Gutor Day

[Yudron]

Today was Gutor, and Vajrayana practitioners all over the world were engaged in wrathful practices to avert any negativity from the previous year, in preparation for Losar (New Years Day) on Monday. Vajrakilaya is a common practice in the Nyingma for this purpose, and here is a picture of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, a great master of this practice, taken at Pema Osel Ling in California today and circulated by his organization. A slide show -- which will be added to -- is showing on their web site http://www.vajrayana.org/losar-2013, here you can see some of the lamas, participants and wrathful tormas for the occasion.

[heart]

What a spectacular torma!

/magnus

[ngodrup]

So detailed! I never saw a torma looks so much like a lama!

[heart]

So detailed! I never saw a torma looks so much like a lama!

Take a look at the other pictures...

/magnus

[Yudron]

Very funny, Ngodrup!

Yes, the Zorchen that you see there was made from colored wax. Rinpoche refined the design and had a mold made. The wax is made from the mold then polished, refined, and painted. Yesterday, it went into the fire.

The surrounding tormas were made the old fashioned way, except with a lot of salt added to keep them from cracking or moulding. There are over 200 tormas for Gutor and Losar. I'm sitting in the dining hall now, recovering from 12 hour drumming days. I was on the drum line this year--Nam Chak Putri is a relentless drum sadhana--bang bang bang. 12 hour days battling the Maras. It was a loud battle.

It's also a reunion time for former 3-year retreat folks over the last 20 years or so--which means the music was great. In addition, there are a lot of new people here, including many people who have come up from Mexico for the event. For the first time the announcements were made in English and Spanish.

[heart]

Very funny, Ngodrup!

Yes, the Zorchen that you see there was made from colored wax. Rinpoche refined the design and had a mold made. The wax is made from the mold then polished, refined, and painted. Yesterday, it went into the fire.

The surrounding tormas were made the old fashioned way, except with a lot of salt added to keep them from cracking or moulding. There are over 200 tormas for Gutor and Losar. I'm sitting in the dining hall now, recovering from 12 hour drumming days. I was on the drum line this year--Nam Chak Putri is a relentless drum sadhana--bang bang bang. 12 hour days battling the Maras. It was a loud battle.

It's also a reunion time for former 3-year retreat folks over the last 20 years or so--which means the music was great. In addition, there are a lot of new people here, including many people who have come up from Mexico for the event. For the first time the announcements were made in English and Spanish.

I know you are tired now but to me it sounds quite amazing, wish I was there. Happy Losar!

/magnus

[pemachophel]

I rejoice in your good merit.

[conebeckham]

That slide show is spectacular, as was the Gutor Puja, no doubt! Thanks for sharing this....wonderful to see!

Happy Losar!

[Yudron]

That slide show is spectacular, as was the Gutor Puja, no doubt! Thanks for sharing this....wonderful to see!

Happy Losar!

Losar Tashi Delek!

I just looked at the updated slideshow. Because there was a lot happening concurrently, there were things that happened that I wasn't even aware of--for example, there is a picture of Minling Khenpo Tsewang Rigdzin making kapse (traditional Tibetan fried dough) in the kitchen. He did not come to puja, so it's nice to know we were eating his kapse.

There are not any pics up there yet of the most moving part of the event for me. On Losar day, Dudjom Lingpa's great grandson, Tulku Jigme Wangdrak of Larung Gar, giving a long teaching on Lama Tharchin Rinpoche's qualities and offering him representations of enlightened body, speech and mind, and a Shabten (long life prayer) he composed for Rinpoche. The representation of enlightened body was a statue of Dudjom Lingpa that came from the same mold as a statue that the terton himself saw and said it "looks like me." It is very detailed and unusual.

Lama Tharchin Rinpoche has had a number of masters of various schools who come through and offer him shabtens... generally he takes them and hides them, and they are never seen again. This is in keeping with his strong value on humility.

I am not saying my teacher or center is better than other people's teacher's and centers, but sharing my joy at being part of our little piece of the matrix of excellent expressions of the Dharma around the world.

[pemachophel]

Yudron,

Do you have a recipe for "salt Torma"? I never heard of this before.