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THE MIRRORNewspaperof the International DzogchenCommunity March2001/AprH2001 IssueNo. 56
FEBRUARY2001
CHGYALNAMKHAINORBUmakesan
HistoricVisit to Chile
DECEMBER-JANUARY,2000-2001
T H E M A N Y F R U I T S O F O N E T A S T E ,
M E E T I N G THE ELE ME NT S :
T A S H I G A R C H R I S T M A S RETREAT
by Jacqueline Gens
An historievisitwasmadeto our country dur
ing the first week of February by our
beloved Master, Chgyal Namkhai Norbu.
It was the first time that a large and lucky group of
Chileans could benefit from the extraordinaryDzogchen teachings given by the most outstanding
teacherofDzogchenof modem times.
The point of contact for the Teacher and the
Chileans,who had waited for years for his presencein
our country, was thecapital,Santiago.Luckily,Santiago
was less congested than normal due to vacation time.
The first public activity was on January 31st; Rin-
poche gave a talk entitled "Introduction to the
Dzogchen",and spoke to a very respectful group of two
hundred people-
On the 3rd, 4th and 5th of February, theretreattook
place in the Center of Exercises of the Jesuit Order of
the Catholic Church on the edgeof Santiago. Eighty
people - including some visitors from New Zealand,
NorthAmerica,Austria, Argentina,Italy and Germany -attendedthe teachings i n a largehalli n the mfddle-of the
natureand in anatmosphereofrespect and admiration.
Theretreat was complemented with the practice of
YantraYogataughtbyFabioAndricowhere we focused
on the Nine Purification Breathings and The Eight
Movements.
Recentlywe received an invitation from Tashigar to
celebrate Losar. This brought much joy to the Chilean
group managing the birth of the Dzogchen Community
in Chile!
CHGYALNAMKHAI NORBU- INTERNATIONALPROGRAM2001-2002
2 0 0 1
MARGARITA ISLAND
Easter Retreat
March 30th-April3rd
USA,WESTCOAST
April27th
Leave for San Francisco
May 1st
Public Talk:Introduction to Dzogchen
May 2nd-6th
West Coast Retreat
May 8th
Leave for Seattle
May 9th
Publictalk: Introduction toDzogchen,Seattle
May 10th
Leavefor Portland
May 13th-16thH.H. theDalaiLama's teaching, Portland
May 18th-20th
PortlandRetreat
RUSSIA, KUNSANGAR
SANTIMAHASANCHA
May 27th-29th
SM S BaseLevelExam
May 30th-June 5th
SM S ILevelTraining
June6th-8th
SM S ILevelExam
June 9th-13thSM S LevelIITraining
June 15th-21st
Kunsangar Retreat
SantiMahaSangha
June 22nd-23rd
SMS OLevelExam
June 24th-28th
SM S IIILevelTraining
ITALY, M ERIG A R
July6th-10th MerigarRetreat
July17th-August6th
PersonalretreatofChgyalNamkhaiNorbu
August 10th-19th
Merigar Retreat
SantiMahaSangha
August21st-23rd
SM S BaseLevelExamAugust24th-28th
SM S ILevelTraining
September 7th-17th
Vacationin Sardegna
SantiMahaSangha
September 23rd-25th
SM S IIlevel Exam
September 26th- 30th
SM S l uLevelTraining
October 7th
Leave forMargaritaIsland
continuedonpage6
SEE CONTACTS IN COMMUNITY NEWS page I3
Argentina seems a compelling country filledwithmagical beauty and
gigantic contradictions. Its naturaltreasures have been extolled asamong the world's finest - places
like Terra del Fuego, Patagonia.
Thenthereare the haunting culturalimages -Evita,the legacy of the los
Disaparades, from the all too recentmilitaryjuntasof 1977-1983, tango,the world monetary market in theinternational news. Once last year, I
read in the New York Times thatArgentina has the world's highestconcentration of psychologists percapita. But walking down the
street, it seems most everyone
looks like a moviestar.With suchbeauty what need istherefor therapy. For me, one of thegreatculturalrevelations invisitingArgentinaforthe first time, was the experience ofsummer in winter, not just weather-wise but seasonally. Foruntil then,itnever occurred to methathalf the
world live s in a different seasonal
reality south of the equator. One
thinks of the seasons as indelibleand fixed but apparently thatis notthe case.
Al l of these somewhat superficial
observations melted quickly awayonce in the tangible embrace of ourTashigar Community with theirgenuine hospitality and endlessovertures of friendlinesswithmuchkissingat every opportunity - this Inoticed, a universal custom inArgentina. So ubiquitous is thiscustom, it amused me, when even
at airline counters, all businessstopped as girls returning from alunch break went around to everyone down the line behind thecounter for kisses and more kisses.Argentinaseemsthe ultimate Padmaenergyi ntermsofnational styles.Tashigar is nestled in the hills outside Tanti, a small town whichsome of usjokingly referred to as
the town time forgot. Everything
about this place reminded me of myrural California childhood in the1950's with its dusty roads andsmall rancheros surrounding itsoutskirts, early model BigAmerican made cars, with scatteredhorse, cattle and crowing roosterswandering about without bound
aries or from the vantage ofTashigar itself higher up - theAmericanSouth West region of theFourComers with vast unpopulated vistas. Artistically, this area tooseemed rich in stories, as yetunwritten, magnificent paintings ofsky - forhereon the higher groundofTashigar,all is space.
The landitself is a spectacular bio-
region of wild life; exotic plantsand startlingly vivid elementswherewind iswind,hailand lightening can flash in aheartbeat.Handcarved into a rock is the wordZergnamadeby Rinpoche. A storywas toldone day, as we passed the
rock on our way up the hill, that
Rinpochewh ile carving it sat on an
anthill. When people pointed this
out tohim, he saidthatwas all rightbecausetheywouldsomeday be hisstudents.This is a place, no doubt,empowered for realization and oneinwhichthe elements seem to manifest so dramatically. It is also aslightly dangerous environmentwith spiders, poisonous snakes,iguanas andabundantinsect life.Terrified of snakes, I must say, Ihad unusually greater presence ofmind than usual in regard to whereIput myfeetandhands- just as theTashigar retreatguidelines recommended. Duringthe actualretreat,Ishared a house with an Argentineman and his Spanish wife, Anita,down the road from Tashigar. Anative from Cordoba, this man,
Ruben, was particularly concernedthat Tashigar did not have an anti-
continued on page 3
C O N T E N T S
TEACHING:Awarenessas
I PracticeinDaily Life
I ChgyalNamkhai Norbu
f l Santi Maha Sangha
I and Karma Yoga
I ChgyalNamkhai Norbu
R H RespectingOthers
I Chgyal Namkhai Norbu
im,-m Milarepa,
I The
Great MagicianI JuliaLawlessandJudy Allen
Briga BookReviews
H p g j Tormas atTashigar
I RitaBizzotto
B r J V Practice Calendar
I InternationalContacts
feti] International
I CommunityNews
H M B Reflections
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Chgyal Namkhai Norbu
Inalifetime,most importantishowwe dodailypractice,so the most important thing I can doisto informyou how to dodailypractices.
Evenifwe have learned different methodsofpractice,we can't apply everythingdaily.Sincethis is the case,it's very importantthatwe integrate practice into ourlives.Integrating practice intodaily lifedoesn't meanwe dedicate one hour or a few hours of practice into aday. That is good, butstillwe have many hours. Weknowthatinone day we have twenty-four hours, so tointegrate means we integrate in the practice for twenty-four hours. If we don't understand thatprinciplethen we can'thaverealization.Because we arelivingwithdualisticvisionand we arealwaysdistracted, we make many kinds of actionsand produce negative karma.Evenif we do four orfivehours of practice a day, it can't compare to howdistracted we are and how many negative actions wemake.Alreadywe have so much negative karma; topurify is not so easy. Therefore it's most importantthatweknowhow to integrate practice intodailylife.
Firstofall,when you are thinking of what practicemeans, you need to have a precise idea.Manypeopleconsiderpractice chanting mantras or sitting; doingsome rituals, etc.Thisis practice, but not the mainpractice.Themainpractice isthat,firstofall,we discover our instant presence and then we integrate in
thatstatein any moment. It is not so easy for us toalwaysbe in instant presence, but when we have thepossibilitywe try. We try to be aware and not distracted and try to be aware of our life andcircumstance.
Sotheseare the most important practices; if we areaware andweknowhow the circumstanceis,wehaveless problems. Our practices become more concrete.Tobe aware means we also know what our possibilities are. Some people have a very nice idea and theysay, "Oh I want to dedicate all mylifeto practice".Thisis a good idea, but not so easy, particularly forpeople who have the idea to escape fromour societyorordinarycondition.That means they are not learning or training how to integrate life into practice.Theyare alwaysthinking, "Thissituation is samsara,veryheavy, I want to escape."Butthatisnot thesolution,you can escapefromthis situation but whenyouarrivesomewhere else youcreatethe same situation.Maybeyou have the idea,"I don't want tocreatethissituationanymore. I wantonlyto be a practitioner ona mountain,livingin a cave, etc."Firstofall,thatisnot so easyinour modem society becauseyouhave aphysical body and you are dependent on food andyour situation,and evenifthereare somepossibilitiesand you think, "Now I have peace", it's not true. Ifyoudo notfindpeaceinside,youcan'tfindpeace outside.Maybe youhave no problems whereyouare, butyouarrive in a cave on a mountain, and maybe youhave a problem there.
Iremember once when I was thirteen years old, Ireceiveda very important teachingfromone of myDzogchenteachers. When I finished this teaching Iwent to doaretreatofNzndzogGyalpoofDzogchenLongde,and I was in a very isolatedretreatplace; averynice place in the forest under arock.It was reallya verynicehousethatbelonged to one ofmy relations,and it isa verysacredplace.Theywanted me tolivethereand do service for me.'Doingservice'did
n't mean someonelivedthereand always cooked anddid service everyday; someone came and broughtfoodeverythreedays or so. So I livedthere, and onthefirstdayIfelt fantastic and it wasreallyvery silentandvery nice,butwhennighttimestartedIfelt afraid.Thishouse was under rock and on top of the rock tenor fifteen wolves gathered and howled and madenoise.When I wassmallI already felt afraid of thissound;and this time I also felt alittleafraid anddidn't feel really peaceful. The next day when Ididpracticetherewas not as much noise as at night, but thenhundreds of monkeys arrived. When I did practicesilentlythe monkeys came in thewindowand tried toopen the window. The whole time I couldn't findpeace. In the day and night time,therewere alwayssome problems and, of course, then I didn't knowverymuch about integrating. I always felt distractedwiththis practice.Later I met my teacher ChangchubDorjeand the Dzogchen teaching, and then I understoodthesolutionis not escape but integration.
Whenwe are disturbed it is mainly related to ourtensions.Forexample,ifIamsittingheretryingto dopractice and someone comesfromoutside and makesnoise,then Ifeel, "Oh,thereis someoneheremakingnoise and I amherepeacefullydoingpractice andthatperson is not paying respect to me and my practiceand now I feel disturbed". IfIfeelthat, thatismytension.If I have this tension today, tomorrow I feelmore than yesterday and I think,"Stillthis person istheremaking noise". Day after day tensions develop.Then,in the end, I decide to escape fromthis place.Soyou see, where the root of the problem is and towhat the tensions arerelated. Ifwe are integrating andwe arereallyininstant presence and integrated;ifweare on a mountain in a cave in silence or we are in arailwaystation, forexample,thereis not much difference because noise and movement,everything,is partofour energy. We do not remain in a dualistic wayand we integrate and integration means in a non dualway.Our tensions disappear, this is the method ofhowwe integrate indaily life.It is something very,
C H G Y A L N A M K H A I N O R B U
NEW YEAR'S DAYTEACHING
AWARENESSASPRACTICE IN DAILYLIFE
TASHIGAR, ARGENTINA,JANUARY1ST2001
veryimportantintheDzogchen teaching.Ourlifeismovement, not peaceful, but we knowthatmovement is part of our energy. We do not think, "I amhereandthereis movement, and movementcreatesproblems for me"; we do not fall into a dualisticviewand movement does notcreateproblems.
Forexample,when weflyin an airplane, sometimeswe feel the airplane ismakinga lot ofnoise.Ifyouhavethatidea, "There is noise and I am disturbed",youalwaysfeel more disturbed. Butifyouintegrateyoudon't feel disturbed atall.Yousee, for example,the airplane soundslikeAh.Sometimes the airplaneis singingHum.Whenyou are inside you areinthesoundofHumandAh;youdon'talwaysneed to sayAhandHum,the airplane helpsyou.So you are inthat statein an integrated way instead of creatingproblems;youreallyhave benefit. Thatisanexampleofhowwecanintegrateeverything intoourlives. Forthat reason we don't need to change anything, wedon't need to change our dress, our attitude, our way
ofbeing; howitis,weremainthatwayand we accepthowlifeis.
Somepeople, for example, have a business or ashop, they spend many years working to earnmoney and then they feel more interestedinpracticeand teaching. They don't feel to dothatwork anymore. The work becomes negative or an obstaclefortheir practice. That is not true.Youmustliveinsociety.Youhave done this workuntilnow and areearning money; you are living.Of course if youfindabetterway to earn money, you can change.Otherwise, thatIS your condition andthat,is notnegative at all.So you can integrate your job andworkin the practice.Youthink, "How can I integrateworkingin a shop?', but it can be anykindofworkwhichwe can integrate. Evenif we have nopossibilityto chant or workwithmantras, we canalways workwithawareness.Wecan alwaysbe presentinsteadofdistracted;thatisthe practice ofintegration.If we have a business or work in a shop, i fwe use awareness and are not distracted, then ourworkgoesbetter.When you have tensions younotice them and don't give too much importance to them; then also your work doesn'tbecome very heavy. That's anexample;thereis always thepossibilityto integrate.
Sowe must know how ourconditioninlifeis, firstofall.Forexample,weliveinsociety andinsocietyeveryone does something. If we don't, we can't earnmoney andlive.Weknowwe can integrate anykindofpractice inthatjob.For example, what do we doearlyinthemorning?Wewake up and immediatelythinkof breakfast, we go in the shop, in theschool,orwork in theoffice,etc.Lookat what we do, weworkcontinuously,atmidday we eat, maybethereisalittlespace of time and we work again, then wereturn home and feel tired, welookat alittleTVtoknowwhat the news is, even if we don't have very
muchenergy tolookattelevision,etc., everyday we
workand feel tired, so what do we do? We go tobed.Andtomorrow what do we do? The same. Wedo the same as we did today, and the day aftertomorrow,the same, and inthatway we go aheadandthatiscalledsamsara. Then we go ahead andthink,"Oh,herecomes the weekend!", and we waitforthe weekend.Whenthe weekend arrives we arehappy, but in the real sense it means we havealready spent seven days in ourlife,seven days arealreadyfinished;seven days less in ourlife.Thisisnot really a happy circumstance, but we are happybecause we think we have more free time and weshoulddo something, we think,"Ohnow I do practice,I have the idea to do some practice ortraining,etc.", and we think the weekend is free, but nextweekend is also not free, for example,thereis thebirthdayof parents, of friends, someone is gettingmarried,orthereare important things to do, peopleto meet or we must go somewhere. Most of thetime,the weekend is also occupied, so our idea ofdoingpractice is verydifficult.When wefinishthe
weekend what do we do? The same. Werepeatanother weekend, we are waiting for the weekend.Thenwe wait for another weekend and have passedfourteen days of our life, and inthatway we aregoingon for months, years and then wefinishourlife.It is not sufficient toonlyhave agoodidea, butitis importantthatwe deal concretelywithpracticeinalifetime.
So,how do westartto do practice?Whenwe wakeup we immediately remember Guruyoga. Weremember thewhiteAandthigle.It is also possibleifwe sleep alone we can alsosoundAh.If we soundAhwe can have more ofthatpresence ofvisualization.If we sleepwithourfriend,husband,wife,etc.,then we can't make sound, because when you wakeup your friend might stillbe asleep and you mustrespect your friend. You can't sing, but it's alsoenough when you exhale and are in the presenceofAh. In this presence you relax and try to be in
instant presence, evenifyouareonlyinthat stateforafew seconds.ThisisGuruyoga.Afterthatyou goto the toilet, the bathroom, you wash and have contact withthe water element, and then you can usethe mantra ofpurification: "Eho Shudde Shudde"and ifyoudopurificationof the water element in avery short way you do "Om Bamho ShuddeShodanayeSvaha".Ifyouchant this mantra and usewater or have contactwithwater, then it becomespurification.So you don't need preparation withaceremony orritual. Naturally,when you have contactwithelements you always usewhich elementcorrespondswiththatmantra.When yougo outsideandthereiswind,air element, you go"OmYamhoShudde Shodanaye Svaha".With the heatof sunshine orwith fire,etc., you useOmRamho ShuddeShodanaye Svaha. When you chant this mantra, ofcourse, you must also be awarethatifyouarewithmany people,particularlyif they are not practitioners and you chant mantras, or you do somethingamong people you don'tknow,it is not good. Youmust keep mantra secret. Ifyoukeep it secret it has
more function. Ifyoudo not keep the mantra secret,then the mantra has no function forYOU,it doesn'tmean the mantra loses function in general. So it'sveryimportant to keep secret. Of course, it is notnecessary to keep secret among practitioners.Sometimes when we use mantra of prayer or some
thingpubliclyinfrontof people who are not practitioners, then it becomes a kind of exhibition.Thefirst thingisthatitisnotgoodfor our samaya, and thesecond thing isthatthe mantra can lose its function.Thethirdreasonisthatpeoplewillconsiderthatyouare astrangeperson. Ifyousay something, forexample, in arestaurant,and you think, "I am eating. Ishould do a Ganapuja", and you say "Ram YamKam,OmAh Hum",etc., at your table and peoplelookatyouand think you areabnormal.Ifyouare apractitioner you must not show anything outside.Showingtoo much outside means thereis nothinginside.It is not necessarythatwe showanything,butwe keep itinourselves and dopractice.Weintegrate.
Alsoit is very important indaily lifeto try and beaware and not distracted. I alreadytoldyouthat thatisnot instant presence; being in presence means wehave a kind of attention. Instant presence has noattention, it is beyond attention; but if you are presentwithattention in general then it is very easy tointegrateininstant presence.Youshould learn this indaily life. Sometimes, for example, you are livingalone in your a house andthereis no one andthereisnothing very much to do and you observe whatyouarethinking,for exampleyouthink,"Oh,I wantto gointhe kitchen and take a bottleofbeer orwine,and sitinthe sunshine and Idrink".That is a way torelax.Butthen you are not doing this in a distractedway; you notice you are thinking to go in thekitchen, then you take a kindof commitment, "Idon't want to be distracteduntilI arrive in the sunshinewitha beer". Thenyounotice,now I am goinginthe kitchen and then you get up and you notice, Iamwalkingand now I amlookingwhere the beer isand where the glass is, now I am taking the beer,nowI'mreturning,and you arrivetherein the sunshine, now I amsitting,now Idrink,now I'm enjoying,soyoualwayshave presence.Youcan learn this,itisnot sodifficultatall. Ofcourseifpeople haven'tlearned this it can bedifficult, buteverything,once
youhave learned, becomes very easy.
Forexample, when you started to drive a car, was iteasy or not? It was not easy atall!Butonce we leamhow,we develop presence fordrivinga car and intheend,we can leam to be presentwhiledriving.Wedrivethe car, we talkwith friends, welookto theright and leftside,but we are always present and wedrivethe car on the road. If we are distracted, thenwe have an accident. But this presence isonlyfordrivinga car;thereare many things in our life tolearn,so we canleam.Thisis a very important practice.To do this practice you don't need a specificplace,time or condition.If you go in a shop, youthink," I am going in a shop, now I open the door, Ihavearrived inside,someoneis coming,Iamtalkingwiththatperson";youdon't need to be distracted andthereis always thepossibilityofhavingpresence.
In a lifetime if you are not distracted and havepresence, you won't have any problems. You see,whenwe do many thingsindailylifewe make manymistakes. We have so many problems, particularlywhenwe are charged, and wecreatemore problems.That means we are totally distracted or charged;otherwise if we are present there is noreasonwhywewouldbe chargedthatway.Whenweare cutting meat or vegetables to prepare food,instead ofcuttingfoodwe cut our finger. That is anaspect of distraction and that is created by ourtensions.So,thatiswhyitisvery important we leampresence and in our lifetime we dealwiththis.
This is presence and practice. We can't say,"Ican't do practice". When we finish theretreat,some people write letters and email to me and say,"Iwas very happywiththisretreat,I learned somepractice,etc., butnowI can't do anypractice.There isnopossibility,no time, etc." So, I am not saying youshould alwaysdo practice bysittingandchantinganddoing visualizations. How can you say, "I
can't do practice ofbeingaware" ?Youcan be awareinany moment, it isbetterforyou.Ifyoudon't wantto do this practice, or you don't considerthatit is apractice,thatis anotherquestion.Butifyouconsiderthisispractice,thenyoucando itinany moment, anycircumstance.Whenyouarewalking,sittingorworking;inany moment when you try to be aware, this ispractice.Beingaware is somethinglikeakey,also todiscoveringyour tensions, your attachments and alltheseproblems.Ofcourse, ifyouhave tensions andallthesekinds ofproblems,then you know what theroot of the problem is and you liberate.
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A M E S S A G E TO ALL GARS, GAKYILS ANDPRACTITIONERS OF DZOGCHEN COMMUNITY OF THEWORLD
SantiMaha Sangha
andKarmaYogaf r o m C h g y a l N a m k h a i N o r b u
venomkit on hand in the event ofsnakebite. So wasI.Thi s wasall themore unsettling since a few weeksprevious to the retreat, I had heardfrom Melissa, ingreatdetail abouta viper, which had found its wayinto the main dorm space and hercapture ofit.I hesitated to say anythinglest people think I was beingproblematical and 'typically' anAmerican but given the amount of
children around, it seemed prudentnot to waituntilsomeone one day isactuallybitten. But Ruben carefullyinstructed me to keep the doors tothe little casa closed, which I diddiligently, lest one of these snakes(by now looming large in myimagination)make its way into ourhouse. On the other hand, not beingparticularly afraid of spiders, theywere ever-present and interesting towatch. Little baby scorpions scuttledbrisklyacross our kitchen flooreach morning with their littlepinchers held open as in anembrace as they rushed toward one.Thinking of the associationbetween Padmasambhava andscorpions, I was slightly more
accommodating to their presencethan say the hairy tarantulas andbrown recluse creeping along theroof rafters outside and simplyswept them gently out the dooreach morning.
Summer being at its height, eachnighttherewere flashes of what wecallhere, 'June Bugs', whose phosphorescent lights danced to soundsofnightcreatures and sometimes abackground of lightening flashes.The night sky, too, was incandescent with marvelous constellationsI had never before observed firsthand from south of the Equator.Fruit trees heaved with abundantfruits -plums, peaches, figs fromwhichevery morning for breakfast
therewere a variety of homemadejams - to go with toasted bread.Several species of birds soundedcontinuously - especially one birdwho over and over sounded threedistinct syllables - a real Vajracuckoo.Agrapearbor loaded withclusters of still unripened grapeslent a charming rustic quality to thelittlecasitas, whichI was told, wasbuilt by an elderly couple - eachmarriedto others, as their romantichideaway. I was intrigued one daybyGlenEddy's story (my neighborin this compound), of rescuing anold iguana of about four feet longwhom we affectionately called"Pepe" from the intent Tashigardogs and the heart-breaking storyofPepe's cries - so human sounding-as the dogs were tormenting him.After tellingmethatiguana feed onfallen fruit attwilight,I waited andwatched but never got a glimpse ofold "Pepe" at dusk among the fruitorchard or any other iguana.After a dream on the night beforemy departure for Tashigar, I wasnot surprised when my trip beganwitha series of major mishaps andminor annoyances - lost luggagefor fivedays, a fluwith adeliriumlasting three days, endless boughtand borrowed flashlightswhichdidnot work long enough down thelong treacherous dirt path to "my "house - no matter how manybatteriesI fed it, a canceled departure flight and a missed flight
between Cordoba and BuenosAires when cab driver got lost inCordoba,an airport robbery initiatedby a moment's lapse in myattentionand, last but not least - infectedspider bites whose scabs I couldonlyweeks later remove. And yet,my "enforced vacation" as Fabiocalled it, resulted in a rich experience of inner connections, meaningful insights and perhaps someripening of karma. It was also awake up experience to meetRinpoche one day in the lowerorchard near the vegetable gardenofTashigar,walkingalone from thedance mandala to the Gonpa, as Iwalked up the path unaware of his
continuedfrompagei
presence - myminddistracted in ajunky ard of petty resentments justat that moment - an al l toodepressing recognition that aftertwenty years of following theteachings this is what it comes downto - meetingone'steacherwhilein ahighlydistractedstate.For fivedays, Rinpochetaughton aterma received from his master,Changchub Dorje, in a dream
called "Opening the Gate of At iYoga." As always his teachingproved to be clear, essential andpowerful. We also did collectivepractice of the Purification of SixLokas during the retreat whichRinpoche gave an extended commentary on. Aswith everyretreat,there were many opportunities tolearn and refresh the differentcollectedpractices, theVajraDanceand Yantra Yoga. As everyonealready knows, one can not hearenough of Rinpoche teaching overand over again these essentialteachings on the meaning of GuruYoga.Hearingwith newearsand afresh mind, one can only try andkeep alive the heightened retreat
experience upon returning toone'severydaypatternsand hectic schedule. Meetingone's teacher again isalways likedrawing from thedeepwell of refreshment. A s they say,with agreatmaster, the well neverruns dry andal lmay take what theyneed. So it is, with our dearRinpoche,who continuously givesover and over to us whether he isfeeling wellor not.One of the highlights associatedwith this retreat was the first everlive Internet audio broadcast byRinpoche. Because this live audiobroadcast was conducted via telephone, some people thought it wasanother teleconference such as theone last year from Namgyalgar,unaware that it was broadcasted
around the world on the Internet.Behind the scenes for severalmonths, a number of peoplelabored to coordinate this effortinternationallyLoekJehee,FabioAndrico,EdGoldberg,DianeSiev-ers, SergioOlivia,and myself.Andeverything went smoothly! Initially, it seemed Rinpoche was goingto give a public talk but then helaunched energetically into theteachings on thethree statementsofGarab Dorje with the pointing outtransmission. He seemed so veryhappy to give this teaching - thefirst ever cyberspace transmission.At the conclusion,asRickymovedto disconnect the phone, Rinpochebrushed him aside to continuewith
a few words ofwellwishes for allof us around theworld in the NewYear.Thus bringing us back to thecybercast itself and the amazingopportunity to connect altogetherin the moment.
Severaldays later, after theInternetbroadcast and during my threedaydelirium withgrippe, I tried to practice continuous presence withO MA H H U M using this opportunityfor purificationpractice.Beingableto recognize just how difficult it isto maintain one's presence in themidst of sickness was extremelyvaluable. And it was VERYdifficult. As a dress rehearsal forperhaps more serious situations,this inspired to me to make somelong awaited changes in my dailypriorities because, for the moment,I failed miserably and insteadfound myself locked in the sameweirdnightmare over and over, inan airless room keeping everythingclosed from the intrusion ofimagined snakes and bats. I wasespeciallythankful for the kindnessof my neighbor and old friend.Glen Eddy,who checked up on meduring this time and kept me supplied with drinkingwater and othernecessities for the few days I wassick.
A truefocus or distraction (dependingon your view) for many peopleduringthe retreatwas Tashi Bar. It
continuedonpage6
According to the Santi Maha
Sangha Base examination,
for people who are
interested and participate in Santi
MahaSangha, first ofal l they must
be interestedi nthe DzogchenCom
munity.The training of Santi Maha
Sangha is not only something
learned in an intellectual way, but
this knowledge should be totallyintegrated into one's condition. If
someone is not interested in the
Dzogchen Community,there is no
way they can be totally integrated.
TheDzogchen Community islikea
boat; we are traveling by boat in
order to arrive beyond a very big
river anduntilwe arrive beyond the
very big river we should be
interested in that boat. Therefore,
we can understand how important
the Dzogchen Community is for the
trainee.
If people are interested in anykind
of Karma Yoga activity related to
the Dzogchen Community itmeans
those people are interested in the
Dzogchen Co mmunity. For
example, ifsomeone is a member of
a family then that person is
interested in everything related to
thatfamily.In thesameway,ifthere
issomething to do for the Dzogchen
Community, one who is interested
in the Dzogchen Community is
alwaysready to participate.
The main subject of the examina
tionfor the SantiMahaSangha Base
is not only the ten questions; they
are only one of the ThreeMainSub
jects. As we know very well, we
have Three Gates and these Gates
are body, voice and mind; so we
also have Three Main Subjects of
the examination related with theseThree Gates.
Relativeto the body, we should con
tribute physically to any kind of
Karma Yoga activities for the
Dzogchen Community. One who
participates inKarma Yoga for the
DzogchenCommunity indicates or
shows clearly one's interest in the
Dzogchen Communityin a concrete
way. According to the voice, one
shouldlearn the book ofSantiMaha
Sangha Base, and during the
examination one should reply cor
rectly to the ten questions.
According to the mind, one should
apply all practices which are
indicatedin the book of SantiMaha
Sangha Base.
Regardingthe firstMain Subject of
Santi Maha Sangha Base training,
since the beginning ofMerigar we
started developing Karma Yoga
there.Merigaris the number one or
primordial Gar of the Dzogchen
Community, and recently we also
started to register the names of
people, how they contribute Karma
Yoga activities in the Dzogchen
Community, how many hours they
have contributed, and so on.
Many people ask me how many
hours ofKarma Yoga they should
contribute for the Santi Maha
Sangha Base examination and for
the second level and so on.
Registeringhow many hours people
dedicate for Karma Yoga is not to
realizelimitedhours in order to take
the examination of Santi Maha
Sangha Base; the registr-ation of
how many times and how many
hours someone dedicated to Karma
Yoga is relative, it is not the mainpoint. The registration of the
number of hours dedicated to
KarmaYogais in order to know who
and how they have dedicatedKarma
Yoga to the Dzogchen Community
and if we didn't register the Karma
Yoga we couldn't know that. The
registration of Karma Yoga is very
useful in general for the Dzogchen
Community to know who is
seriouslyinvolved,andparticularlyit
isvery important to know how it is
related to thosepeople who partici
pateinthe SantiMahaSanghaExam
inations.
Some people feel that it is enough
thatwe ask people to do theirbest
fordedicatingKarmaYoga,thatit is
not necessary to do a registration of
it.I think it is only enough for a few
honest people, but not for most
people. Ifyouask people during the
examinationno one will say, "I am
not interested in the Dzogchen
Community" or "I didn't dedicate
Karma Yoga". They will say,
"I am interested in the Dzogchen
Community",and "I did mybestfor
dedicatingKarmaYoga".These are
the common replies we could
receive. In general, these words
become a kind of ritual thing, not
something serious. We don't really
need any ritualized words; we need
something concrete. Therefore weneed a registration book of Karma
Yoga in order to see who has
seriouslydedicated toKarmaYoga.
Of course, the intention is not that
Karma Yoga is only work like
cleaning the bush, etc. There are
many forms of Karma Yoga. For
example, whenguestsofDzogchen
Community arrive and someone
voluntarilygoesto takethese guests
and accompany them when and
where it is necessary at the request
of Dzogchen Community
responsibles, that is collaboration
withthe Dzogchen Community and
isvalidKarmaYoga.
I am using the example of the first
Gar of Dzogchen Community[Merigar ], but we know very well
that the situation of the Gars is not
thesame- we can findmany differ
ent situations in the Gars and
Gakyils of different countries - but
even though, in any part of the
world, if someone contributes
voluntarily some good and useful
things for the DzogchenCommuni
ty,the Gakyilofthatplace shouldn't
view that participation with
indifference. The Gakyil should
register all the good things con
tributed by that person and when
they go to do the examination of
Santi Maha Sangha the Gakyil can
presenthis or her situation of con
duct with the list of all the good
things they have contributed to the
Dzogchen Community. When we
have thiskind of presentation from
the local Gakyils, we can finally
understand how the conduct ofthat
person is, and his or her first of the
Three Main Subjects for theexamination can be seriously
applied.
We also know there are many
people living in isolated places and
in those places there is no Gakyil.
For whoever has this kind of
situation, if they have some
possibility, they should try to con
nect to a Gakyil which is close to
their place. Otherwise, they try to
make contact witha Gar to receive
more information about the Santi
MahaSangha examination, training
and so on. For people who are in this
kindofsituation,wewilltry to help
somehow and directly check their
possibilities.
Pleasedo notcometo theexamina
tionofSantiMahaSanghawithout
having thepreparations of Three
MainSubjectsfor theSanti Malia
Sangliaexaminations. Santi Maha
Sangha training is a very important
thing in our Dzogchen Community
and therefore it is very important
that we participate seriously, not
only running to get to the higher
levels. If you don't participate
seriously, even if you arrive at a
higher level you won't have any
benefit. If you are going calmly
ahead and seriously, even if you
arrive at the first level, you can
really get great benefit and at the
sametime you are getting qualifiedto be a Dzogchenpa.
With many greetings to all our
Dzogchenpractitioners,
ChgyalNamkhaiNorbu
SantiMahaSangha Supervisors
AdrianoClemente
Jim Valby
SantiMahaSangha CoordinatorsMerigar:IgorLegati
Tsegyalgar: Jim Valby
Tashigar.RicardoSued
Namgyalgar:Elisabeth Stutchbury
Kunsangar:GrishaMokhin
THE MIRROR MARCH 200 1 ATRIL 2 001
M E E T I N G T H E ELEMENTS
3
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Rome,November 21,2000
CHGYALNAMKHAI NORBU
RESPECTING OTHERS
Knowing how to respect the
value and character of each
thing is part of our aware
ness. First of all, a practitioner
should know how to respect the
individual and, above all, other
practitioners, because each
individualhas his or her dimension.
We have a great many problems
withthis. We are constantly forget
ting to respect the dimension of
others, particularly people who are
couples.
Whenboth people in the couple are
young and lovely then everything
goes wonderfully. They are blinded
by their passion and think they are
like one individual and see all
aspectsof things in thesameway. A
year later it's a little less like that,
and after a few more years they area little disillusioned and discover
that they don't exactly see eye to
eye. At the beginning [of their
relationship] they want to be seated
on the same chair when they are
eating even if they break the chair!
After two or three years they
definitelywant two different chairs,
and after a few more years they
want two different beds. After a
while one house isn't big enough
and they want two.
After all this time, all they have
really discovered is that they are
two individuals, each with their
own dimension. If, from the begin
ning, they had acknowledged that
they were twoindividuals withtheir
own dimensions, their own ways of
seeing and being but wanted to
collaborate and be together, then
they would have respected each
other - especially if they are people
who are following a spiritual path
and have some sense of these
values.In this way if they livelong
enough to become old people, then
they will be two old people who
will be sweet to each other and
respect each other. But today that's
veryhard to do.
Evenif it's not inthatway, it's very
important that we understand that
each person is anindividual withhis
or her own dimension and way ofseeing and being.
INDIVIDUALEVOLUTION
Today when people want to show
themselves to be a bit spiritual they
talk about peace; peace in the
world. Butpeacedoes not come if
there is no evolution of the
individual. Evolution of the
individual means understanding
that other people have their
dimensions andneedsjust likeI do.
As the Buddha said, "Take your
own example and don'tcreateprob
lems for other people." Certainly if
one works radically in this way
then, yes, peace can come about.
Every day you see appeals for
peace; a General or President
invitesanother President in order to
try to make contact. But peace
doesn't come about from these
meetings. If we really want and
need peace, we need to work indi
vidual by individual. One may
think, "Well, how isthatpossible?
When will we ever have peace?"
But welivein time.Eveni f welive
a longtime, a hundred years, we are
goingto die. But our whole genera
tion willnot die together. There are
younger people,thereare children,
thereare people who, in the future,
Firstof all,
a practitionershouldknow
how torespect
the individual
and,aboveall,
other practi
tioners,
because each
individual has
his orher
dimension.
will continue this civilization. If I
have an evolution, a development,
and I have understood something, I
can helpothers who come after to
understand. Thus, even if it doesn't
multiply instantly, after centuries a
real development can come about.
So evolutionis truly possible.
SOCIETY
When I arrived in Italy for the first
time I had alittlesuitcase. I had no
notion of teaching Dzogchenhere
or anything of the kind. But after
wards, having contact with people,talking to them, communicating
with them, gradually something
developed and grew.
Today we have something called
the Dzogchen Community in all
parts of the world and great num
bers of people who have actually
understood something. Moreover, I
am one part, one person in society.
I'm not something special. A l l
people are the same in this regard.
So if each of us understands,
develops, has an evolution, then
thathas an impact and we can grad
ually have an effect on society in
general.This is part of our aware
ness.
This is important because each
individualcounts, it'slikea number.
Whenwe say society it'slikesaying
numbers and numbers can be
infinite. But if you go to the con
crete level, numbers must always
start with number one. If number
one doesn't exist then there's no
hundred, there's no thousand,
there'snothing.
For me the first number in society is
me.Every individualis number one
for society so if we want to do
something significant and real, we
have to start with ourselves. If we
have difficulty in observing our
selves then we have to resolvethat
difficulty. But our habitual systemis not that, it's just the opposite.
When some problem arises we
alwayssay, "Who'sguilty?Who did
it?". In some sense we're always
part of the problem, we're always
guilty but instead we are always
lookingfor someone else who is the
guiltyone.An d this is how tensions
develop and problems arise. So we
have to observe ourselves, we have
to try to understand and become
aware of ourselves and what we do.
MASTEROFONESELF
So the Dzogchen teaching has to be
more or less learnedlikethis. I have
talked and alsogivena transmission
today to connect us with the prac
tice of Dzogchen. Those who have
received this transmission and areinterested in the Dzogchen teaching
should read something and get
some notions about how to practice
it,how to apply it. Butthosepeople
who are interested can't just think
that they alway have to have a
master beside them. They have to
become their own teachers, their
own masters. So you read a few
books, you begin to understand
something about how this is
applied, and if you don't under
stand, yes, there are other
practitioners, you can collaborate
withthem.
COMPLETELY FREE
You can participate in thecollective
practices with other practitioners.
Many people have a limitation
thinkingthatif they go and practice
witha group, people willjudge how
spiritualthey are. In modem society
you may not want to be identified as
somebody who follows religion or
isinvolved witha spiritualteaching.
Thismeans that in practice you are
limiting yourself. Why should we
limit ourselves? Better we should
always be completely free. If we
want to practice with a group of
people, if we want to follow
religion,why not? Why should we
be slaves of the ideology of modemsociety? But if you likeit, you can
apply the whole modem outlook.
WORKINGWITHCIRCUMSTANCES
I'm not a person who was bom in
this modem society. When I was
bom in my country, there was no
suchthing as an automobile. When
I studied at college when I was
young, we didn't even have a
match! So I am, so to speak, like a
primitive. But it's not true. I like a
lot ofmodem things, aboveal lcom
puters. For example, computers
have only been around for a little
while- 1remember verywellwhenthey started. What emerges incircumstances must be accepted
and made use of without limits.
When one becomes the slave of
limitations then whatever limits is
negative. But neither do you
struggle against and fightwiththese
limits.You are free to choose what
you likeandyou enjoy it.
ENJOYYOURSELF
One ofmy teachings is, 'enjoy your
self. We knowthat samsara is full
of suffering,thatis itsnatureand we
are immersed in it, but at the same
timethereare many things to enjoy
and we should enjoy them. We have
no idea how many more years we
will live. For these years that we
will livewhy not do ourbestenjoy
ing ourselves, not only suffering.
This is how you live and integrate
yourselfinto society. Andthatway
you have fewer problems.
My hope isthatyouwill all try to do
abit likethis.
Immediately spokentranslationbyBarrieSimmons
TranscriptionbyLi zGranger
2 0 0 1 W E S T C O A S T R E T R E A T S
May 2-6,2001
DZOGCHEN COMMUNITYIN NORTH AMERICA
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T H E C R Y S T A L A N D
T H E W A Y O F L I Q H T
S u t r a , T a n t r a a n d D z o g c h e n
byChogyal Namkhai Norbu,compiledand ed. byJohnShane
176 pp., 23linedrawings , 30 b& w photos, #CRWALI$16.95
ChogyalNamkhaiNorbuexam
ines the spiritual path from the
viewpointof Dzogchen. He inter
weaveshis lifestorywithDzogchenteachings, making them accessible
through hislivingexample. He dis
cusses his education and how he
met his principal master whoshowed him the real meaning of
"directintroduction to Dzogchen."
Also available: The Supreme
Source, Yantra Yoga, Dream Yoga
and thePractice ofNatural Light,
Dzogchen:The Self-PerfectedState.
See our website for a complete listingof books on Dzogchen.
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5/20/2018 mirror 56
5/19
MlLAREPA
T h e G r e a t M a g i c i a n
by JuliaLawlessand JudyAllen
Icome from the village of Tsa in
southern Tibet. My father was a
great landowner from a rich and
noble family.As an only son, I was
spoiledand my early childhood was
happy and carefree. Sadly though,
whenI was only seven years old, my
fatherdied.
From that point on, everything
changed. In his will, my father had
entrusted the care of hisestateto myuncle andauntuntilI reached the age
offifteen.Yet in spite ofhisbestinten
tions,my relations seized our property
for themselves. While they enjoyed a
life of luxury,we were forced to live
likeservantsinourown home!
WhenI reached the age of fifteen, my
mother reminded my uncle andauntof
her late husband's will.But over the
years they had become accustomed to
their position of power and my
mother's pleas were hopeless. The
villagers felt sorry for us but were
afraid to help.And we, of course, had
nomeansto challenge our relat ives.
When my mother realized that her
familywas now destitute, she waspoisonedwithbitterness. "Now our only
hope of avenging our enemies" she
wailed,"is through magic. I want you,
my beloved son, to learn the art of sor
cery.Apprentice yourself to the magi
cianYungton.If you are not successful,
I willkillmyself."
Itherefore had no choice but to leave
our village and study magic with
Yungton of Ngak, the 'Great and
Terrifying Magician of Evil Spells'.
Unfortunately althoughIspentawhole
yearwithhim, I learntnothing. Know
ing I couldnot return home without
having mastered the art of black
magic,indesperation I sought the help
of another sorcerer. This time, as an
apprentice toKhulungpa,the'Oceanof
Virtue', my perseverance was
rewarded and I made rapid progress in
mastery over thespellofdeath.
Once I was truly confident of my
capacity,I set out to avengemy family.
Mymagic was indeedpowerful!After
only fourteen days of practice, my
teacher toldmethatIwouldsee signs
ofsuccess. Sure enough,thatnight the
guardian spirits that I had invoked,
appeared before me, bringing with
them the bleedingheadsandheartsof
thirty five corpses which they piled
upon my altar.
Ilater found outthatmy magicalritual
had coincidedwiththe death of thirty
five guests at my cousin's wedding
feast.Duringthe meal,strangethings
had happened. The courtyard of our
house was filledwitha writhingmass
of snakes, lizards, spiders and frogs.
The horses tethered in the stables went
wild with panic. Rearing up they
kickeddown the stablewalls,causing
the wholebuildingto collapse.A llthe
guestsinside were killed... but unfor
tunately myunclcandauntescaped.My mother was overjoyed when she
heard of the disaster.Tyinga rag to the
end of a long stick, she paraded it
through the village shouting, "How
happy I am to see this day! Through
my son's power we have at last taken
our revenge." The villagers were
furiousat her display ofheartlessness
and plotted to murder our whole
family. Knowing this, my mother
craftily sent me a message with a
pilgrim, warning me of the danger.
Evendeath threatshad not restrained
my mother's wishfor revenge for in
her letter she now asked me to destroy
the entirevillage!
Once again, I had no choice but toreturn to my previousteacher,Yungton
ofNgak.Ibeggedhim to teach me how
to gain power over hailstorms for in
this way I could ruin the villagers'
crops. When the harvest was almost
ripe Isetoff for my village.Onceinthe
hillsabove thevalley,I began to per
formthe magical rite. A t first acloud
no bigger than a sparrow drifted by.
Nothing seemed to beworking.Sud
denly a huge, menacing blackcloud
began to overshadow thevalley.Giant
hailstones smothered the housesand
completely destroyed the crops, the
verylivelihoodofthevillage.
On my return to Nyak, my teacher
Yungton congratulated me on my
success, but I feltno joy. Instead I wasfilled with a deep senseof remorse.
Mymindwas tormentedwithguiltand
Ilongedfora way inwhichIcouldfind
relief from my suffering. Seeing my
distress, Yungton also feltdeep regret
for his lifeo f black magic. As I was
stillyoung,he offered to help meinmy
search for redemption.
He sent me to a famous Dzogchen
master, whose teachings could give
instant liberation. But I was too
arrogant and lazy to realize what a
valuable opportunity this was and
spentmost of my time sleeping! In a
matter of days, the Dzogchen master
was fed upwithme, "I seethat thereis
nothingI can do to helpyou," he said.
"You should go to the great master
Marpa, withwhom you have a natural
connectionthroughpastlives."As soon as I heard the name "Marpa",
a shiver went through my spine and
my hair stood on end. I was filledwith
asudden longing tomeethim face-to-
face.Unableto thinkofanythingelse,I
immediately set off for the southern
Wheat Valley where he lived,taking
onlya few provisions and my book of
spells.
As I entered thevalley,I asked every
one I passed whether they knew where
I could find Marpa the translator.
Nobodyseemed to have heard of him
untilImet an attractive young boy who
said, "You must mean my father.
Usually he doesn't work on the farm
but today heisoutplowingthefieldby
the roadside."
Thisstruck me as strangefor Icould
not believe that such a renowned
master wouldneed to be out plowing
his fields.Just then I caught sight of a
tall, well-builtman in a nearby field.
As I approached, Icould see thathe
had penetrating eyes and a fearsome
expression. Hesitantly I asked him
whereMarpalived.
For what seemed likea long time he
just glared at me. Then he asked, "And
who areyou?"Ireplied,"I amadeeply
troubled man who has come to beg
Marpafor help.""Very well",he said,
"I will arrangean introduction. In the
meantime,plowthisfield."
Aftera while the young boy whom Ihad met on the road, came to show me
the way to Mama's home. I had not yet
finished plowing, however, and
resolved to complete my work before I
wentwith him.
Whenwefinallyreached themaster's
house, I was shocked to see the same
man I had met earlier in the fields.
Althoughhe wasseatedhigh on apile
of cushionslikeateacher,hestillhad
tracesofsoilin his hair and dustinhis
beard. I quickly glanced around the
roomto makesure therewas no other
masterpresent. Then the man spoke,
"Don't you recognize me? I am the
translator Marpa. You may present
yourself!"Ibowed down at once and,placinghis
feet upon my headinrespect,Icried,"I
offeryou mybody,speech andmindin
exchange for food, clothing and
instructions by which I can gain
redemption for myevildeeds." "I can
not offeryou both teachings andprovi
sions"Marpareplied, "and I warn you
that if you should choose the teach
ings,your successwilldepend entirely
onyourown effort."
Having agreed tofindmy ownprovi
sions, I was accepted into Marpa's
household where I began sorting out
my meager possessions. I was about to
place my treasured book of magical
spellsin his shrine room when hebel
lowed at me, "Take your filthybookawayfrommysacredaltar.Idon't want
it defiled with such rubbish!" I
removeditat once and
quietly withdrew to my own room.
SinceI had undertaken to feed myself,
I took to begging. In the course of a
few days I hadcollectedenough to buy
a large copper cooking pot with four
handles, as well as beer, meat and
barley to offer as gifts toMarpaI was
soexhausted when IarrivedhomethatI
droppedmyheavyloadonthe doorstep.
Marpa was startled by the noise and
shoutedangrily,"You'realready getting
on my nerves! Get out!"With thathe
strode overand shovedme outside.
FEBRUARY9TH-11TH,2001
THREEDAYSOF PEACE,MUSICANDLOVEWITH
CHGYALNAMKHAINORBUINPERU
byJuanBustamante
Peace, for sure. Rinpoche is a good provider; of course you should take it
with yourbare handsor an openheart.The music for ourearswas many
people chanting the Song of theVajraand many for the first time.Lovewas
an interactive flow,circulating freely.A l l this happened in "E l Remanso"
(smooth water), west ofLima, Peru, from February 9th to the 11th, 2001,
among mountains, in the middle of a beautiful park which was an ideal
environment for retreat. Some one hundred sixty of us gathered with the
ideaof learning how to integrate contemplation with daily life.Rinpoche
gave us transmission and how to get the experience.After all, the way of
knowingthetrue natureof the mirror is through its own reflections.
I realized now my master was very
short-tempered but I was not put off.
Picking up the empty cooking pot, I
offered it to him again. For a moment
Marpa just looked at me, then tearswelledup in his eyes and he took the
pot, saying,"Yourgift is auspicious. I
inturn, offerittomy teacherNaropa."
He lifted the pot above his head and
shook it so that its handles rang out
across the valley.Then he carried it
intohis shrine room where he filledit
with meltedbutterfrom the lamps. I
was so overcomewith emotionthatI
beggedhim togiveme teachings.
"Passingon meditation instruction is
veryslow work."Marpaexplained. "
FirstI wantyou tobuildaroundtower
on the eastern ridge of the nearby
mountain. Once you've finished it,
thenIUgiveyou teachings."
Immediately,withraised spirits, I set
about buildingthe round tower. When
the structure was only half-complete
Marpa suddenly changed his mind!
"Holdon!" he said. "Since I instructed
you to build this round tower, I have
had second thoughts. Now I want you
topull it down! Instead I would like
you tobuilda tower shapedlikea cres
cent moon on the mountain's western
ridge."
Onceagain, just before the work was
completed, he came to see me. "I must
have been completely drunk when I
gave you the instructions forbuilding
this tower!" he said. "Demolish it at
once." Next he took me to the northern
ridge of the mountain where he
ordered me tobuilda triangular house.Thistime I asked him if he wassure
that this was what he wanted. I was
now utterly dejected and exhausted.
When I had scarcely completed one
thirdof thebuilding, Marpapaid me a
visit. He shouted at me, "GreatMagi
cian, who told you to build this
house?" He alwayscalledme by this
name to remind meof my terriblepast.
Totally bewildered now, I replied,
"You ordered it and swore that it
wouldnot be torn down." "Are you
challenging me?" Marpa growled.
'Tear the walls down at once." I felt
completely disheartened and had no
choiceexcept todoashebid.
Bynow I had developed runningsores
onmy back. Persuaded by his compas
sionatewifeDagmema who felt sorry
for me, Marpa finally consented to
giveme the most basic instructions. He
then told me about his own ordealsunder his teacher Naropa and how, he
too, had to show unceasing persever
ance. As he spoke of his struggles, I
inwardly vowed to do anything in
order to understand the realnatureof
existence.
The next morning Marpa told me to
start building a square tower. I was
beyond knowing what to believe.
Despite my resolution to endure any
thing,I was close tosuicide.I was still
workingon the tower when hesentfor
me. "Do youhateme for refusing to
teach you?" he asked. "No. I have
complete faith in you," 1 replied. "I
alone amresponsibleformymisery."
Wavesofsadnesssuddenlywelledup
insideme and I broke down intears.
Mama's reaction was to rebuke me
harshly yet again. Something inside
me broke and Icouldnot take it any
more.Withouttellinganyone, I left.
WhenDagmemadiscoveredthatI was
missing, she chastised Marpa, "The
GreatMagicianhas gone.Now are you
satisfied? " Atthis news, Marpa's eyes
filled withtears."Oh please bring me
back my destined spiritual son," he
prayed.
I,meanwhile,hadrealizedthatIhad no
optionbut to return toMarpa.When I
arrivedhome, he was furiouswithme
for havingleft "If you are so impatient
for the truth," he admonished" then
you must be ready to give your very
lifeforit." Iwasintotal despair.
Just as I had given upallhope,Marpa
summoned me to be theprincipalguest
ataceremony.Fearfully,Itookmyseat
among the otherdisciples. "AlthoughI
may have appeared unreasonable,"
Marpabegan, "I am not to blame for
the GreatMagician'ssuffering. I actu
allyused myrageas askillfultool to
testhim thoroughly and purify him of
hispastill-deeds."
Turningto me he continued, "Now I
will give you the essential teachings
thatare as dear to me as my own heart.
I willalsoprovideyou witheverything
thatyou need. Let us be happy!" Ashe
spoke, I couldn't helpwondering, "Amcontinuedonpage6
THE MIRROR MARCH 2001 /APRIL 2001
E
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S U M M E R AT M E R I G A R
2 0 0 1RETREATSWITHCHGYALNAMKHAI NORBU
JULY 6-10
S H O R T D Z O C C H E N T E A C H I N C R E T RE A T
WITH CHGYALNAMKHAI NORBU
The retreat startsonJuly6at4 pm.
The costoftheretreatwillbeLit.400.000 withdiscounts for paid-up members.Payment can be made by installments (see below).
It is advisable to book early since many people are expected.
AUCUSTIO-19
L O N G D Z O G C H E N T E A C H I N G R E T RE A T
WITH CHGYALNAMKHAI NORBU
The retreat startson August10at 4 pm.
The cost of theretreatwillbeLit.900.000withdiscounts for paid-up members.
Payment can be made by installments (see below).
It is advisable to book early since many people are expected.
SANTI M A H A S A N G H A
AUGUST 21-23
BASE EXAM
BookingrequiredatMerigar
AUGUST 2 4 - 2 8
FIRSTLEVELTRAINING
with ChgyalNamkhaiNorbu
startsAugust 24 at 4 pm.
CostLit.400.000without discounts
SEPTEMBER 23 -25
SECOND LEVEL EXAM
Booking requiredatMerigar
SEPTEMBER 2 6 - 3 0
THIRDLEVELTRAINING
with Chgyal Namkhai Norbu
startsSeptember 26 at 4 pm.
CostLit.400.000without discounts
Milarepa
continued frompages
Iawake or am I dreaming? Ifit'sjust a
dream,IhopeIneverwakeup."
That very eveningMarnacut offalock
of my hairas asignofmy commit
ment. He offered me acupofconse
crated wine,which Idrained in one
draught. Finally,dressing me in robes,
he gave me my new name "Milarepa"
meaning the Cotton-CladOne. The
next day,Marna explainedthetheory
and practiceofmeditation. Placinghis
hand on my head, hesaid,"Myspiritu
alson,Iknew from the very beginning
that youwould be a most worthy
disciple. Both Dagmema and I had
prophetic dreams the night before your
arrival.""I dreamt that my teacher Naropa
gave meafive-prongedVajraof lapis
lazuli, symbolizing diamond-like
indestructibility. He told me to
cleanse itwith nectar froma golden
vase and mount it on top of a
magnificent Banner ofVictory.Its radi
ance blazed forth and lit upthewhole
universe, subduingallnegative forces."
"Dagmema also had an auspicious
dream, inwhichtwo beautiful women
appeared before herholdingacrystal
container,whichI cleansedwithnectar
before placing it onamountain top.It
shonewitha brilliantlight, more daz
zlingthan the sun and moon."
"Thiswas whyI set out tomeetyou
disguisedasafarm laborer. When youdrankallthe beerIoffered and finished
plowing the field,I knewforcertain
thatyouwouldbeabletotake in and
understand the full meaning of the
teaching and transmission."Hecontin
ued, "The copper potwithits four han
dleswhichyou offered me foretold the
comingofmy fourgreatestdisciples.
Its smooth surface meant that your
mindwillbecome completely pure but
its emptinesssignifiedthatyouwillbe
close to starvation whileyou are in
retreatFor this reasonI filleditwith
meltedbutterto provide foryou inlater
years and made its handlesringoutto
announce your future acclaim.I put
you through a series of grueling
ordeals yet you never lost faith or had
illthoughts about me. Thismeans that
your owndisciples will be able to
endure terrible hardships. Through
you, theprecious teachings willgrow
andflourishlikethewaxingmoon. Let
usall rejoice!"
This was the beginning of my
happiness. Now that I had been
accepted byMarpa,hewas verykind
and provided mewith everything I
needed. He askedme toremainnear
him andsentme to practice meditation
inan isolated cave, known as theTiger
Cave. Later that year Mama'sson,
Dharma Dhoday, unexpectedly died.Marpa wasdevastated. Looking for
signs to indicate the future of his
lineage,heinstructed his followersto
watch their dreamsclosely.That night
allMarpa's foremostdiscipleshad out
standing dreams but none of them
related to the lineage. I, however, had a
dream of a huge mountainlikeMount
Meni.Itwasatthe center of theworld
and was encircled by four great
pillars...."Upon the Eastern pillar
crouched a great snow lion with a
flowing maneofturquoise; Fromthe
southern pillaratigress roared spread
ing her claws through the dense
forests; Above the western pillar a
giant eagle soared gazing upward
toward heaven;While in thenorthavulture spread itswings abovea nest
and fledgling, whilethe skybecame
fulloflittlebirds."WhenIhad finished
relating the dream infull, Marpawas
overjoyed. He sang a song which
interpreted my dream andrevealedthe
futureofthe lineage.
"Mila islike thevulture whose out
spread wingssignifyhis realization of
thesecretinstruction.
Itseyrieinthesteepcliffmeans'thathis
life will be as hard as a rock.The
vulture's fledgling shows thathewill
havea peerless spiritual son,and the
smallbirds scattered inspacerepresent
his many disciplesand thespreadof
histeachings far andwide.
His gaze andflight towards heaven
showshewill leave theworldofbirth
and death andarrive in therealm of
perfect freedom. If thewordso fthis
old man areprophetic it is a most
favorable dream forus all."It wasallas
my dream hadpredicted. Meditating
on thefireof'Inner Heat' in solitary
places became my main practice,the
one best suitedto mynature. Marpa
also conferred on me the hat of
Maitripaandthe garmentsofNaropa.
My lifeas ayogiwas very tough and
mypath not without obstacles forIwas
challenged both by non-human and
human adversaries. Through mymaster'sblessings, however,Ieventu
allygainedfullrealization. Later I had
manydisciples.Myfirst, the wayward
Rechungpa always remained closeto
my heart,whilemyfemale disciple,
the beautiful young girl Paldarbom,
embodied allthequalitiesof aliving
Dakiniand became enlightened.
Towards the end of my life, I had
another dream aboutthefuture of the
lineage:Idreamtthatan eagle flewto
CentralTibet landing uponaprecious
jewel. Manygeeseflockedaroundit.
After awhile they dispersed and then
returned, each bringing five hundred
more companions. Soona ll the sur
roundingplainsandvalleyswere filled
withgeese.This dream indicatedthatalthough I wasalayyogi,many of my
followerswouldbecomemonks.Fore
most amongstthesewouldbemy spiri
tual successor, the physician-monk
Gampopa.
Iwas happy beyond words for thecon
tinuation of the tradition was now
ensured. Myown servicetothe Dhar
mawas completed.
M E E T I N G T H EELE MENTS
continuedfrompages
is hardto imagine sucha placeat,say Tsegyalgar, or any ordinaryBuddhist retreat, but inTashigarwhere dinner was routinely servedas late as 10:30PM , TashiBarappeared so perfectly natural whereitoffered an earlier hour servingthetraditional Argentine sandwich. Imyselfwas partial toavodka tonic,
a raretreatIindulgei nduringthesummer, buttherewas also wine,beer,and soda and cafe co n leche.For usclandestine smokers, it wasalsoaplace to relax somewhat guiltfree withour addiction.Young andnot so young danced away. Andnaturally our ownMichael Katzunabashedly sangh isrepertoireoffolk and popular tunes whileotherspresented their own culturaltalents. M eeting many people fromaround the world is really avery
special part of attending retreatsand Tashi Bar washost to manystimulating conversations. I can'tsay much about the New Year's fes
tivities except thatthedinner musthave been wonderful,butby 11:00P M,I foundmyselffallingasleep atthe table soIreturned home l eavingthe festivities to theyoungerandmore awake to ring in the NewYear.
During thecourse of mystay atTashigar,Iwas very happyatlasttovisittheremaining lots of TashigarMandala, including theNe w Yorklotpurchased acouple of yearsagowhich Iparticipa ted in . One afternoon, Kathy O'Connor, Adolphofrom Cordoba,Glen, Michael Katzand I set out for atourof thelandand tovisitGlen's house.Itseemedto me after we have worked outtheroughly designated boundariesofthe NewYork landthatthis pieceisindeed quite beautiful withspectacular viewsto theNorthandWest.At the highest point nearamakeshift sputa ofpiled rocks,itseemed to be aplace which might
be nice to have a practice retreatcabin rather than a large house -something which can be usedbypractitioners, although there isalready a portionof the landsetasidefo rretreatcabinso n theEastslopeo fTashigar's land. A t Glen'sbehest, I spent a couple of dayssketching out different
possibilities.Althoughthe TashigarMandala seemsa bitdisorganizedwithout any over al l plans,fundamentally the idea tomake acommunityofinternational practitioners hasgreatappeal.Itwas also
apleasure to see Naomi's house riselike Georgia O'Keefe's loomingchurchinTaos, hugging the land,asit were, and also Anne Dankoffslittle cottage down below nestledamongalush meadowatthe river'sedge. Glen gave us awalking tour
of his house, brick walls now raisedwhich hedesigned and built himself. A s usually the case inCommunity projects, itsjump infeet first with out much forethought. Buttheresult of seeingsomany houses and their distinctcharacter was delightful.Eachonereflecting something ofthe energy
of its inhabitant. Now, it seemsthings aredeveloping further in amore organized fashion as TashigarMandala begins to implementissues aroundelectricity,water, androads.
In the Principlesof theDzogchenCommunity, Rinpoche writes aboutagricultural cooperatives. Thisplace, Tashigar, is so rich andabundant - anislandofsanityandprotection for allbeings to enjoy
for many generations. I sincerelywishall ourVajra brothers and sisters can visit and restore theirenergy while they relax in this
lovely paradise
and, if even
temporarily, liveoff the fruits of the
landwhich fallupon one withsuchbounty.
CHGYALNAMKHAINORBUSCHEDULE continuedfrompagei
V EN EZU ELA , M A RG A RITA
ISLAND
December 26th-January1st
Margarita Island Retreat
2002Feb.l5th-24th
MARGARITA ISLAND
Teacher'sTraining
March 30th-April3rd
MargaritaIsland Easter Retreat
April 9th-23rd
Margarita IslandLongselTeaching
USAJSEGYALGAR
May 3rd-7th
DzogchenRetreat
SantiMalia Sangha
May 10th-14th
SMS BaseLevelExam
May 15th-19th
SM S ILevelTraining
May21st-23rd
SM S ILevelExam
May24th-28th
SM S IILevelTraining
May30th-31st
SM SnLevelExamJune lst-5th
SMS IIILevelTrainingJune 14th-28th
Personal Retreat of
ChgyalNamkhai Norbu
July5th-14th
Dzogchen Retreat
ITALY,MERIGAR
July18th
LeaveforMerigar
SantiManaSangha
July23rd-25th
SM S BaseLevelExam
July26th-3oth
SM S ILevelTraining
August 10th-18th
DzogchenRetreat
SEE CONTACTS IN COMMUNITY NEWS page I3
6
August22nd-23rd
SMS fflLevelExam
August24th-28th
SMS IVLevelTraining
August 30th-31st
SMS IVLevelExam
September lst-5th
SMS VLevelTraining
September 8th-22nd
Vacationin Sardegna
AUSTRIA, KALACHAKRA
October 10thLeavefor Austria
October 11th
H.H.theDalaiLamaarrives
October 23rd
H.H.theDalaiLamadeparts
ITALY.MERIGAR
October 28th
ReturntoMerigar
THAILAND
November 4th
Leavefor Thailand
November 15th-17th
ThailandDzogchen Retreat
SINGAPORE
November22nd-24thSingapore Retreat
AUSTRALIA,
NAMGYALGAR
November 25th
Leave for Brisbane
December 26th-January1st
Namgyalgar Retreat
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BOOK REVIEWSCHGYALNAMKHAI NORBURINPOCHE
INPORTLAND,OREGON,USA
PUBLIC Lecture
ChgyalNamkhaiNorbuwilllectureon:"What is SpiritualityintheTibetan
GreatPerfection"
Tradition"
Wednesday, Mayi6th,2001
THE DALAILAMA'S SECRET
TEMPLE:
Tantric WallPaintingsfrom Tibet,
BYIANBAKER&THOMASLAIRD,THAMES&HUDSON,LONDON2000.
The Lukhangis a three-storied
temple or on a romantic island in
the lake behind the Potala; this is
indicated by its longer name
Dzong Gyab Lukhang (rDzong
rgyab klukhang) literally the
"Water-SpiritHouseBehindThe
Fortress". Following thecon
struction of the Potala in the sec
ond halfofthe 17th century,a
lake was left behinddue to the
extraction ofbuilding material.
For pacifyingthe disturbednagas
theFifthDalaiLamapromised to
satisfy them bybuildinga temple
asaplaceforregularpujas.It is
saidthatthesmallartificialisland
in thelake was frequented as a
retreatby theGreat Fifth Dalai
Lama.Latera temple dedicated
to thenagaswasbuilt onthis
island.The Lukhang wasaper
sonalretreatplace of the various
DalaiLamas.
Not manyofthe murals ofthe
ground floor arepreserved. The
first floorcontains beautiful narrative paintings,mainlyofthelife
of thebodhisattva Pema bar
andofthe Indian KingGyalpo
Legkye.In the topfloorone finds
in a small room ofsix by six
meters extraordinary muralsof
Tantric and Dzogchen related
topics. The Eastern wall shows
forty-two Mahasiddha and
Padmasambhava and his twenty-
fiveclosestudents.The Western
wallis decorated withDzogchen
practices and thenorthern wall
shows various Tantric and
Dzogchen themes:thecontents
of Dzogchen tantras, thecom
plete one hundred Shitro deities,
Yantra yoga andTsalung prac
tices, and scenes of Gum
Rinpoche subduing hostile
forces. Besides these three big
wall paintings inthecomers we
canfindbiographical episodes of
masters (SE), protective deities
(NE)andscenesshowingvarious
waysofintroducingthe student
to the naturalstate(NW).
Unfortunately, not allthemurals
are in such a good shapeas
appearinthe book,mainlydue to
continual leaking water through
the roof sincethemid eighties,
caused by "renovation". This
ongoing damage threatens this
unique artistic and spiritual
heritage.
Since I saw the magnificent
murals of theLukhangin The
CrystalAnd The Way OfLight
(plate 12- 17 and 27)in1986,
the wish to see them inrealhaunted me. Tenyears later I
made it to Lhasa andwhile
initiatingan ad hocroof repair
job of the Lukhang with an
active NGO under consultation
ofanASIAarchitect, we had the
chanceoftakingsome pictures as
a by-product. This was thestart
ingpoint for my research onthe
Lukhangand itsDzogchenpaint
ings.A year laterIreturned, this
timeIwasnoteven allowed to
write down the words of the
inscriptions,not tomentionthe
makingofphotos. So Ispelled
the captions into my walkman
recorder and wrote them down at
night in the hotel. The next dayIcompared mynotes with the
wordson thewall. Since I am
workingonthesemurals myself,
I might be more critical than
many other readers about this
beautiful book.
ChgyalNamkhai Norbuwas the
first to publish pictures of the
murals in 1986.Nowacopiously
illustratedbook ispublished.The
work gave birth to a bookof
inspirationand beautyratherthan
ofacademic research. The won
derful pictures were takenby
Thomas Laird andthetextwas
written by IanBaker.The quality
ofthe pictures are incredible andof outstanding quality, whoever
tried to take pictures in the
Lukhangknows how difficultit
is.The book contains 136 color
images inlarge format and 80
pagesoftext and beautiful draw
ings. Itstartswithan introduction
by theDalai Lama. IanBaker
presents the history of the
Lukhang,the connection of itto
the Dalai Lamas and the
interesting sectionon therela
tionship of theDalaiLamas and
the Dzogchen teachings. Ian
madeuse of his good fortuneto
be abletoconsult His Holiness
the Dalai Lama about these
topics. In connection with the
depictions, background
information to thepaintingsare
presented - for example the
Buddhistvisionofart, the path of
Tantra, the world of the
Mahasiddhas andtheDzogchen
teachings. In the introduction the
author investigates the history of
thebuildingand it's context,but
without getting real historical
evidence on theoriginationofthe
Lukhangan its murals (a difficult
research topic not solvedyet
whichI am actuallyworkingon).
The authorfollowed inpreparing
the book the advice of the Dalai
Lama.The murals disclose very
openlytheinnermost Dzogchen
instructions by illustrating all the
practices like Rushen,Tregchd
andThgal.Baker's commentary
describe the principles of the
illustrated practices without
giving practical instruction in away that an "uninitiated"
practitionercoulduseit as"how
todo it book". Forsomebody
familiar with these teachings
thereisalot to discover between
the lines andespecially in the
pictures. WhenIaskedNamkhai
Norbu Rinpocheforadvicefor
my plans on carrying out an
academic study and/orwritinga
book about the Dzogchen paint
ings of the Lukhang he said,"It
wouldbeO.K.tomakeacoffee
table book with more general
explanations. Even atranslation
of the inscription would be
acceptable, but a precise
explanationofthecontentsofthe
pictures relating theDzogchen
practice should notbeundertak
en." This Rinpoche stressed
especially because theWestern
wall shows the complete
Dzogchen path with itsThgal
practices and the resulting
visions.
Iwould liketo seeabook show
ing pictures of the complete
paintings, even if itwouldbe in
small scale only. Probablythe
authors decided toreproduce
onlypicturesofexcellent quality.
continuedon page8
ChgyalNamkhai Norbu
PUBLICLECTURE
7-9 pm- MARYLHURST UNIVERSITY,
St. Anne'sChapelPortland, Oregon
Pre-registration:$10
OnsiteRegistration:$15
Please send and make checks payable to:
MarylhurstUniversity
ReligiousStudies andPhilosophy
Department
P.O. Box261Marylhurst,
OR97036-0261
DZOCCHENTEACHINGS
WITHCHGYALNAMKHAI NORBU
May18th, 19th&20th-Portland, Oregon
WORLD FORESTRYCENTER.MILLERHALI
4033SWCanyonRoad-Portland,Ore
gonThis beautifulfacilityisnear downtown, onaMAXlight
railstop,andthereisplentyofeasyparking.
Registration fees:
$148 byMarch15th
$165byApril15th
$180afterApril15th
DZOCCHENTEACHINGS
FridayMay18th, 7:00-9:00pm,
Saturday May 19th,
8:30-10:00amYantraYoga
10:30-12:30amDzogchenTeachings
2:00- 3:30pmYantraYoga
4:00- 6:00pm
DZOGCHEN TEACHINGS
Sunday-May20th,
8:30 -10:00 amYantraYoga
10:30-1:00pm
DzogchenTeachings and Ganapuja
Retreat phone number: 503-240-8707
Email:[email protected]
R E G I S T R A T I O N F O R M
Name(s):...
Street Address:
City:. State:.
Z ip : .
Haveyou everattendedateaching by Rinpoche? Yes No_
.childreno f the followingChi ld care is request ed for_
ages:
Makecheck payable to: "NamkhaiNorbu Portland Retreat"
M ai lwithcopyof registration to:
DIANEHYDE,2725 NE17TH.97212
PORTLAND,O R. 97212, USA
Please use thislinkto printamap to theWorld Forestry Center:
http://maps.yahc-o.com/py/maps.py?BFCat^
33+SW+Canyon+Road&city=Portland&state--OR&slt--45.510400
&sln=l22.717800&zip=972212760&country=us&mag=9&cs=9&
BFClient=&poi=&poititle=&map.x=46&map.y=6
Accommodation List:
LodgingneartheWorldForestry Center
MALLORYHOTEL729SW15thAve.,Portland,OR97205
Tel:(503)223-6311 or (800) 228-8657Large,traditional downtownhotelwith
lightrailpassinginfront,about3stops
fromtheWashingtonParkForestry Cen-
ter.
Restaurantonpremises
Rates: $85 -$140.
THEMARKSPENCERHOTEL409SW11thAve.,Portland,
OR97205-2633
Tel:(503) 224-3293or(800)548-3934.
Complementary breakfast.
Rates $89-$109 .
THEIMPERIALHOTEL400SWBroadway,Portland,
OR97205-3579
Tel:(503)228-7221 or (800)452-2323.
Restaurantonpremises, close tolightrail.
Rates $75-$90.
AMERICANHOSPITALITYINNS2221SWSixthAve.,Portland,OR97201
Tel:(503)226-2979.
Rates $50-$70.
CARAVANMOTORHOTEL2401SW4thAve.,Portland,OR97201
Tel:(503)226-1121 or (800)992-2401.
Restaurant, airport shuttle,pool.
Rates $60-$70.
DaysInnCityCenter
1414 SW 6thAve.,Portland, OR 97201-
3497
Tel:(503)221-1611or (800)899-0248.Restaurantonpremises.
Rates $99-$125.
NWPORTLANDINTERNATIONALHOSTEL
1818NWGlisan
Tel:(503)241-2783.
Rates:$20-$48/ membervs.non-member
AY HHostelingInternational/Portland
INTERNATIONALHOSTEL3031SEHawthorneBlvd.,Portland,ORTel:(505)236-3380.
Located onPortland's East side.
Rates $20-$46/membervs.non-member
Thereisarestaurantattheentryplaza for
theOregon Zoo,which liesacrossthepark
ing lotfromtheWorldForestryCenter.
Thereisnozooentrycostsfortherestau-
rant.Menupricesarereasonable.Cafeteria
style,children'smenu,appetizers,andbev
erages. Itistheonlyeatingestablishment
withinwalkingdistance.
Directionsto thezoo:
FromWashington: Take 1-5 south to 1-405
south. Take 1-405 southtoHwy 26 west.
TakeHwy26west to thezoo exit#72.
Fromthe South (Salem. Eugene,Corval-
lis):Take 1-5 north to 1-405 north. Take I-
405 north toHwy26 west. Take Hwy 26
westtothezoo exit#72.
FromtheEast (TheDalles, Hood River,
Pendelton): Take 1-84 westto 1-5south.
Take 1-5 south to 1-405 north. Take 1-405
north toHwy26 west. TakeHwy26 west
tothe zoo exit #72.
FromtheSouthcoast:TakeHwy101north
toHwy6east.TakeHwy6easttoHwy26
east.TakeHwy26easttothezoo exit#72.
From the North coast: Take Hwy101
south toHwy26east.TakeHwy26eastto
the zoo exit #72.
THE MIRROR MARCH 2001 /APRIL 2001 7
BOOKREVIEWBYJAKOBWINKLER
mailto:[email protected]://maps.yahc-o.com/py/maps.py?BFCat%5ehttp://maps.yahc-o.com/py/maps.py?BFCat%5emailto:[email protected] -
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BOOK REVIEWS Th e D a la i Lama' s Secret Tem ple continuedfrompage7
CAVEINTHE SNOWBLOOMSBURY PRESS, 1998
by Vkki Mackenzie
Ifirst metTenzinPalmoin 1980 on a dusty roadside atTashi
Jong, India where shemadeadeepimpression on me. She
was already a legend in the Himalayas and acknowledged
as a woman who had gone more deeply into her spiritualprac
tice than any other Westerner. It was notuntil 1989, however,thatIwas able to spend manylongand memorable hourswith
her when she stayedwithme as myguestinLondon.
Anoutstanding Englishwoman in the tradition of hardy and
intrepid early explorers, shehad lived inretreat for over
twelve years