Report by Michele Martin
Spheres of red and yellow lights descending from the outer
path around the stupa enfold in their bright warmth all
who’ve gathered this evening. In addition to the
international sangha of ordained and lay people, there are
also dignitaries who have come from afar to join in this
celebration. The steps leading from the back gate down to
the Bodhi Tree have been turned into a stage for the
performances.
Tonight His Holiness is serving as the Master of Ceremonies,
announcing each group and making brief comments. The first
group is composed of Tibetan monks who stand with their
palms together, filling the whole space of the stairs with
the glowing presence of their yellow robes. His Holiness
comments that te Sanskrit language comes first since India
was the source of Dharma. In resonant tones, the monks chant
the refuge, praise of the Buddha, and before the dedication,
the epitome of the Buddha’s teachings, which the Karmapa
cites often:
Do not do anything that is wrong.
Conduct yourself with utmost virtue.
Completely tame your own mind.
This is the teaching of the Buddha.
Following this is a short practice of the
four-armed Chenrezik that includes chanting of Om Mani Padme
Hum.
Second is a group of Chinese monks and nuns in bright orange
and yellow robes, who chant a supplication to the buddhas of
the ten directions. Recorded music gives amplitude to the
chant and at the end, they toss bits of metallic paper that
catch the light as they fall to the ground.
In gray and brown robes, the Korean monks and nuns chant a
beautiful prayer recited when making offerings. One monk,
who has a beautiful and moving voice, sings acapella for a
while with the others bowing from time to time. Then they
join in the singing with a close harmony that intensifies
the feeling of devotion.
The fourth group is composed of Vietnamese monks in burnt
gold robes and carrying various small instruments: a bell on
a stick, a wooden fish drum, a hand bell, and a small drum
on a long handle that is tapped with a curved stick. They
offer a captivating chant as their voices seem to move round
in circles. They end with a very fast chant spurred on by
the wooden hand drum.
The Tibetan Institute for Performing Arts is represented by
four women in front and four men in the back, all wearing
the traditional Tibetan dress. His Holiness comments that
they will sing a prayer that is an aspiration for the
well-being of Tibet (Bo yul bde smon). In particular, it is
dedicated for the well-being of those who suffered during
this year’s disasters in Tibet.
The sixth group is a blend of lay disciples from several
countries in the West. The Karmapa commented that we should
“collectively make the aspiration that people of all
nationalities come together and make aspiration prayers.” In
English and German, the group sings “Silent Night” (a
traditional Christmas carol, now being sung in the West
during the holiday season). The final version is a new one
that includes Om mani Padme Hung and the wish that “people’s
minds rest silently” and ‘awake clearly in peace.”
The following group has eighteen of Khenpo Tsultrim
Rinpoche’s students from Taiwan, who sing a vajra song in
Chinese, accompanied by gestures and recorded music. His
Holiness remarked that it is especially appropriate to
celebrate him this evening as a long life mandala had been
offered to him this morning. The fact that the song is in
Chinese is a sign that “the great kindness of the lama can
penetrate many languages.”
The next performer is Kelsang Burkhar, (daughter of the
translator Ngodup Burkhar), who offers a song of gratitude
to Bokar Rinpoche. His Holiness notes that this “shows that
youth of the twenty-first century can feel gratitude to
their lama.” She sings, “Thank you for teaching me still.”
Before the final singing of the Lamp Prayer, there is a
fifteen-minute
slide show presenting the life and activity
of the Sixteenth Gyalwang Karmapa. His Holiness mentioned
that he had wanted it to be more extensive but time was
short as there were so many events this year. “Yet,” he
said, “I hope it will inspire you.” The photographs ranged
from the early years of the Karmapa in Tibet through his
building of Rumtek Monastery, his residence in India, and
travels throughout the world. In some of the images, the
resemblance between the Sixteenth and the Seventeenth
Karmapas is remarkable. (If you have pictures to contribute
to this project of archiving photographs of the Sixteenth
Karmapa, please contact:
Karmapapictureproject@gmail.com .)
For the last event, all the groups who performed come
together on the stairs to face His Holiness who sits before
the Bodhi Tree with the Vajra Asana beneath. First everyone
repeats after the Karmapa the prayer composed by Lord
Atisha:
Emaho!
I offer this amazing, wondrous bright lamp
To the one thousand buddhas of this fortunate eon.
Lamas, yidams, dakinis, dharma protectors,
And the gatherings of deities in the mandalas.
Of all the pure realms of the infinite ten directions,
My parents in the fore, may every sentient being
In this lifetime and all the places they take birth
See the pure realms of the perfect buddhas directly
And then become inseparable from Amitabha.
Out of the power of the truth of the Three Jewels
And the deities of the Three Roots I’ve made this
prayer.
Please grant your blessings that it be quickly
accomplished.
Then everyone lights their lamps: some
are tea lamps in circular flower-petal holders made of
simple pottery and other are flickering candles powered by
batteries. Once these lights glow throughout the darkness of
the night, the Lamp Song is sung in Tibetan, English, and
Chinese. After a request to remember the environment and
carefully dispose of the lamps, His Holiness closes with the
aspiration prayer that everyone enjoy a happiness that is
unceasing.
