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His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaching in Dharamsala to 9,000 students, July 2022. Photo by Cynthia Karena.
From July 8-9, 2022, His Holiness gave teachings in Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India, to 9,000 students. His Holiness offered the Heruka Initiation of the Luipa Tradition. FPMT Australian student Cynthia Karena, a regular contributor to FPMT.org who attended the initiation with others from Tara Institute, Australia, spoke to participants about their experience, and shared her own.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama blessing Tara Institute Resident Teacher Geshe Doga, July 2022. Photo courtesy of the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Initially I thought it was madness when I heard a group from Tara Institute was going to Dharamsala in July. Who goes to India in the monsoon? But Geshe Doga (our resident teacher) once told me that when you have an opportunity to see His Holiness, you should take it. So twenty-one of us donned our gumboots and traveled with Geshe Doga to receive the Heruka Initiation of the Luipa Tradition, along with around 9,000 others.
The initiation was held from July 8-9 in the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala with a long life prayer to His Holiness on July 10. We were also lucky enough to arrive in time for His Holiness’s 87th birthday celebrations on July 6.
As well as the Heruka initiation, His Holiness also spoke about selfishness and compassion. I couldn’t help but notice His Holiness spoke on this almost immediately after one group with plenty of space around them refused a seat to one of their own! There are always selfish seating issues in every teaching I have ever attended.
What really struck a chord with me was when His Holiness emphasized looking within, rather than externally, to reach Buddhahood. Getting there is the tricky bit. His Holiness says we need to manifest and use the clear light mind to meditate on emptiness. Am I capable? I’m hoping this initiation will kick-start something profound.
Chatting to people about their experiences, doubts, and fears, I’m convinced there were 9,000 versions of His Holiness individually interacting and benefitting each one of us. I continue to be amazed at the profound effect His Holiness has on us all.
His Holiness teaches a crowd of 9,000 in Dharamsala India, July 8-9 2022. Photo by Cynthia Karena.
Dr. Ross Moore, FPMT registered teacher, and former director of Tara Institute came to India in the wake of a bone marrow transplant to treat cancer. “I was so very deeply moved by the opening twenty minutes of His Holiness’s introduction to the preliminaries of the Luipa Chakrasamvara practice in which a concise and profound account of the purpose of tantra was given,” Ross shared. “Sitting there among hundreds of accomplished Sangha and dedicated lay practitioners I shared in the inspirational call to seek enlightenment, not by referring out there—to the realm of sensual perceptions—but rather, to turn inside by learning how to dissolve our coarse conceptual minds into our own innate mind of clear light and then use this to realize emptiness.”
For Ross, this was a truly transformative event. “Having had my own brush with death and serious illness, it was made blatantly obvious that to delay attempting such—admittedly very profound—practices was clearly nothing less than negligence, if not also deluded foolishness. The message is clear: there is no better time to meditate than now.”
When Damien Busby, another former director of Tara Institute saw His Holiness in person he had a “sudden feeling that everything was right in the world. Just seeing His Holiness was enough for me, the whole trip felt justified.
“The one thing that struck me was seeing some of the old lamas; and thinking how many of the lamas that I was fortunate enough to see in past trips have now departed. The sense I got was that my life was also over and that I really need to reduce the distractions and trivial activities from my life.”
We recently published very precious words from Lama Zopa Rinpoche praising the qualities of His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
https://fpmt.org/lama-zopa-rinpoche-news-and-advice/advice-from-lama-zopa-rinpoche/his-holiness-has-taken-the-responsibility-to-do-the-holy-actions-of-all-the-infinite-buddhas/
For more information on His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his beneficial activities, please visit DalaiLama.com and also view His Holiness’s public schedule.
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