Inner Beauty

Folks here in Ulaanbaatar display so many mash-ups of the English language plastered on the Chinese t-shirts they wear. But the other day I saw one that was so unambiguous, and its message so startling, I burst out laughing right there on the sidewalk. Some young spark was sporting a tee that declared in bold caps: “INNER BEAUTY IS OVERRATED”.

“Pah!” thought I. “Little else would account for my having any girlfriends whatsoever in my younger days.”

Anyway, it’s bunk, and I can prove it. I don’t know how I never came across this, but it seems one Tsoknyi Rinpoche, for several incarnations, has provided special attention to the development of real enlightenment among nuns and yoginis in his traditional seat in wildly gorgeous Nangchen, Tibet. First I stumbled on this photo of Mingyur Yogini:

Whoa. Then you know I clicked right on over to the site, and to my delight, and now yours, there’s a whole video about these astonishing women. It’s an absolute must-see. To be perfectly honest, after watching it, I was so abashed at what I call my “spiritual practice.” These women are actually doing what it takes to achieve enlightenment in one body and one lifetime.That's what's required, no way around it.

I pray that one day the women practitioners of Khamar Monastery in the Gobi may radiate such inner beauty.

Comments

[Sangye]

I saw this video awhile back and enjoyed it just as much today.

It's tempting to think we can't attain liberation unless we go live like these amazing nuns. Certainly we have to purify the same poisons, do the same inner work, etc.... But if the only way to accomplish the Path was to live in remote nunneries and caves, Jetsunma would have shipped us all to Tibet.