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The 2010 Light of the Path retreat was attended by a very special young girl, Maddy Stafford, who, at the age of 10, requested to become a nun and geshema. Merry Colony spoke with Maddy and her mother, Mer Stafford, about Maddy’s strong connection to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the Dharma, and her future plans in a Mandala exclusive interview – “Youth in Refuge.”
This amazing story demonstrates how something as simple as offering water bowls can dramatically change a student’s life.
Erdenechimeg Lhasuren commenced offering water bowls at Shedrup Ling, FPMT Mongolias’s centre in Ulaanbaatar, in 1999. During that time, her life was not going well and she did not earn enough money to feed her children and as a result, her relatives were taking care of them. She has a son and a daughter.
When she started her water bowl offerings, she had to walk to Shedrup Ling everyday because she did not have enough money to take a bus. For the past 11 years she has been offering water bowls in Shedrup Ling’s offering room and for the last eight has extended this service to offer water bowls regularly in Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s room on the top floor.
When this activity commenced in 1999, Erdenechimeg, together with her Dharma sisters, participated on a roster basis to offer 2,000 waters bowls at Shedrup Ling every day.
These days, Erdenechimeg’s life has taken a turn for the better and she is experiencing success in her business and has a much healthier financial situation. She is living happily with and taking care of her own two children and extended family, inclusive of seven children and 10 adults!
Erdenechimeg shares with us that her life success is a result of the accumulation of great merit from the action of the water bowl offering practice. This merit has also enabled her to become one of the most generous benefactors of the Shedrup Ling Centre and Dolma Ling Nunnery.
Daria Davaa works for FPMT Mongolia as an assistant and translator.
Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis. There seem to have been a lot of them lately. Our earth is shrugging off some of its pressure and reshaping its surface in the process. What we thought was solid, immovable and permanent, is in fact not. Impermanence is at work. Impermanence has also made itself felt at Sandy Point, but fortunately not as an earthquake. The balmy spring days have disappeared with a blast of icy wind and rain from the Antarctic. It was a perfect place to be reborn yesterday, but not today.
My self-cherishing ego (sche) has very clear ideas about a perfect human rebirth. Sche sees balmy days, plenty of food and drink, no illness, not getting old, as the qualities of this perfect birth. Sche would like to be in a place where there would be no need for education because sche would just absorb knowledge without effort. There would be no computers stalling with the latest virus. The house would remain perfectly clean and tidy without effort on sche’s part. Her back would never be painful. There would be no disagreements because everyone would agree with sche. In fact, no impermanence once that state of perfection has been achieved.
This so called prefect human rebirth of sche sounds suspiciously like the god realms. In fact, sche thinks the god realms are pretty good. Unfortunately, there is still impermanence and sche would still have to die. Anyway, sche is not worried about that. It’s too far in the future and perhaps death could be postponed.
My sche has no interest in the dharma, except when it can feel comfortable. Being blissed out in meditation is OK. Having attention from the guru is great, provided the guru does not challenge sche in any way. Sche only wants to be important, not exposed. Sche is thoroughly dismayed when it does not come top in a Basic Program test, or is required to help clean the gompa. Some voluntary work is OK, provided it brings praise and respect. My sche is thoroughly immersed in the eight worldly dharmas.1
Of course, that is not what the perfect human rebirth is about. It means a rebirth with uninhibited access to the Dharma, the teachers and the teachings. Unfortunately for my sche, this means being exposed as a fraud, a figment of my imagination, however painful to acknowledge it, however dearly I try to hang onto it. Sche claims to be the source of my happiness and that Dharma progress is measured by comfort. These are things that I very much want.
To get to the real happiness, the lasting happiness, I need an inner earthquake, a major realignment of my mind. Sche has to be challenged and demoted. If I challenge my sche, then I might experience shame, depression, anger and resentment towards the Dharma as I recognize the effects of my sche. Which, then, do I reject? The Dharma or my sche? Sche has always claimed to be my closest and best friend. Dharma makes the same claim. I can’t have both. If I choose Dharma, I can expect earthquakes.
Emptiness poems: 3.
Four times Milarepa2
built a tower, block by block,
hauling each huge stone.
And three times Marpa
made him pull it down.
So I wonder
what Milarepa thought
amongst his drops of sweat,
aching legs and shoulders,
bruises and stinging cuts?
I feel for him, although
my tower building is in my mind
and overheated brain, each
being crudely dismantled
by earthquakes as deeper
strata are realigned –
logic sparking ancient patterns
for a subterranean settling.
1 Eight worldly dharmas are: 1. being happy when getting material things and 2. unhappy when not; 3. being happy when experiencing pleasure and 4. unhappy when not; 5. being happy with fame and a good reputation and 6. unhappy with notoriety and a bad reputation; 7. being happy when praised and 8. unhappy when criticized.
2 Milarepa is a famous Tibetan yogi, noted for his spiritual poetry, his extensive meditation practice and unorthodox methods. He sought a teacher after realizing that killing people who annoyed him was not a good way to live. He requested Marpa to be his teacher, but Marpa apparently ignored him, not allowing Milarepa to attend teachings and giving him jobs such as building towers that Marpa subsequently knocked down.
In order to repay the kindness of the IMI, and the sponsors of the IMI and Nalanda, the 27 Nalanda monks (and one of the nuns) recited the Golden Light Sutra for four days (August 31 – September 3). The goal was to recite the sutra at least 108 times, but with the help of the lay students, they completed about 130 recitations, which they dedicated to the IMI, the sponsors and the long life of our teachers, especially His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Nalanda’s abbot, Geshe Jamphel.
My horse, Merlin
I have decided my dog is actually a horse. After all, he has four legs and runs along the beach and he likes eating carrots. Unfortunately, since I started feeding him hay, he has lost weight; he resents being saddled. Anyway, the saddle is too big and I cannot find a blacksmith to make shoes for him. He also has this unusual habit of chasing seagulls. I haven’t seen horses doing that before. I think you would agree that Merlin is a nice name for a horse. Other people insist he is a dog. I don’t know why.
Now that I believe Merlin is a horse, then there are things to do and ways of relating to him that do not apply if he is a dog. I have to change the way I feed and groom him. He will need a stable instead of a kennel – although, he is a small horse, so his kennel may do as a stable. I wonder if hay is cheaper than dog food?
You do not agree? No matter how much you try, if I absolutely insist he is a horse, then nothing you can say would make me change my mind. I would just rationalize away the inconsistencies. I could, like any one of the three Messiahs in the psychiatric hospital1, pretend you are not there, say are a mental case, or say you are simply wrong.
In fact, every appearance in our daily lives is a false projection of our own mind. Our own mind makes it up and it becomes an obstacle to touching reality. My projection, or delusion, that Merlin is a horse becomes an obstacle to looking after him. My delusion that I inherently exist is an obstacle to being in touch with reality as it actually exists.
You have to see that your attitudes, your view of the world, of your experiences, of your girlfriend or boyfriend, of your own self, are all the interpretation of your own mind, your own imagination. They are your own projection, your mind literally made them up. If you don’t understand this then you have very little chance of understanding emptiness. — Lama Yeshe
Which brings me to the important part of the story. We firmly and habitually believe that we exist as an inherent entity. Because we believe this, we act accordingly. We experience fear that we might not exist after death. We hang on to whatever we believe will prevent this from happening. If teachers present us with the facts about reality, we either ignore them or think they are mad. If we are lucky, we will begin to see reality as they do.
Merlin is definitely not an illusion. He is sitting at my feet right now wondering when I will get up and feed him. If, say through hypnosis, I see a horse in front of me then the trance has affected my eyesight. When I am no longer trapped by the hypnotic effect, then I see his actual dependently-arising shaggy face. If I still think that this shaggy face is a horse’s head, then I am definitely deluded.
Actually, Merlin prefers me to consider him as a dog. That way he gets doggy type meals, a bed inside near the fire, soft toys to play with. He is a much happier horse.
Realizing emptiness is like this. Firstly, we need to one see though the delusion. We can do this through logic. You can prove to me that Merlin cannot be a horse. We can prove that inherent existence is impossible. It is more difficult to get rid of the habits which accompanied the deluded thought. Once I understand he is really a dog, then I stop giving him hay, which in terms of the metaphor means to stop creating negative karma through delusions. Don’t give him hay (negative outcome of delusion), give him dog food (positive outcome of being in touch with reality).
When we investigate our own psychology, we can remove our afflictive obscurations2 or negative outcomes which arise from our deluded thoughts. This is a bit like me agreeing (to satisfy you, because I trust you) to feed my horse dog food because it is better for this horse. But it is only when I see the truth, when I see through my delusion, that I really understand why giving him dog food really is best for him. It is only when we know what we are refuting when we talk about emptiness that we can see the truth of the teachings on emptiness. There really is no point in grasping on to something that does not inherently exist just because we believe it inherently exists.
One day it suddenly hits me. Merlin is not a horse, he is a dog. My whole view of Merlin-reality is changed and with it all the problems and paradoxes that arose through my false beliefs. They are simply irrelevant.
With thanks to the DB@H forum!
1. Rokeach, M. (1981). The Three Christs of Ypsilanti. New York: Columbia University Press. (Original work published 1964)
2. Afflictive obscurations: attachment, anger, pride, afflictive ignorance, afflictive doubt, transitory view, wrong view, holding these views as superior, holding ritual and ethics as supreme.
Mandala‘s recently released issue (October-December 2010) features six notable young people associated with FPMT, ranging from the ages of 6 to 25.
The youngest of these, Tenzin Phuntsok Rinpoche (the recognized reincarnation of Geshe Lama Konchog) and Kundrol Rinpoche (recognized as the former Geshe Lobsang Jamyang), share advice, opinions, messages to former students and memories from their previous lives in “Young Lamas Have Their Say.” These heartwarming interviews are worth sharing with others, especially with those fortunate enough to meet these young tulkus in Kopan Monastery in Nepal.
The others – Ling Choktrul Rinpoche, Cherok Lama, Osel Hita and Gomo Tulku – are a fascinating and well-spoken group of men, each with his own distinct and charming personality. You might feel closer to one or another, but it is clear that all the interviewees are worth reading in “Roundtable Discussion With FPMT Young Notables.”
We’d love to hear what you think about what you’ve read, so please feel free to leave a comment.
In the July-September 2010 print issue of Mandala we included an FPMT-registered teacher quiz. We’ve now posted the answers. How well did you do?
Today we’re requesting your help to improve Mandala Publications, one of the benefits of the Friends of FPMT program. By taking a short survey, you give us the information we need to make Mandala Publications something that really serves you and your interests.
All of your responses on the survey can remain confidential, and when you have completed the survey, you will be directed to a page where you can collect a special gift to thank you for taking the time to help us.
The survey only takes a few moments to fill out, and your response is crucial.
If you require the survey in an alternate format, please e-mail friends@fpmt.org or call 1-503-808-1592.
Thank you for your assistance and helping us serve you better!
In addition to a moving teaching by Lama Yeshe, pay special attention to “BIG LOVE DAY: A Day of Celebration and Rejoicing,” an 11-page article that details Big Love Day, the joyful celebration that took place at Vajrapani Institute as part of the consecration ceremonies of Lama Yeshe’s cremation stupa. The article is packed with rare and beautiful photographs of some of FPMT’s earliest students and other notables. (You do not want to miss this.)
We’ve also been able to supplement the print issue’s feature on FPMT teachers with an experimental mini-documentary of the life of Ven. Amy Miller and a never-before-published interview with Khensur Jampa Tegchok.
Also, we’ve launched three new blogs. Dharma Realities features Ven. Chönyi Taylor, an Australian- born Buddhist nun and psychologist, who writes about the mishaps we might encounter on our spiritual journey. Generation Why? is for the young and young-hearted of FPMT, and is a space to discuss the topics that concern them most. Finally, REJOICE! is where we can catch a glimpse of the amazing practice completed by individuals within the FPMT.
In “The ‘Roo from Black Sunday,” Tania Hunt shares the harrowing stories from the aftermath of the 2009 bushfires in Australia. And in “Still Cooking,” Kendall Magnussen shares the dangers of not relaxing while in retreat.
The online content also features stories from Phil Hunt, Ven. Gyalten Mindrol, and Dorjee Norbu about the tremendous social service provided in Bodhgaya by MAITRI and Root Institute.
And as always, there is a great collection of FPMT news and media reviews to help you stay informed and inspired.
ENJOY!
REJOICE! is a new section in Mandala that gives us an opportunity to really rejoice in the amazing practice of FPMT students from around the world. Every year, students quietly complete retreats, commitments or progress further along the path than seems possible! This section allows us to REJOICE! in these incredible efforts. Stories featured here may also appear in the print version of Mandala, published quarterly.
We hope that you will feel inspired and ready to share your stories as inspiration for others.
REJOICE! for Margot van Greta!
Lama Zopa Rinpoche recently received an inspiring letter from Margot van Greta, a resident of Findhorn in the UK. This is his reply:
My most dear Margo,
Thank you very, very much for your kind letter. I want to thank you a billion, zillion trillion times for your practice, for what you did:
300,000 tsa-tsas – wow!
400,000 Dorje Khadro fire pujas – amazing!
500,000 prostrations while reciting the Thirty-five Buddhas’ names – wow, amazing!
200,000 Lama Tsongkhapa guru yogas – wow!
200,000 mandala offerings – amazing!
4 nyung-naes – amazing!
Vajrasattva, Yamantaka and Secret Chenrezig retreats—amazing!
That you are so obedient and have kept your mind in these practices is truly amazing. While the world has fallen into greater and greater turmoil, with more earthquakes, wars, problems and disease, you have managed to keep your mind in the Dharma, continued to practice, and been able to complete all these practices and accomplish these unbelievable numbers.
I wish everybody in the world could be like you. As you know, in the world, many beings have received a precious human body, which comes from a very pure cause – the practice of pure morality in the past – but still haven’t met the Dharma, haven’t met Buddhism. Therefore they are still living in complete ignorance – not simply the ignorance of holding the I and all other phenomena as truly existent, which they’re not, but the ignorance of not knowing Dharma, karma: what is to be practiced, which benefits oneself and others, and what is to be abandoned, which harms oneself and others.
Can you imagine this? Their actions create only negative karma because their motivation is ignorance, anger and attachment, mostly attachment to this life. Therefore their lives are totally wasted. Not only that, but they do not for a moment use their precious human body, which has the unbelievable potential to achieve any of the four levels of happiness, to create the cause of any happiness whatsoever.
And not only do they not use their most precious human body to bring about one of these levels of happiness but instead they use it to create the cause for rebirth in the hell, hungry ghost or animal realms. If you look at the world from your perspective it must seem as if everybody else is living like this and not purifying even one negative karma; that even the creation of one positive karma is extremely rare.
So you are the one luckiest, most fortunate people on earth. You have given yourself the great freedom of temporary happiness, liberation from samara and, best of all, full enlightenment, which will allow you to liberate numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering.
By doing each of these practices you have brought yourself closer to liberation and full enlightenment. Each practice, each session, each Vajrasattva mantra, each prostration with recitation of the Thirty-five Buddhas’ names, each tsa-tsa that you made and so forth is incredible. It’s the best way to repay the kindness of all sentient beings, including that of your parents.
With respect to what you can do now, you should study Geshe Sopa’s lam-rim commentaries and I would like to offer you the first three volumes, which I’m sending you in the mail. This is my offering to you; please study them well in order to gain realizations. Plan to gain realizations, especially bodhichitta, in this life, but before that to realize first, renunciation of this life, then renunciation of future lives, and finally renunciation from samsara.
Do one meditation on guru devotion every day, following the outline in Liberation in the Palm of your Hand. Continue with that for as many months or years as necessary until you see the one guru as all the buddhas and one buddha as all your gurus. You must realize this from the bottom of your heart and it has to last for not just a few days, but for weeks, months and years, however long it takes for you to gain a stable realization.
The other meditation to do each day is that on the perfect human rebirth. Try to achieve the various realizations within the perfect human rebirth one by one, no matter how long it takes, however many weeks, months or years it takes for you to gain a stable realization.
When you have realized the perfect human rebirth, you feel that this life is most precious, like a wish-granting jewel. If you have a wish-granting jewel you receive whatever material object you pray for; when you realize the perfect human rebirth you understand that it is much more precious than numberless wish-granting jewels, even more precious than the whole sky filled with numberless wish granting- jewels, and naturally feel like that all day and night.
This is the feeling you need to generate through analytical meditation; when it arises, focus on it single-pointedly with fixed meditation. Feeling deeply that this perfect human rebirth is incredibly precious, you hold that feeling; it’s wish-fulfilling, unbelievable – through it you can achieve any happiness: that of this and future lives, liberation from samsara and enlightenment. This perfect human rebirth can bring you any happiness whatsoever but a wish-granting jewel cannot even prevent rebirth in the lower realms let alone help you achieve the ultimate happinesses of liberation or enlightenment. So you should have the strong feeling of how unbelievably, unbelievably precious this life is and this feeling should arise naturally for not just a few days but for weeks, months and years.
The next meditation is on the great usefulness of the perfect human rebirth. When you realize this you can never engage in meaningless activities for even a minute or a second. Should any of your actions not become Dharma you have a feeling of incredible loss; you feel it’s an incredible loss to waste even a minute of this life. Keep meditating on this until you achieve a stable realization of this topic that lasts for weeks, months and years, no matter how long it takes.
Next meditate on how difficult it will be to find a perfect human rebirth again. When you realize this you can’t waste even an hour, a minute or a second of this life. If minutes or seconds of this life pass without your practicing Dharma you feel as if you’ve lost a big sack of gold, as if you’ve just thrown away millions of dollars. Meditate until this feeling arises naturally and remains stable for weeks, months and years.
The next main lam-rim topic is impermanence and death. Remember that you can die this week, even today. Every time you leave your house think that you might die before you get back. If you’re inside, think that you might die before you get the chance to leave. Death can arrive any minute, any hour. Practice this until the realization of the imminence of death arises naturally and remains stable for weeks, months and years, not just for a day or two. In this way try to realize impermanence and death. Along with this, try not to be attached to your family, possessions or even your body. These realizations should accompany each other.
Also do the full nine-round death meditation, thinking that death is certain, its time uncertain and that nothing but Dharma can help. Therefore, you have to practice Dharma right now and practice only Dharma. But practicing Dharma doesn’t mean only sitting in meditation. If it did you wouldn’t be able to practice Dharma when going out, working, eating or going to the toilet. You can practice Dharma no matter what you’re doing; it’s a big mistake to think otherwise.
The next topic is refuge. Recollect the qualities of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and totally rely on them. In your mind, rely on nothing else. Take refuge only in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. After reflecting on their qualities they should become the most important object of refuge in your life and always remain in your heart. That feeling should arise naturally and remain stable for weeks, months and years.
Then try to realize karma. Even small positive karmas should be created and small negative karmas avoided. Meditate on the four outlines of karma. Remember, you definitely have to experience the result of any karma you create – any karma created never gets lost and has to be experienced. Understanding this, you abandon even the smallest negative karmas and practice even the smallest positive ones. This is very important.
So this is just a very rough overview of the path of the lower capable being. The main thing you should do is meditate on every part of the lam-rim in order to gain stable realizations. When you reach the end, go through it again.
Still, the most important thing of all is for you to meditate on the lam-rim and try to experience the realizations. I also attach my advice for your daily practice – it contains some helpful resources and information on how to meditate on the lam-rim that you should find useful.
In the meantime, continue doing one hundred prostrations while reciting the names of the Thirty-five Buddhas every day – more if you can, but at least this many. Also do some mandala offerings every day.
So for the moment that’s all the news from my side, but if you have things to say, you are most welcome to write to me any time.
With much love and prayers,
Lama Zopa
Scribed by Holly Ansett; edited by Nicholas Ribush.
This was Margo’s original letter to Lama Zopa Rinpoche:
Dear Lama Zopa Rinpoche,
I hope this letter find you in good health.
Thanks so much for your guidance and inspiration over the years in so many ways.
I hope I may ask some questions about my practice.
I am delighted to let Rinpoche know that I have complete the list of practices, which Rinpoche kindly advised me to do in December 1998.
This included: tsa-tsa’s 300,000; Dojre Khadro fire puja 400,000; prostrations to the 35 Buddhas 500,000; Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga 200,000; mandala offerings 200,000; nyung näs 4; Vajrasattva retreat; plus some deity retreats in Yamantaka and Secret Compassionate Buddha.
Now I continue with some of the practices, like prostrations, tsa-tsa’s (Green Tara) and mandala offerings.
My aspiration is to bring more concentration in the practice.
Is this correct, or is there another practice more beneficial?
With deep gratitude, Margo van Greta.
Welcome to Mandala‘s new feature, Generation Why? The aim of this area is to give voice to the portion of the FPMT community who regard themselves as “young.” FPMT is not short of initiatives in this area, LKPY (Loving Kindness Peaceful Youth), the Young FPMT Online Community, many initiatives of Essential Education, youth projects of individual centers, etc. And this area is not meant to compete with them. Rather, we aim to help highlight the “young” things happening around the organization and to create a space for others to post things they see going on in their own community.
“Even if your body is old, keep your mind young and full of courage.” – His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Hello, my name is Michael Jolliffe, assistant editor for Mandala. I was asked to write the introduction to this new area, mostly, I think, because I am twenty-six years old and the youngest staff member of Mandala. But after many philosophical discussions with Mandala‘s editor, Carina Rumrill, and some other “young” people in the FPMT International Office, I realized that the category “youth” might not be so clean clear as we originally hoped.
Although age is often used as a distinguishing characteristic, I’m not entirely convinced that choosing an arbitrary age range (for example, between 15 to 35) and calling that “the youth” makes a lot of sense. For me, the 1970s American comedy, Harold and Maude, provides a more accurate distinction between what is young and what is not. In the movie, Harold, a 19-year-old, is obsessed about his death and regularly feigns committing suicide to the chagrin of his mother. His personality is cold and lifeless. And it seems he would continue on this path until he meets Maude, a 79-year-old woman so full of wonder and amazement that she can barely sit still.
What I find so perplexing (and attractive) about the relationship between Harold and Maude is that their physical ages don’t meet my expectations about their characters. For whatever reason, I naturally think that Maude should no longer be impressed with the world, that somehow her increasing experience is a death sentence for her curiosity. And I think of Harold, who is in his “youth,” as being aberrant: what “normal” 19-year-old that wants to die before he’s even lived? (Of course, by the end of the movie, Maude’s vivaciousness rubs off on Harold in a way that is darkly humorous and deeply moving. It is worth finding a copy to watch.)
A truly youthful mind might be described as innovative, expansive and fresh. To the untrained eye, perhaps this comes across as naïve, disorganized and prone to folly. A young mind constantly questions – who, what, where, when, how – and of course, why.
So if you find yourself a person who is more interested in the whys than the becauses, this might be the spot for you. And if you know of something in your area that might be of interest to others, comment about it here.
— Michael Jolliffe
I wonder what reality looks like with the super clean and clear binocular vision of ultimate truth and relative truth. It may be a while before I know, that is, before I become a Buddha. Meanwhile we look at reality through very murky lenses and mistake the smudges for the real thing.
Dharma Realities is a blog where we can investigate the peculiarities of our muddy vision.
I hear many stories about good intentions gone wrong, about ritual becoming more important than its meaning, about carping and criticism between Dharma students (ordained and lay), about disillusionment with one’s spiritual part, about confusion regarding spiritual teachers, about Dharma becoming a burden instead of a joy. I also have my own fair share of experiences. Some of these ideas have been written in my Mixed Motives column of Mandala magazine.
Dharma Realities is a blog where we can cheerfully acknowledge we are not yet Buddhas, or even Arhats, but ordinary people with ordinary hangups.
For this blog, I am just Chönyi Taylor: mum and grandma, friend and listener. If you need a formal introduction, I am Ven. Dr. Chönyi Taylor, BSc, M Ed, Ph D, MAPS, Registered Western Teacher for FPMT and Honorary Lecturer in Psychiatry at Sydney University and author of Enough! A Buddhist Approach to Finding Release From Addictive Patterns (Snow Lion, 2010)