A few more wanderings and wonderings from Drigung

This is a new large (12-15 feet?) image of Jikten Sumgon in the Dukhang (the Great Assembly Hall), specially built in memory of the 36th Thripon of Drigung-til, Drubwang Tenzin Nyima Rinpoche (see article on Drigung Kagyu Resource Website) who passed away in the summer of 2006.

A stupa where some of the ringsel (white, grainy, round relics) of Drubwang Tenzin Nyima are interned.

We did the lingkor at Drigung-til. On that morning, sky-burials were still going on and so we had to walk real quick pass the actual site. Some of us actually got yelled at by the corpse-breakers! But once we passed around the front of the site and got above it, it was okay to linger. That was where I decided to sit down and offer sang while our Tibetan guide, Bhuchung-la hung the prayer-flags we bought and tended the fire.

Someone decided they needed to take a picture of me after the sang was over. It was drizzling most of the time but cleared up after the sang was offered.

Our group with Balok Rinpoche and Ven. Samten Puntsok (Director of Drigung-til)

Terdrom, also known as Shoto Tidro. Many great masters have meditated here and various cycles of termas were discovered here including the Yangzab of Gyalwang Rinchen Puntsok (the 17th Throne-holder of Drigung). Today, many practitioners (especially nuns) are in retreat in this area. The current Drigung Khandro resides in a cave way over on the other side of this valley.

Self-arisen Guru Rinpoche housed in the nunnery at Terdrom.

Gyalwang Rinchen Puntsok's footprint housed in the nunnery.

Katsel Monastery

Katsel Monastery is one of the most ancient sites - being one of the temples built by the order of King Songtsen Gampo, serving as a "stake" to hold down the srinmo that is Central Tibet. Sometime in its history, Katsel came under the influence and control of Drigung Kagyu. Today, Nyidak Rinpoche is the head-lama there and has tirelessly worked on reconstruction. Katsel currently has 36 monks in residence.
After the passing of Drubwang Tenzin Nyima Rinpoche (the Thripon of Drigung-til) last year, Nyidak Rinpoche is the most senior lama in the area. As you can see in the pics below, Rinpoche is highly revered and an endless flow of pilgrims come to seek his blessings. He does not assume the air of an important lama but definitely carries the burden of one. "May the Lama have good health and long-live, And that his enlightened-activities spread far and wide."





Our driver Lobsang had an interesting experience while at Katsel. We had all gone down to look around Katsel and there were no signs that Rinpoche was in but Rinpoche returned about 20 minutes later from Meldro Gongkar town nearby. We were all ushered into the guest room. Very soon lots of Tibetan pilgrims were gathered outside the room seeking blessings from Rinpoche. We didn't want to take up more of Rinpoche's time. After Rinpoche gave each of us a katag and blessing we left. Our cook, his assistants also got Rinpoche's blessings. As we were walking down to the bus, Lobsang came running towards the guest room with katag and offering in hand, having realized that Rinpoche had come back. He handed the keys to the bus to Bill G. and told us to go ahead first.

We sat in the bus for a few minutes before seeing Lobsang running back to the bus, huffing and puffing. When he got to the bus he related to us that he had gone to see Rinpoche with a specific problem/question that he needed advice on. But when he finally found Rinpoche, Rinpoche was already surrounded by many pilgrims and thus he thought he had lost the chance. But he pushed his way through the crowd (it's acceptable here) to offer Rinpoche the katag and offering. When he finally got close to Rinpoche, Rinpoche turned around, looked at him and gave him the answer to his question! Lobsang was so shocked and awed that he just put the katag and offering on a table and ran off! As the prayer says, "Lama Khyenno" ("The Lama Knows!")

The Black Hat Dance

Here are some pictures I took of Balok Rinpoche leading the Black Hat Dance - one of the high-points of most cham festivals - at Drigung-til on June 14th. This dance is said to have been first performed by Lhalung Palgyi Dorje, the disciple of Guru Rinpoche who liberated the evil-king Langdarma (r. 838-841) who was persecuting Buddhism in Tibet. This legend has been interpreted in this dance as the dance for powerfully overcoming especially pernicious obstacles and negativities - all of which are understood by Buddhists to have originated from ego-clinging or self-grasping.

Another post from Drigung Valley

NOTE: Continuing from "Our Second Day at Drigung-til."

Thursday, June 14, 2007
Drigung Valley

More importantly, this time I finally felt like I was no longer just a tourist who happened to come annually but that I finally know the place and people there better. In particular, I think a deeper understanding and appreciation has come to fruition between the director of the monastery – Ven. Samten Puntsok – and me. In the past years, I’ve been only polite and friendly. This year, I was still polite and all (of course!) but felt comfortable being open and direct. And it was clear that he appreciated that. Samten Puntsok is the most humble director I have ever met –secular or religious. Technically, he is in charged at the monastery. The buck stops at his table. But all the times I have visited with him, he conducts himself as the gracious and humble host. Of course this only speaks to his inner development. Amidst the difficulties and challenges of heading a monastery in Tibet today, most people think he has done very well. And from the little I am able to see, I have to agree. [Balok Rinpoche is in the center and next to him is Samten Puntsok.]

Arriving here in time for their annual cham was just an amazing experience. But I think the highlight of the day for our group was meeting with Balok Rinpoche in the Great Assembly Hall (which turned into the dress-room for the dancers) and having a Q&A session with him.
Tulku-la is a very impressive young man (in his 20’s). I first met him on my first trip to Tibet and was instantly impressed. Other than Tibetan, he is fluent in Chinese Mandarin. He is also very good in English – complete American accent and very well versed in Western culture. But at the same time, he is very traditional – like refusing to wear street-clothes no matter the circumstance and maintaining a strict vegetarian diet (actually quite uncommon for Tibetans but a legacy of the Drigung Kagyu). He has been spending his time translating Buddhist writings from Tibetan to Chinese (and to Tibetan) and is hoping to start translating from Tibetan to English. He is also a good thangka painter and as you can see in the pictures below, a superb cham dancer. When I invited Tulku-la to come visit the US and Southeast Asia, he humbly said, “I would like to do that, but first I need to improve in my learning and practice. Otherwise, it will just be a waste of time and resources.” His conversation with the group really blew away many stereotypes about monks and Buddhism.

After spending about an hour with Tulku-la, we decided to take leave as it was clear that he needed to eat his lunch since he will be performing the Black Hat after lunch. He probably needed to digest some of the food before going out to perform what is admittedly the most physically rigorous and spiritually intense dance. We went back out to watch the cham. At this point, all the deities of the “8 Pronouncements” (an important Ancient Translation [Nyingma] tantric-cycle) were dancing in the courtyard. Around 1pm, I figured that we should probably take leave – the sun in the sky was quite punishing and we needed to get down to the campsite for lunch.
But as it turned out, we were invited to stay for lunch. This was absolutely “crazy” – the last thing I imagined the monastery should have to worry about is to cook for a bunch of foreigners who came uninvited on probably the busiest day on their ritual-calendar. But Drigung-til treats its guests well – invited or otherwise. But of course, I also knew that they went all out of their way because of the respect and reverence they have for Khenchen Rinpoche. Even though I was the only person connected to Rinpoche, it was enough for the monastery. Secondly, they treated us as also guests of Balok Rinpoche. So there you have it! And where did we dine? In the famous Golden Chapel (Serkhang)! This is where the most holy image of Kyobpa Jikten Sumgon is enshrined and this is where most of the throne-holders of Drigung-til received their vows (lay, novice and full vows). We were all seated in a row in front of the Dharma Lord of the Golden Chapel (the name of the image) flanked by images of Jikten Sumgon’s two heart-disciples (Sherab Jungne and Drakpa Jungne). I tried to eat very mindfully….

When we finished lunch and was heading towards the bus, we realized that Tulku-la was dancing. So we stopped and watched and took pictures. It was quite a sight – Tulku-la leading a group of dancers. This dance can be considered the height of the cham as it is the chief Black Hat dancer liberates the obstructive forces by ritually stabbing the dough effigy (Tib. lingka) that had been lying covered on the ground from the beginning of the cham until this point. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

"This meditation-rock of Drigung..."

NOTE: The next few entries are back-dated (is this what I am trying to say??). I just got back from Drigung-til where there was no Internet access (thankfully).

Wednesday, June 13, 2007
10:39 pm, Drigung Valley

Earlier this afternoon, we arrived at Drigung and our tents were already all set-up. The Windhorse folks are amazing. I'm happy to be back. The mere sight of the Drigung-til when we passed the turn-off to Terdrom brought a deep joy and gratitude.

After a couple of hours at the campsite, getting ourselves into tents, checking out the site (lots and lots of wild-flowers blooming this year) and enjoying tea, we went up to the monastery. It was packed with people as this is the annual cham (monastic dance) festival. Samten Puntsok, the director of the monastery – a tall, stately but also kind and soft-spoken monk, probably in his forties, received us. While the rest of the group looked around, Bhuchung-la and I went up to the smaller guest room and were served butter-tea by Samten Puntsok. Within a few minutes, Balok Rinpoche came from his retreat-house above the monastery. It was really good seeing Balok Rinpoche again. He has been up here at Drigung-til teaching the monks basic Tibetan grammar and Mandarin Chinese and of course, he will be dancing one of the major parts in the cham that will take place tomorrow. Rinpoche looked good – he has put on some weight, in a good way. He had with him a monk who’s learning English as well as two other young Tibetans who are currently helping with his and his father’s projects. He introduced me to them and we had a nice time chatting. I didn’t stay too long since it was getting late and the group was tired and some were suffering from altitude sickness – the monastery is around 14,000 feet.

It’s late and the barking of dogs can be heard from a distance. Perhaps they’re in the village further up the road or perhaps they might even be from the monastery way up on the ridge. Drigung Valley, where we are camping, is a little over 13,000 feet and Drigung-til Monastery sits perched on a ridge, another 800 or even a thousand feet above us. So here I am, sitting in my single-person tent, typing away.

I’ve just finished watching a DVD featuring the recent development and growth of the Drigung Kagyu Lineage under the leadership of the two co-heads of the lineage – the Drigung Kyabgons. The rest of our group had gone to bed early. But I remembered having the DVD with me and my iBook was all charged-up and I thought, why not? Huddled together in the kitchen tent with our guide, driver, cook and helpers, we watched for a little over an hour. There was lots of footage on an important lama who they cannot openly talk about and cannot have pictures of (you-know-who)… It was a bitter-sweet experience. I suddenly felt like a complete outsider in that tent as I realized that no matter how much I think I revere this person and the effect I feel he has on me every time I see his picture or video footage of him, I recognized in that tent tonight that I have no idea what he truly means to the Tibetans. May the Holder of the White Lotus, the Buddha of Compassion, live long for hundreds of kalpas!

They’ve kindly set up my tent a little away from the rest of the group (not that I needed that at all!) but most heartening is they’ve set it up so that I’m facing the monastery directly – the only tent facing that way. Kyobpa Rinpoche’s (founder of Drigung-til in 1179) words “This meditation-rock of Drigung is inseparable from me in the three times” keep coming up in my mind. And I think I experienced the reality of those words today. I think.