Skip to main content

Featured

Riding the Winds

There is a type of music that lets your mind ride on its tail-winds. Up and down, slower, faster, a pause… Slightly unpredictable, so you cannot drift into a thinking mode; you do not have much choice but follow its movement. Classical music is sometimes like that; jazz is even closer to what I mean. My daughter made me listen to the music of St. VIncent in the car the other day. Although I cannot say that I liked it much, I appreciated its musical patterns, the pauses and movements through which small patches of emptiness can be glimpsed. The mind can glide on its winds rather than ride on the winds of its own thoughts.
1 comment
Read more

A pilgrimage to Dza Pagye Mani Rima - The 'Mani wall'of Dza Patrul Rinpoche



From our correspondent Kunga Gyaltsen



The great 19th century enlightened master Dza Patrul Rinpoche lived the life of a wandering yogi vagabond. He was born and lived in the high, remote grasslands of Dzachuka, Kham, which is in Northern Sichuan Province, and quite close to Nangchen. 

Throughout his life Patrul Rinpoche rejected any material gains, and whatever offerings he received he would immediately give back, give to the poor, or use to employ local poor people to carve mantras, sutras and shastras onto the large flat stones that are common in that area. The stones were then piled up and developed over time into a very long "Mani wall', which has survived until this day. The wall is called 'Dza Pagye Mani Rinma". 


Karma Thinley Rinpoche has long held the wish to make a pilgrimage to this holy site, but his ageing years make it difficult. It lies at an altitude of over 4,000 meters and involves a long journey, 6 hours by jeep, crossing a high pass of 4,700. Rinpoche's cousin Sremo Tsodi Bongsar together with Kunga made the journey and were able to make a circumambulation around the beautiful long wall of millions of flat stones, each carved with Dhama text. One turn around the Mani wall took over an hour, though local professionals can do it in 40 minutes. 




The location is in the beautiful high remote grasslands that are still home to many nomads. It must be still the same as when Patrul Rinpoche was wandering these mountains, meditating and teaching to his ever increasing numbers of disciples.













This is some of the original carved stone pieces from Patrul Rinpche's time, preserved in the Nyingmapa temple at the beginning of the wall. 

This is some of the original carved stone pieces from Patrul Rinpche's time, preserved in the Nyingmapa temple at the beginning of the wall. 


The wall is still growing, and we were able to sponsor the carving of mantras and prayers on Rinpoche's behalf. Kunga also requested the carving of many Medicine Buddha mantras for the long life of all our teachers and parents. 

Kunga Gyaltse and Tsodi Bongsar

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts