Tat Three

Way back in September, 1990, I received my first Buddhist practice. Together with a small group, Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo conferred the lung (lit. “wind” or reading) transmission for Tertön Migyur Dorje’s concise practice of Amitabha Buddha. I got a tape of the chanting melodies, studied HH Penor Rinpoche’s short commentary, and did it every day. To this day, in the center of my heart, I have a special love for Amitabha, and the one who connected me to him.

 

Why? Even among supremely compassionate beings, his compassion is off the charts. According to my teachers, his Dewachen (Great Bliss) is the one manifest pure realm – his “field of enlightenment” – that is accessible to schlubs like me, not just realized bodhisattvas. All that’s required is devotion, even for a moment, even just a few recitations of his name or mantra, to create the causes for rebirth in this realm.

 

Why is this important (and what’s the difference between this and the Christian aspiration to ascend to heaven)? Well, let’s say one has given birth to a bit of bodhicitta – the aspiration to achieve enlightenment so that one can then help all other beings do the same. Because of Amitabha's great power and blessing, Dewachen offers an environment that is completely conducive to this aspiration, with none of the nasty obstacles of this rotten world. All elements support Dharma practice and, once realization is achieved, it’s the ideal springboard for emanating into other realms to begin really benefiting others. And this is the difference from the Christian view. Buddhist pure lands are not designed for eternal bliss, but rather to afford the optimum conditions for rapid enlightenment so that one can re-enter samsara as a condition oneself for the liberation of others.

 

The Mahayana sutras are sublime in their descriptions (here and here). I mean, just dig Amitabha’s 48 vows (scroll about halfway down)!

 

From the Vajrayana point of view, Amitabha is the source from whom Padmasambhava, my lineage founder, emanated into this world. They are inseparable in their essence, and the Vajrayana includes a special practice called Phowa through which one can easily transfer one’s consciousness to Dewachen at the moment of death. My own teachers are deeply connected to this practice, and I’m personally banking on it because I’m not confident the conditions will come together for my enlightenment in this life.

 

Anyway, I’ve always harbored the wish to share Amitabha’s blessing with others, and on Friday I contrived the means in my own peculiar way – getting an especially gorgeous rendering of Amitabha’s mantra, Om Ami Dewa Hrih, tattooed on my left forearm. This is something I’ve wanted to do for years, but never found calligraphy that had the right combination of power and aesthetic grace. Then I found Brother Tashi Mannox.

 

Tashi is the artist behind London’s InkEssential, creating “Quintessential Designs for the Skin,” including several variations on Tibetan script. After Tashi popped up in an E-Sangha thread I created on Dharma tattoos, I emailed him to introduce myself and ask if he had ever done an Amitabha mantra. He said no, but was willing to do one for me, and considering that I was a monk, offer it for free. I was dumbstruck, but even more so when his artwork arrived in the mail. An absolute masterpiece and I vowed to find just the right day to honor it on my body. That day arrived last Friday, a full nine months after receiving his work, the 10^th day of the lunar month sacred to Padmasambhava.

 

I engaged the artist Tulgaa, who did my other two tats, and this time even made a house call. He’s so precise and has such a capacity for concentration that I knew it would be sublime. A little over two hours later, I was relieved to be proven right:

 

 

I’m so pleased with this one, and look forward to the opportunities it will create to talk about Amitabha with others. I’d say this was my last, but I have one more idea nagging at the back of my mind if I can summon the courage and find just the right image...

Comments

[Sangye]

I didn't think I knew one nice mantra calligraphy from another, but even a "schlubette" like me can see the sheer beauty of the one you chose.

Thanks for the link to Amitabha's vows. I think #35 might need some 'splainin. (Bet that'll get readers to click on that link!)

[Carol of Seattle]

I am proud to count you among my friends!

[Konchog]

Carol: Is that all it takes? Dang. Anyway, nice to hear from you; been a while. Simon says howdy-do.

Ani Sangye: I know. You see this kind of thing sprinkled around the Dharma. The reason is that in many cultures, women are kept in inferior positions by men and the range of choices about how to live their lives is quite limited. In most situations, it takes unusual courage and determination to break out of social expectations and pursue a path such as yours. I recently got an earful about modern South Korea, for example, where the social pressure on women to conform and accept subordinate status is immense.

[Oliver]

Cool!

[Joshua Eaton]

I've never seen that mantra for Amitabha before, only:

Om Ah Ra Pa Tsha Na Dhi

Where does it come from?

[Konchog]

Hi Joshua -- what you posted there is Manjushri's mantra. Om Ami Dewa Hri is the most common for Amitabha. What they learnin' you over there in Harvard?