MARCH 2004

A N E W S L E T T E R O F S I D D H A RT H A S I N T E N T

IN THIS ISSUE VIEW, MEDITATION, ACTION INTERVIEW WITH BERU KHYENTSE RINPOCHE NORTHERN TREASURES WHITE LOTUS - REACHING OUT FURTHER THE NUNS OF KHACHOE GHAKYIL LING

View, Meditation, Action

DZONGSAR KHYENTSE RINPOCHE
In the previous issue of the newsletter we featured Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoches straightforward approach to the Buddhist view from his recent public talk View, Meditation, Action. In this excerpt Rinpoche outlines how meditation and action help to enhance this Buddhist view. Well talk about meditation now. I dont know whether meditation is the correct translation of the Tibetan word gom or the Sanskrit word yoga. Yoga is translated as naljor in Tibetan and naljor is such a very big word. Nal means normality. Jor means wealth. So when you are meditating, what you are ideally supposed to do is cultivate the wealth of normality. Now the very words yoga and gom imply that it has to do with getting accustomed to the view we were talking about earlier. Most meditation techniques are a bit like a placebo or a fake medicine. Im not making this up - this was taught by the Buddha himself. He said the absolute and final challenge as a meditator is the very path that we are practising. Thats a very, very big statement. He even gave a good example: taking a boat to the other shore. If you are going to the other shore, you have to take a boat. Once you reach the other shore, you have to abandon the boat. If you are still standing in the boat, you are not on the other shore. You will find many Buddhists are very attached to the boat, Buddhism. They dont even know that Buddha, for instance, was never a Buddhist. This Buddhism falls into the second category that I mentioned earlier - the whole, not the component bit. But having said that, its the only way to go because we are like a patient and the Buddha is like a doctor. The disease we have is this confusion, such as looking at a mirage and believing the mirage is water. And we are so thirsty that we really need some water. Only a few of us get relief and feel no more disappointment when our teacher tells us, Hey, look, thats a mirage, not water. Even though our teacher is telling us its just a mirage, most of us dont want to believe it. We want to believe its water. Therefore, out of compassion and skilful means, the Buddha and our teachers have had to cope with our expectations. For this reason you will find seemingly theistic prayers in Buddhism. Especially if you go to Tibet, it gets even more colourful and more chaotic candles, butter lamps, prayer wheels, prayer flags, shrines and all of that.
2 - Gentle Voice (Photo Bridget Gebbie)

Ashoka was one of the greatest Buddhist kings and he lived about four hundred years after Buddha passed away. In pre-Ashoka Buddhism there were no Buddhist statues or symbols because, I guess, they were all busy thinking about the view. But time gets degenerated and somehow we developed the notion that the path has to be complicated. We asked for these complications, so now we have many, many complicated paths visualisations, mantras and so on. But one should never forget that this whole path is like a boat, just to help you reach the other shore. And in this case the other shore happens to be understanding that my hand is going to decay sooner or later, that there is no such thing as a hand and that my hand is a dependent reality. Anyway, meditation is a technique that makes you get accustomed to this view again and again and again. It is a technique, not the goal. The path is not the goal. Meditation is a technique; it is a skin that you have to peel off. The whole Buddhist path is a bit like an onion. You see a layer of skin and as you peel off the first layer you think, Oh, this is it. This is my moksha, this is my enlightenment. Then, after a while, you realise its just another of your own made-up fantasies and you peel that off. As you peel off layer after layer, you end up finding nothing inside. Once Buddhists find theres nothing, they are happy. Its very important to release ourselves from

this burden of needing to find something inside such as the soul or something precious, which if we are lucky will travel to heaven and if we are not lucky will go to hell, because according to Buddhism thats not the right view. According to Buddhism, we have to peel off these inhibitions or hang-ups that we have. And I stress that Buddhism is, for many Buddhists, a very sophisticated and carefully designed inhibition, but it is an inhibition that we have to use now. Of course, you know what meditation is sitting straight, breathing normally and so on. Anyway, when somebody is meditating, theres a sense of somebody doing nothing. Thats quite good, actually. Meditation is basically doing nothing, absolutely nothing. Thats difficult! Thousands and millions of people want to do nothing. They havent achieved that yet because we need to do things, if not watching television, then reading a novel, throwing a party, chanting mantras, piercing our skin or dyeing our hair. We have to do something! The reason is that when we dont do anything, we get left alone, dont we? And that is something we dont like because theres a basic insecurity within us and that basic insecurity is actually not knowing whether we exist or not. And in order to convince ourselves that we exist, we need to have sex, shop or do something. Meditation is the opposite. Meditation is always facing the truth. So how do we face the truth? By doing nothing. Thats difficult! Another thing, why do we meditate? If you want to follow the path of the Buddha, your aim is not to be happy. Happiness is not our goal. The Buddhist goal is not happiness. Its very important to know that. So this is why Buddhism should never be understood as therapy. Buddhism is the opposite. Buddhism really, really deconstructs you! Its so depressing. If you really want to practise Buddhism, it can really make you disoriented. But after a while you reach a certain level where you realise theres nothing to be disoriented about and then you reach a certain confidence. Then, I guess, you will have a lot of joy, but I havent reached that stage. Thats just what I was told. But one thing I definitely know is that Buddhism has got nothing to do with happiness. Why? Because happiness is a very fickle, impermanent thing. Todays happiness is not tomorrows happiness. Tomorrows happiness is something else the day after tomorrow. When Buddhists say, May all sentient beings be happy, what are they saying? When we talk about happiness, we are talking about understanding the truth. Its got nothing to do with a feeling. And you know that our happiness has changed a lot. There are people about whom we get so excited, to the point where we become kind of frisky when we first meet. After about a year or two even the sight of them bothers you. These things happen! So now back to meditation. Doing nothing, thats a very difficult job. There are two things that are difficult. Doing nothing and thinking that you can do whatever you like, living in a free society. Thats very difficult, very difficult! Even though there is somebody whos giving you absolute freedom, you will not use it. We dont have the guts. We dont have the confidence to do whatever we like. You may think youre a member of a free society. No,

you are not free within your own inhibitions. Thats difficult. These are two difficult things. Student: Is the reason why people are so afraid of being free that they have to face their real self with whatever evil or goodness it may have? Rinpoche: First of all, Buddhists do not really believe in somebody giving you freedom. Secondly, we do not use freedom because we have an ego. For example, I know

Happiness is a very fickle, impermanent thing. Today's happiness is not tomorrow's happiness. Tomorrow's happiness is something else the day after tomorrow.
some people who spend so much money, buying different kinds of ties. Each tie would feed at least five hundred Ethiopian people. I dont know why they wear ties because of all the garments we have its the most useless, isnt it? You cant keep money in it it doesnt have pockets. It doesnt keep you warm. It looks like a fish hanging from your neck. We are completely free to not wear one, but because we want to look good, we need to fit into a certain society or we need to be invited to a certain party that requires us to wear a tie, we wear one. And this is how we end up doing everything that binds us. S: You were talking about not wearing ties and I completely agree with you. But Ive read somewhere that the colour of the robes that monks wear means something. Why is it that you must wear a specific kind of dress code? R: As Buddhism has travelled to different parts of the world, all these cultural aspects have contributed a lot and that very contribution can also mislead people. Its very interesting. First of all, theres no such thing as hierarchy. Secondly, if you really need to have a hierarchy, the highest entity in Buddhism is the truth or the dharma, then Buddha, the one who taught, then the sangha or the community. So theres that institutional arrangement. Thats one of the few institutions or symbols that theoretical Buddhism has. But on top of that, there are robes. When Buddha was alive, he told his monks to wear one of three colours. They could choose blue, red or yellow. And ideally the material should be material discarded by people. You then have to dye it with one of these three colours, just to remind yourself that you have taken such and such a vow and to help you maintain your discipline. Other than that theres no other significance in it. When you meditate, normally you are advised to sit straight. There is no reason why you cannot lie down and meditate. But you are encouraged to sit straight and meditate. Why? It helps to discipline yourself. Theres more chance that if you are lying down and meditating, you will fall asleep, basically. Most of the classic or theoretical Buddhist symbols or traditions have to do with discipline.
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I N T BERU R V I RINPOCHE E KHYENTSE E W

Beru Khyentse Rinpoche

Rinpoche, you were recognised by His Holiness the sixteenth Karmapa, were enthroned by him and received many teachings from him. Could you say something about his qualities? The Karmapa is like Buddha, not an ordinary human being. He is very great; he knows everything, the future and past lives. When he meditates, he can see everything. He recognised many, many tulkus, not in an ordinary way but in a very special way. He could see the exact place where the lama was born, his parents, the distance and direction of how to locate that place, everything. Sometimes he would just tell his secretary to write down these directions; sometimes, without being requested to do so, he would relate all the details of where a lama was reborn. Many people were profoundly and suddenly changed through meeting him and have great devotion to him as he was so powerful. Sometimes they would be moved to tears, some would actually see him as Vajradhara, some would see him as Karma Pakshi, the second Karmapa (1203 - 1283), in the form of an old man with long hair. Karmapas sister saw him in the form of Vajradhara. Some people saw the Karmapa with special ornaments,
Cover photo: Beru Khyentse Rinpoche at Vajradhara Gonpa (Photo Bridget Gebbie) 4 - Gentle Voice

corals and turquoises. This is an example of what is called rangjung or self-arising manifestation. The Karmapa was a real Buddha. After you were enthroned, the Chinese invaded Tibet and you led your monks and lay disciples out of Tibet. Could you say a little about that? Yes. We left in early 1958. In 1959 the Chinese destroyed Lhasa and many monasteries. The fighting had started in parts of eastern Tibet, around 1958, but it had not yet become so bad. However, both the Karmapa and myself had done mo (divinations) and those indicated that it would be better if we left Tibet. So, officially, we got permission from the local government to go on pilgrimage and then we were to come back. After two or three months, while we were travelling, the fighting started in many different places and many lamas were imprisoned. Many things happened. We kept going and reached a place near Lhasa called Nyenchen ThangLhas mountain where we stopped for a few months. Then the Karmapa said that we should leave quickly and go in a northerly direction, to the Nepali border. His Holiness the Dalai Lama travelled to the

(Photo Ross Smith)

danger of dying out. He would receive that lineage and then write it down in book form and teach it again. All lineages of the Nyingma, Kagy, Sakya and Gelug as well as the Shangpa, Drigung, Jodruk (Kalachakra) and Ch he searched out, received and also practised and then transmitted to his disciples. So he was a very great master. At the same time, Jamgn Kongtrl Lodr Thaye (1813 1899) was his dharma brother and they were each others disciples and gurus. The first Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo lived for seventy-three years from 1820 to 1892. Before he died, he practised Vimalamitras guru yoga and said he knew that it was his time to go and that he would dissolve into Vimalamitras heart and go to Vimalamitras sacred place, the five peaks of Wu Tai Shan in China. Then he would again radiate five emanations. So there are five Khyentses. His main seat was at Dzongsar Tashi Kartsey. The holder of this seat, the second Dzongsar Khyentse, died at the age of thirteen, after which the Sakyas invited the Kathog Khyentse to Dzongsar to become the throne-holder there. This was Jamyang Khyentse Chkyi Lodr. He was also very great and had many teachers from different lineages as had Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo before him. His activities greatly flourished and he had many, many disciples, both tulkus and khenpos. The first Beru Khyentse, my previous incarnation, was born in 1896. He was recognised by the first Jamgn Kongtrl Lodr Thaye as the speech incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. The boy was taken to Palpng monastery and was given the name Pema Wangchg. He studied all the different traditions and became a great rim master. He was considered the heart son of his main guru, the fifteenth Karmapa, Khakyab Dorje. Later, the fifteenth Karmapa invited the first Beru Khyentse, who was a monk, to come to his seat, Tsurphu, near Lhasa, and look after the monks and his sons and daughters as his regent. Before passing away, the fifteenth Karmapa had a vision about the incarnation of the sixteenth Karmapa, which was recorded but was difficult to decipher. Eventually Beru Khyentse Rinpoche received a piece of paper containing the exact explanation of the reincarnation document. After he had read it, he understood the meaning and was very happy as he had been searching for this key to open the code of the reincarnation letter left by the fifteenth Karmapa about the sixteenth Karmapa. This is regarding the first Beru Khyentse, the fifteenth Karmapas main heart son and also the guru of the sixteenth Karmapa. Rinpoche, is there something you would like to say in conclusion? Yes. As the teachings of the buddha dharma spread throughout the West and the East, in Australia and New Zealand we really need to put into practice these teachings of the Buddha. This is a really momentous time. There are many great masters giving teachings here. These teachings are very precious and now you have the
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His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa

Assamese border. The Karmapa escaped south through Bhutan. We however went through northern Tibet. We travelled for one and a half years, living in tents and travelling on horseback. In 1959 we reached Nepal. Then at the time of the New Year, Losar, I met the Karmapa again in Nepal. We were all safe and didnt have any problems with the Chinese, but many other monasteries lamas and many lay people died. When we were near Nyenchen ThangLhas mountain, reconnaissance aeroplanes flew overhead. We heard them coming and were able to cover our belongings with cloth so they couldnt see us and they didnt drop bombs on us. We were very lucky. The next day we left. At that time, at Chegu Gonpa in Kongpo, there were many people killed. Rinpoche, you are the speech emanation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. Could you say something about the rim or nonsectarian lineage, as it seems very important at this time? Yes. The background to the Khyentse lineage is that at the time of the Buddha he was Manjushri. Then through many different lifetimes he was Manjushrimitra, Vimalamitra, Dril Bupa, (or Vajra Ghantipa), Bana Ratna (or Pal Yang) and many, many great yogis. In Tibet, the first time, he reincarnated as King Trisong Deutsen. From the king emanated five forms of his body, speech, mind, qualities and activities. Then, there are the 108 major tertns (treasure revealers) and the 1,022 minor tertns. Of the major tertns in the past lives of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, the first was Sangye Lama, who was the first tertn in Tibet (Tsa Sum Dril Drub was one of his termas), then Nyang Ral Nyima ser and Guru Chwang. Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo was a very great master and had over 150 different lineage gurus. He travelled all over Tibet to receive and thereby preserve all of the lineage transmissions, some of which were almost broken and in

(Photo courtesy of Sonam and Tenzin)

NORTHERN TREASURES
The Northern Treasures is an important Tibetan Buddhist tradition that is based on scriptures concealed by Guru Padmasambhava. Here Changling Rinpoche describes the origin of this tradition, its role in Tibet and how it may be preserved. After having spread the Buddhist teaching in Tibet during the ninth century, Padmasambhava concealed many different treasure teachings or termas for individuals in the future. These treasure teachings came from Guru Padmasambhava himself, known among Tibetans as Guru Rinpoche, and the Northern Treasures is said to contain the heart teaching of Guru Padmasambhava. It was hidden in the location of Zang Zang Lhadrak by Padmasambhava just before he left for the Copper-Coloured Mountain. At that time King Trisong Deutsens grandson, Gyalse Lhase, supplicated Padmasambhava with great yearning, asking, If you leave for the Copper-Coloured Mountain, who shall we turn to? What shall we do? Guru Rinpoche answered, Do not grieve. In the future there will come a heart emanation of me who will extract a treasure teaching, which will provide for the happiness of all beings in this world. Having extracted this teaching, this emanation will proceed to spread it to all beings. Eventually this individual came. His name was Ridzin Godem, or Ridzin Ngdrup Gyaltsen. According to the prophecies of Guru Padmasambhava, Ridzin Godem extracted and spread this teaching, which became known as the Northern Treasures. This teaching contains all the different paths from the transcendent teaching of the Great Perfection down to the mundane vehicles of gods and humans. His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche said this terma teaching compares to a minister. A minister is someone who is able to relate to people at all levels, and like a minister this teaching provides all the higher transcendent teachings as well as all the teachings that provide for the temporal benefit and happiness of this world. From Ridzin Ngdrup Gyaltsen on, this Northern Treasures teaching spread widely all over central Tibet. The seat of this tradition is the monastery of Thubten Dorje Drak, located not far from the Samye Monastery. There is not a single Nyingma monastery in which the Northern Treasures is not practised. For example, within the Nyingma tradition theres nobody who doesnt practise the Prayer in Seven Chapters, and this comes from the Northern Treasures. Also the Namgyal Tratsangthe monastic body of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Governmentpractises the Northern Treasures, specifically the practice known as Ridzin Dungdrup. Many people are also familiar with the Prayer of Samantabhadra, which comes from the one of the dzogchen tantras of this terma. Following 1959, and the Cultural Revolution, the Buddhist teachings in Tibet were seriously damaged, and
6 - Gentle Voice Ridzin Ngdrup Gyaltsen (Line drawing by Gomchen Oleshe, The Nyingma Icons, Kailash, Kathmandu, 1974)

specifically the tradition of the Northern Treasures was weakened, with many texts being lost. In the early 1980s things settled down again for a little while, but not all the Northern Treasures texts could be found. Nowadays the only person who upholds this tradition in a great way is Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche. He is the life force of the Northern Treasures tradition, holding all the lineages of empowerments, reading transmissions and instructions. There are many people in Tibet, Nepal and in the West, who want to practise this tradition, but they cannot do so without the texts. I think the most important thing is that the surviving texts should be printed this will help many people who wish to practise and it will also help to preserve these teachings. I am now trying to collect them and have them entered in computer format to print them. There is a large number of booksmore than fifty volumes. We also need to support the Northern Treasures monasteries that are left, for example, Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoches monastery in Simla, Namkhai Nyingpo Rinpoches monastery in Bhutan, and several monasteries in Ladakh, South India, Nepal, around the Himalayas in India, and even Dorje Drak Monastery in Tibet, too. Of course, arranging for Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche to give the transmissions is also important. In Tibet there are some Northern Treasures tulkus, who are not getting educated at the moment. Perhaps if they can come to study under Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, then later they can hold the lineage and benefit others. (If you are interested in helping to preserve this tradition, please contact Ani Pema at anipemachodron@yahoo.com for further information.) (The Gentle Voice would like to thank Jakob Leschly for his translation of this text.)

WHITE LOTUS - REACHING OUT FURTHER

Indian children in an informal education centre

White Lotus International has undergone another name change to reflect its growing outreach in the world. Founded by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche in 1993, the White Lotus Childrens Programme as it was then known committed itself to serving disadvantaged children, their families and communities, initially in northern India, by ensuring their basic health care and education needs. Now called Lotus Outreach, the nonprofit, social action organisation continues to spread the seeds of positive change to homeless boys and girls in Delhi slums, Tibetan refugee children and low-income rural families in Bhutan. Tens of thousands of children live and work on the streets of Indias sprawling urban chaos. These children are extremely vulnerable to sickness, abuse and illiteracy. In response to their urgent needs, Lotus Outreach and Child Watch India conceived the Street Kids Programme (or SKiP), a mobile health clinic for youth in Delhi. The SKiP initiative is designed to help children by providing easy, reliable access to health vans at fourteen different locations. SKiP social workers provide basic health needs, tutoring and protection to approximately 500 children a day. In 2003 the SKiP initiative opened a twenty-four hour shelter in Delhi which provides a safe haven for fifty children each night. In Delhis Yamuna slum known as the largest slum in Asia Lotus Outreach opened a free computer literacy centre in 2000. For the first time, Indian youth here was given the opportunity to learn and apply new skills to improve their lives. The computer centre trains forty-five people a day and is an example of how such projects can touch lives and help communities. Another instance of Lotus Outreachs work is in Bhutan. Although the health and educational systems in that country have experienced unprecedented growth in recent years, there are still many low-income rural families lacking health services and education. In response, Lotus Outreach partnered the Tarayana Foundation to provide education assistance to children

who would otherwise have been forced by circumstances to work instead of attending school. We are also working with the Bhutan Health Trust Fund to provide critical vaccines and immunisations for these rural communities. Now Lotus Outreach is gearing up to reach out further. For a long time Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche has felt great concern for the plight of children forced into the voracious sex-trade in South-East Asia. In 2004 we will be launching programmes targeting child prostitutes and children of sex workers in Thailand and Cambodia. We aim to identify and support partner organisations that are bringing hope and practical rehabilitation to these vulnerable children. LOTUS OUTREACH NEEDS YOU! As with all Lotus Outreach work, we rely entirely on your generous support! To ensure that your sponsor money goes directly to those who need it most, we work with small, local, non-governmental organisations, leveraging community resources and employing a large volunteer base. So your entire contribution directly supports the children and communities we serve. Whether your gift is in the form of a monthly, quarterly or bi-annual pledge to sponsor a child ($Aus320 a year) or a single cash, cheque or credit card contribution, it helps make a lasting difference. We greatly appreciate in-kind gifts, professional services in accounting, design, printing or database management. We welcome introductions to potential donors and grant-makers. Lotus Outreach is also developing a range of cards and stationery, as well as making available the beautiful photographic book of Rinpoches last trip to Dzongsar Monastery in Tibet, On the Path - Tibet (for a donation of $Aus25 plus postage). For inquiries, suggestions or donations, please contact Meg Hart on 02 9955 9967 (meg@lotusoutreach.org), Yinwah Ma (yinwah@lotusoutreach.org) or Glenn Fawcett (glenn@lotusoutreach.org).
Gentle Voice - 7

(Photos Jessica Klein)

DZONGSAR KHYENTSE RINPOCHES RETREAT HOUSE NEARS COMPLETION

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoches retreat house at Vajradhara Gonpa is nearly complete thanks to the good work of Clyve, Jerry and all the volunteers. The house is on an elevated site with expansive views - it looks magnificent! Sincere thanks to all those who have offered donations and loans to get the house to this stage. Financial assistance is needed to repay the loans. The opportunity still exists to make your donation or to sponsor items for Rinpoches house, such as the solar power system, light fittings, kitchen fitout, landscaping, painting, curtains, blinds, furniture, etc. Contact Ross Smith at Vajradhara Gonpa on 02 6633 1382 or email vajgonpa@nor.com.au

LAMDRE LOBSHEY
His Eminence Luding Khenchen Rinpoche, one of the highest and most realised masters in the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, will kindly bestow the precious Lamdre Lobshey teaching at Vajradhara Gonpa near Kyogle from 3 May to 27 June 2004. The teaching will be hosted by Kyegu Buddhist Institute (Tsechen Samdrup Ling), a Sydneybased Sakya centre affiliated with the Kyegu Monastery in India and eastern Tibet and under the spiritual direction of Aenpo Kyabgon Rinpoche. The Lamdre teaching is known as the Jewel Essence of the Sakya tradition. It is both a theoretical and practical explanation of the entire Buddhist path, both sutra and tantra, from the beginning stages to the fruit of perfect enlightenment. It is an extremely precious teaching profound, vast and elaborate. The Lamdre Lobshey consists of two parts: first the Triple Vision is taught and then the Triple Tantra. The Lamdre originated with the mahasiddha Virupa, after he received the Hevajra empowerment directly from Vajra Nairatmya. The teaching has continued down through Indian mahasiddhas and Tibetan translators to the great masters of the Sakya tradition. There are two forms of the teaching: the more common form known as Lamdre Tsogshey and the esoteric or uncommon form
8 - Gentle Voice

known as Lamdre Lobshey. On this occasion at Vajradhara Gonpa the rarely offered Lamdre Lobshey will be bestowed. Luding Khenchen Rinpoche is the seventy-fifth head of the Ngor sub-sect of the Sakya tradition and was enthroned in 1954. He has contributed greatly to the dharma by giving teachings, empowerments and oral transmissions and re-establishing summer retreats in Sakya monasteries world-wide. His Eminence has bestowed the Lamdre teaching fifteen times, given initiations and instructions on the Thirteen Golden Dharmas of the Sakya tradition, the Seven Mandalas of the Ngor tradition and other deities and has ordained more than 10,000 monks. Before the Lamdre begins and after it concludes, Luding Khenchen Rinpoche will bestow a range of precious teachings and initiations in Whyalla, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Cairns and Brisbane. The programme includes empowerments for Chenrezig, Green Tara, Hevajra, Medicine Buddha, Vajrapani, White Mahakala, White Tara, a Vajrayogini blessing and a number of public talks. This could be the last teaching His Eminence bestows before entering life retreat. For more information or to register for the Lamdre, please contact Christine at Kyegu Buddhist Institute via email: info@kbi.org.au or phone 02 9699 0087. For more details visit www.kbi.org.au.

(Photo Ross Smith)

THE NUNS OF KHACHOE GHAKYIL LING

Nuns carry water from a local spring

The nunnery of Khachoe Ghakyil Ling sits on a small ridge above the great stupa of Boudhanath near Kathmandu, Nepal. Established in 1986, under the auspices of Kopan Monastery on the hill above, it was originally planned for around 100 nuns, but now houses over 300 and they still stream in. There are a few nuns from India and Nepal, but a large proportion has come directly from Tibet - from around Lhasa and the central area of Tibet, from Shigatse and regions closer to Nepal. Their travel stories are also varied. Some travelled with family members when they were very young; others went first to India then, with refugee status, reached Nepal years later. Several hid from police while escaping Tibet and paying bribes to border guards to enter Nepal or lived in gonpas in the mountains for extended periods of time en route to an unknown destination. One of the nuns travelled from her home in Tibet alone, sometimes by bus, paying money to police along the way. She spent months at the border, without a passport or money, but was helped by the sherpas who gave her work so she could continue. For most, the greatest fear was to be caught by the Chinese, as this would mean not only questioning, torture and punishment for themselves, but repercussions for their families imprisonment, forced labour and so on. The fame of Khachoe Ghakyil Ling nunnery, with its high standard of instruction in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practice, has grown greatly and their resources are always stretched to the limit. In the past nuns were not given access to the same standard of education as monks, but at Khachoe Ghakyil Ling the education, both secular and spiritual, is of the highest calibre possible. Many of the nuns, having completed a certain level of their studies, are now engaged in the extensive three-year retreat, while others continue to study with renowned

masters and prepare to teach the newer nuns themselves. Had they stayed in Tibet, they would only have been allowed to become nuns after the age of twenty and would have had no schooling at all. In Tibet nunneries are in name only; one cannot even display the photo of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Of course, at present they suffer financial difficulties and their families are far away, but they explain that the benefits of becoming a nun include the chance to study, increase their knowledge and develop their minds. In 1999, having been fully trained in sacred ritual practices, the nuns started travelling the world on fundraising performance tours. In the initial tour they performed their dances, drew sand mandalas and demonstrated debate in more than 100 cities in the United States and Canada. Since then they have visited Europe and Australia. Although Western audiences may have become a little accustomed to seeing Tibetan monks performing such activities, it is unusual to see nuns in the role. One of the results of the increasing flow of arrivals to the nunnery has been a constant need for more buildings and also a serious water shortage. In 1986 a well was dug to supply them for the future. This well has recently run dry and they must now carry water of very dubious quality from a local spring and buy poor-quality polluted water for their daily needs. Connection to the city water supply is about eight years away. It is therefore urgent to find more water for the nunnery now. Measures such as drilling a deep bore, installing water tanks and increasing the size of the present pipes are all planned. These steps will help the nuns greatly to live in a clean, healthy environment. If you would like to assist with this project, please contact Kathy Vichta of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition at tkvichta@compuserve.com.
Gentle Voice - 9

continued from page 3

S: Im wondering how important the view really is. Cannot someone be a perfectly normal person, without having such and such beliefs, without following such and such a view? Or is it really important and one has to try and structurise ones view to actually attain a certain normality? R: When we are talking about the view, there are many different levels of view. Of course, everybody has a view. A view is basically an idea and based on that idea we function. For instance, BMW is a great car. Thats a view. Then for days and nights you work hard to buy one. Thats meditation. And finally you get one; then youre always worried about how it will or wont get scratched. Thats action. View, meditation and action. Everything has that. But, of course, Buddhists would dispute all the other views. They would say an ordinary view has a lot of faults. Thats why they call it the relative view. Why? Because maybe a year later you will not like your BMW; you will like Ferrari instead. Now that proves that BMW is not the ultimate happiness or the ultimate truth. So what defines the ultimate view is something that will not change, something that is not dependent on any other cause and condition.

view. There are many Buddhist actions, such as meditation, visualisation, compassion, generosity and so on. But all these Buddhist actions can be abbreviated into two things based on the view: outrageousness and elegance. Why outrageousness? Its very necessary because if you are not outrageous, you will become a slave of this wrong view. You will want to wear a tie and then you will spend the whole evening not knowing which tie to wear. You are losing it again here! Not being outrageous enough! If you are outrageous and you are maybe meeting the prime minister for dinner, you could wear a live fish because, based on the view, a live fish would be much more valuable than this useless piece of fabric. But, then again, action has to be accompanied by elegance. Why? Because as a Buddhist, as someone who knows what the view is, you have a responsibility. Compassion has to be there. You should not go to dinner with a dead fish hanging around your neck. As a Buddhist you should not! You should wear a very elegant tie that will match your shoes and your belt. You should put it on properly and all along you should know, Im doing the most pathetic, useless thing that exists. These two things are the Buddhist action. So now just to summarise. The Buddhist view of looking at our hand and at phenomena: everything is impermanent, interdependent and theres no such thing as a whole. Thats the view. Meditation is to enhance this view. To get accustomed to this view you try to cut all these inhibitions. But how? By doing nothing. Action is to enhance even more that view. You try to practise outrageousness and elegance together. You cant practise them one after the other. You have to practise them together. Of course, I didnt do justice to the vast and deep wisdom of Shakyamuni. But I hope some of you can use this approach as the door to the infinite path of Buddhism. Thank you. (This teaching is also available as an audio tape from Siddharthas Intent Southern Door, P.O. Box 1114, Strawberry Hills, NSW, 2012, Australia.)

The Buddhist view of looking at phenomena is that everything is impermanent, interdependent and there's no such thing as a whole.
So this is what I mean. Our view about our hand is totally wrong. We think this is the same hand as yesterdays hand. If I ask you, Were you there yesterday? you answer, Yes, as if yesterdays you and todays you are the same. But they are not. There you go. You have a wrong view there! Its a habit. And then when I ask, Whos this you? you point everywhere to your toes, your nose, your chest. You have a whole abstract idea of you. Thats a wrong view again because theres not a solid, tangible entity that you can refer to as you. Anyway, lets talk about action now. Again, the action has to be based on the view. The view is the most important thing, okay? Meditation is to get accustomed to this view that we have established. Action is also to enhance this
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opportunity to practise, so I wish that all of you disciples make efforts to wake up your minds and not be lazy. You see, you have all the conditions here, even more than in Tibet, so with these good opportunities the time has now come to practise. The whole world is full of suffering and problems, so we need to produce discipline in our minds through the practice. All you Western dharma disciples should not squander your precious human rebirth, but instead act appropriately and practise. In his message that the sixteenth Karmapa gave to me to bring in 1979, he said the following. I am sending this incarnation, Khyentse Chkyi Wangpo, (the present Beru Khyentse), to Australia and New Zealand. I hope you can receive teachings from him. He then explained about the
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four foundation practices, the view according to the Kagy tradition, how to meditate on mahamudra and how to apply this in ones actions. At the end of the cassette he stated that in the future many people here would practise the dharma and through this gain enlightenment. He dedicated his message in the following manner: In the way heroic Manjushri knows all, And Samantabhadra too, I emulate their way And fully dedicate this virtue. (The Gentle Voice would like to thank Douglas Mills for his transcription of this interview.)

DHARMA DATES
RESIDENT TEACHER FOR STUDY PROGRAMMES Vajradhara Gonpa and Byron Bay Buddhists have exciting plans for meditation, teaching and study programmes this year to be co-ordinated by resident teacher Steve Cline, newly arrived from Vancouver. Steve is a senior student of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche who has been working as a Tibetan translator and meditation teacher for a number of years and is well remembered for his integral part in the three-month Longchen Nyingthik ngndro retreat at the gonpa early last year. Would you like to help sponsor the costs associated with having a resident teacher at Vajradhara Gonpa and in northern New South Wales? Please contact Kathie Chodron on 02 6633 1382 if you would like to be involved with bringing the opportunity of regular study and practice to our community. KHYENTSE FOUNDATION Khyentse Foundation celebrated its second anniversary by surpassing its 2003 financial goals through the generous support of the world-wide community of friends and students of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. With nearly $US2,000,000 in donations, the foundation was able to build up the Endowment Fund for Monastic Education. It was also able to start funding several of its prioritised projects, including support for various publication projects and scholarships. Once the target of $2,800,000 for the Endowment Fund is reached, the interest earned will support up to 700 monks and nuns at the Dzongsar Institutes in Tibet, India and Bhutan, relieving Rinpoche of a great financial responsibility and allowing him to spread the dharma in his own unique way. Please visit our website www.khyentsefoundation.org to read our latest communiqu with news and a word from Rinpoche. SSRC NEWS In September 2003 Sea to Sky Retreat Centre had the honour of hosting Matthieu Ricard for a four-day seminar on Renunciation of the Causes of Suffering, Compassion and Pure Vision: The Three Vehicles of Tibetan Buddhism. Forty participants joined the programme and were deeply moved by the profundity and directness of Matthieus teaching. We look forward to his return in the near future. SSRC is also planning a weekend with Dr Pema and an introductory weekend on Madhyamika with Alex Trisoglio in 2004. Continuing the new developments at SSRC, a four-bedroom retreat house was completed in August 2003 and is now available to accommodate long- and short-term retreatants. Up the mountainside are two spacious, self-contained retreat cabins with decks that will be finished by late spring for retreatants on strict retreat. Two more retreat huts will be built by the end of 2004. We hope that the expansion of our SSRC facility will meet the needs of practitioners and will provide a support for their practice. For further information and details of upcoming activities in 2004 please email ssrc@sprynet.com. BUDDHA DOWN UNDER Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche blessed New Zealand with his presence for the first time in April 2003. Though organised at the very last moment with only three days notice over Easter, more than 250 people joyfully attended a rapidly arranged public talk in Auckland. The following morning Rinpoche asked to establish a trust in New Zealand to support his teachings. Each month on the tenth day of the lunar calendar a Shower of Blessings tsog is held in Auckland. Please telephone either Brooke Rabten on 09 828 7149 or Ani Dianne on 09 424 3334 or email buddhadownunder@ihug.co.nz for details. PRACTICE IN KYOGLE Shamatha meditation and an introduction to Buddhism will be held once a week, from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday evenings, at Kyogle Primary School from 26 February to 1 April 2004. Those people who just wish to come and meditate can leave at the tea break at 7 p.m. The cost is $50 for the six-week course or $25 for shamatha only. Bookings can be made through Kyogle ACE - phone Sue on 02 6632 1833 or 02 6633 3281. A fortnightly Madhyamika study group, commencing on Monday 29 March 2004, will meet from 1 to 3 p.m. at Ani Goshas house, 5 Warrazambil Street, Kyogle. Under Steve Clines guidance, the group will listen to and discuss Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoches Madhyamika teachings from San Francisco, 2003, as well as utilising The Open Door to Emptiness by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche and Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoches Madhyamika teachings from France as study material. The cost will be $5 per session. VAJRADHARA GONPA A practice day takes place on the fourth Wednesday of each month at the gonpa, starting on 25 February 2004 and alternating between the Longchen Nyingthik ngndro and shamatha. A Tsasum Drildrup tsog is held each month on Guru Rinpoche day and a Tsasum Drildrup retreat, together with instructions on the practice, is planned for the Easter long weekend from 9 to 12 April 2004, or from 9 to 18 April 2004 for those wishing to do a ten-day retreat. Please contact 02 6633 1382 or email vajgonpa@nor.com.au for details. TAPES AVAILABLE A set of ten tapes of Jigme Khyentse Rinpoches teaching on Chapter 8, Meditation, of Shantidevas Way of the Bodhisattva are now available for $Aus110. Please phone or fax Carol Weaver on 02 9810 4591 to order.
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CORRECTION In the last issue of the newsletter the interviewer of the article Vision Within the Four Corners of Film was incorrectly called Noa Taylor. We apologise to Noa Jones for this error! SIDDHARTHAS SCHOOL CHILDRENS DAY Siddharthas School provides a programme based on Buddhist principles such as wisdom, compassion, courage and awareness, recognising that these qualities are fundamental to the nature of every human being. In a respectful and inquisitive atmosphere, childrens individual growth is nurtured, allowing them to discover their own strengths and connection to the world. The programme runs one day each month for primary-school aged children, offering a variety of activities including the martial arts, story-telling, drama, music, meditation, visual arts and games. For more information, or to be added to our mailing list, please contact Eva Thomas on 02 6633 1257 or evasimon@dnet.aunz.com or Ari Summa on 02 6621 2193 or ari_danapati@yahoo.com.au. Bookings are essential and can be made with Eva. PRACTICE FOR SYDNEY-SIDERS Shamatha meditation is held once a fortnight on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the dance studio of Darlinghurst Public School at the corner of Liverpool Street and Barcom Avenue, Darlinghurst. Phone Chris Conlon on 02 9360 1304 or Hugo Croci on 0402 894 871 for further details. A Tsasum Drildrup tsog is held on the tenth day of the lunar calendar. Please contact Shanti Steiner on 0416 103 314 for details. PRACTICE IN ADELAIDE A Longchen Nyingthik ngndro practice is held on the first Sunday of every month, starting at 2 p.m. A Tsasum Drildrup practice takes place on the third Sunday of every month, also starting at 2 p.m. Please phone Tineke Adolphus on 08 8362 7553 for details about the venues.

IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS A Tsasum Drildrup tsog is held each month on Guru Rinpoche day. Shamatha meditation is held on Monday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please ring Pamela Croci on 02 4757 2339 for further information about these and about the Longchen Nyingthik ngndro practice in the Blue Mountains. LISMORE COURSE A four-week meditation and teaching course is planned to commence in April 2004. Please contact Ari Summa on 02 6621 2193 for details. BYRON BAY BUDDHISTS Byron Bay Buddhists holds a regular weekly shamatha meditation on Wednesday evenings starting at 6 p.m sharp and finishing at 7 p.m. The sessions are suitable for beginners as well as established meditators. There is no charge but, of course, we welcome donations to support the functioning of the group. BBB also has a study programme that will be coordinated by Steve Cline, who will be residing at Vajradhara Gonpa from early 2004. For details regarding this study programme or news of visiting teachers, please email Paula Raymond-Yacoub at bbb@mullum.com.au or phone/fax us on 02 6685 1646. BBB is at 1/22 Fawcett Street, Brunswick Heads. A Longchen Nyingthik ngndro practice is held on the third Sunday of the month. Please contact Christina Peebles for details of this practice on 02 6688 2055.

PLEASE NOTE: Because of its sacred content, please treat this newsletter with respect. Should you need to dispose of it, please burn it, rather than throwing it away.

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PO Box 1114 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 Australia A NEWSLETTER O F S I D D H A RT H A S INTENT