a very unusual visiting lama
Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:21 pm
I am a member of a Karma Kagyu sangha, and a while ago, my sangha invited a lama (I'm not sure of which lineage--he has studied so many) to teach at our center. This was the first time that this lama had ever visited my sangha; he usually visits the local Dzogchen sangha (I'm not sure exactly what is meant by a "Dzogchen group": Are they Nyingma? Are they Bön? Are they both? Do most members consider themselves Buddhists? Or do most consider themselves atheist or agnostic despite practicing the meditations?--I really don't know).
So it was quite a different experience for me to see my Buddhist center filled with members of another sangha. The average age of these people seemed younger (maybe 25?) and I saw quite a few guys with dreadlocks (not that this should matter).
I noticed how this sangha had different rituals and a different sense of etiquette. All of the long-time members of my sangha make three prostrations whenever they enter the puja room. When I did this, I noticed that I got strange looks from the visiting Dzogchenpa, and none of them made prostrations when they entered. A pair of men walked along talking loudly and pushed me out of the way without even noticing.
I also need to mention that I saw a practice session led by the visiting lama without having seen the preceeding lectures because I had had to work, so I realize that I got an incomplete picture of him and his group. With this disclaimer, I will continue.
I was just sitting on my cushion, surrounded by strangers, waiting for the teaching to begin. A translator was already sitting down in front and testing the microphones. Then another white guy just walked in and sat down next to him (without making any prostrations) and started reviewing what the visiting Tibetan lama (who wasn't there yet) had talked about on previous days. Then I realized that the man was a senior student of the visiting lama and that this was basically a "review session" like what TA's do in American Universities (which I think was actually a pretty good idea).
Anyway, then the visiting Tibetan lama walks in (his students did not stand up like my sangha members usually do when a lama enters) and then just sits down without making any prostrations to the Buddha statue which is on our altar. Now this I found very strange. Every visiting Tibetan lama I've ever seen has made three prostrations to the Buddha before he gave his lecture. This always seemed like a sacred, unbreakable tradition to me. Many old lamas who are barely even strong enough to prostrate prostrate to the Buddha.
Then he begins to talk about the sadhana which he has been teaching for the past couple days. I realize, to my shock, that he is teaching a completion stage sadhana which talks about visualizing oneself in union with a consort to the general public with no prerequisites. He talks about all kinds of finer points about a type of pranayama which seems to be a preliminary for tummo.
However, most of the info was useless for me, not just because I hadn't attended the teachings on the previous days, but because all of it was so advanced that I felt that it just wasn't meaningful for me yet. I had had no idea what he would be teaching before I went there. I just stopped in to see what this lama was like.
There was no reference to Bodhichitta motivation. There was no dedication of merits after the teaching. It was just a discussion about meditation techniques with an occasional reference to Vajrasattva or Vairocana.
All in all, the whole event made me feel very uneasy. The visiting lama had sort of a weird power about him and was very knowledgeable intellectually, but I didn't feel the goodness and kindness radiating from him which I usually feel from great visiting lamas or from my own lama. I realize that this may just be due to my inexperience or inability to perceive certain good qualities; however, the way this visiting lama and his sangha acted left me with concerns.
I've seen many lamas talk casually and have a sense of humor before and I often enjoy that, but I can't help but feel that some rituals are necessary to maintain a feeling of respect for the lama and the puja room. I know that many people want to "westernize" Buddhism and strip it of all rituals which may seem silly to westerners at first glance, but I feel that prostrating to the Buddha is an essential traditon in Vajrayana. How do the rest of you feel?
However, I suppose that I should be grateful to this visiting lama because he made me realize how much I love my lama and my sangha members. After seeing another sangha which I didn't feel any connection to, it made me appreciate my own that much more.
So it was quite a different experience for me to see my Buddhist center filled with members of another sangha. The average age of these people seemed younger (maybe 25?) and I saw quite a few guys with dreadlocks (not that this should matter).
I noticed how this sangha had different rituals and a different sense of etiquette. All of the long-time members of my sangha make three prostrations whenever they enter the puja room. When I did this, I noticed that I got strange looks from the visiting Dzogchenpa, and none of them made prostrations when they entered. A pair of men walked along talking loudly and pushed me out of the way without even noticing.
I also need to mention that I saw a practice session led by the visiting lama without having seen the preceeding lectures because I had had to work, so I realize that I got an incomplete picture of him and his group. With this disclaimer, I will continue.
I was just sitting on my cushion, surrounded by strangers, waiting for the teaching to begin. A translator was already sitting down in front and testing the microphones. Then another white guy just walked in and sat down next to him (without making any prostrations) and started reviewing what the visiting Tibetan lama (who wasn't there yet) had talked about on previous days. Then I realized that the man was a senior student of the visiting lama and that this was basically a "review session" like what TA's do in American Universities (which I think was actually a pretty good idea).
Anyway, then the visiting Tibetan lama walks in (his students did not stand up like my sangha members usually do when a lama enters) and then just sits down without making any prostrations to the Buddha statue which is on our altar. Now this I found very strange. Every visiting Tibetan lama I've ever seen has made three prostrations to the Buddha before he gave his lecture. This always seemed like a sacred, unbreakable tradition to me. Many old lamas who are barely even strong enough to prostrate prostrate to the Buddha.
Then he begins to talk about the sadhana which he has been teaching for the past couple days. I realize, to my shock, that he is teaching a completion stage sadhana which talks about visualizing oneself in union with a consort to the general public with no prerequisites. He talks about all kinds of finer points about a type of pranayama which seems to be a preliminary for tummo.
However, most of the info was useless for me, not just because I hadn't attended the teachings on the previous days, but because all of it was so advanced that I felt that it just wasn't meaningful for me yet. I had had no idea what he would be teaching before I went there. I just stopped in to see what this lama was like.
There was no reference to Bodhichitta motivation. There was no dedication of merits after the teaching. It was just a discussion about meditation techniques with an occasional reference to Vajrasattva or Vairocana.
All in all, the whole event made me feel very uneasy. The visiting lama had sort of a weird power about him and was very knowledgeable intellectually, but I didn't feel the goodness and kindness radiating from him which I usually feel from great visiting lamas or from my own lama. I realize that this may just be due to my inexperience or inability to perceive certain good qualities; however, the way this visiting lama and his sangha acted left me with concerns.
I've seen many lamas talk casually and have a sense of humor before and I often enjoy that, but I can't help but feel that some rituals are necessary to maintain a feeling of respect for the lama and the puja room. I know that many people want to "westernize" Buddhism and strip it of all rituals which may seem silly to westerners at first glance, but I feel that prostrating to the Buddha is an essential traditon in Vajrayana. How do the rest of you feel?
However, I suppose that I should be grateful to this visiting lama because he made me realize how much I love my lama and my sangha members. After seeing another sangha which I didn't feel any connection to, it made me appreciate my own that much more.