Sabchu Rinpoché

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Reading Boundless Wisdom

August 22, 2018 by admin

Dear Friends,

I am writing to you with encouragement, or perhaps, with an unsolicited promotion. After many years of committed study and practice on the part of students, and based on the gathering of decades of teachings directly from Shamar Rinpoche, the book Boundless Wisdom: A Mahāmudrā Practice Manual is available for you.

This is a time to celebrate and commit to reading. I encourage you to find this book, read it, and put it into practice. If you are reading this note from me, you are likely online, whether on a phone or a computer. So if your location and finances allow, and unless you are placing orders directly with the publishers for some other reason, I highly encourage you to seek out this book on Amazon, where the visibility of your purchase can help make this book a bestseller.

Once you have read this book and have some specific words to add to the conversation, I encourage you to add your reviews online to help other readers find Boundless Wisdom. There are many places where you can do this, like Amazon and Goodreads, and many small gestures add up to a broader appreciation for our teacher’s contributions. Is this important because we should be trying to make a financial gain from selling a teacher’s books? No. Readers form communities online, and you would be joining those communities, and sharing your knowledge with them, which can have great benefit, because it allows others to find Rinpoche’s teachings.

Why is it important to support books like this? And shouldn’t we cringe to think of trying to make a Dharma book a bestseller?

We should be clear that a spirit of generosity has driven every facet of these projects, including the sponsorship of donors, large and small, without whom we would have no Dharma presses whatsoever. That said, even if a business follows Dharma principles, and even if it is structured as a non-profit, the business aspects of Dharma organizations are often frowned upon. We should never compromise our spirit of generosity, and the free movement of the teachings. But we should be realistic about the way a business functions in the world, and about what it takes to build stable organizations that appropriately honor our teacher’s legacy.

When you enthusiastically support this book in the marketplace — the place where so many things are judged in a capitalist society — you create the conditions for this title to suddenly become available through the magic of technology for other committed students — students of the Dharma who have never heard of Shamar Rinpoche — when they take the step to type in “Mahamudra” or “meditation” in a search bar. This does not mean forcing a person of lesser means to make a purchase they cannot afford, but rather requires that we move as an organism. If you have the means, could you send a copy of a book to someone who does not? If you receive a copy from a friend, could you place a review online to celebrate the contents of the book, and the generosity of the gift? These are all ways that we can contribute to the basic conditions that allow our teacher’s writings to flourish.

Imagine what could happen if even one more person has the opportunity to access these transformative teachings. Try to remember what your life was like before Rinpoche found you. Did you see a poster for a meditation class? Perhaps a friend recommended visiting a temple. If you really look back to what life was like before you met Shamar Rinpoche’s teachings, then the importance of your dignified, informed participation in this marketplace may become more tangible.

Therefore, here are some benefits to purchasing and sharing this book, and committing to the visibility of Rinpoche’s teachings in a broader sphere, a sphere that goes beyond the students who have had the good conditions to meet with him as their personal teacher:

  1. For your own benefit, to have a strong connection with the Mahāmudrā teachings, which can truly liberate you.
  2. To continue preserving the teachings of Shamar Rinpoche, who gave every moment of his life to his students. It may be that we can never forget Rinpoche, and a bodhisattva does not need our help in the conventional way. But it is a fact of Tibetan history, and now a fact for us in our more global context, that the reputation of a teacher survives through the ages because that teacher’s students make books and institutions that preserve the memory of their precious teacher. Certainly, Rinpoche did not emphasize Tibetan culture as the anchor for our practice, and he encouraged meditation and clear ethics as the best ways to embody our gratitude for his teachings. And indeed, we are always closest to him when we are following this path. But what will we do with our outlook and energies, and how can the same path be visible so others can take it up if they choose? Having witnessed the passing away of a great master, what are you going to do now, if not also generate internal support for such organizational projects? Not because we need to see the reflection of our own pride in the world at large, but because the person who gave us the tools to be free of suffering can help others as well. Is this the same as proselytizing or going door to door? No. Showing your support in this way is like putting up a sign on the door to let others access, if they so choose, these precious teachings in the world, in this form.
  3. To support, in friendship, publishers like Bird of Paradise Press and Rabsel Éditions (for the French translation of this book), which are among the few publishing houses embodying Shamar Rinpoche’s dream of having Dharma teachings available, as books, worldwide.
  4. To encourage your fellow students who have dedicated years of their lives to these projects, setting aside other ambitions and diversions.
  5. To sustain the teachings of Shamar Rinpoche in terms of visibility and financial feasibility. Bird of Paradise and Rabsel Éditions have been working to make Shamar Rinpoche’s books available, but in order to sustain their activity, we must help make their work visible and sustainable. That is to say, instead of striving for a free copy — which we quite naturally would do — we have the opportunity to make an investment that supports one of Rinpoche’s dreams. What is this dream? The dream of making Mahāmudrā teachings available far and wide. One way we can support this dream, practically speaking, is with our financial support in the form of purchases and donations.

A lot of this boils down to how we understand generosity — generosity with resources and with the teachings. What are we willing to do? Dharma books contain Dharma teachings, and the Dharma teachings are priceless. But if they truly are priceless, what should we be willing to pay? Nāropa did not need gold, and yet, Marpa felt compelled to offer so much wealth for the Dharma he was about to receive.

It is time now to offer some specific gratitude and honor to those among Rinpoche’s students who contributed to this momentous occasion. Tina Draszczyk translated, compiled, and edited these teachings, and Lara Braitstein contributed her editing skills. For more inspiration about Rinpoche’s legacy, in the form of short narratives and tributes, please also read Voices: Tributes in memory of Shamar Rinpoche, the late 14th Shamarpa. In memory of her precious teacher, Sharon Gamsby collected these essays from Rinpoche’s grieving students, a true feat of organization and devotion. Although teachings flow naturally from an enlightened master, putting them between two covers in the appropriate manner is like transporting a crystal flower through a storm. Many more have contributed, in visible and invisible ways. Let us emulate their patience and diligence.

Shamar Rinpoche wanted his students to have access to Mahāmudrā teachings, and to his precise way of delivering them. Did he want you to meditate and attend teachings? Yes. But we know that he also wanted you to read, study, and take in the teachings that he personally gave, even after his passing away. How do we know this? Because he directed certain students to set these out in book form. So lastly, most importantly, please read this book, and put it into practice.

With encouragement for your practice and studies,
Sabchu

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Life’s Truth

June 5, 2018 by admin

What we aspire to, we do not get.
What we get, we seldom expect.

Life bows down before those who choose to be happy under all circumstances.

What we expect never comes, but we fail to cherish what actually arrives.
Instead of appreciating what we have now, we brood over what we’ve lost.

Why is this life such a mysterious riddle?
—a riddle we puzzle over constantly—

When you need to adjust, do it!
Bending down for life is a sign of life. Stiffness is a sign of life gone out.

The way to live is twofold:
Learn to achieve whatever benefit you can.
Learn to like whatever benefit you’ve already achieved.

Living is difficult.
Until you chisel a statue out of a rock, the rock on its own can’t take a form.

Life teaches abundantly.
Sometimes it makes you laugh, and sometimes it tears you apart.

But life bows down before those who choose to be happy under all circumstances.

With your smile, steal pain away.
Delightfully express your heart.
Break free and forever spread cheer.

The secret of life is to continue living.
Such is life’s truth.

Sabchu
5 June 2018

Photo by Brian Stansberry. Creative Commons License.

 

Image: Quarried block of Tennessee marble at the Mead’s Quarry section of the Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, 14 November 2010, by Brian Stansberry. Sourced through Wikimedia Commons. This work is used under a Creative Commons License. Image has been cropped to fit, with a slight color adjustment.

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Be Natural and Practice

May 28, 2018 by admin

The Four-Year Anniversary

According to the lunar calendar, today marks the four-year anniversary of the mahāparinirvāṇa of our most beloved and revered teacher, Mipham Chökyi Lodrö, the 14th Shamarpa (1952–2014). It is the full moon day of Vaiśākha, the fourth month; it is the day when the historical Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama attained enlightenment, a day commonly known in Asia as Buddha Pūrṇimā or Vesak Day.

For normal beings, such as myself, the use of melody in prayer can be very effective. I find that melody can allow us to be fully immersed in the meaning of prayer. Assuming that there are many of us with a similar inclination, I have been creating many recordings of various melodious prayers and mantras, hoping that they may be useful and beneficial to all. Several months ago, I made a musical track of the “Rab ’byams zhing gi,” the swift rebirth prayer for the Shamarpa. I am happy to share this track with you all today on SoundCloud. If you find it useful, please feel free to download it and use it however you wish.

In our daily practice, as well as on particular special occasions such as today, we recall the kindness and guidance of our teacher. His words reverberate in the minds and hearts of thousands of us, his students. We are bound together by the teachings we received from him. We heard from Rinpoche that the ultimate teacher is not an entity separate from us, but because we are not fully realized beings, we feel that the teacher is totally independent of us, and therefore, understandably, we miss the teacher. All our memories of the teacher, and all of our inner emotionally charged exchanges are woven together under the framework of duality—the teacher and ourselves. On occasions, we recall him. We relive the memories momentarily. We feel inspired. Then sometimes what ensues is a sense of direction, as if we suddenly remember the most important things in life.

Often, in the songs of Milarepa, we can read about similar themes. In his songs, we feel inspired by how Milarepa characterizes his teacher Marpa. That said, there is an apparent difference between Milarepa and us. Isn’t there? Milarepa seems to embody the teachings he received all the time. We arguably do not do that. If we examine closely, we see that he maintains himself in such a way that forgetting the teachings is not even feasible. But we can forget to maintain the teachings whenever we are not necessarily invested in any systemic change. Despite receiving the teachings on what to abandon and what to adopt, we are usually not so smart with the choices we make in our lives, are we? Our choices—whether we make these choices with or without our volition—inevitably and invariably make us prone to forget. For that reason, Rinpoche, many times, said to persevere and to cherish our support system—the Three Jewels and Bodhicitta, in accordance with Lojong practice. In order to ease in comfortably, and to maintain our connection with the support system, he left many teachings, many of which are readily available in the books he authored.

Using the great opportunity presenting itself on occasions such as today, I see that we have the choice to gather ourselves together, strengthening ourselves, in order to function virtuously, in accordance with the teachings. By remembering again and again, pledging ourselves—again and again—to embody the teachings, I believe we are being authentic practitioners. We are making the greatest of all offerings to the teacher when we make the offering of practice.

By observing this marked day, we do come to realize the benefits of practice. It becomes obvious to us that the teacher has never left. The teachings have never disappeared. When we simply tweak our alignment a bit, they are all there to be rediscovered. This realization—paired with a deep sense of gratitude—dawns, followed by remembering lived memories, and mixtures of all types of stirring human emotions. That is how most of us, ordinary students, relate to the late Shamar Rinpoche. That is the systemic framework of engagement. While it is important to be natural as we relate to this important day, we can also practice incorporating other ways of engaging—those that may not necessarily come naturally—such as the ways taught to us by Rinpoche.

In order to allow the practice to arise naturally, teachers encourage us to use various tools. The use of melody is one of these tools. I therefore invite you to listen, sing, and remember Rinpoche with me today.

Warm regards,

Sabchu
29 May 2018

 

Photograph from publicdomainpictures.net

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Birth Celebrations

May 12, 2018 by admin

Photo by ADoseofShipBoy. Some rights reserved.

May 6th, 2018 marked the 35th birthday of the Crown Jewel of Refuge, Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa. In the Tibetan rendering, where the year is counted from 1 year on the day of birth, this is the 36th birthday.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to convey a message on the significance of this event.

The birth of a person marks an important day for everyone.

According to the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484–c. 425 BC), a contemporary of Socrates, the most important event in Persian people’s lives at that time was the celebration of one’s birthday. The ancient Romans observed birthdays ostentatiously, according to Kathryn Argetsinger, an author in Classics. In China, similarly, observing a birthday goes together with customs of wishing for longevity. We could understand that, recalling and celebrating the birth, the beginning of one’s life, exists in almost all cultures—there are, however, many exceptions. But in the modern-day world, the birthday is undeniably the most important day in one’s life for many, observed all around the world.

We are grateful to have the precious human life for its potential and usefulness to cultivate altruism and reach awakening. But in Buddhism, the birth, the event in itself, is not necessarily considered to be celebratory. In fact, just as death is said to be an episode of suffering, so is birth—we have birth, old age, sickness, and death. Following the law of causality, the suffering of death is originally caused by birth. If we were never born, we would never go through old age. We would never be sick. And we would never die. But the custom is that we grieve at death and we celebrate the birth.

Us
In terms of intention, we often could choose to die however we want to. The will, funeral arrangements, and all other plans, we could try to arrange, but the birth—that, we never intended. Arguably no one of us intended to be born the way we were. This marks another important aspect of our births: Under what conditions are we born? Was our volition ever involved for our birth? Most sentient beings are born because of a force—the word used here is karma. In the same way, we die because of a force. Thus, we go on experiencing the cycle of birth, old age, sickness, and death, repeatedly, without any control over it. That is said to be because we never have any control over that which is going through the cycle—our mind, our consciousness, the experiencer. While we are alive, our desires and aspirations are mostly self-centred and ego-driven, and our actions mostly stem from such bases, led by and engaged in attachment, aversion, and mistaken views. But our wish, nonetheless, is to be in peace and have stability. In our effort to fulfill our wish, though, we can forget our innate potential to be compassionate. We can come to better understandings of which causes actually lead to happiness with the support of our teachers.

Bodhisattvas
Among the various categories of venerable teachers, It is believed that there are beings—Bodhisattvas—who are born intentionally, because they, unlike us, have power over their minds. More importantly, their intentions, throughout the course of their lives, are benevolent. This sheer benevolence then becomes the causation to be born, again and again, for the benefit of sentient beings. While alive, with their benevolent minds, with great knowledge, power, and compassion, they lead the course of their lives benefiting others. Imbued with great transcendental qualities such as patience, generosity, ethics, and so forth, they engage in enlightened activities, life in, life out. These are some attributes belonging to Bodhisattvas in general, and there are specific figures who we designate as Bodhisattvas, such as Karmapa. At the same time, we also believe that Bodhisattvas are omnipresent.

Manifestation
Therefore, the birthday celebration of a noble Bodhisattva cannot be equated to a simple observance of a person’s birth anniversary at a certain age. Karmapa is not an entity that has developed in 35 years, nor was Karmapa born aimlessly, driven by ego. For that reason, the template phrase for such an occasion, “Happy Birthday,” may effectively and rightly express the joy and happiness we have in our hearts, but from our default unchecked position, we may not always be grasping the nature of the event, to its full extent.

Meaningful Tradition
If we think about it, our usual “Happy Birthday” wish is like saying congratulations for being born and staying alive, and let us celebrate having done that. It is an accomplishment to stay alive, of course, but there is something a little silly about congratulating someone for having been born without volition. We should continue doing this, because it’s a way of showing appreciation for one another, but the celebration of the birth of a great bodhisattva has other elements. The tradition of celebrating the birth anniversary of a great being begins with recalling the innate qualities of awakened beings—which we too possess—so that, in turn, we can reconnect with the qualities that are present in us. We would benefit from being in the presence of the exemplary teacher as he continues to help us cultivate these qualities, again and again. So therefore, we take the opportunity to make wishes for the teacher’s good health and longevity. The day of a teacher’s birth is also a particularly apt time to remember and appreciate the legacy of benevolent teachers of the past, like Shamar Rinpoche. Because of their contributions, we are well-equipped with the knowledge of what is to be adopted and what is to be abandoned in our own lives. There may be some ceremonial aspects to the birthday event, but the qualities of the teacher, and our capacity to cultivate them, are the core notions behind the ceremony.

Some modern-day ceremonies are ubiquitous. Cake-cutting and singing congratulatory wishes with the 19th-century American tune “Happy Birthday to You” are prevalent in practice globally. Multicultural Buddhist communities exist within the pluralistic societies quite harmoniously, so these universal practices are enthusiastically observed, and often appropriated in the languages of the celebrators. Above all, it is a joyous occasion. Just as we can be joyful for the fact of possessing our sense faculties, in the same way, we are celebrating the joy of having the continued support of an honorable teacher.

From ancient times to today, and well into the future, the majority of us will invariably celebrate a birth and mourn a death. As we follow along with these customs, we can always keep in mind that some great beings are born and die extraordinarily, and we can aspire to that capacity for great altruism.

Sabchu
12 May 2018

 

The image above is available through a Creative Commons license. 

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Sabchu Rinpoché, Kuala Lumpur, 25 June 2016
Sabchu Rinpoché, Kuala Lumpur, 25 June 2016

About Sabchu Rinpoché

Sabchu Rinpoché is a contemporary Tibetan Buddhist teacher, born and raised in Nepal, and active in overseeing the activities of the Karma Kagyu monastery in Swayambhu. In addition to the traditional Tibetan education and training, Rinpoché also completed a Bachelor’s degree in Film Studies in Canada. Dividing his time between personal retreat, overseeing his monastery, and teaching Dharma, Rinpoché also sets aside some time to write short teachings and narratives.

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