Subtle Alchemy

On the New England leg of my massive world tour. Specifically, I’m surrounded by half-eaten room service and avoiding fans at the Presidential Suite of Hotel…okay okay! I’m actually at my sister Laura’s dining room table in Concord, NH. My mother and I came for the 4th of July. Plans included BBQ ribs and fresh corn on the cob, followed by a pot luck dessert thing at her Methodist church at which we could rub our bellies and gawp at the fireworks. While short ribs and many cobs were enthusiastically consumed, church and pyrotechnics were called on account of rain. This forced us to remain at home, contemplate the lamentable karma of Laura’s fellow Methodists, and consume the warm strawberry-rhubarb pie that had been destined for the pot luck, with homemade crust and a side scoop of vanilla ice cream, ourselves.

My soon-to-be-13-and-we’re-all-terrified nephew Paul, for reasons inscrutable, has gotten deeply into the paper-folding art called origami. Among the several complex objects he created was one he insisted was a “stellated corona.” We counter-insisted it was a Statue of Liberty crown. Conceding the point, he dramatized the import of our Independence Day as only a soon-to-be-13-year-old would – by donning the crown, improvising the torch with an ordinary kitchen match, making a face, and posing for pics. Of course his Monkle was happy to oblige:

Yesterday also saw the departure of my fine Mongolian travel companions Darisuren and Enkhtsetseg, heading back to their homeland. I daresay they had the trip of a lifetime, with the Kalachakra events at Palyul Ling in New York the perfect culmination.

Christian asks a good question in the comments – why do so many lamas, not least of whom the Dalai Lama, consider conferring the Kalachakra Empowerment ceremony so important these days? Penor Rinpoche, who has been displaying some illness recently, conducted the ceremonies in the most economical way possible, leaving the explanatory teachings to his khenpos. So I searched elsewhere for the answer and came across this excellent “Kalachakra Overview” that Alexander Berzin drafted for the Dalai Lama’s 2002 ceremony in Graz, Austria (attended, incidentally, by Brother Don Croner). Here’s an extract, but the whole thing’s worth reading (though you’ll notice it might benefit from another proof-reading – this ceremony was declared to be “the twenty-seven-teenth time His Holi-ness has given it”):

“Unlike with other tantras, masters traditionally confer the Kalachakra empowerment on large crowds. Buddha first bestowed it on the king of Shambhala and his large entourage. Several centuries later, a great master in Shambhala offered it to the entire population to unite them and thus avert annihilation in the face of a threatened invasion. In this way, the Kalachakra empowerment became linked with world peace and, subsequently, its conferral has attracted more people than does any other Tibetan Buddhist event. The reason, perhaps, is that by receiving it, one establishes a special relation with Shambhala.

“In keeping with the theme of ‘cycles of time,’ periodically there occurs in history an invasion of the civilized world by barbaric hordes, which try to eliminate all possibilities for spiritual practice and growth. According to predictions, another such invasion will occur approximately 422 years in the future, and a terrible war will begin. At that time, help will come from the land of Shambhala and the barbarians will suffer defeat. The victory will herald a new golden age, in which everything will be conducive for spiritual practice, particularly of Kalachakra. All those who have received the Kalachakra empowerment will be reborn at that time on the victorious side.

“Triumph over external hordes and establishment of a spiritual golden age symbolize victory over the internal barbaric forces of disturbing emotions and the subsequent attainment of enlightenment. Thus, the highest motivation for receiving the empowerment is to gain access to the Kalachakra teachings and practices now, and by means of them to achieve enlightenment in this lifetime to benefit others as much as is possible.”

The emphasis, as with all inner tantra, is on pure view – seeing all phenomena as primordially pure and conducting one’s practice accordingly. No mean feat, and the effort is often fraught with obstacles. But I always feel deep confidence when Penor Rinpoche is at the helm. I hadn’t seen him in, maybe, seven years, but it was as ever – like encountering the Buddha himself. On the ground he’s, like, five foot nothing, but after he ascends the teaching throne, it seems that he fills all of space with the radiance of his wisdom and compassion. If I were producing a documentary about him, I’d back his slow approach with the badass intro to Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” (dig it live from Woodstock), with this as he’s ascending the steps:

“Well, I stand up next to a mountain,
And I chop it down with the edge of my hand.”

Film the ritual chanting and instruments with Hendrix’s outrageous solo and then, at just the right moment:

“If I don’t meet you no more in this world,
Then I’ll meet you in the next one,
And don’t be late. Don’t be late!”

I don’t know what your inner soundtrack is, but mine’s like this and I favor the alchemists like Hendrix – taking some shaped wood and metal into his two bare hands and laughingly revealing its utterly transcendent nature while changing you on some sub-atomic level.

This is what I feel like in Penor Rinpoche’s presence and I hope the Mongols caught a little of that.

The event was blessed by the presence of the incomparable Khenpo brothers, Palden Sherab and Tsewang Dongyal, who have done so much to further the Nyingma Dharma in this world. I asked them if they’d been to Mongolia and they said no, but they had been to Kalmykia:

Lovely offering rituals graced the ceremony, which ended Saturday afternoon:

On Sunday, everyone expected some sort of concluding empowerment related to the Kalachakra. Instead, His Holiness surprised everyone by conferring a short empowerment of Orgyen Amitayus. That is, Padmasambhava in the aspect of the Long Life Buddha Amitayus. I was so thrilled about this because the Mongolians not only received a direct Padmasambhava blessing, but connected also with its source, Tertön Migyur Dorje’s Nam Chö terma revelations. I was also pleased that I managed to get a shot of both Darisuren and Enkhtsetseg blessed by Penor Rinpoche.

The event concluded with the traditional dismantling of the sand mandala as an indication of the impermanence of all phenomena. The sand was carried in a colorful procession ("Look, Ma! I'm in da parade!")...

...down to the local creek, where it was ritually offered, along with milk, to the water spirits known as nagas:

(Both previous photos courtesy Brother Puneet at KPC Maryland. If you crave a real spiritual experience, try to go there one Sunday when he's cooking Indian food for lunch.)

Then, a relaxed conclusion on the lawn as we all enjoyed lama dances…

…and goofed around a little with Darisuren, taking a series of pix wearing her ultra-cool scarlet shades:

And just before I left the next morning, I wandered out to Samaya’s pond to see that one lotus had burst into full bloom, a marvelous final sign:

Comments

[Carol]

While I shamfacedly admit I skipped the explanation of the rites, I did love the pictures! The "statue of Liberty" is totally appropriate for the 4th of July and the dancing costumes were very eye catching!

[Aarlene]

It's for world peace? Exellent!
Beautiful people & beautiful photos.

[Lala]

Now I can't wait to come up with a classic rock soundtrack for all Masters I see teach!

[Leamur]

Thank you, Konchog.

[Samaya]

Oh, Konchogi!

What a great telling of Kalachakra story and your stay here. Things have gotten back to normal, (sort of)- the frogs are croaking, birds are soaring, and the butterflies and prayer flags are flapping in the wind. May peace and good fortune prevail!