July2

Through My Eyes

Saturday July 2

(We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of shamanic consultation with the Nechung oracle!)

" The ceremony begins with chanted invocations and prayers, accompanied by the urgings of horns,cymbals and drums. After a short while, the kuten enters his trance, having been supported until then by his assistants, who now help him over to a small stool set before my throne. Then, as the first prayer circle concludes and the second begins, his trance begins to deepen. At this point, a huge helmet is placed on his head. This item weighs approximately thirty pounds, though in former times it weighed over eighty.

Now the kuten's face transforms, becoming rather wild before puffing up to give him an altogether strange appearance, with bulging eyes and swollen cheeks. His breathing begins to shorten and he starts to hiss violently. Then, momentarily, his respiration stops. At this point the helmet is tied into place with a knot so tight that it would undoubtedly strangle the kuten if something very real were not happening. The possession is now complete and the mortal frame of the medium expands visibly.

Next, he leaps up with a start and, grabbing a ritual sword from one of his attendants, begins to dance with slow, dignified, yet somehow menacing steps. He then comes in front of me and either prostrates fully or bows deeply from the waist until his helmet touches the ground before springing back up, the weight of his regalia counting for nothing. The volcanic energy of the deity can barely be contained within the earthly frailty of the kuten, who moves and gestures as if his body were made of rubber and driven by a coiled spring of enormous power.

There follows an interchange between Nechung and myself, where he makes ritual offerings to me. I then ask any personal questions I have for him. After replying, he returns to his stool and listens questions put by members of the Government. Before giving answers to these the kuten begins to dance again, thrashing his sword above his head. He looks like a magnificent, fierce warrior chieftain of old.

As soon as Dorje Drakden has finished speaking, the kuten makes a final offering before collapsing, a rigid and lifeless form, signifying the end of the possession. Simultaneously, the knot holding his helmet in place is untied in a great hurry by his assistants, who then carry him out to recover while the ceremony continues.

Surprising as it may seem, the oracle's replies to questions are rarely vague. As in the case of my escape from Lhasa, he is often very specific. But I suppose that it would be difficult for any scientific investigation either to prove or disprove the validity of his pronouncements. The same would surely be true of other areas of Tibetan experience, for example the matter of the tulkus. Nevertheless, I hope one day that some sort of enquiry into both phenomenon will be made.

Actually, the business of identifying tulkus is more logical than it may at first appear. Given the Buddhist belief that the principle of rebirth is a fact, and given that the whole purpose of reincarnation is to enable a being to continue its efforts on behalf of all suffering sentient human beings, it stand to reason that it should be possible to identify individual cases. This enables them to be educated and placed in the world so that they can continue their work as soon as possible.

Mistakes in this identification process can certainly be made, but the lives of the great majority of tulkus ( of whom there are presently a few hundred known, although in Tibet before the Chinese invasion there were probably a few thousand) are adequate testimony to its efficacy.

As I have said, the whole purpose of reincarnation is to facilitate the continuity of a being's work. This fact has great implications when it comes to searching for the successor of a particular person. For example, whilst my efforts in general are directed towards all sentient beings, in particular they are directed towards helping my fellow Tibetans. Therefore, if I die before Tibetans regain their freedom, it is only logical to assume that I will be born outside Tibet. Of course, it could be that by then my people will have no use for a Dalai Lama, in which case they will not bother to search for me. So I might take rebirth as an insect, or an animal- whatever would be of most value to the largest number of sentient beings.

The way that the identification process is carried out is also less mysterious than might be imagined. It begins as a simple process of elimination. Say, for instance, we are looking for the reincarnation of a particular monk. First it must be established when and where that monk died. Then, considering that the new incarnation will usually be conceived a year or so after the death of its predecessor-these lengths of time we know from experience- a timetable is drawn up. Thus, if Lama X dies in year Y, his next incarnation will be born around eighteen months to two years later. In the year Y plus five, the child is likely to be between three and four years old: the field has narrowed already. "

( The return of a tulku! I promise to add more tomorrow...)

*( please click here to read of the day with me )

* This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth

Dalai Lama of Tibet.

( Please see my spinning for you!)

( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? I began the day in our studio spinning for you then worked on the printing block which with we two working as one pulling strongly and patiently together is going quite well! After that I headed up gang rinpoche ngah tso gi to continue trimming around the trees and native plants. It's incredible how quickly the grass grows after the rain! It will be easier to do the feeding once this is completed.We've gotten a lot done on this but there's a fair bit more to complete! The trees and native plants have grown incredibly up there! It's getting time for the trellis as the grapes have pushed over the makeshift thing I used for them last season! After that I rested by your Medlar tree as usual before returning to our studio for a nap. Then I wandered about taking pictures before returning to our studio to work on our a land of Tibet. I'm going to put the pages up on our infosite;I'll put this up for now so we can rest.

And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow

my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright

long dark mane in sunlight

so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)


	Through My Eyes Saturday July 2 (We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he tells of shamanic consultation with the Nechung oracle!) " The ceremony begins with chanted invocations and prayers, accompanied by the urgings of horns,cymbals and drums. After a short while, the kuten enters his trance, having been supported until then by his assistants, who now help him over to a small stool set before my throne. Then, as the first prayer circle concludes and the second begins, his trance begins to deepen. At this point, a huge helmet is placed on his head. This item weighs approximately thirty pounds, though in former times it weighed over eighty. Now the kuten's face transforms, becoming rather wild before puffing up to give him an altogether strange appearance, with bulging eyes and swollen cheeks. His breathing begins to shorten and he starts to hiss violently. Then, momentarily, his respiration stops. At this point the helmet is tied into place with a knot so tight that it would undoubtedly strangle the kuten if something very real were not happening. The possession is now complete and the mortal frame of the medium expands visibly. Next, he leaps up with a start and, grabbing a ritual sword from one of his attendants, begins to dance with slow, dignified, yet somehow menacing steps. He then comes in front of me and either prostrates fully or bows deeply from the waist until his helmet touches the ground before springing back up, the weight of his regalia counting for nothing. The volcanic energy of the deity can barely be contained within the earthly frailty of the kuten, who moves and gestures as if his body were made of rubber and driven by a coiled spring of enormous power. There follows an interchange between Nechung and myself, where he makes ritual offerings to me. I then ask any personal questions I have for him. After replying, he returns to his stool and listens questions put by members of the Government. Before giving answers to these the kuten begins to dance again, thrashing his sword above his head. He looks like a magnificent, fierce warrior chieftain of old. As soon as Dorje Drakden has finished speaking, the kuten makes a final offering before collapsing, a rigid and lifeless form, signifying the end of the possession. Simultaneously, the knot holding his helmet in place is untied in a great hurry by his assistants, who then carry him out to recover while the ceremony continues. Surprising as it may seem, the oracle's replies to questions are rarely vague. As in the case of my escape from Lhasa, he is often very specific. But I suppose that it would be difficult for any scientific investigation either to prove or disprove the validity of his pronouncements. The same would surely be true of other areas of Tibetan experience, for example the matter of the tulkus. Nevertheless, I hope one day that some sort of enquiry into both phenomenon will be made. Actually, the business of identifying tulkus is more logical than it may at first appear. Given the Buddhist belief that the principle of rebirth is a fact, and given that the whole purpose of reincarnation is to enable a being to continue its efforts on behalf of all suffering sentient human beings, it stand to reason that it should be possible to identify individual cases. This enables them to be educated and placed in the world so that they can continue their work as soon as possible. Mistakes in this identification process can certainly be made, but the lives of the great majority of tulkus ( of whom there are presently a few hundred known, although in Tibet before the Chinese invasion there were probably a few thousand) are adequate testimony to its efficacy. As I have said, the whole purpose of reincarnation is to facilitate the continuity of a being's work. This fact has great implications when it comes to searching for the successor of a particular person. For example, whilst my efforts in general are directed towards all sentient beings, in particular they are directed towards helping my fellow Tibetans. Therefore, if I die before Tibetans regain their freedom, it is only logical to assume that I will be born outside Tibet. Of course, it could be that by then my people will have no use for a Dalai Lama, in which case they will not bother to search for me. So I might take rebirth as an insect, or an animal- whatever would be of most value to the largest number of sentient beings. The way that the identification process is carried out is also less mysterious than might be imagined. It begins as a simple process of elimination. Say, for instance, we are looking for the reincarnation of a particular monk. First it must be established when and where that monk died. Then, considering that the new incarnation will usually be conceived a year or so after the death of its predecessor-these lengths of time we know from experience- a timetable is drawn up. Thus, if Lama X dies in year Y, his next incarnation will be born around eighteen months to two years later. In the year Y plus five, the child is likely to be between three and four years old: the field has narrowed already. " ( The return of a tulku! I promise to add more tomorrow...) ( please click here to read of the day with me ) This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. ( Please see my spinning for you!) ( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? I began the day in our studio spinning for you then worked on the printing block which with we two working as one pulling strongly and patiently together is going quite well! After that I headed up gang rinpoche ngah tso gi to continue trimming around the trees and native plants. It's incredible how quickly the grass grows after the rain! It will be easier to do the feeding once this is completed.We've gotten a lot done on this but there's a fair bit more to complete! The trees and native plants have grown incredibly up there! It's getting time for the trellis as the grapes have pushed over the makeshift thing I used for them last season! After that I rested by your Medlar tree as usual before returning to our studio for a nap. Then I wandered about taking pictures before returning to our studio to work on our a land of Tibet. I'm going to put the pages up on our infosite;I'll put this up for now so we can rest. And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright long dark mane in sunlight so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)