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Mahabodhi Temple:
Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche gave the Sojong Vows
and led the first part of the Monlam prayers. There was a change in
the schedule and Pal Gyalwang Karmapa arrived at 7.00am for the
conclusion of a special Tsedrub Ritual for him, sponsored by The
Kagyu Monlam Working Team. The Tsedrub began at Tergar Monastery on
December 13th and concluded at the Mahabodhi Temple this morning,
with the offering of a Tenshug (usually referred to as a ‘Long Life
Prayer’). Choje Gyaltsab Rinpoche was the Vajra Master.
Medical Camp:
On the second day of the medical camp, the
staff worked through from 8.30am until 5.00pm in order to meet a
growing need. Word had spread through the community and more than
900 patients arrived, including many of the local children who were
very eager to collect free pencil cases and lollipops but rather
reluctant to take their medicine!
Evening Teaching at Tergar Monastery:
In the evening Gyalwang Karmapa began a special
three day teaching for foreign students. In all, nearly 2000 people
were there to listen to Gyalwang Karmapa teach on the text The
Fivefold Mahamudra by Kyobpa.
The teaching was scheduled to begin at 7.00pm but by 5.00pm queues
had begun to form, and by 6.15pm the great hall at Tergar Monastery
was chock-a-block; those arriving later were forced to sit outside
on the veranda in the chilly night air. It was clear that the
teaching had been carefully planned to reflect the needs of an
international audience. As people arrived, they received a free copy
of The Fivefold Mahamudra containing the text in Chinese,
Korean, Tibetan and English, and a leaflet of the opening prayers,
which were recited in Sanskrit, English and Chinese. The teaching
itself was translated into Chinese, English, Korean and Russian.
Five minutes before Gyalwang Karmapa appeared; the chant master came
and began to lead the Karmapa Khyenno (Karmapa, think of me).
Everyone joined in and the sound of the mantra rose to fill the vast
space. Gyalwang Karmapa arrived promptly, walked briskly across the
dais, prostrated gracefully three times, and greeted the audience
warmly with folded palms before mounting the throne.
The first verse of The Fivefold Mahamudra reads:
If the stallion of love and
compassion
Does not win the race of altruism
He will not earn the praise of the crowd of gods and humans,
So, earnestly focus your mind on this preliminary practice.
Gyalwang Karmapa explained that this was a
metaphor based on a Tibetan-style horse race, linking it with a
Tibetan saying which tells people to study and practice Dharma with
such speed that a hundred dogs will be unable to catch them. The
horse in the race symbolizes loving kindness and compassion: the
wish for all beings to be happy and the wish that all beings should
be free of suffering. Gyalwang Karmapa emphasized that two things
were essential in Dharma practice: to practise with effort and
determination, and to be able to work to fulfil the purposes of
other sentient beings. He advised that meditating on loving kindness
and compassion generally might just result in ‘quite comfortable’
feelings; it was better for beginners to focus on generating loving
kindness and compassion towards specific individuals, as this was
much more difficult and therefore of greater benefit. He cited an
amusing and vivid example: you can use a large piece of cloth to
cover the heads of a crowd of people very easily, but making
individual hats from the cloth is much more demanding.
Not only do practitioners need to strive continually to broaden and
increase their loving kindness and compassion, but then it has to be
put it into action for the benefit of other sentient beings, not
hidden away. Thus, the result of developing loving kindness and
compassion should be manifest in the actions of body, speech and
mind. And, just as in a horse race, there would be obstacles to be
avoided or overcome.
It was also essential to understand the goal, our destination,
otherwise how could we ever get there? If we tried to practise what
we didn’t understand, for example a beginner attempting to practise
Dzogchen or Mahamudra, it would create difficulties, not just for us
but for our lamas too. So Dharma practice should begin from the
point we’re at and gradually, step by step, as our understanding
grows, lead us to enlightenment.
Gyalwang Karmapa concluded the evening by conferring the Refuge
Vows, emphasising that in future no one should take refuge in
worldly things. True refuge is in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. He
emphasised that, having taken refuge, the important thing was to do
no harm, but work for the benefit of all sentient beings.
As he left the platform, the congregation applauded loudly. He
acknowledged this with a shy smile and a blessing, before
disappearing into the wings and back upstairs to his private
quarters on the roof.
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