Sat, 02 Sep 2006
Raising the Pole
I was up at TMC today. They're building a stupa on the property and this afternoon they put the life pole in the stupa. The life pole represents the central channel in the body. I helped lift into place. The camera's were clicking away like mad. I wonder if anyone got a picture of my Iwo Jima moment. The ceremony was delayed because of the rain, the first real rain we've had since July. Before the ceremony Drupon gave a short talk on the benefits of building a stupa. Among the benefits is that stupas harmonize the five elements. Drupon told the story of a Tibetan refugee center that wanted to build on some flat land near the settlement. They were told they couldn't because the land was a flood plain and flooded every year during the monsoon. After building a stupa, the river in the flood plain changed its course, so the land was no longer in danger of flooding.
In the morning Drupon gave a Green Tara empowerment. Not much to say here, except that we did the entire text of the empowerment in both English and Tibetan, which is a little unusual. Some of us went to lunch with Drupon at the Indian buffet restaurant. While there he offered to complete the lung for Moonbeams of Mahamudra that he started two years ago. This is quite an act of generosity, since he's offering to spend several hours of effort solely for my benefit. The generosity of the lamas often surprises me.
