Tree Prose

WOW!!! My stepdad just wrote me a note reminding me it has been nearly 3 months since I lasted posted a blog. Since July 15, or some such, I spent 6 weeks in Italy, applied for the Master Program at Lama Tsong Khapa Institute in Pomaia, Italy, got accepted, ran back to the States for 3 weeks to secure my visa, included a trip to Canada with the folks, and began the Tibetan Language Course on September 17, which preceeds the Master Program.

What is the Masters Program you ask? I am taking the easy road out, and have copied and pasted the below directly from the website, ” The FPMT Masters Program in Buddhist Studies of Sutra and Tantra at Lama Tzong Khapa Institute is based on the traditional geshe (teacher) studies program of Tibetan Gelug monastic universities. This residential study program is taught in Tibetan and translated into English and Italian for students from all over the world. It is based on the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni as commented on and realized by the scholars and meditators of India and Tibet, including Arya Nagarjuna, Acharya Chandrakirti, and Lama Tsongkhapa. Not only does this program offer an in-depth study of such important texts as Abhisamayalamkara by Maitreya, Madhyamakavatara by Chandrakirti, and Abhidharmakosha by Vasubandhu, it also offers an extremely rare opportunity to receive extensive teachings on tantra in the Buddhist tradition, in particular the highest yoga tantra of Guhyasamaja.”

What does that actually mean? To me it means that I will gain a map of the mind/heart that is useful during meditation practice and will enable me to offer help, advice to others, on the Buddhist, Meditative, Yogic path…’full enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings’.

Why did I choose this course? Because it is one of 2 programs in the world in that uses a scholastic approach to Tibetan Buddhism which is made available to westerns via english language translation. It is the only one where women and men study under the same external circumstances. It is also the only one situated in the rolling hills of the Tuscan country side! I always wondered why I had to study Italian in 2002, but I knew I had to…and now it is proving very useful. If you’d like to see pictures, go to the website at http://www.iltk.it. Pomaia is a beautiful place.

Oddly enough, mom, john and dad have all been here. Mom and John came 3 years ago when they visited Tuscany. I was just beginning to research the school then and asked mom if she could make a trip. Turns out their best friends, Bob and Cindy, the ones who invited them to Italy in the first place, have family about 20 minutes away. The school is literally up the hill from where they were staying. Last summer when I was in Italy, Vanessa and Kevin drove me up to look at the school. So they’ve been here too and Viareggio is about 45 minutes away…another odd coincidence. And then when dad was here in August we made a trip up. He was taken by the beauty of the place and both he and mom agreed to help me out. 6 years of study with no steady income…what can I say other than I feel incredibly grateful to everyone who is sacrificing for me so I can be here.

As for Tibetan Language…che palle! as the would say in Italy. The only real way to take it in is to just open the mind and let it flow. You can search all day for rules but as soon as something seems solid, fixed or with a pattern, you see pretty quickly that either in the colloquial, written or honorific language it is different. It is like learning 3 languages at the same time. But really, really amazing because of our teacher, Gavin. He took the “Magic Bus” from Europe acrossed the Middle East to India in the 60s, arrived in Dharamsala and stayed there for 14 years. His Tibetan is amazing and his knowledge of Buddhism is profound. Not to mention he is a quirky, Einstein-type, english gent.

6 years! yeah. But the good news is I have summers free and I can take part of the course online, which I may do for the first few years. I may have the chance to go back to Thailand and continue studying at Agama and do the Masters Program at the same time. As for the future…only time will tell.

So, how are you? are you still out there? write soon.

Love,
Tiff

Allora! (common italian phrase meaning…”so”)

I arrived safely in Viareggio, Italy last night. I am staying with my ‘family’ here…at the internet cafe completely hyped-up on cafe’. I tried to resist, but it is Sunday, which means, you wake up late, eat breakfast, sit in the sun for a bit, chat over an apertivo, eat lunch, nap and then have un espresso. When in Rome, oh wait??

How weird was it to go from smog ridden, cow, lepor, and vendor-packed, poor and dirty Pahar Ganj in Delhi to perfectly clean, orderly, stylish and wealthy Italy? One must reach a strange state of flexibility in order to remain centered in such different external environments. I suppose business people, politicians, spiritual leaders do this all of the time. In Tibetan Buddhism there is a meditation which aims to achieve a state of equilibrium towards all by visualizing someone you love, then someone you are neutral towards, then an enemy and wishing them all relief from suffering. I think this practice of equanimity helped me manage the shift.

Speaking of Tibetan Buddhism, people around McLeod Ganj were insistent upon refering to The Dalai Lama as His Holiness. Personally, I thought it a bit strange. Or at least my reflex was to go, yeah right…whatev. Then I spent 7 days receiving teachings from him and mamamia!

First, one must obtain a security pass for a mere 5 INR (10 cents) prior to the event and prepare a seat. The teachings in McLeod are free so everyone can participate. They are held in His Holiness’ temple. The day before, everyone goes there and marks a spot on the ground with their name using newspaper and tape. The first morning at 6am, we lined up outside of security (no phones, cameras, knives, etc.) with several thousand people armed with an umbrella, cushion, phaleb (Tibetan bread), a mug for the tea offering, a notebook and security badge. When the gates open, everyone scurries in to get their seats…Koreans in the Korean section, Taiwanese in the Taiwanese section, monastics had their own area and then ‘Foreigners’, translated as westerners…funny. They give us a prime area too…I assumed the opposite.

People start packing in. Sitting as close as is humanly possible in order to get the best view of His Holiness, who teaches in Tibetan. Via radio we got transmission from an english translator who nearly simultaneously gives the teachings. Thank goodness I was with a group of experienced practitioners. I bought the cheap 100 rupee radio, which received 0 signal, while they were armed with a great radio and headphone splitters…who knew?

We found copies of the text that His Holiness was teaching from in English. It was a combination of Asanga’s chapter on Ethics and The Basic Path with commentary by Lama Tsong Khapa. Incredibly interesting and applicable…His Holiness would read and then continue with comments…the teachings lasted from 8:30 to 11:30 followed by a review with the translator at 2. The text covered exactly how to consider action in regards to not creating any negative reaction and accumulating positive opportunities for more action. In the Gelug lineage, one of the 4 main Tibetan Buddhist traditions, wisdom is one of the two crucial ways to work towards “full enlightenment”. The other being compassion, hence the bit about “for all sentient beings”. Wisdom can be gained by learning, reflection and meditation.

Compassion is considered the masculine aspect while wisdom is the feminine. And wow, is His Holiness a walking ball of both. It was incredible really. When he walked from his home to the temple every morning, we all bowed our heads in reverence (but peaked up with the eyes of course!) and as he would walk through, he’d address different people. Not only would he turn those folks into pure elation, but everyone around that person felt blessed too. You could see this wave of joy roll over the crowd as he walked by. Magical, really. One time, on his way out, I got a straight look in his eyes…an unforgettable moment. It must sound crazy, but I challenge you to give it a go!

On the last day, he offered the opportunity to take Refuge in the Three Jewels, The Buddha (compassion), Dharma (wisdom) and Sangha (community) and to take the vows of the Aspiring Bodhicitta and the Bodhisattva Vows. I always resisted taking vows because I thought being part of a religion excluded others. But one would argue whether Buddhism is actually a religion and as I have mentioned before, the entire purpose includes all sentient beings, so I decided to make it official in my own mind. So now when someone asks if I am a Buddhist, I can say yes. Somewhere along the last month, I realized that commiting to a particular practice, when done in the right mindset, is actually a huge help, not a hinderance along the way. If I ever start discriminating, consciously or unconsciously, please bop me upside the head.

So, His Holiness it is!

Thoughts?
Love,
tp

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