Since Blazing Splendor was published, several rare photos have seen the light of day. I have seen this picture of Katok Situ enough times to feel it should be included.

In the book, a whole chapter is devoted to him, as told through Turlku Urgyen's uncle: "The Master-Scholar Katok Situ", which includes a wonder story about how Katok Situ found the renowned Armor Against Darkness, a clarification of Anu Yoga practice according to an original tantra known as the Scripture of the Great Assemblage. This commentary, written by Sangye Yeshe of Nub, one of the Lotus-Born’s twenty-five disciples, had vanished centuries ago.

About the location of Dhumasthira

... the place where the Tibetan translator Vairotsana met Prahevajra (Garab Dorje). There has been an exchange which I would like to repeat under its own entry.

Anonymous said...

Hello all,
Thanks for this "wish-fulfilling" blog. I am looking for any information about the actual location of Dhumasthira, "The Place of Smoke". It seems to have been a charnel ground where Lotsawa Vairotsana beheld Garab Dorje. Does this place exist anymore, how is it called these days? Does anyone have a picture of the place?
Thank you very much,
Saraswatee

October 21, 2008 5:23 AM

Erik Pema Kunsang said...

Dear Anonymous,

I have sent your question in an email to Ani Jinpa who has translated his biography (see below). Let's see what she has heard. My guess would be that is lies close to Bodhgaya.

Palmo, Ani Jima (Eugenie de Jong; translator); Nyingpo, Yudra (compilor, et. al.) (2004). The Great Image: the Life Story of Vairochana the translator. Shambala Publications, Inc.: Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. ISBN 1-59030-069-6 (pbk.: alk. paper)

October 21, 2008 6:20 AM

pensum said...

Funny that meeting isn't described in Vairotsana's biography, The Great Image. The only reference to his meeting Garab Dorje is in passing after receiving all the teachings from Shri Singha: "Then Vairo went to see all the great masters, including Prahe (Garab Dorje) and Manjushrimitra, who taught him the nature of dharmata in an instant, and he fully comprehended it that very moment." (pg.124)

October 21, 2008 12:06 PM

Erik Pema Kunsang said...

Ani Jinpa replied:

The name Dhumasthira, "The Place of Smoke" doesn't occur in that text. It does mention many times throughout the text that Garab Dorje lived in a cave called Place of the Vajra near a charnel gound called Golden Sanctuary of Expanding Delight, which was on the bank of the Kutra Lake in Oddiyana.

Thanks, Ani La,

I also read in the Wellsprings and elsewhere that Vairotsana met the master Prahevajra in a vision, or as a "wisdom body" and not as an actual flesh-and-blood person.

Dharma Sun

For those of you who do not have the good fortune to regularly attend Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche's famous Saturday talks at Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling in Nepal, Dharma Sun makes recordings available on a regular basis. This website emerged from Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche's wish to make the Buddha's teachings available to everyone. Highly recommended!

Buddhist prayer services for anyone who needs help

Buddhist prayer services for anyone who needs help. Buddhist prayers on this website http://monlam.org/mainprayers.html are offered frequently. These prayers can done for you or your family very soon. Most of the prayers are performed by the monks of Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling. Tara Praises and Chöd are done by the nuns of Nagi Gompa.

Monlam means "wish-path" - the Buddhist path of helping others through kind prayers. Monlam.org is a service of Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling, a Buddhist monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal; and Nagi Gompa, a Buddhist nunnery on Shivapuri Mountain near Kathmandu.

Through this site you can request Buddhist prayers for yourself and others. Your donations help support the monks and nuns who perform the prayers. Some of the monastics are Tibetan refugees. All money raised goes to the monastery and nunnery, except for the small costs of having a website and using Paypal. Prayers and pujas are supervised by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and Chokling Rinpoche, accomplished teachers of meditation and ritual.

People in Buddhist cultures have relied on the prayers of monks and nuns for centuries. Full-time spiritual practitioners develop deep wisdom and great kindness, which make their prayers especially effective. Sacred rituals, originated by highly realized masters, enhance the blessing power of the prayers.

Pujas are beautiful and powerful. Body, speech, and mind are all involved. Prayers and pujas can involve reciting sutras, chanting mantras, performing mudras, visualizing Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and offering water, flowers, incense, lights, food, music, etc. All these methods generate merit. Merit is necessary for health, long life, happiness, and spiritual realization.

Anyone who needs help can request prayers. You don't have to be a Buddhist. You can ask for prayers for healing, long life, prosperity, support for the dying and the dead, etc.

We ask that you donate to support the monks and nuns. Buddhist prayers, teachings and rituals are traditionally given without a price tag. Monks and nuns pray for people without asking for anything in return. Buddhist lay-people donate as generously as they are able. Many people are unfamiliar with this culture of mutual giving, so donation amounts are listed for each service. Giving creates merit. Merit is essential for happiness, good health, long life, worldly success, spiritual realization and good rebirth.

Talks

Here are a few talks by the lamas shown above that I just came across that you may like to check out:

Chatral Rinpoche offers Words of Advice

Dudjom Rinpoche on meditation

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche Never Born, Never Ceasing

(Please note that as there were questions about the authenticity of the originally posted teaching by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, I have replaced it with a link to a translation by Matthieu Ricard)

The View from above Dzongsar Monastery

The view towards Dorje Melong from abobve Dzongsar monastery in Kham. Photo courtesy of Matteo Pistono.

The Passing of Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro

In this clip an important tulku from Dzongsar Monastery named Dzongsar Ngari Tulku, discusses the death of Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. The video is an extract from the forthcoming documentary, ‘The Life of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö’. Dzongsar Ngari Tulku passed away on 19 May 2008.

A likeness of Chokgyur Lingpa

This is, I presume, an old statue of Chokgyur Lingpa, situated at Neten Monestary in Kham.

Tulku Urgyen's reincarnation with our editor

Here is a photo from last autumn of Tulku Urgyen's reincarnation together with Michael Tweed, the main editor for Wellsprings.

As you may know, the tulku and his parents will be invited from Bir in nortern India to Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling in Nepal for the grand enthronement ceremony this coming November.

Wutai Shan

Remarkably the sacred mountains of Wutai Shan (said to be the abode of Manjushri) has never been officially deemed a World Heritage site, so the Chinese government is in the process of receiving this designation. Click here to watch a video about Wutai Shan.

The Passing of His Holiness the XIth Mindrolling Trichen

Sadly the marvelous lama Mindrolling Trichen passed away on February 9th. The official announcement can be read here.

The XVII Karmapa on the Environment

The following is an excerpt from a talk by the XVII Karmapa that can be found on the marvelous website Ecological Buddhism which I encourage everyone to visit and pass on.

These days, temperatures around the world have drastically changed, which has created a great danger for the world itself. In olden times, we Kagyupas would stay only in remote mountain retreats in caves or stone huts—pleasant retreats—and there was no need to do such work as excavating the ground, cutting a lot of trees, or quarrying. But later, whether it was their increasing activity to benefit beings and the teachings, or whether it was because, as the saying goes, "The more you meditate on Mahamudra, the more active you become"—Mahamudra mediators got too busy. Those who were supposed to be following the path of the Practice Lineage in the high, rocky, snowy places could not manage to do that. They came down into the valleys, and it became necessary to build many monasteries.

Nowadays, many Kagyu monasteries say, "We’re making a new monastic building" and without any compunction cut down all the trees or forests that grew naturally around the site. This can create great harm for the environment. Some monasteries are even selling timber from forests behind the monastery. When we do that, we don’t know what harm we are creating now, but it creates problems for the whole environment a few years later. When the so-called essence of the earth, the essence of the place, is harmed, this causes great harm to the environment, and then we think, “Oh, no! What did we do?” But if we only think about it later, it’s too late. It takes twenty or thirty years to grow a single tree; it doesn’t grow as soon as we plant it.

For that reason, we need to understand clearly in all our monasteries in India, Nepal, and Tibet that if we are unable to conceive of all sentient beings throughout limitless space, that’s not so important. But we live on this Earth, and everyone can see it. If our Earth is destroyed by climate change, there won’t be any of us Kagyupas left. There won’t be any Karma Kamtsang. We’ll all be lost. It’s not the case that our Dharma protectors and Mahakala Bernakchen will save us; that the rest of the world will be destroyed and only we will be left. That won’t happen. That’s why we need to protect the environment. We should provide education in the monasteries about how to do so. We should not just always dig and build, but also do something to protect the environment. The sutras and tantras say that keeping monasteries and sacred places clean has immeasurable benefits. It is the same with the Earth: the Earth is in great danger and it needs our care, so we should try to help protect the environment for all the beings in the world. Even if we can’t do anything else, it is not too difficult to explain the basic things we need to do to protect the world. You should educate people about this and say, “This is how it is.” Whether we are members of the sangha or lay people, if we take interest in protecting the environment every single day, it will be very good.

Vajra Sky

The trailer for the documentary Vajra Sky, available from Direct Pictures.

A gathering at the Yak & Yeti

During the transmission of Chokgyur Lingpa's New Treasures in 1978 by Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche the owner of Yak & Yeti threw a dinner party in Kathmandu. Here we have a rare photo from those days of many of the tulkus you know very well nowadays.
Front row, from left: Tsikey Chokling, Dzogchen Jikmé Losal Wangpo, Shechen Rabjam, Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse, the lord of refuge, Rinpoches.
Back row, from left: Namdol Gyatso (general secretary at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling), Orgyen Tobgyal, a diplomat, Chokyi Nyima, a Bhutanese tulku, Mr Saraf, Kunsang Dechen (Chokyi Nyima's mother), Dzongsar Khyentse, Dzigar Kongtrul, Pema Wangyal, Rinpoches.

Early photo of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Here is a quote from Blazing Splendor about the Khyentse tulkus, in Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche's words:

When Old Khyentse passed away, the fifteenth Karmapa saw in a vision that instead of just a single reincarnation, twenty-five emanations would appear, each embodying one of the twenty-five aspects of fruition: five each for enlightened body, speech, mind, qualities, and activity. Among these, five principal incarnations were recognized and enthroned. That’s why we see so many reincarnations these days with the name Khyentse.
It is said that the activity of these amazing Khyentse incarnations is unceasing, like the moon rising when the sun sets: when one passes away, another appears in his place. When he died, several tulkus appeared to take over his Dharma activities. Seen from our side, while one of them dissolves back into the buddhafield, another emanation appears, sometimes even more brilliant than the previous one. After the great Khyentse died, Dzongsar Khyentse appeared, who was equally amazing. Then when Dzongsar Khyentse set, Dilgo Khyentse rose.
Khakyab Dorje had a similar vision that after Kongtrul passed away there would be twenty-five reincarnations as well. The number of such tulkus—“magical forms” that appear to benefit beings—is inconceivable.

Remembering Devotion and Compassion

A little reminder from Tulku Urgyen's grandson Phakchok Rinpoche which seems quite appropriate this time of year. Happy holidays everyone!

More Screenings of Milarepa and Updates

Due to the popularity of Neten Chokling Rinpoche's film Milarepa more Canadian screenings have been added to the list. Also note the new location for the Vancouver run.

NOVEMBER 30th-DECEMBER 7th
The Fifth Avenue Cinemas,
2110 Burrard St. VANCOUVER B.C.
(tel)604-734-7469

DECEMBER 7TH
Empire 17 Cinemas
BAYERS LAKE, HALIFAX, N.S.

Milarepa the Movie--screenings in Canada

Neten Chokling's directorial debut--Milarepa--is screening in Canada over the coming weeks.
NOVEMBER 30 - DECEMBER 7
The Fifth Avenue Cinemas VANCOUVER, BC

DECEMBER 7
BYTOWNE CINEMA, OTTAWA, ON
and
EMPIRE 17 CINEMAS, BAYERS LAKE, HALIFAX

DECEMBER 14th
METRO CINEMA, CITADEL THEATER. EDMONTON. AB

DECEMBER 15th
PRINCESS CINEMA. WATERLOO, ON

DECEMBER 16th, 18th, 19th
BLOOR CINEMA. TORONTO, ON

more info, including purchasing tickets, can be found at the offical website.

Enthronement

Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery is pleased to announce the auspicious event of the enthronement of Urgyen Jigme Rabsel, the reincarnation of Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. The enthronement will take place on Lha Bab Duchen, November 19th, 2008 in the main temple of Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery in Boudhanath, Kathmandu, Nepal. Further details about the enthronement will be provided in the months to come.
For more information and updates on the enthronement, visit this link.

Skillful Grace

This marvelous book on Tara containing commentaries by both Tulku Urgyen and Adeu Rinpoche will be available October 16th from independent bookstores (please support them if possible) or Amazon.com