Blessed Be

Last Friday Don Croner organized a jaunt out to the countryside to visit the newly constructed Aryapala temple deep within the Terelj National Park. The park, about an hour’s drive north of UB, comprises more than a million hectares of larch pine mountains and tranquil meadows. It’s a deservedly popular getaway for urban Mongols and most tourist itineraries include a ger stay at one of the camps with a little hiking or horseback riding.

Our drive took us past the famous Turtle Rock and the camp that one energetic entrepreneur enhanced with several humongous dinosaur sculptures. Bumping along to the end of a long valley, soon enough we reached Aryapala.

At this point I’ll direct you to Don’s previous description of this locale; I just want to share photos and talk about one specific episode. In Don’s post, pay particular attention to the bit at the end where he shows this amazing hallway under the main temple adorned with 224 fascinating, quirky little paintings illustrating sayings from the Dhammapada as well as graphically depicting the characteristics of rebirth in hungry ghost and hell realms. Some smarty is going to turn these into a very popular book.

At first you cross a fairly scary wooden-slat bridge, indicating a threshold through which perfect wisdom awaits you. Seemed good to this crew: from L to R, Donna (a British student), Orna (a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley studying the evolution of Urga, the roving camp that eventually became the settled city of Ulaan Baatar), Saraa (a pal of Don’s), Don himself, and Vesna Wallace:

The first thing Don pointed to on the other side of the bridge was the meditation hut constructed in the cliff face. Can you find it?

As we approached the temple itself, a Mongolian family, orbiting around two elegant grandmas, was descending to depart. As so often happens here, I caught their attention. Inquiries determined that I was, in fact, a fully ordained Buddhist monk and an American to boot, a fact that astounded the grandmas. Their next move, as natural to them as a heartbeat, was to bend in for a blessing, which threw me for a moment. Trying to recover my grace, I held their heads close to mine and recited the mantra Om Ah Hung Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hung three times. The grandmas were followed by the other family members and then, to my great surprise, the two Mongolian women in our party, and then, in an unprecedented event, Don himself, in an act of gorgeous humility. Never before in my 13 years as a monk has a Western practitioner sought my blessing. I almost burst into tears. Here I am with the elders:

Afterwards, I had them pose for a portrait. I adore the old Mongolian women so much – dignified, wise, devoted. I intend to gather as many portraits as I can.

Afterward, the energy intensified, with the family getting a little carried away, trying to touch their heads to my legs. I gently intervened and asked our translator to explain that I was really no one special and honestly there was little blessing to be had in this rotten old monk. Nonetheless, we had met as strangers and parted as family.

Wait a second – I’m not telling the truth about Don as the first Westerner. Now I’m recalling a really odd episode in the airport before I left. I had been on a sacred mission to procure coffee for Noreen and myself and, at the Starbucks counter, I was approached by a middle-aged black woman and her daughter, maybe 10 or so.

“Excuse me,” she said, “would it be possible for me and my daughter to get a blessing?”

“A blessing?” I stupidly repeated.

“Yes. You’re a monk, aren’t you?”

Wow. “Why, yes ma’am, yes I am. OK.”

I did the same thing, touching their heads with a mantra, and then, at their insistence, posed with both of them for pictures. I discovered they were on their way home to Alabama, but never found out how the mother had become sensitized to the virtue of the Buddha’s robes. Recounting the story to Noreen made her mist up with wonder.

Back at Aryapala, invigorated by our encounter, we ascended the 108 steps to the temple…

…enjoyed the wonderfully cool and immaculate interior, dedicated to Chenresig, the Buddha of Infinite Compassion, as well as the charming exterior details…

…and the jaw-dropping view:

On the way back to the van, we paid homage to this depiction of Shakyamuni Buddha and his two main disciples, Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, just recently carved into a natural granite block.

I remember my last girlfriend in this life asking me, “From a Buddhist point of view, what is a ‘blessing’?” It’s an interesting question. What do you think?

Comments

[Christian]

I surmise that a Buddhist blessing is no different from another kind of blessing, since, from the Buddhist point of view, God does not exist, therefore Christian blessings are as effective as the Buddhist blessings.

So the sole question would be "What is a blessing?" I guess it is like a prostration and a mandala offering at the same time, inspired by a presence (physical or not) we feel devotion for. To say that we receive a blessing may well just be a way of speaking, as it actually would be giving up hope and fear altogether -- something extremely difficult without someone or something that help us forget ourselves.

[Soen Joon Sn]

What beautiful pictures! Those halmonis (grandmothers) are gorgeous, truly.

I still have trouble being bowed to, whether in public or at the temple, whether formally receiving someone or informally running into someone outside on the street... That feeling of "nothing special" is strong. But part of the function of the sangha is to be visible not at "ourselves"--my teacher said in her Dharma talk today, "Sunims shit too!"--but visible as articles of faith (and she quickly added, "But don't go about discussing this!"). It's strange and hard for me as an American, although my Korean sisters seem to handle the dualism much better.

Still, a blessing given is a blessing given, and wonderful.

[Aarlene]

Well, my two cents worth is that you are like tech support. Maybe a blessing is like rebooting? Who do you go to but someone who looks like they know?

Sniff. When am I going to learn not to read this without a tissue handy?

[Robbyn]

My feeling about a blessing is that it is, at its base, the expressed and heartfelt desire of one for the utmost well-being of the other. The expression make take any number of forms, of course :)

[Carol]

Konchog,
I'm looking forward to living vicariously in Mongolia through you for the next several months! I made it to Terelj too, and it's a lovely site.

The blessing comments bring up something I wondered. I noticed that when Mongols are given a book as a gift they touch it to their heads. Is this also a type of transmission? If only I could hold Poppe's 'Classical Mongolian Grammar' up to my head and achieve wisdom! Or at least a better understanding of the genitive tense!
Carol

[Eric]

It is humbling to think about the many gifts the Buddhist lifestyle offers. My family and I have received more blessings than can be counted. May all in the world be blessed with virtue and auspiciousness -- Sarvam Mangalam [may all beings be blessed with happiness]!

[Lee Ann]

I would love to know your answer to that question, Konchog. Me, I'm thinking somewhere in between the tech support idea and the wish for another's utmost wellbeing.

And now I'm going to go wipe my eyes and blow my nose.

[Rinchen Gyatso]

When receiving a blessing, the best "definition" I can come up with is "inspiriation." Or perhaps a deepening of faith. It's that oomph to keep going and to go deeper.

I've been asked before by a Westerner or two to bless malas and even that makes me uncomfortable. I always say I don't personally have any blessings to give, but that I can chant some mantras and blow on the mala for them.

[Ryan]

Great question, Cuzzin. As I thought about and as I thought about the blessings I have received in my life, the one thing they all seemed to have in common was an element of surprise. A blessing always seems to be something unexpected yet perfect in that moment.

[Kat]

A blessing is a shared moment. That fleeting instant of connection, understanding and appreciation. You can share the moment with another human, an animal, or whatever higher being you happen to believe in.

[Ani Kunzang]

I think a blessing is something that opens your heart a tiny crack more. The true blessing is not the event itself, it is the opened heart.

[Konchog]

Wow. It's so amazing to be on a different time track from the Western world. I go to sleep and when I wake up all of this activity has taken place! All of you have so wonderfully expressed different facets of the idea of 'blessing' that honestly I have nothing to add. In fact, you've added to *my* appreciation of the word. What a blessing!

Carol -- I wouldn't say the book-to-head thing is a transmission. I've always understood it as a gesture of respect for the contents of the book, ie "what is contained in this book is higher than me."

[rho1640]

I have no words of wisdom to add - I just wanted to say I am so glad I found your site thru the Dulaan Project and Ryan - I am enjoying it and learning so much at the same time - thank you!

[samvega_pasada]

Hi Venerable =) It's Kevin (samvega_pasada) from e-Sangha. I was just reading your blog and i must say i love it! Many blessings and thanks for the great stories.

Kevin