Danzan Ravjaa 4 Ever

UPDATE: The final results are in for The Dulaan Project! Some people didn't think we'd rustle up enough interest to create even 500 items to warm up our less fortunate Mongolian friends. Some people are dead wrong and are about to cough up for a very nice bottle of wine. Go see how we did.

Today, July 6, is a day for rejoicing and reflection. Seventy years ago, a child was born in a cowshed in Amdo, Tibet who had an awesome destiny and responsibility. Guided by visions, lamas in ordinary pilgrim clothing arrived at his doorstep when he was not yet three years old. They were moved beyond doubt by the extraordinary signs the child displayed of recollecting his previous incarnation, as well as certain auspicious marks on his body. With difficulty (like paying a massive ransom to the local warlord) the child was brought to the capital of Lhasa and installed in the Potala Palace as His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

I cannot think of another individual who has made such a vast positive impact on this world, including on the insignificant life of yours truly. His unshakeable adherence to the path of non-violence and compassion, even in the face of the wholesale invasion and occupation of his country by the Communist Chinese and their period of the systematic massacre of his people and attempted demolition of its culture, is so lamentably rare these days, even among so-called “religious” people. He truly deserved the Nobel Peace Prize awarded him in 1989, and I recall reading every word of the profiles that appeared in The Washington Post and elsewhere, wondering that I really knew nothing of this great person until then. The publicity surrounding his award formed part of the strange currents propelling me toward the eventual adoption of his way of life, which he humbly calls that of a “simple Buddhist monk”.

Having caught fire with Tibetan Buddhism under Jetsunma’s inspiration, Peggy (whose birthday is today also!) and I drove up with a group from KPC to hear the Dalai Lama speak at the University of Pennsylvania in early October, 1990. I was so looking forward to this event, but to my horror, I became uncontrollably sleepy as he began his talk and couldn’t really hear what he was saying. I struggled and struggled with this until suddenly the sleepiness vanished. Just at that point, His Holiness was explaining how Buddhists train in viewing others with equanimity and love, using Shantideva’s sublime Way of the Bodhisattva as his source. As I regained alertness, he was describing how our identification of another as “enemy” was merely our own mental construct based on a false sense of solid ego. We incorrectly, and unconsciously, accept that there is an “I” to defend and, by extension, anything “I” sees as “my”, eg “my family”, “my country”, “my stuff”, “my way of life”, etc. This pattern, on its own terms, never ends. So long as we cling to this notion of “I”, we will always regard certain “others” as threats (for us Americans it’s easy; our government manufactures them for us), with all of this pattern’s unfortunate results, from individual conflict and subterfuge to world wars.

The wise defeat their enemies by meditating on the ultimate truth of egolessness. Once this truth is recognized, it is seen that there is no basis whatsoever for calling another “enemy” because there is really nothing to defend. Enemies are defeated by simply ceasing to see them as enemies. The wise further understand that their actual enemies are this ego-clinging and all the harmful emotions and actions that spring from it. The worst our physical enemies can do in this life is to torment us and maybe to kill us. But they do not have the power to cause harm in future lives. Only we can do that to ourselves and, through misunderstanding our own nature and that of the world around us, and creating karma out of this misunderstanding, blithely do it all the time. The wise see ignorance as their greatest enemy and are willing to expend their whole lives fighting mightily against it. They know that once this enemy is defeated, there are no more battles to be waged.

As the Dalai Lama elucidated these teachings, I had what I call one of my “2X4 Moments”, when the obvious truth of something strikes you with such force, you can’t believe you didn’t see it all along. At that moment I fell madly in love with the Dalai Lama. I couldn’t stop smiling and it was like I cracked wide open and the rest of his words were poured directly into my heart. I knew that this teaching was pure and perfect and that I wanted more than anything to live a life in which I might develop even just a pale reflection of his brilliant qualities. I have also had these experiences with my own root teachers and a handful of others, and some day, I hope, through their blessing maybe one small quality will develop in my being. Not much evidence so far, but I’m trying.

Now, from the sublime to…well, maybe not ridiculous, but perhaps in that vicinity.

On Friday, I finally did something (I hear you, Ma: "Oh lord. Now what's he done?") that just about every American under the age of 30 has done. What’s that? No, I didn’t download the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee home videos. Whatsa matta for you? I got a tattoo.

Now, many of you know I’m on the far side of 30; in fact, at the end of this year I’ll be 40 (wow, that’s hard to reconcile when your emotional age is, like, 19, and your sense of humor is closer to 12). So for those of you crying, “Oh ho! Mid-life crisis!” let me ‘splain you a little.

I dig tattoos but I hate fads. If everyone else is doin’ it, I ain’t doin’ it, or if I am, I’m doin’ it in a way ain’t no one else doin’ it. Part of my prideful nature. Of course, by now, every frat dork and pro athlete has some kind of “tribal” design and I think a federal law must have been passed dictating that every American woman, by the age of 21, must have some sort of tat at the base of her spine.

Now, I love my spiritual brothers and sisters, but man are they prone to fads, especially if Jetsunma gets into something, or endorses something. If Jetsunma happens to mention that cowboy boots are cool and comfortable, before you know it everyone’s sportin’ ‘em. If she adopts a certain kind of diet, everyone’s eating that way. And, of course, this happened with tattoos. I don’t know how it started…maybe one of her sons got a Tibetan mantra on his arm? But she remarked to an attendant that getting a tattoo of a sacred image, if approached with the right view, could be one effective method for purifying body karma, and if done with that kind of motivation, would be acceptable even for the ordained to do.

Well, Christmas came early for the tattoo artists in Arizona’s Verde Valley. Even our dowdiest, most unlikely members were lining up to get inked with mantras, Dharma symbols, Buddha images, etc. This fad I found more entertaining than some of the others. It had some real benefit, for example when folks got tattooed with Tertön Migyur Dorje’s “Liberation Upon Sight” diagram, which HH Penor Rinpoche had asked us to disseminate anywhere we could so as to benefit those who see it.

In my punk days, the only tattoo I had thought to get, as a statement about American culture, was a Universal Bar Code on the back of my neck. But part of my karma is a chronic lack of money combined with having carried debt ever since my student loan days. In my mind I could never justify the expense, and this was also the case when I contemplated a Dharma tattoo. Further, I had never found a design that really had meaning for me, and that no one else had thought to use.

Well, my encounter with Mongolia and Danzan Ravjaa has changed so much else, why not this? When you look into the life of Danzan Ravjaa, you discover that he often utilized three symbols. The first was a woman as the source of all life (this has a much deeper meaning than the obvious), the second was a swan as a symbol for beauty and lyricism, and the third was a scorpion, as a symbol for the most profound levels of wisdom. This last one seems strange on its surface, no?

I thought so, too, until the last time I visited the Danzan Ravjaa Museum and took a really careful look at the stamp Danzan Ravjaa used as his wisdom seal. Framed in a square of fire is a crossed vajra with a scorpion sitting at the center. This time when I examined it, its profound meaning became clear and I thought, “That’s it. That’s the tattoo I’m going to get.” Altangerel had the design on his computer and printed it out for me, bemused by my reason for wanting it. I returned to UB determined to do it, but only in a really proper way.

The first step was to see if there were artists in Mongolia who could reproduce it faithfully, and were sanitary. I remembered seeing that Jan’s wife Pema had a full-color tattoo (yup, at the base of her spine) and she said that her artists, Ankhaa and Tulgaa at Sax Studio (pictured), were the best in UB. She told me how much hers had cost and it was so ridiculously inexpensive by American standards that I paid them a visit.

After showing them a picture of the seal itself and explaining exactly what I wanted and why, down to what colors went where, I left them with the computer image and Ankhaa took a couple of days to make a color sketch. Given the generic Heavy Metal-type tattooed naked women posters that adorned the walls of the studio, my expectations were fairly low when I returned. But then Ankhaa showed me his sketch I was stunned; it was exactly what I had in mind. Better even. We were on.

I waited, however, for an appropriately auspicious day, which I identified as this last Friday, the Dakini Day. I had thought that Ankhaa would be my artist, but he was hopelessly late for our 2pm appointment. Tulgaa convinced me he was up for it, so through a translator I explained the meaning of the symbol to him in detail. I told him this was not merely decoration for me, and not a casual act. I asked him to take his time and really concentrate. Then I set up an image of Guru Rinpoche and Mandarava, lit incense as an offering, made a prayer that this act might really contribute to the purification of negative acts I had committed with my body and somehow be of benefit to others, and began accumulating the mantra Om Ah Hung Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum. Tulgaa loaded his tattoo gun with black ink for the outlines and went to work. He said it would take two hours max.

The first thing I noticed was that it wasn’t as painful as I had expected. The gun’s needles, vibrating as fast as hummingbird wings, produced a kind of kaleidoscopic sensation that I found more interesting than objectionable. At first I visualized Guru Rinpoche in front of me, bathing me in white light which purged all the negativity from my body. Then, as Tulgaa started the color fill, the sensations occasionally twinged into the red. At those moments I remembered certain meditation instructions and simply observed where the painful feelings arose from, where they abided, and where they dissolved. At other times, I asked myself, “Who is feeling this pain?” and looked into my concepts of ego. Finally, I thought, “May all the painful feelings of others be exhausted in these sensations.”

At some point early in the process, Palzang showed up and snapped this pic.

Tulgaa spoke a little English but was silent during the first hour. In typical Mongolian fashion, it was somewhere in the second hour that he said, “So…what’s your name?” Some time later, I asked him, “Have you ever tattooed a Buddhist monk?” “No,” he replied, allowing himself a little grin. “Interesting.”

As Tulgaa was nearing completion, I thought to myself, “This probably took more than two hours.” I checked the time and was astonished to see that we had just moved into the fifth hour. I, of course, thought this was due to my meditation; Palzang brought me to my senses by suggesting it was probably the compensating narcotic effect of endorphins. As Tulgaa applied the last of the ink, I offered a short dedication prayer, turned toward the mirror, and was totally thrilled with the result. We had agreed on a price of 25,000TG, but since it took so long, I gave him 30,000, plus a book on Danzan Ravjaa. With this generous tip, my full-color, 3”x3” tattoo cost $25. To put this in perspective, Palzang has one he got in Arizona that’s slightly larger. It cost him about $500.

So here’s the final creation. Gorgeous, no? Each element has a wisdom correspondence. The flames which frame the inner elements symbolize that which burns away obscurations to the recognition of truth, as well as the mental seeds of negative karmic patterning. A vajra symbolizes the suddenness with which one can experience one’s natural wisdom state, since it is constantly present and all-pervasive, as well as its indestructibility. Two crossed vajras symbolize that state’s imperviousness to negative influence. The scorpion, to me, is the most fascinating element. In Buddhist lore, a scorpion is the symbol for harmful, negative action. Its Mongolian name is khilentset khorkhoi, which basically translates as “sinful insect” or, as Palzang and I have dubbed it, Bad Bug. But in this context, the scorpion signifies the special quality of the deepest wisdom of the Vajrayana. This wisdom recognizes that everything is inherently pure by its nature, and that even those things which are termed negative in the relative world may be used by the skillful practitioner as the spiritual path itself. Here's as much about scorpion symbolism as you need to know.

Now, I made Lama Munkhdaivan laugh last night by saying, “Only the stupidest kind of person thinks that wisdom can be acquired by having ink tattooed on his arm,” but I really don’t think that way. I saw this as an act of purification and confession, as well as an aspiration to attain the state the symbols indicate and, hopefully, plant such a seed in the minds of those who see it. I will admit, however, that, given its freshness, I’m hyper-conscious of it when I’m among other people and struggle with keeping pure thoughts in the foreground. But, as with anything, I’m sure wearing it will become natural and normal over time.

I’ll be interested to see what they make of it down in Dornogov, where Palzang and I are headed this Friday. We have been asked to make offerings and prayers on Jetsunma’s behalf in the Guru Rinpoche temple at Khamariin Khiid as a prelude to her arrival. Sunday is the most auspicious, powerful day to do this. It’s Chökor Duchen, the day commemorating the time when Shakyamuni Buddha first taught the Four Noble Truths and set in motion 2,600 uninterrupted years of enlightening activity. It’s said that the force of positive or negative actions is multiplied 10,000,000 times on this day, so we’ll engage as well as we can in the virtue dep’t. But this means a DODR hiatus, since I’ll be about 17km from electricity, forget about computers. Next post will be Wednesday, July 13, with more cool Gobi stories.

Comments

[Laura]

Besides purification and confession, the tattoo is completely cool. Now I'm not the only nut in the family!

[Janine]

Well, your tattoo has indeed begun to teach! And thank you for sharing your Dalai Lama story. I seem to learn more from someone's story than from any theoretical lecture.

[Donnalee]

I always thought this trip would turn you into a ngakpa! The tattoo is cool...mine all have spiritual symbolism, but the tibetan-related ones are not that elaborate...

[Patti]

Well, I had to do labor breathing to get through mine. TMK has a picture of it.

[chris h.]

Yay vajra ink!! John saw what a bargain it is and now may shell out airfare to come over and get full body dharma tats... guess it's all relative.

Nice work! (Miss Belle wants some now as well... a drigug on one paw and skull cup on the other!)

Safe travel and have an auspicious 10 million day!

[Kristen]

I've jumped over from Ryan's blog. Um, so, why is a little touchdown dancin' forbidden and a tattoo allowed? Just a curious heathen here.

[Konchog]

Well, my sister outed my dirty little secret. No matter how deep the spiritual symbolism, if the design didn't look totally cool, no way I would've gotten the tat. She, BTW, has a fabulous tree frog above her ankle.

Donnalee: Girl, if that's all it took to keep ngagpa samaya...

Kristen: Easier to manage good motivation for a tat than an end zone dance.

[Stalker Angie]

Love the tat, CT. I have 5 myself (none on my backside, thank you all the same) but none of mine were for good reasons. Mine are all reminders of different instances of youthful stupidity and pride and a visual stimulus to avoid those same mistakes.

Now if you'll excuse me I have knitting to attend to for next year. :)

Hugs!

[Devin]

oooooh. Cool Tat. And meaningful too. I love to read yer blog.
cheers
d

[Nathania]

Beautiful tattoo, CT. I just celebrated the anniversary of getting my lotus and "ohm". It's been an amazing year of discovery since then. May you tattoo be likewise a symbol of transformation for you.

[Patti Stuckey]

Tom,
Your new life sounds soooo full. I hope all is well with you and think about you lots! Armor says HI!
Patti Stuckey

[Vicki]

Great tattoo, Konchog. Sounds like you are having a great time in Mongolia, a very full time and doing all the right things. Do you still remember us back home? Soon your lama will be with you. Good luck with the preparations.