Guest guest Posted October 20, 1999 Report Share Posted October 20, 1999 At Kalachakra, there was a huge (for me, first i've seen this lifetime) stupa. There was a nice gravel path, and one could circumambulate around it. It was a nice landmark, one could tell friends, "I'll meet you by the Stupa!". You could walk inside of it, and do circumambulations inside it. If you looked up, there was a flattened picture of the entire mandala on a yellow background. People left flowers in the interior as offerings. One little girl excitedly ran up to her mother with a bouquet of flowers for her that she had found left at the stupa. A little boy of about 3, babbling in Tibetan, would play running in and out of it as his father, circumambulating would be smiling at him. he was often there when i would be doing my own and sometimes i would play "peek-a-boo" with him. My friends & i got in the habit of arriving early, walking around the stupa, and sitting under the huge oak tree nearby and finishing our sadhana as other people walked by. We would speak the words and mantras ever so quietly. The energy of the situation was very high tho, and brought so much power to the practise, how could one *not* want to do this ? I met Robert Thurman by the stupa. In true dharma groupie style, the only intelligent thing that came out was "am i talking to Robert Thurman? Cool!!". He laughed with me at least. I told him "You know my teacher", he said "Who is that?" i said "Khenpo Gyurmed TInley Rinpoche" and he replied "you are in good hands.". i smiled. I asked Rinpoche "why do we walk around the stupa?". He started talking, and before i knew it, a small gathering had gathered around us as he spoke . He basically said for me "each step around here is a step closer to enlightenment". Trips of 10,000 miles start with single steps. One at a time, water drops into the ocean of nirvana. maitri, --janpa the wanderer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 20, 1999 Report Share Posted October 20, 1999 >"Janpa Tsomo" <j_tsomo > >At Kalachakra, there was a huge (for me, first i've seen this lifetime) >stupa. There was a nice gravel path, and one could circumambulate around >it. >It was a nice landmark, one could tell friends, "I'll meet you by the >Stupa!". > >You could walk inside of it, and do circumambulations inside it. If you >looked up, there was a flattened picture of the entire mandala on a yellow >background. People left flowers in the interior as offerings. One little >girl excitedly ran up to her mother with a bouquet of flowers for her that >she had found left at the stupa. A little boy of about 3, babbling in >Tibetan, would play running in and out of it as his father, >circumambulating >would be smiling at him. he was often there when i would be doing my own >and >sometimes i would play "peek-a-boo" with him. > >My friends & i got in the habit of arriving early, walking around the >stupa, >and sitting under the huge oak tree nearby and finishing our sadhana as >other people walked by. We would speak the words and mantras ever so >quietly. The energy of the situation was very high tho, and brought so much >power to the practise, how could one *not* want to do this ? > >I met Robert Thurman by the stupa. In true dharma groupie style, the only >intelligent thing that came out was "am i talking to Robert Thurman? >Cool!!". He laughed with me at least. I told him "You know my teacher", he >said "Who is that?" i said "Khenpo Gyurmed TInley Rinpoche" and he replied >"you are in good hands.". i smiled. > >I asked Rinpoche "why do we walk around the stupa?". He started talking, >and >before i knew it, a small gathering had gathered around us as he spoke . >He basically said for me "each step around here is a step closer to >enlightenment". > >Trips of 10,000 miles start with single steps. One at a time, water drops >into the ocean of nirvana. > >maitri, > >--janpa the wanderer Thank you for sharing that janpa the wanderer. Beautiful environment to be in. You must have very good karma acquired from many many good deeds in your past lives. Bowing to you In humility A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 21, 1999 Report Share Posted October 21, 1999 In a message dated 10/20/1999 11:18:37 AM Atlantic Daylight Time, j_tsomo writes: << "Janpa Tsomo" <j_tsomo At Kalachakra, there was a huge (for me, first i've seen this lifetime) stupa. There was a nice gravel path, and one could circumambulate around it. It was a nice landmark, one could tell friends, "I'll meet you by the Stupa!". You could walk inside of it, and do circumambulations inside it. If you looked up, there was a flattened picture of the entire mandala on a yellow background. People left flowers in the interior as offerings. One little girl excitedly ran up to her mother with a bouquet of flowers for her that she had found left at the stupa. A little boy of about 3, babbling in Tibetan, would play running in and out of it as his father, circumambulating would be smiling at him. he was often there when i would be doing my own and sometimes i would play "peek-a-boo" with him. My friends & i got in the habit of arriving early, walking around the stupa, and sitting under the huge oak tree nearby and finishing our sadhana as other people walked by. We would speak the words and mantras ever so quietly. The energy of the situation was very high tho, and brought so much power to the practise, how could one *not* want to do this ? I met Robert Thurman by the stupa. In true dharma groupie style, the only intelligent thing that came out was "am i talking to Robert Thurman? Cool!!". He laughed with me at least. I told him "You know my teacher", he said "Who is that?" i said "Khenpo Gyurmed TInley Rinpoche" and he replied "you are in good hands.". i smiled. I asked Rinpoche "why do we walk around the stupa?". He started talking, and before i knew it, a small gathering had gathered around us as he spoke . He basically said for me "each step around here is a step closer to enlightenment". Trips of 10,000 miles start with single steps. One at a time, water drops into the ocean of nirvana. maitri, --janpa the wanderer >> Thanks Janpa for these great contributions. Please keep writing and telling us more of your experiences. I am sure Dharma and Gloria and others into Buddhism love it as well. Gloria also visited the Dalai Lama. Anyway, enjoying very much reading. Thanks. Love to all Harsha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 23, 1999 Report Share Posted October 23, 1999 In a message dated 10/20/99 10:12:07 AM Pacific Daylight Time, ashokaraja writes: << Thank you for sharing that janpa the wanderer. Beautiful environment to be in. You must have very good karma acquired from many many good deeds in your past lives. Bowing to you In humility A >> As a child and as an adult seeking spiritual awareness I have found myself quite taken by the knowledge that any rock, any small stream, any bird or nest, any lizard basking in the sunlight can be a sacred object and a gathering place for profound thought. What goes wrong that our ability to cultivate this natural sense of the special and magical gets distorted into merely the "impressed by size" or "convinced by authority" type of consciousness that so often marks the words of those we believe to be "advanced" or somehow closer to "truth" than the average person? I admit, we all fall prostrate before the Grand Canyon...but as a child I could feel awe and wonder when examining perfect crystals embedded in a stream worn stone, or seeing a tiger swallowtail butterfly emerge from its chrysalis and unfurl it's wet wings, fan them gently and then, miracle of miracles, leap into the air and demonstrate that it knows how to fly immediately! We must be mindful to observe the true miracles and find wonder in our day to day lives, wherever we are. If we must always run away searching for "spiritual places" we will never find true spirituality. Because, when all is said and done, true spirituality and power resides in us, not the stupa, the rock, the place...we are the witness that gives the dream it's life. Just a tidy reminder... Zenbob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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