Meditation Informs Healing Facilitation

a petit retreat? (sabbatical)

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I have been realizing that I have quite a bit of extra time (temporarily). A few minutes here, half an hour there… So I decided to do a little sabbatical in the midst of life – basically push the envelope with my practice of kindness to self. Actually I finally resolved to do what the I Ching continues to recommend to me (over the past four months…) It recommended doing a sabbatical back in November… But I resisted… for a while… <grin grin!> I no longer wonder if resistance is futile – it is. So, I’m just an ordinary human being, doing a little 10 day sabbatical in the midst of life.

Monday – I realized, hey! Just go about life as usual, just added a titch more Dharma. Did a smoke puja to start things off – to set the (my) intention / motivation of the ten days and asked for obstacles to be removed.

Tuesday – Sabbatical is starting off well. Sticking pretty close to my regimented schedule – four thoughts, metta, refuge, heart sutra, confessions, prayers, etc. As Geshe Jampel Thardo would say, just practice Bodhicitta. Oh and lots of nap time to integrate and process.

Wednesday – Things are getting stirred up. As I try to stay disciplined, the monkey mind wants to run off. Doing okay with the schedule and with down time. But the usual distractions are looming larger than normal.

Thursday – Thank goodness I am on brief sabbatical. I woke up to find the rear glass of my car has been broken. Wow! Therefore took the bus to run a couple errands, then upon returning, found some large reservoirs of anger / resentment welling up within. Oof! The agonizing hells of attachment to objects and / or positing situations as certain is not worth it! My sabbatical schedule is of little concern now – just staying present with what is arising – simply noticing and having compassion toward myself and others. I feel violated (with my car’s damage). It’s not easy – my habit of being hard of my self keeps rearing its ugly head. Although today I am doing all I can simply to be present to my rage and just let it process through.

Friday – getting my car dealt with. Drove to a friend’s to clean it up (insurance not covering the repair – grrr – need to fix that). Thankfully I had this downtime planned ahead of time… Now I am merely doing Dharma when I awaken and before I go to bed. I’ve pretty much let go of the previous schedule. Today I felt unusually joyful though – perhaps a little recalibrating after processing some heavy stuff yesterday. I looked at my astrology – when the window of my car was broken – transiting Pluto square my natal Mercury (ruler of vehicles and local travel), Mars is retrograde in my 12th house, transiting Jupiter square my natal Neptune (Sun ruler) and trine my natal Uranus (perhaps providing just the outlet I need to let rage escape… and therefore move toward self-actualization and authenticity. ugh!) Transiting Saturn is also retrograde, teetering on the threshold of my 3rd house (this could be “the reason” as the 3rd house has to do with vehicles, local travel among other characteristics).

Saturday – Woke up and I wanted to seize the day – i.e. I was feeling so good that I wanted to break off my discipline and run away… Argh. Many thoughts crossed through my mind, luckily I did not follow after any of them. Upon checking in with the I Ching I was reminded that I am still on sabbatical. Ooops… The (my) mind is very tricky indeed. Doing well being present with what I am noticing. Thankfully the I Ching speaks what I need to hear. Sitting at the Blue Ridge Zendo is helpful to clear my mind.

Sunday – Whoa! Sat Zen and did their 2 hour morning gig – walking, chanting, tea ceremony, sitting. Came back and I feel like I had an intense bodywork session (the base of my head is aching to lie down and integrate something). Also, while sitting, it seemed like time stood still – and this time I was okay with it – not like the “oh my god! when will this ever end” type of meditation. Rather it was a, “oh, I’m still sitting here. Curious. And the bell has not rung yet. Okay. Fascinating. Gonna keep on sitting.” Then came home and zonked out until our (Tibetan) Dharma group met.

Monday – Oops. Discovered more anger / resentment when I called around about getting my car repaired. Sat a bit at home and then at the Zendo. Still pushing myself, kindly. After practice, felt the need for some socializing, so I went upstairs to visit with my neighbors. I felt kind of high as I had been doing practice, but not the most grounded form. Therefore I sent some emails which might cause the recipients to take me less than seriously. Whoops. Need to ground. Sat at the Zendo with a large group of people (large for their group – there were nine of us). My mind was not settled and I left feeling kind of frazzled – that might be a first. Normally I sit zazen and I feel like my head has calmed and cleared.

Tuesday – Saw a client and then spent time afterward being kind to myself – took a bath, lay on a heating pad. Yum yum yum. Noticing telling myself big stories about an infection / cyst in my nose – I need to ask for support and then take some medicine <updated later – it is healing – Hooray!>. Got my car window replaced – Yay! Finally I let go a little and smile. Aaahhhhhhhh….. Did some nice cooking for everyone in the Dharma Duplex where I live (four of us), I made a couple of quiches. A pleasant evening.

Wednesday – Today there is nothing planned. Wow! And I don’t know what to do with myself. Yes, the perfect opportunity to do some practice. Let’s see how I do with it. Later… Ohh…. outchie! I saw the network chiropractor today, plus did some practice where I was pushing (too hard) and I think I stirred up some deep stuff. Luckily I am attempting to see all composite phenomena as illusory – including the dark hopelessness I encountered. Yowsers – be gentle Kirby… doing very little is okay. Sigh…

Thursday – Being gentle, going extra slow after what I processed or just tried to stay present with yesterday. <the brakes are on as we speak.> Did a little work outside in a friend’s garden, did a little Metta practice and then went for a hike. Very pleasant although feelings of not “getting enough accomplished” and “guilt around not doing enough Dharma” are arising and they are yucky! Ptooey! Having some difficulty grounding recently. (Wisdom, please bring myself and all sentient beings under your protection. Help us ground and connect to wisdom presence.)

Friday – aaaahhhhhhh…. my little sabbatical is over. Nothing special occurred, just attempted presence and tried to be in the freshness of the moment. It seems sitting Zen is beneficial for me – it is like cool, mountain-stream water on a hot summer afternoon. Otherwise I got glimpses of some big stuff I still need to work on. Great! I have homework. 🙂

Have a lovely, peace-filled day.

Pilgrimage to Ladakh – Togden Rinpoche and the History of Lama Yuru

7/1/08 – Today was a good day. Of course you could say that about everyday that you are on pilgrimage. However, we met with Chosje (Dharma Lord) Togden Rinpoche and Bakula Rangdrol Nyima Rinpoche gave refuge to several group members on this day. At the time, I did not know who I was meeting when we went up to the tippy top floor of Lama Yuru to attend Togden Rinpoche. All I knew is that he was a Dharma Lord. Luckily I have learned a bit more since then and I will fill in my own blanks (if that is possible).

Togden Rinpoche was seated when we entered, and he was chatting with three people who looked to be local Ladakhis. I believe his English was decent because I do not recall a translator (of course, please correct me if I am mistaken!). He reminded me of Yoda (from Star Wars) or a gnome – he was seated but you could tell he was shorter – even for a Ladakhi. However, he radiated confidence and a humble power – very difficult to describe, but he was present and grounded for certain. Oh – and he has long ears like a Chinese Buddha image / statue.

It turns out he is one of the Dharma Lords of the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism – each major region has one (Ladakh, Mt. Kailash, Tsari, Lapchi) and he is the Dharma Lord of Ladakh. That also means that he is a regent if something were to happen to the Holinesses. Later, when I went back to read his bio on http://www.drikung-kagyu.org site (click on eminent teachers), I was amazed – he has done an incredible amount for Ladakh – improving its infrastructure and benefiting the Dharma in big ways. Plus he is one of the primary lineage holders of the Rinchen Terdzo – having been given the succession from H. H. Dudjom Rinpoche.

Chos is Dharma and Jai (Je) is Lord or Master. Togden Rinpoche is the reincarnation of an Indian Mahasiddha, having left a footprint in a boulder when he was two years old (among other miraculous happenings). And judging from his presence and unassuming spiritual power, I believe it! He talked to us about the history of Lama Yuru and then our group leader asked him to give us some brief transmissions – Amitabha’s Prayer to be reborn in the Pure Land of Dewachen, Chenrezig’s mantra and Guru Rinpoche’s mantra.

The name Lama Yuru comes from the Tibetan word for swastika – which was a sacred symbol in Tibet long before it was tarnished by the Nazis’ use. An arhat came to the valley where the monastery is located during the Buddha’s time. At that point, the valley was filled with water as a lake. The arhat (or some people believe it was actually Naropa) made offerings to the nagas (snake like demigods who live in water) and asked them to leave. Supposedly they listened and a crack appeared in the dam, allowing the water to drain out. He made the aspiration that there should be a monastery in that place.

Rinchen Zangpo – the famous builder / practitioner / translator from Tibet came around the same time as Naropa – 1016-1100 – and built five buildings in the shape of a mandala – one in the center and four in each direction. Then he built 108 buildings around these central ones. Naropa meditated in two caves / huts in the monastery for several years. Apparently the monastery was beautiful – there were statues of each root lama (of each lineage), lineage holders, many Taras and Arhats. However, in 1842, the Seikh king destroyed nearly all of the old monastery (luckily a couple buildings survived the destruction, allowing Lama Yuru to be one of the oldest monasteries in Ladakh).

Bakula Randrol Nyima Rinpoche’s first incarnation began rebuilding the monastery in the mid to late 1800’s (and now his 4th incarnation is there). Presently, Lama Yuru is thriving, with more than 400 monks including its branch monasteries.

This is most of what Togden Rinpoche said about the history of Lama Yuru. Any mistakes are my own doing, as there was some time before I was able to record what I heard (in my journal).

Pilgrimage to Ladakh – Many sublime teachers at Lama Yuru

As I mentioned in my previous post, we spent several days at Lama Yuru Gompa. This is the largest Drikung Kagyu monastery in Ladakh, and I believe I heard someone mention that there were about 400 monks and 80 nuns at the monastery while we were there, to watch and participate in the Cham Dances and Ceremonies. Some of these monks and nuns have more experience and realization under their belts, and that is what this post is about.

Here is a list of who we attended while at the monastery, and a little about what they said or what teachings / transmissions they gave us.

Drupon Sonam Jorphel Rinpoche – or “Lama Jorphel” as he likes to be called, is one of the most productive lamas I think I have yet to come across. Lama Jorphel is the present retreat master for Lama Yuru Monastery. In fact, when His Holiness the Gyalwa Drikungpa Chetsang Rinpoche was doing his three year retreat there, the previous retreat master who was highly venerated and respected, Kyunga Rinpoche, passed away (dissolved back into the mandala). At this point, Drupon Jorphel, his successor, took over the retreat duties.

Lama Jorphel is getting older now, so I don’t think he travels quite like he used to, but our tour guide met him in Malaysia and said that he used to teach extensively outside of Ladakh. Lama Jorphel also is primarily responsible for much of Lama Yuru’s renaissance – much of the present-day monastery had to be rebuilt or created new. There is now a “hotel” which has many modern facilities which over looks the main courtyard of Lama Yuru. This allows tourists and pilgrims to stay in comfortable lodging while observing the Cham Dances.

Lama Jorphel is also responsible for much of the building of retreat facilities around Lama Yuru. There is even a building to house one or two Western retreatants – due to the harsh winters in Ladakh (or Srinagar to be more precise) – the Westerners generally come for one, two or three of the warmer months do their retreats. When we met Lama Jorphel, it was at the top of the monastery complex, where most of the retreat huts are located, and he spoke to us about the monastery and about Tibetan Buddhism.

He also talked about impermanence and how, in general, Westerners do not put enough thought into death and the resultant need to practice Dharma. He talked a little about the importance of finding an authentic spiritual teacher, and once you choose, stick with that person to develop Tamzig – devotion and commitment. He said that it is better to practice refuge and get the basics out of the way before jumping from one empowerment to the next, which is the tendency of many Westerners.

Rinpoche mentioned that technology had done so much to change Ladakh – he said it was only in the past couple decades that many cars, planes and buses had arrived. He told a story about when he was young – he said he walked from Lama Yuru (in Srinagar) to Leh Ladakh – a journey of 400 km, then he took a bus to Dharamsala, then a plane to Delhi, then he took a bus to Sikkim and finally, he had to walk from Sikkim to Lhasa (Tibet) in the winter snows… Whoa! He said that first it was telegrams, then lights and electricity, radio and finally email. He mentioned that when the first plane landed in Ladakh it was prostrated to – a seeming miracle!!

In my opinion, he seemed like a very valid, humble and potent monk. I think his accomplishments and Dharma activities speak volumes for his dedication and realization. Along the lines of Tibetan Lamas being named appropriately – apparently Jhorphel comes from “Jhor wa” which means material resources and “phel” means to increase – under Lama Jorphel’s watch, Lama Yuru monastery has grown significantly in buildings and in financial resources.

Bakula Rangdrol Nyima Rinpoche – a young Tulku, or recognized, reincarnate lama, is the 4th incarnation in this line. One of our Ladakhi guides mentioned that when he is alive and associated with the monastery, it flourishes. He is known as one of the best Cham dancers in the Drikung Kagyu, and sure enough, he had the main dancing responsibility in the Black Hat Dance (see future post).

Rinpoche gave us refuge, as several members of the pilgrimage had not taken refuge and desired to do so. His english was pretty good, so he did not use a translator. He spoke about what is required when we take refuge – 1) not causing further harm to anyone, 2) not worshiping or paying homage to non-enlightened deities / local spirits, 3) treating fellow Sangha members with kindness – as brothers and sisters. This is in addition to taking one of the five precept vows. See the history of Lama Yuru post (future post) for more on Bakula Rangdrol Nyima Rinpoche.

Drupon Sonam Kunga – as I mentioned in a previous post, Drupon is Bakula Rangdrol Nyima Rinpoche’s tutor. So we first met him in Leh, at Rinpoche’s house. At Lama Yuru however, he gave us a little tour of the main meditation and teaching hall. He spoke a bit about work around the monastery and all the new construction that had occurred over the past twenty years (quite a bit). He added to the history of the monastery which Togden Rinpoche had started. Drupon was also a member of the 3-year retreat which included His Holiness Chetsang Rinpoche, Khenchen Rinpoche – Konchog Gyaltsen, Drupon Samten, and seven other highly respected teachers.

I will post a piece about Togden Rinpoche separately at this is getting long. We were very blessed to have access to these sublime masters, to receive brief teachings and to learn about the fascinating history of Lama Yuru. You can visit http://www.drikung-kagyu.org and click on the eminent teachers link to see more about these amazing lamas.

Pilgrimage to Ladakh – Cham Dances at Lama Yuru

6/30/08 – We were planning to be at Lama Yuru for a few days at least. And actually, I considered asking (Drupon) Lama Jorphel if I could do a week long retreat as I had an extra week on my itinerary. However, later I opted out of that. [Updated in 2021: I really should have gone through with this retreat idea. Lama Yuru is where His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon did his 3 year retreat, where Kyunga Rinpoche started as his retreat master (see previous posts about a story there). Then Drupon Jorphel – the same one we attended – took over as retreat master when Kyunga Rinpoche passed into parinirvana. As far as Drikung Kagyu lamas go, that retreat back in the early 80’s was star-studded. The accumulated merit and spiritual momentum you might say, is potent at Lama Yuru! Hence I regret not doing even a 5-day retreat there!]

My legs ached from yesterday’s mountaineering (and / or subsequent panic attack). Today we are planning to watch the Cham dances, which are taking place today and tomorrow. Early this morning, there was the option of going up to the monastery at 5:30 am to witness the Mahakala puja which requests obstacles to be removed from the Cham ceremonies. They say that the Drikung-pas are good at calling rain (causing rain) and whether or not it was the Mahakala ceremony or the fact that we were at a Drikung Kagyu monastery or just a natural weather phenomena, it rained significantly for the first time we were in Ladakh. Actually, that was the only time it rained with any accumulation for the entire month that I was there.

The Cham dances are very subtle. It is the one occasion where the monks get to dance (they normally have vows against dancing). In this case, it is a ritual practice of embodiment and offering. Apparently the monks do some extensive visualizations – picturing themselves as the deities they are representing as they twist, hop, and spin around. They are dressed up in elaborate costumes – and usually we were not able to tell any individual monks apart as they are wearing heavy gowns and hats or crowns or antlers (depending on the dance). They also carry appropriate implements according to the deity they are representing (vajra, or scepter, or skull cup, etc). Someone mentioned that each of their movements has symbolic meaning.

We sat or stood a lot, and I noticed my mind becoming very agitated – I wanted more action. I wanted to be doing something. It really was an effort to change my mind from experiencing angst to patience to be able to sit around for several hours and observe the dancers. They would dance all day today and tomorrow, so I needed to calm down somehow. In addition to the dancers, there were two “joker” characters – monks who were dressed up as old men with silly masks on. It was their job to go around and pester people into making donations. Lucky for us, after four or five times of coming through and asking for offerings, our trip guide told them to leave us alone (we would give a significant donation later on – no need to be bothered by the jokers).

There were many people at the monastery – Westerners including us Americans, Europeans, Japanese, Tibetans, a few Indians and many local Ladakhis. Apparently the Cham dances draw large crowds – such that the major monasteries in Ladakh stagger their events so that they do not compete with each other. Also, the Cham dances used to be in the 12th Tibetan lunar month, which would be closer to early February – or in the 1st month to celebrate the New Year – still in the winter. However, observing the Cham dances is a method to obtain enlightenment (and the monks get to benefit others therefore by dancing), the dances are pretty much held in the summer in Ladakh where more people can benefit from watching. And as a large tourist draw, the monasteries profit more as well.

Just to clarify about that last paragraph I am including this section, however due to my inferior intelligence, please pardon any mistakes I am making. There are many methods or ways to obtain enlightenment – by eating or by taste (eating tsok-blessed food or mani pills), by sight – observing Cham dances or seeing a serene, peaceful yogi; by reciting words – saying prayers or mantras; by actions – doing prostrations or circumambulating stupas, etc. Not to mention meditation and working on the union of Shinay (Calm Abiding) and Vipashana (Critical Insight). And I am certain there are many other skillful means to work toward enlightenment that I am leaving out.

There were about a dozen dances each day. Some dances involved monks dressed up as animals – deer, or sometimes dressed as protector deities – it was fun to try to identify each one – Achi Chokyi Drolma was pretty easy to discern. Bakula Rangdrol Nyima Rinpoche is known as a profound Cham dancer, and as such, we were anticipating seeing him in action. Also, because he is a tulku (a recognized, reincarnated teacher), we could be pretty certain that his visualizations were clear and accurate. More on this in a future post. Each dance would last at least 15 minutes, with a few minutes of intermission between dances, or sometimes the monks would come out with all their instruments – drums, horns – short and long, symbols, etc – and parade around the courtyard. This seemed to me to be an introduction to the next dance.

Pilgrimage to Ladakh – Approaching Lama Yuru

6/29/08 – cont’d – After Tamisgam Monastery we continued on toward the main Drikung Kagyu Monastery in Ladakh (Lama Yuru). The road to Lama Yuru is twisting, narrow and it hugs the edges of a thin gorge – nothing like the extremely precarious roads we had been on previously, but exciting nonetheless. On the way, we passed little streams and larger gullies. There would be irrigation systems traveling above a river, sometimes lasting for several miles before reaching their destinations (they looked like tiny trails above the river, but we were told that they had been or were currently full of water). As we got closer to the monastery, the terrain changed – noticeably and drastically. Lama Yuru is high in elevation – at least 14000 ft and it sits on what used to be an ancient lake bed – you can tell because there is a layer of sandy-loamy stone that is level (see photo). There is a story / myth about this, which I will relate if I find it in my journal.

There was an enormous traffic jam once we got within a mile of the gompa (we could see it above the road). The road was continuously curving and serpentine, and at one of the curves, an Indian Army 18 wheeled truck had gotten stuck – somehow two of its wheels were off the ground. Pictures were not really allowed of the military vehicles humorous position. A tow truck was attempting to right it, but with very little success. Therefore we were in a pickle, along with about 30 other cars and little vans (full of fellow tourists and locals).

However, luckily we had a crack team of drivers (and four wheel drive Toyotas). They told us to get out and they were going to try to drive up a steep sandy short cut to get up to the next level of passable road. Sure enough, despite our group’s skepticism, they made it fine. We piled in and were on our way.

Our camp was set up when we got there – a bright yellow dining tent, a kitchen tent for the cooks and nine camping tents for us to sleep in. After choosing our tents and having a snack, Kevin, Bily and I decided it would be smart to climb a nearby hill, to check out a cairn which was on top. The hike reminded me of being in a cinder cone, like I am used to from hiking in Hawaii – some volcanic, porous stones were around. It was mostly a dry, sandy soil however. We watched as a couple of fellow pilgrims attempt to climb up to us via a very steep slope but they failed to make progress and quit (I should have taken that as a sign).

Someone suggested we climb further – Bily noticed a cairn or shrine on top of the mountain which we were under. It was up there – at least another 500 feet up. Well, when in Rome… Or when in Ladakh, follow your crazy fellow pilgrims… right? Hindsight is always 20 / 20. We climbed, having to do a circuitous route to avoid some steep slopes. At some points, we were taking three steps up and then sliding back two as the sand was thick and loose. Then we had to cross over to a section with a sharp drop to one side. The rocks I was encountering up there were like a form of shale – easily shearing off, so when I went to grab some for leverage, they would break off. Very shaky!

Note to self – when you are noticing anxiety and fear arising from driving on precarious mountain roads, know that your fear of heights will and does translate to walking / hiking situations as well! Yeah, long story short, there was one point that was tricky and I had a bad panic attack. Unfortunately I was wearing my clogs – as in non-lace-up shoes and sand was constantly getting in them and I was worried about them sliding off and losing them down the slope. After screaming out for help and then praying like I was under extreme duress, I took some deep breaths and squeezed around the tricky boulder. Both Kevin and Bily were reassuring me that once I did that it was easier and sure enough, it was. Thank goodness! My adrenaline was pumping hard and I’m sure I gave them quite a scare as well. Om Mani Padme Hung Hrih! They were kind about it however. It was a fairly new experience to be so vulnerable around friends – they were glad to see me emerge from around the boulder. Yay!

There was an impression or indentation up there, almost like a bath tub, certainly big enough for someone to sleep in. It was very windy and the prayer flags we visited were flapping in the breezes. We took a different route down thankfully – needing only to slide long distances down the scree-filled slopes. Once back at the camp, I resolved to play it safe from then on – I did not need any further scares!

The next time people climbed up that mountain, they brought prayer flags with them and the restrung them. I opted to stay below and take they picture from camp. The third photo is of Jeff and Nate, Bily and Kevin hanging a fresh strand of prayer flags.

awarepoetry self care questioned

This is a little existential poetry, hastily written by Kirby Moore on April 20th, 2010.

when meditating, I scan my body, what are the waves I feel?

is it simply awareness perceiving awareness?

sensations move up and down my spine, what is spine?

spine is empty. spine is light. spine is potency. spine is juicy vitality.

when I practice Body Talk on myself, returning to alignment, is emptiness realigning itself?

how can emptiness come out of alignment?

when the bones of skull become tight and Craniosacral adjustment is needed, who is doing the adjusting?

if I notice my digestion acting up (or rather not at all), then time to balance the sphincters (from Visceral Manipulation)

when I reorient the esophageal sphincter, the pyloric, the duodenum junction, etc; are my organs full of emptiness?

are there layers of awareness? are there layers of emptiness? where are they?

I perceive various layers in my viscera and internal organs.

Is there an “I” perceiving organs in the first place? Where is this “I”?

Is all of this merely mind moving through space?

I grin and it is okay.

“And of course, if we are in agreement, then it is time for a nap.” ~quote from Julie Henderson

Pilgrimage to Ladakh – Temisgam Monastery

6/29/08 – cont’d – At our little rest on the journey to Lama Yuru, we stayed in the village of Temisgam. Overlooking this village was a very special monastery (at least to me). On this pilgrimage, there were several places (monasteries) that felt vaguely familiar – Hemis was a definite, Temisgam was another and Lama Yuru as well – as in not my first time visiting them. In spite of, yes it was my first time visiting this current lifetime.

Back to the story, Temisgam was an unique gompa in that it had a rich history, but it was no longer in use as a (inhabited by multiple monks) monastery. Rather there was simply one monk running the entire place. He sat with us when we practiced in the Guru Rinpoche shrine, and then when we were in the large, ornate Lhakang (temple or shrine?), he went back to a little semi-private cell and chanted prayers for a while. We could peek in at him, but it felt like an invasion of his privacy (so I did not do so).

So, this was an incredibly beautiful and artistic monastery which was obviously well maintained. From the outside, it looked relatively small – especially for the-only-nearby-town being a small 1300 person village. The monk said that there are two sects which take care of this particular gompa – the Gelugs and the Drukpa Kagyus and that they take turns – every two years they switch. The monk said that the monks have a one year rotation of being there (pretty much alone). There was a Maitreya shrine with a decent sized statue in it (I seem to recall it being at least six feet tall). The oldest section of the monastery housed an ancient Guru Rinpoche shrine – I think there are some statues in there that are over 600 years old. That shrine had dozens of ornate statues, ranging from a couple feet to twelve feet in height. That was where we stopped to do a long group practice – we did the 7 line prayer (Guru Rinpoche’s prayer) along with the full 18 pages of opening prayers. It was nice, the monk from the monastery joined us and chanted along when we did the Tibetan.

The Chenrezig Shrine (pictured here) was extraordinarily ornate. There were two large statues behind glass of 1000-arm Chenrezig and then in the center, encased behind several layers of plastic / glass, there was a small little whitish-cream colored statue. It was only eight inches tall at most – but it was said to have animated / spoken to a high lama when he stayed at the monastery relatively recently.

The monastery was soaked in history. According to the story I heard, when the Tibetan royalty and their army came in to help the Ladakhis defeat the Baltistan army, this monastery was also a palace. The Tibetans kept power and increased the wealth of Ladakh as they also built the Shey Palace (which we visited earlier), the Palace at Leh, this one and another where the Zangskar and Indus rivers converge. These palaces were pretty much built in the 11th century and then rebuilt in the 15th and 18th centuries. Various ruins are left, but the harsh Ladakhi winter, wind and sun are tough on buildings.

Temisgam had a balcony on the outside of the third floor of the monastery – circumambulating three shrine rooms. Too bad my fear of heights prevented me from enjoying it fully! There were wind catchers (spinning turbines) attached to prayer wheels, so the large wheels would sometimes seem to be turning on their own – because they were! I seem to recall a large Dharma Guardian shrine at this monastery as well – and this building was obviously newer than the first section we visited.

There is a nunnery below the monastery – on the same road. However, I will write more about that in a future post because we visited it on our way back from Lama Yuru.

In my journal I have the name of this place as both Tamisgam and Temisgam – but now that I look around online, it seems Temisgam is more common.

Pilgrimage to Ladakh – enroute to Lama Yuru (Tamisgam)

6/29/08 – What a day! The guest house we stayed at is nice! Like wow! Out in the middle of nowhere, in a small village is this guest house that seems like a Marriot. There was golden buffet service in the dining room, a reception desk, 16 rooms total, exquisite pictures of Buddhist iconography in the dining room (which is large and spacious). The village is below a monastery – which we went up to visit. The village is at least 15 minutes off the main road, in a lush valley. Its name is Temisgam (along with the monastery).

There is a bird in Ladakh that makes a static noise. Like scraping paint off an old house with a wire brush. I have only heard it once so far. In looking and listening for it in this lush valley, I only hear typical chirrups and peeps. There are large magpies – a little bigger than East Coast blue jays but much more aggressive if that is possible. They chase away these large black ravens. There are also many sparrows, pigeons, bees and butterflies and moths.

We got to explore the house of the owners of the guest house (next door). It was interesting – a large house with several bed rooms on two floors. They had their own cow outside for milking (and yogurt). Simple bare walls, dirty carpets in a sitting room, dusty dirt floors on the first floor and the walls of the kitchen are covered in soot (they are darker than the other walls of the house). But then we came to the shrine room – whoa! It is golden and shiny and sparkly. Brilliant, clean, colorful rugs, small statues, elevated seating areas, a local lama is sitting in a corner chatting with a couple of family members, and the windows were large and spacious allowing a lot of light into the room. There were three stupas representing the three lords – Chenrezig (white), Manjushri (yellow) and Vajrapani (blue). Aside from their shrine room, it was obvious most of the family’s money was tied up in the guest house.

Last night, there was a loud clap – like a thunderbolt. But there was no storm. In the morning someone asked what it was and the guide said it was a dragon. Someone retorts that after seeing the oracle, anything was possible. Hmmm…

[Revised May 2021: (this is esoteric, bear with me – there are stories of this happening in Tibet) the loud clap may have been the activities of the Dharma protectors clearing away obstacles – or defeating the demons. I don’t know, more speculation.]

The monastery above the village was interesting. It is basically a museum – there is only one monk there to keep things going. He said they take shifts taking care of the place – doing practice and prayers, collecting the suggested donations when tourists visit and scheduling maintenance work. It was a beautiful monastery – too bad it is not still in operation. We spent quite a bit of time here as it had some of the most precious artwork we had seen yet – especially considering it’s size. Plus we had a little bit of time to kill as we had ample time to get to Lama Yuru that afternoon.

In my next post, I will detail this fascinating monastery (Tamisgam).

Pilgrimage to Ladakh – Likir and Alchi monasteries

6/28/08 – Beware eating raw food in India – even in Ladakh. As I mentioned previously, I had a bad case of Delhi Belly – I was feverish, nauseous and had digestive issues all night, such that I “slept” on the bathroom floor… Needless to say, I was a little under the weather for both of these gorgeous monasteries. However, we started our trip to Lama Yuru monastery on this day, so I guess I “picked” a good day to be ill – most of it was in the car.

Lama Yuru is a solid seven(?) hour plus drive away from Leh, so we visited a couple of monasteries and then planned to stay at a guest house mid way. The road from Leh to Lama Yuru is a little… hhmmm… how do I put this? fragile? There were some places where either A) sand had blown over the road for at least half a mile, obscuring it completely or B) there was no road and the jeep tracks through the desert were normal… Yeah. I was beginning to wonder where we were going – and why there was not a road there.

Anyway, Likir monastery is Gelugpa gompa and it has a huge seated Buddha sitting outside, actually on top of a part of it. It is a decent size monastery (by Ladakh standards) which also has a school – there are 120 monks in residence at the monastery. For a good photo of the statue, go here: <http://www.imagesofasia.com/html/indiaphoto/buddha-likir.html>

I was quite ill so I walked around part of the monastery and then went and waited in the car (near the latrine). I did not go in at all to Alchi Monastery which was next on our list. But I later read a beautiful (illustrated) book about it in Leh when I was on my own – I visited the local library and found their collection quite nice, if small. However, Alchi is presently a Gelugpa monastery. Although there are stories about it being named after the Drikung protector deity / female Buddha Achi – as in Achi Chokyi Drolma. Sometime in the past few centuries it came under the Yellow Hat influence. It is known as having some the oldest Buddhist art in Ladakh – no photography is allowed in the main hall. The influence of Kashmiri and Muslim artists can be seen in its art work. There are tall statues of Manjushri and I think Avalokitesvara – every square inch of which is painted with intricate, little depictions of the Buddha’s lifestory or the Jataka tales, etc.

I wrote a poem, I think at the guest house at which we stayed. (A very nice guest house which I will write about in my next post.)

a woman passes beneath my window, singing lilting and joyful words, foreign

a donkey brays, suddenly, piercing the valley’s calm, as if it has been stung, its cry carries on the summer breeze

men sawing away, perpetual construction during the few warm months

an ancient walnut tree, ripe with spherical pods

apricot trees, brimming with green, quarter size fruit

Pilgrimage to Ladakh – a (big hearted) small helper

This post is dedicated to Sonam, the nephew of the Guest Housekeepers where we stayed. He is hardworking, sweet and grounded. Sometimes I catch him singing to himself, a beautiful and moving Ladakhi tune. Sonam is fourteen years old, but due to either malnutrition or genetics, he is a short boy. This does not stop his carrying large pieces of baggage however. His smile speaks of wisdom long past his years, but it takes a little trust to reveal it. Some of the members of our group enjoy playing hackey-sack – the game where you stand in a circle and attempt to keep a little beanbag off the ground, without using your hands (feet, head, knees are allowed). Sonam would join us at this game when he had the chance and he began to bond with several members of the pilgrimage.

Sonam asked me the name of my village and then he asked how much snow my village got. He is very sweet, if naive, but his English is very good. Every once in a while, in the midst of his chores, he would timidly come into our room and test out some of his English on whoever was present. He tried to teach us some Ladakhi – “matahpo means beautiful?” I wish him well in his Ladakhi life. Perhaps we will meet again.

When the other members of the pilgrimage headed back, I stuck around for a few days. I hung out with some Tibetans, visited a couple of sites and did some good reading. I will post more on this later. But Sonam was distraught when his new-found friends left and then when I had to say goodbye he was visibly sad. New friends will arrive, I know it! By the way, if anyone reads this and goes to stay at the Kidar Guest House, say hello to Sonam for me if you see him.