Calling the Guru from Afar

The Prayer of Calling the Guru from Afar: 

A Spontaneous Song of the Original Nature

Lama Khyen-no Lama Khyen-no Drin-chen Tsa-wai Lama Rinpoche Kye Khyen-no

The Essence of natural mind is unchanging, and quiescent from the very beginning.
Forever pure, profound, and all-knowing; dwelling as the Youthful Vase Body.
Dharmakaya Lama, Yeshe Dorje, heed me!
Grant your blessings to attain great confidence in the View.

The nature of mind is eternal and inseparable from the assembly of clear luminous clear light.
Dwelling in Joy as the ceaseless, spontaneous display of the Five Perfections.
Sambhogakaya Lama, Dechen Dorje heed me!
Grant your blessings to attain perfection in Meditation.

Impartial compassion, primordial wisdom, free from all limitations,
all pervading source of emptiness-awareness: dwelling as the naked essence of mind.
Nirmanakaya Lama, Drodul Lingpa heed me!
Grant your blessings that my Actions be of great benefit.

The Ground of primordial awareness is unmoving and unchanging.
Whatever arises is the expression of the Dharmakaya, neither good nor bad.
Present consciousness is actually Buddha.
In my heart I found the Lama who is free of cares.
When I fully realize my primordial mind as the Lama's true nature,
reciting prayers full of pride and boasting about my deeds are no longer needed.
By letting go in the free natural flow of uncontrived intrinsic awareness,
whatever arises is without basis, and the blessings of self-liberation are obtained.
There is no chance to attain enlightenment by doing contrived practice.
This meditation produced through intellectual analysis is a great deceptive enemy.
Now, the whole manner of conceptual grasping collapses with the abandon of a madman.
So let this life be spent in a state of uninhibited natural ease!
As a practitioner of Dzogchen, I am happy in whatever I do.
As a lineage holder of Padmakara, I am joyful no matter who I am with.
The protector, Great Treasure Revealing Lama, is absolutely without equal.
The teaching of the Heart Essence of the Dakinis is truly beyond compare.
The darkness of the heart's great ignorance is dispelled from its very seat.
The undiminished sun of luminous clarity shines continuously.
The good fortune is the kindness of the Lama, the only father.
I will remember only the Lama, whose limitless kindness can never be repaid.

This prayer was requested by my famous Vajra student, the tulku Jigme Choyin Don Thamchad Drupa Deg. This was spoken as delirious chatter by Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje. It was composed at Copper Mountain Palace in Padmako.

This was published in order to benefit beings who did not have the good fortune to encounter Dudjom Rinpoche personally, and so have difficulty understanding what is a true Guru.

Tibetan Prophecy 2012

Our title is bogus, because to my knowledge, there are no Tibetan prophecies specifically concerning 2012. However, when I study the search engine keywords, I see people are visiting here in the belief that there might be some Tibetan angle to the whole December 21, 2012 mish-mosh.

What December 12, 2012 actually represents is the Mayan Long Count calendar going from twelve baktuns to thirteen baktuns -- sort of equivalent to a Mayan Y2K, I suppose. Yet, the Mayans were extremely clever people, so their baktuns run up to nineteen, and then turn into pictuns. To grasp the concept, understand that one pictun equals twenty baktuns, and one baktun equals four hundred years. The Long Count calendar isn't even the "sacred" calendar, which is in fact the two hundred and sixty day Tzolkin calendar. Because it is astrological, the Tzolkin never even pauses.

The other thing that happens is that some of the Taiwanese hundred year calendars, i.e. the ones that began in 1912, stop at 2012. But, I will bet you anything that the Taiwanese are busily printing up new hundred year calendars even as we speak.

Despite the above, many people will persist in believing that 2012 is some sort of pivotal year. As far as galactic alignments and so forth, this isn't particularly important. Can you recall May 5, 2000? This is the same sort of thing.

Sorry to disappoint you, but from an astrological viewpoint, 2010 is a whole lot more saucy than 2012. 2010 is the year of the Iron Tiger. If you want to understand Iron Tiger, think of people like Ho Chi Minh, or Charles DeGaulle. Think about events like the Chinese invasion of Tibet, or the Korean War for that matter.

So, here is a little song I wrote... I hope you learn it note for note:

Don't worry. Be happy.

Daily Tibetan Astrology: November 9, 2009

Chinese 23rd, M-T-K 22nd. Mouse, Zin, Black 2.  Lha Bab Duchen. Today, the effects of positive or negative actions are multiplied by a factor of 10 million. Today is also a yan kwong  day, and baden, so no prayer flags. 

All things being equal, today is the best remaining opportunity in 2009 to really set aside a solid ten or twelve hours and practice. This can be mantra accumulations, pujas, sadhanas, whatever works, but it has to be from the heart. Astrologically, that really is the message today: keep it real. I would also like to mention that this is an ideal day to liberate creatures destined for a cruel decision (i.e. release captive animals destined to die, etc.) If you feel you have enemies, today is a good day to thank them, and say many prayers for them, and really look fearlessly at yourself, asking yourself why you have this notion of enemies, or rivals, or whatever it is that has you all stirred up. Also, if you owe someone a debt, today is a good day to get that settled.



In an other-than-astrological sense, today is a day to take being a Buddhist seriously and respectfully. There are many traditions and lineages within the context of Buddhism as practiced in Tibet, but there is fundamentally the idea that we are Buddhists together, regardless of the tradition or lineage. We should respect each other and not get caught up in this or that. What is real, is real. If you are real, you don't need to swing your Gucci rag around and try to draw crowd. Just keep practicing and let things take care of themselves.



Just be kind.

So, what are we doing at my place? Well, some dipa offerings, saffron water and flower offerings, a few other little things here and there... you know, whatever we can relax into in a natural sort of way.

Published every day at 00:01 香港時間 but written in advance and auto-posted. See our Introduction to Daily Tibetan Astrology for background information. If you know the symbolic animal of your birth year, you can get information about your positive and negative days by clicking here. If you don't know the symbolic animal of your birth year, you can obtain that information by clicking here. For specific information about the astrology of 2009, inclusive of elements, earth spirits, and so forth, please consult our extended discussion by clicking here. The Ox Year baden senpo (bad days to raise prayer flags) this year (2009) are: November 9, 23, 24; December 5, 20, and next year (2010) are: January 1, 12, 16, 28; February 8. Click here for Hong Kong Observatory conversion tables. Daily Tibetan Astrology copyright (c) 2009. All rights reserved.

Buddhist Bank Robber Cat Visitation Case

According to that bastion of conservative British journalism, the Daily Telegraph, a German Buddhist named Peter Koenig, now serving time for armed bank robbery, filed a motion for visitations by his cat, on the grounds that the cat is the reincarnation of his deceased mother.

The court denied the motion, saying: "While we respect the religious freedom of individuals, the accused has not been able to furnish proof that his deceased mother has been reborn in a cat. Therefore, the request for visiting rights for the feline is rejected."

All sentient beings have, at one time or another, been our mothers.

Daily Tibetan Astrology: November 8, 2009

Chinese 22nd, M-T-K 21st. Pig, Gin, White 1.  Today is a zin phung day. Oh, what should I say?  I'm too lazy today, so I'll let somebody else do the work:

Good day to perform lhabsang and thruesel, propitiate god and deities, consecrate, do chagu, sow seeds, establish plants, and plant flowers.

 Not a good day to consecrate, construct religious monuments, marry, hold celebrations, put a roof on the house, or hoist prayer flags.

Tomorrow is... well, you already know. Everything ready? Of course it isn't. Ever try to find barley flour at 10:00 p.m. on a Sunday?

Published every day at 00:01 香港時間 but written in advance and auto-posted. See our Introduction to Daily Tibetan Astrology for background information. If you know the symbolic animal of your birth year, you can get information about your positive and negative days by clicking here. If you don't know the symbolic animal of your birth year, you can obtain that information by clicking here. For specific information about the astrology of 2009, inclusive of elements, earth spirits, and so forth, please consult our extended discussion by clicking here. The Ox Year baden senpo (bad days to raise prayer flags) this year (2009) are: November 9, 23, 24; December 5, 20, and next year (2010) are: January 1, 12, 16, 28; February 8. Click here for Hong Kong Observatory conversion tables. Daily Tibetan Astrology copyright (c) 2009. All rights reserved.

Fall of the Berlin Wall

Monday, November 9th 2009, marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Monday is also Lha Bab Duchen, when the effects of one's actions are multiplied by a factor of 10 million.

On Monday, when people all over the world celebrate historic events in Germany, please take some time to remember the "other" wall:  the one that honors  heroic men and women of the intelligence profession who made it happen through their unselfish dedication and unprecedented personal sacrifice.

Occupation in the clandestine services can take a terrible toll upon the human heart. It is cruelly easy to dismiss the artifacts of this when we encounter those who have been damaged. However, let it be clearly understood that such people are in fact the best people we have: true bodhisattvas, who live and die in silence, deception, and secrecy, with all trace of their roles erased by design.

In the end, there is nothing left but what they have given.

What they gave twenty years ago was freedom to millions.

It was a towering achievement.

Lets give back millions of prayers for them.

It is just fundamental decency.

Tibetan Medicine Blog

Over at the Tibetan Medicine Blog, well respected Massachusetts practitioner Malcolm Smith is doing a good job covering the field. Without him, I probably wouldn't have spent nearly as much money at Amazon this week, collecting such gems as Frances Garrett's Embryology in the History of Tibetan Medicine.

Hmm... don't know if I like that or not... the spending money on books part. One book always leads to another book. That leads to another, and another, and before you know it, you're shaking outside a library, waiting for it to open. Worse still, you get a job at a university somewhere, just so you can be near books. We all know people like this, and it isn't pretty.

Anyway, Malcolm has his head on his shoulders, writes comprehensible sentences with flair, and is highly recommended. Tibetan traditional medicine is fun. You spend a lifetime acquiring the fundamentals, maybe a couple of minutes actually practicing, and then you pass away from complications arising from the trauma of acquiring the fundamentals.

You know, we should probably start running a few more TTM articles in here, before the light changes.

Off Skylarking

I'm going to go off skylarking for a couple of days, before Lha Bab Duchen takes all of my attention on Monday. You might want to remember that Monday is baden, so no prayer flags. Sort of disappointing, eh?

Well, there are other days.

In the meantime, have fun, be kind, and remember to say your prayers.

Rabbit Massage

I highly recommend Chandra Moira Beal's The Relaxed Rabbit as the finest exposition of rabbit massage yet available. As the above excerpt demonstrates, this is a delightful and informative production. My rabbits also endorse this, but they are too relaxed to say anything more right now. Click here for more information.

This has been Rabbit Week here at Digital Tibetan Buddhist Altar, and I hope everyone had fun.

Our Heritage: Bought and Sold

If you go on eBay, and go searching around, you will quickly uncover evidence of a brisk trade in Buddhist antiquities. Some of these items are patently forgeries, but what is most disturbing, is that some of them are not.

Much of this is being dealt through Australia. I do not know if the AFP has a stolen artifacts capability similar to that of the FBI, but perhaps that is something that Buddhists in Australia might want to examine.

I wonder if the Radio Mullahs are trading in stolen antiquities in addition to opium? Worth looking at, don't you think?

Daily Tibetan Astrology: November 7, 2009

Chinese 21st, M-T-K 20th. Dog, Kham, Red 9. Nyi nak. Spend the day preparing for Monday's observances, but take it slowly and carefully. Do you understand nyi nak?

Published every day at 00:01 香港時間 but written in advance and auto-posted. See our Introduction to Daily Tibetan Astrology for background information. If you know the symbolic animal of your birth year, you can get information about your positive and negative days by clicking here. If you don't know the symbolic animal of your birth year, you can obtain that information by clicking here. For specific information about the astrology of 2009, inclusive of elements, earth spirits, and so forth, please consult our extended discussion by clicking here. The Ox Year baden senpo (bad days to raise prayer flags) this year (2009) are: November 9, 23, 24; December 5, 20, and next year (2010) are: January 1, 12, 16, 28; February 8. Click here for Hong Kong Observatory conversion tables. Daily Tibetan Astrology copyright (c) 2009. All rights reserved.

A Pity

Here is a letter that made the rounds last month:

October 23, 2009

Dear Palyul Students and Friends:

The Great Vidyadharas – all of the Palyul Throne Holders of the past up to our present root teacher, the late His Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpoche, the Eleventh Throne Holder – have purely upheld the authentic teachings of the Palyul Lineage.

His Holiness Penor Rinpoche has enthroned me as the Twelfth Throne Holder of the Palyul Lineage, and following his advice and enlightened intention, along with the assistance of his two heart sons, I have accepted the responsibility for upholding the Buddha Dharma, as well as overseeing and serving the Palyul mother monastery, and all of its branch monasteries and dharma centers worldwide. I have full-heartedly taken on this responsibility, and I am doing my very best.

Therefore, I advise all of our Palyul students and friends to not become entangled in any unnecessary confusion and worries but rather to devote yourselves to learning and practicing the dharma, and to continue your support of the Palyul dharma centers. At this time, for the sake of peace and harmony for all, it is my fervent request that you mingle your mindstream with the dharma and earnestly practice the teachings.

With blessings,

/s/

Paltrul Karma Kuchen

It is such a great pity when such a simple, earnest message gets lost on the very people for whom it was intended, don't you think?

For those of us who regularly find time to do everything but actually practice, here are the jig rten chos brgyad:

• hope for happiness and fear of suffering,
• hope for fame and fear of insignificance,
• hope for praise and fear of blame,
• hope for gain and fear of loss.

They say all roads lead to Rome, and I suppose that could be true, but some of them traverse a substantially longer distance than others, even though they might begin at the same point. Think that is what he meant by the line "entangled in any unnecessary confusion?"

Well... some people enjoy flying back and forth, I guess.

Guard Bhutan: A Divination

"Muslims and Christians are not simply invaders and conquerors of the past, they are fixed in eternal postures of aggression which, today, translates as insidious and covert gestures of hidden expansionism and conquest, carried on through conversion and terrorism."  --Tanika Sarkar

Bhutan is one of the few places left in the world where Buddhism has been permitted to thrive, unmolested, and indeed supported by the government. Nevertheless, at a time in history when overtly Buddhist nations may be counted on the fingers of one hand, this ancient refuge -- blessed and pacified by Padmasambhava himself -- is quite clearly in serious trouble.

As reported earlier ("Big Trouble In Bhutan," 27 October 2009), there have been devastating earthquakes, unusual weather anomalies,  insidious acts by troublemakers, epidemic illness, and now, from Pemagatshel, comes word of a plague of grasshoppers.

Because I care very deeply for this place -- very deeply -- I decided to do a divination. In some ways, I wish that I had not, because what I saw is not going to make anybody happy.

It came to me that the cause of the misfortunes is the Western fundamentalist Christian missionaries who have been allowed to visit Bhutan and set up shop. These missionaries have caused a number of people to break samaya, and to forsake the Dharma. This breakage and outrageous abandonment of all sentient beings has caused the oath-bound protectors to rise up in anger. Numerous other things came to me, but this is the essential point.

So, this is a message to the people of Bhutan from someone who honestly cares for your country:

Strongly and relentlessly guard Bhutan against the influence of anything that undermines the vows you have taken, and your forefathers have taken. If you have to close the doors and close them tight, denying entry to those who slyly subvert your nation's spiritual security in order to line their own pockets with gold, then do so. You not only have a responsibility to yourselves, but you have a sacred obligation to Buddhists everywhere else in the world to keep Bhutan pure, and free of obnoxious foreign influences.

Those religious leaders who propose otherwise on the grounds of interfaith tolerance have absolutely no idea of the damage that will follow any decision to permit barbarians to enter the gates.  Those leaders have never had to live with oppression of Buddhism under Christianity. Let the samaya saboteurs scream "persecution" all they want, and covertly employ their secret friends in the press to cause problems where none exist. You must identify them, interdict them, and isolate them before they do any more damage.

Article 3 of the constitution declares Buddhism as the spiritual heritage of Bhutan. If people want to engage in cult worship in their own homes, that is one thing, and they will individually earn karmic results accordingly. But, in the process of serving individual freedom, please do not forget the duties under Article 7(4): “No person shall be compelled to belong to another faith by means of coercion or inducement.” Do not forget the duties under Article 7(22). Vigorously and strictly enforcing the provisions of the Religious Organizations Act of Bhutan is essential -- because failure to do so will earn collective karmic results.

This has come very clearly, very purely, and very directly, and although it will cause me many problems to openly say these things, I simply do not care.

Dharma Publishing Opens New Bookstore

If you are in the Berkeley, California area tomorrow (Saturday, November 7th 2009), go over to 2210 Harold Way at 10:00 a.m., for the grand opening of the new Dharma Publishing Bookstore. This should be easy enough to find, because it is probably the only storefront on Harold Way decorated in what... Neo-Penitentiary Modern?

During the Berkey riots, we used to go back and forth from Tarthang Tulku's house on Webster Street to the original "Dharma Press," which was located on Durant Avenue. Instead of incense, we used to smell teargas. From the above storefront, one might assume that the experience left an indelible impression.

Seems like only yesterday, but it was 40 years ago.

Daily Tibetan Astrology: November 6, 2009

Chinese 20th, M-T-K 19th. Bird, Khen, White 8. The 19th is omitted in Chinese practice this month, so back out of synch we go. Again, I am giving you fair reminder that Monday is Lha Bab Duchen, so if you plan correctly, today can be the start of a long weekend. My advice? Take off early today. This is a great time of year, so enjoy yourself. If you are a person who works for money, subject to a supervisor or something, this is a good day to ask favors -- as in, "Hey, I have to leave early today, and I won't be back until Tuesday." Everybody appreciates it when you "go direct." Today is also a good day to get married, take empowerments, or work on construction projects.  You'll want to avoid festivals, and sorry to say -- today isn't very good for dogs.

Published every day at 00:01 香港時間 but written in advance and auto-posted. See our Introduction to Daily Tibetan Astrology for background information. If you know the symbolic animal of your birth year, you can get information about your positive and negative days by clicking here. If you don't know the symbolic animal of your birth year, you can obtain that information by clicking here. For specific information about the astrology of 2009, inclusive of elements, earth spirits, and so forth, please consult our extended discussion by clicking here. The Ox Year baden senpo (bad days to raise prayer flags) this year (2009) are: November 9, 23, 24; December 5, 20, and next year (2010) are: January 1, 12, 16, 28; February 8. Click here for Hong Kong Observatory conversion tables. Daily Tibetan Astrology copyright (c) 2009. All rights reserved.