Born in Tibet Page 11

  When the new term began we had to go on with our work from where we had left off; we started with the abhidharma, the metaphysical portion of the old Buddhist canon, and continued with pratimoksha which deals with monastic rules; we had also to study rhetoric and logic, though not so extensively as in some other schools. All the teaching was given orally, and we only made a few notes at the time for our own use.

  The master encouraged me to make a comparative study of the different schools, and would explain their meeting points. He listened to my criticisms, but would say, “It is no use just having theories, you must reflect about the meaning: You must not accept anything just because it is given as the teaching of Buddha, but always examine it for yourself. You must follow the middle way; if a statement is found in the scriptures, it rests with you to find out what it really means in order to have true faith. Knowledge must be tested in the same way as gold; first refined, then beaten and made smooth till it becomes the right color and shows that it is pure gold.”

  I was delighted when Akong Tulku arrived at Sechen for the New Year celebrations; we had become fast friends when I visited Drölma Lhakhang and gave the rite of the Treasury of the Mine of Precious Teaching: I had then done all I could to persuade him to come to Sechen to receive instruction from Jamgön Kongtrül, and I wanted him to experience the wonderful atmosphere there. His party had had an extremely difficult journey, for the whole country was under ice and snow. Five Drölma Lhakhang monks had accompanied him, but soon returned to their monastery and only his tutor remained with him.

  The vase of the elixir of immortality.

  NINE

  The Dalai Lama’s Visit

  ON HIS RETURN JOURNEY in 1955, after a year’s visit to China, the Dalai Lama wanted to travel by way of East Tibet in order to be able to meet his people there; but unfortunately he was delayed by earthquakes that had caused damage to some of the northern roads, and he was forced to change his plans for it was only possible to visit those places that could be reached by car, so he delegated three high-ranking lamas to represent him elsewhere. These were his junior tutor Trijang Rinpoche, Chung Rinpoche, and Gyalwa Karmapa; the latter was to take his place at Palpung Monastery. I received a letter from Gyalwa Karmapa just before the end of the Sechen term, informing me of these plans and telling me to come to Palpung where a council was to be held to decide on the arrangements to be made to receive the Dalai Lama’s message: All the abbots of the Kagyü school were expected to attend it. After notifying Surmang I started off with Akong Tulku, my two Surmang monks, and a monk from Sechen who fortunately had a mule. Both Akong and I had already sent our horses back to our monasteries and though the abbots at Sechen offered to lend us theirs as well as some tents, I thought that we should do the journey on foot, while our baggage could be carried on the mule. Traveling proved difficult, for the spring snow was very soft and heavy; there was no wind and we suffered a good deal from snow blindness.

  When we reached Palpung we found that my bursar and Apho Karma, whom I had not seen for some time, together with many other senior lamas had already arrived. They were surprised that our party had traveled on foot.

  Gyalwa Karmapa, as the representative of the Dalai Lama, was accompanied by Chinese and Tibetan officials besides having a Chinese bodyguard; we had little time to change from our travel-stained clothes into our brocade robes to be ready to pay our respects to him. He was very friendly and told me that he had been waiting for me. We had tea together, when he told me how relieved he was to be back in Tibet; he said that the Chinese had appeared friendly, but that life in China seemed to be rather superficial. He was interested to hear about my studies.

  The following day Gyalwa Karmapa gave the Dalai Lama’s message to the assembly, saying:

  His Holiness deeply regrets that he has not been able to accept the invitation from the Kagyüpas himself. He asks people to understand the present situation in Tibet and how important it is for everyone to keep to their religious institutions. A great responsibility rests upon the leaders who must help both the monastic and the lay population. Everyone should be cooperative and remember that all are brothers.

  Then Gyalwa Karmapa went on to tell us about the visit to China. They had been treated very hospitably: The orderliness and the material advances in the country had been brought to their notice, but he said nothing about the religious and personal freedom of the people.

  We could understand that the Dalai Lama and his party were not free to voice their own opinions. Between the lines, one could realize what conditions were really like in China, and what might happen in Tibet. The whole program, as well as the Dalai Lama’s itinerary, was obviously being controlled by the Communists.

  The abbot of Palpung Monastery, Tai Situ Rinpoche, who was second in importance in the Karma Kagyü school, had died some years before and no reincarnation had been found. Up till then Gyalwa Karmapa had been unable to give any indication where to look. The monastic committee now renewed the hope that the time had come for a vision and that Gyalwa Karmapa might perform the enthronement ceremony while he was still at Palpung. But the latter felt very uncertain about it; he had been much disturbed since his visit to China. He meditated for three days and on the fourth he had a vision. He called the regent abbot and the secretary and asked them to arrange for the enthronement at once, for he could now tell them where the incarnation had taken place. Everyone rejoiced and started immediately to make the preparations.

  That same afternoon they went back to him for his final directions. He told them to go the following morning to a place where they would find the incarnation and gave them the full names of the parents, for he was in no doubt; all three must immediately be brought to Palpung. The monastery sent out invitations to attend the ceremony to the king of Derge, to lamas of neighboring monasteries, and to important laymen in the district.

  The king arrived in great state with thirty-five counselors and three hundred other people in his suite. His procession was led by a row of monk musicians, with other monks who were waving censers. The king wore a shirt of lemon-colored brocade under a gold brocade coat, with pantaloons of white silk tucked into long boots; his jeweled sword in a carved gold scabbard hung from his belt. He had a gold amulet box slung across his chest; his hat was of gold brocade with red tassels round the crown and a large diamond on the top. His four senior ministers wore the same sort of costume, but of deep yellow brocade; the other ministers were in crimson brocade; all wore rubies on their hats. The rest of the suite followed in ordinary festival clothes. All the party rode on horses bedecked with gay trappings.

  The enthronement ceremony was held in the large assembly hall; the whole place, including the pillars, was decorated with gold brocade hangings as well as beautiful thangkas depicting the life of the Buddha and the line of the Kagyü school. The senior lamas were in their gold brocade töngas (waistcoats) under maroon robes and cloaks with golden stoles at the back. Gyalwa Karmapa’s throne at the right and the abbot’s throne on the left, each with five cushions, were at the end of the hall, while the tulkus sat in rows leading up to them. Each throne had a number of cushions on it which varied according to the standing of the particular tulku, either four, three, two, or a single one on the floor; all were covered in gold brocade: I was given four cushions. The king sat behind us on five cushions nearest to Gyalwa Karmapa’s throne, with his ministers and the neighboring laity below him. The rest of the monks were on low benches covered with rugs. Against the wall on the opposite side of the king an elaborate altar had been erected.

  Gyalwa Karmapa conducted the ceremony of enthronement; scarves and gifts were piled on the table, and a khenpo gave a two-hour talk on the history of Buddhism, also on the history of the monastery, and expressed everyone’s gratitude that the incarnation had been found. The following day a party was arranged for the king, and invitations were sent to particular lamas. For several weeks afterward offerings were placed before the altar, including thousands of butter lamps, sacrificial
cakes (tormas), flowers, and incense. In return the king gave a dinner to the regent abbot and senior monks who, when he left, accompanied him some distance on his journey. In Tibet this is always a mark of respect.

  After the enthronement, a message was received from the Dalai Lama to say when he would be arriving in Derge; he would be staying at the king’s palace. Gyalwa Karmapa made this announcement to all the lamas present; there was a discussion about how to approach His Holiness and what other arrangements should be made. Particular forms, ceremonies, and rules of costume had to be observed and many gifts, of which there was a prescribed list, had to be offered: A monk had to read from an illuminated script, couched in poetic form, with many flourishes begging the acceptance of the gifts by His Holiness. The first gift had to be a white scarf, followed by a gold image of the Buddha, a scripture, and a model of a stupa, or a bell and dorje, as symbols of long life of the body, speech, and mind; also five rolls of colored cloth and the skins of a tiger, a leopard, a fox, and an otter. The Dalai Lama would also be offered the traditional gifts of a set of robes, gold and silver coins, rolls of brocade, food, horses and cattle, etc., finally another white scarf, for this is auspicious, being the symbol of purity.

  On this occasion, Gyalwa Karmapa would officiate at the presentation of all the gifts from Palpung as well as those from the neighboring monasteries and from the important laity of the district; they would all be placed together in the center of the hall in the prescribed order.

  At the finish of the council meeting, Gyalwa Karmapa was invited to come for a rest at the summer residence of some of the higher-ranking lamas at Palpung. These private residences were situated about half a mile from the monastery; they were charmingly built, with their own gardens and stables. The Chinese officials and bodyguard, being still with Gyalwa Karmapa, were also able to relax there; they played football in the garden and we were able to talk to them in a most friendly way and even to joke with them. Away from Communist authority, they were natural and seemed to take an interest in everything. At that time many Tibetans were on excellent terms with the Chinese, as long as the latter were out of sight of the Party members in charge.

  While Gyalwa Karmapa was resting we were still able to go to have informal talks and teaching from him and I spoke to him about my idea of enlarging the seminary at Dütsi Tel; he was most encouraging in spite of the Chinese situation. All this month I spent the time usefully by meeting abbots and professors from other monasteries, while in the evenings and early mornings I worked at my own studies. Apho Karma realized that I had learned a lot during the past year and began at last to treat me as an adult.

  During the time that Gyalwa Karmapa was away, the committee at Palpung had established a camp near Derge Gönchen, the capital of Derge, for we expected that His Holiness would spend a night with us. This meant a very large camp; five hundred tents were required since, besides those destined for the Dalai Lama and his party, about four hundred others were needed for all the Kagyü lamas who had attended the council meeting. It was necessary to obtain the approval of both Tibetan and Chinese officials for these arrangements. When Gyalwa Karmapa returned to us, we all left for the camp.

  The special tent for His Holiness had a separate bedroom and sitting room and was beautifully decorated throughout. Another tent was needed for audiences and this housed the Dalai Lama’s throne; there were more tents for committee and cabinet meetings and for the rest of his party. Each tent was of a different size, shape, and design; most of them were lined with white silk adorned with brocade hangings and thangkas. A gold-plated serto (crest ornament), the emblem of dignity, rose over each tent; the tent ropes were black with red ornaments, and the pegs took the form of gilt images of various demigods; flowers had been planted all round and the whole camp looked very welcoming.

  The day before His Holiness was expected to reach the king’s palace we made ready to go to meet him. First, a procession was organized to escort Gyalwa Karmapa to Derge Gönchen whose monks, belonging to the Sakya school, were to be our hosts. The procession was very colorful; eighty abbots preceded Gyalwa Karmapa and his staff, and he was followed by three hundred monks; everyone was on horseback. The senior lamas wore their maroon robes under long-sleeved yellow brocade riding coats, with vermillion stoles draped across their shoulders; a cord round the waist and across one shoulder held everything in position, being clasped at the back by a gold amulet case and joined in front with a gold tassel. They wore their summer hats of gold lacquer with round crowns and brims. The horses were gaily caparisoned and carried the ornament of the serto between their ears; their saddles were plated with gold while the flaps were of gold brocade.

  As we approached the monastery which lay near the king’s principal palace, monks with banners and musical instruments came to escort us along the road, and at the monastery we were welcomed by other musicians on the roof.

  The king himself belonged to the Sakya school, so he had invited Phüntsok Photrang Rinpoche, the head of that school, together with his party, to be guests at another of his residences.

  The Dalai Lama was due to arrive the following day; he was to stay with the king at the chief palace. When his car was some two miles away the king with Phüntsok Photrang and Gyalwa Karmapa drove out, also in cars, to meet him. He was accompanied by his tutor, and his staff followed in two more cars. Thousands of people were lining the road which was decorated with designs in colored sand and had a white cloth laid upon it for the cars to pass over; they had crowded in from all parts of the district to greet the Dalai Lama, but were very disappointed at seeing so little of him, since the Chinese authorities had insisted that he should travel in a closed car. The king and the two abbots escorted the Dalai Lama’s party back to the palace, all going at a very slow pace with a monk walking behind the Dalai Lama’s car carrying a ceremonial umbrella. The abbots of both schools stood in rows a short distance from the palace, Sakyapas on the right-hand side and Kagyüpas on the left, but like the country crowds we could hardly see His Holiness shut up, as he was, in the closed car, nor did we see the party alight outside the palace where the king’s ministers were waiting on the steps; the king himself, carrying incense sticks, then conducted the Dalai Lama into the palace to the welcoming sound of music.

  Next day His Holiness gave a wangkur and a short talk in the great hall of the monastery. He said that our religion should come foremost in our lives to bind us together, but we should try to have a friendly attitude toward the Chinese. We sat in the first row and it was almost unbelievable and extremely moving for us to see His Holiness in our part of Tibet. Despite official pomp and ceremony, the Dalai Lama made it evident that he had come as a friend to his people, smiling his greeting as he went to his throne escorted by his solemn, formal officials. He made us feel that he really wanted to be among us in East Tibet which he had been unable to visit before. He gave me personally a wider vision, since I now understood what it meant to be the incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, for this was apparent in the Dalai Lama’s serenity and radiance, which one could feel was part of him. We were beginning to lose heart, for the Communists were becoming so powerful; it seemed as if our happy days were coming to an end; however, the presence of His Holiness gave us renewed hope that the spiritual teaching and culture of Tibet could not be entirely swept away. Yet it was sad to see him looking so thin and strained as a result of the heavy burden he had to carry.

  While we were at Derge Gönchen we were taken over parts of the palace which was very interesting. It was already old when the great king of Derge, Chögyal Tenpa Tsering, after having conquered the surrounding province, made Derge Gönchen his capital in the eighteenth century. He used to travel incognito all round the districts to see for himself in what condition his people were living and if justice was being properly administered. We were shown the library which he had built. This had its own printing press; the woodblocks for printing the scriptures (the finest of their kind in Tibet) as well as the prin
ted books themselves were stored here. This press was famous all over the country, for there were only two other such establishments in Tibet. The library was considered to be a holy place, even though work was carried on there, for its books were all connected with Buddhist teaching. Chögyal Tenpa Tsering, besides being a good ruler, was himself a notable scholar; he was a devotee of all the schools and his library contained a variety of important works, among them, 108 volumes of translations of sutras (the Kangyur), a number of old and new translations of the Buddhist tantras, and also many volumes of commentary by early Indian Buddhist scholars (the Tengyur), all translated from Sanskrit; the great Tai Situ Chökyi Jungne had corrected most of the proofs for the printers. The celebrated woodcarvers here were known as the Kutsi school.

  The king of Derge was still very young and his mother was acting as regent. She gave us an audience and we noticed how pale and thin she looked, for she was always under the strain of dealing with the Chinese and attending their meetings in addition to her work on state affairs. She was simply dressed in dark blue brocade and wore small gold earrings, with a reliquary round her neck and a turquoise ornament in her hair.

  We also met the head of the Sakya school, Phüntsok Photrang Rinpoche, who had been to China with the Dalai Lama. He told us that coming back to Tibet had seemed like a dream. He had felt before he went away that his country had reached a crisis and that the time had come for us all to consider our future more thoughtfully. While he was away he had been quite exhausted, so he said, and it was restful to be back here again, but if he seemed lazy and wished to forget the experience, we others must not imitate him; those who had not suffered the strain of this turmoil might still be able to work out clearly what should be done: It does not matter to what school one belongs, all must work together. Before we left he gave us his blessing.