinary householder in Darjeeling, it was only in the latter part of his life that he taught the Dharma extensively as the Retreat Master at Tagtse Retreat Centre, Gangtok, Sikkim, under the patronage of H.H. the Chogyal of Sikkim.

A short analysis of the differences in the Karma Kagyu and Nyingmapa traditions is pertinent here. The former is highly institutionalised. This is perhaps why this translator had not been permitted to participate in the three year retreat at Sonada, Darjeeling in 1979. Three years previously H.E. Kalu Rinpochhe had clearly told him that he was to do the forthcoming retreat, but when the time came for this to happen, various extraneous and non-Dharmik considerations came to the fore. It was then that he had become aware for the first time of the undercurrents which form an integral part of the Karma Kagyu set-up!

The Nyingmapa approach on the other hand incorporates the institution, whilst simultaneously making allowances for the individual 'yogi' type approach and is seemingly more warm and compassionate. Thus, when this translator had his first serious discussions with Ven. Golog Rinpochhe January 1981, almost the first thing he had been told was that he had encountered a large number of obstacles in his Dharma practice and that it would be good if he could do a short retreat. Subsequently, in spite of H.E. Kalu Rinpochhe's vehement opposition to it, he had gone on to accept Ven. Golog Rinpochhe as his Principal Guru.

The first retreat was monitored personally by Rinpochhe who himself sat closeted across the room with him for a month and a half, doing his own practice at the Tshe Chu temple in Darjeeling. Rinpochhe skillfully nurtured and guided him in the Dharma like a father his son, given the constraints of time and physical distances. That which he is currently is primarily due to Rinpochhe's exceptional kindness towards him which had enable him to blossom rather belatedly on his Karma Kagyu background. Resultantly this author is now an avid practitioner of the Dudjom Tersar tradition!

Although a formal recognition has not been extended to him, he has been acknowledged by H.H. the XVIth. Gyalwa Karmapa as an incarnation, and by H.H. Dhilgo Khyentse Rinpochhe as one amongst others, of Jamyang Khyentse'i Wangpo. This fact is known to many of their heart-son disciples. It also empahsizes their extreme reticence to recognise incarnate Lamas from other races and cultures, undoubtedly amongst the most reprehensible aspects of the Tibetan national character. Their clear intent is to keep their leadership ethnically cleansed!

Another problem the modern consciousness comes up against when dealing with Tibetans is the absolutism of their authority and the demand for unconditional loyalty. Both of these old world traits are no longer considered valid in the west!

This translator was ordained a full monk by H.H. the XVIth. Gyalwang Karmapa in Bauddhanath, Kathmandu March, 1976. Almost three years later he returned his vows at the suggestion of H.H. Kyabje Dudjom Rinpochhe. It is to the credit of Tibetan society that in spite of the Buddhism they skilfully propound and supposedly espouse, this translator had found that all his efforts to get married to a 'lady with a Dharma background' from amongst them, failed miserably.

He continues as an 'upasaka', a householder. His marriage to Louise from the States gave them a son, Matthew Gregory. Matthew currently lives with his mother in Phoenix in the United States.

The translator, is now married to an Indian lady, and lives at his family residence. They have a son Kashyap Sagar. Currently he is the Managing Trustee of his family estate. Under its aegis a stupa has already been erected at his residence in Munger as also a temple to Guru Padmasambhava. Further Dharma works for the benefit of all Buddhists are planned there. Many of these would have been accomplished except for the untimely and contrived death of His Eminence Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpochhe of Rumtek, who had a special concern for the welfare of Indian Buddhists.

A progressive nursery school, called The Magic Years, has been started by Mrs. Harbeet Singh, his wife, April 6, 1998. She has many years of experience as a qualified school principal. It is intended to have this grow into an international school, with the blessings of Guru Rinpochhe, incorporating modern and Buddhist principles, where a balanced education is provided all the way through high school. It is extremely unfortunate that Himalayan Buddhist leaders are extremely hesitant to work for the benefit of Indians in general and Indian Buddhists in particular. The only person this translator respected highly for his willingness to extend his compassion to cover Indians, H.E. Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpochhe, unfortunately died an untimely death at the hands of his own Vajra Companions.

This translator has also authored a work 'Buddhism & Christianity - a comparative study and other selected essay'. This draws its inspiration from the Buddhist - Christian Dialogue started by Ven. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, his Principal Guru, in the 1970-s in the States. The years he has spent in monasteries have given him insights as an 'insider' into the various Himalayan Buddhist traditions and the Tibetan psyche. These he has crystalized in the form of other essays. He is unable to accept the total authoritarianism of the Himalayan religious heirarchy which he has seen repeatedly misused to serve its own narrow ends.

Mother Teresa stands out as a living example of the teachings of Lojong. Her life is an indicator to the universality of the Four Brahma Viharas enunciated by the historic Buddha twentyfive centuries ago. These are : Maitri - loving-kindness; Karuna - compassion; Mudita - empathic joy; and Upeksha - magnanimity.

Buddhists leaders, religious and lay, are all respectfully exhorted to creativity and 'engaged Buddhism', shedding the dead rot of destructive politics -- the Taala'i Lama in particular! He too is palpably human and fallible as history repeatedly bears testimony! The discerning know of the trail of devastation he leaves behind as Tibetans attempt to come to terms with the realities of the twentieth century. In so doing, they shrewdly involve other nations and peoples who do not share their historic, racial and nationalistic concerns, whilst the Buddha shasana is conveniently used as a facade for the conspiracies many amongst them hatch against the very country which gave them asylum!

Mother Teresa comes a breath of fresh air amidst all this pollution: an example from whom the Taala'i Lama and others certainly need to follow!

It is her example this translator and his family aspire to follow!

PART V

POSTSCRIPT

Lord, make me an instument of Thy peace :

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is dischord, union;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And when there is sadness, joy.