RYI Summer Program

Since June 2009, we’ve been working hard. Busy days. Catherine is teaching two Tibetan language classes and running our Translator Training program, while I have been helping students find homes, Tibetan homestays, health and healing. From mid-June to mid-July I taught a meditation course at eight in the morning to the Buddhist Study Program students. It was fun, and centered around shamata, or sitting exercises in concentration and becoming calm (which are the foundation of meditation), as well as guided meditations on immeasurable loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. The twelve or so students who were in the class seemed to enjoy it, and even though I have no experience in teaching, I had fun. It was a good way for them to start a day of more complicated Buddhist philosophy and logic.

I’ve also been organizing various field trips, from hikes and bus rides to distant monasteries and tours of cultural centers of Kathmandu, like Patan, to movie nights and Fourth of July parties. And, as usual, I’ve been doing my fair share of counseling students through the ups and downs of their brief time in Kathmandu.

These days Catherine and I end most of our days feeling exhausted. Of course some of that is due to the muggy, oppressive heat. You sweat and it just sticks to you all day. Nothing like New Mexico. I miss dry heat. Dry heat and good beer.

Vacation in Thailand- May 2009

Wow, I’ve been so busy of late. Here’s an over view of our last few months. Last May Catherine and I flew to Thailand for three weeks. It was heavenly. Cather was asked last minute to translate for Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche in Malaysia just before our vacation, so she met me in Bangkok. My first night there (the day before Catherine arrived) I met up with some old friends from Nepal, James Hopkins (Virginia), Andy Kilchmann (Swizterland), and Jonas Doctor (Denmark). We went out for dinner together at street diner/café with a live local rock band pounding away inside, and afterwards we all went out for luxurious hour-long Thai foot massages. I stayed the night in a dinky little dive of a hotel near Kao San Road. The next day I met James and some friends of his for lunch at the Jim Thompson house/museum and then sped off to meet Catherine in town and take her to an expensive hotel in China Town which I managed to get at a 50-60% discount online at Last Minute Deals. After a night of luxury, we caught an overnight train to Surat Thani in the south, eating Dunkin’ Donuts and sandwiches. In Surat Thani we took a bus to the pier and boarded our ferry to Koh Phangan, me drinking good Thai beer all the way. We opted to stay on one of the more remote beaches on the island, and since it was off season, we had a mile of pristine white sandy beach mostly to ourselves.

I spent mornings kayaking in the bay and would meet Catherine for breakfast around 9am. We even found this great little beachfront restaurant called the Dolphin where I could order lox on French bread and Catherine could have fruit, yoghurt and muesli for breakfast. We often strolled around after breakfast, later hid from the midday sun, and in the afternoons would drink beer and read on the beach or in a hammock on the porch of our simple thatch-roofed bungalow. And thus we spend two weeks, sometimes tossing a Frisbee, sometimes sitting at the bar, sometimes swimming in the bay. One day we even rented a little Thai power boat and went snorkeling, explored hidden waterfalls and saw over ¼ of the island’s coast. My favorite part was definitely kayaking up and down the coast in the early mornings and exploring a little three –pineapple-tree island.

For the last week of our vacation, we ferried down to Koh Samui, where our friends, Greg and Anne Whiteside, gave us a one week stay at their extremely posh tropical summer home on the southern coast of the island. There we relaxed in air conditioned comfort, took in the awesome view, and occasionally rode in to town on a rented motorbike to pick up groceries and amazing Thai food at a local market in Lamai.

Finally at the end of our trip, Catherine and I Flew back to Bangkok. Catherine had to fly back to Malaysia immediately to translate for Chokling Rinpoche. I, however, had a few days left in BKK and spent them making friends with locals. Lat, a taxi driver, said he felt some kind of a connection with me and invited me to meet his family in the Bangkok suburbs and to stay with them. It sounded fun, so I accepted. They called all their friends over for two nights in a row and we had a seafood and pork BBQ. Boom, Lat’s wife, was an amazing cook and made countless spicy home-style Thai dishes for me to burn my mouth up on while Lat manned the open fire BBQ (as it should be). During the day Lat drove me all around Bangkok on his motorbike, showing me the Royal Palace which I have visited once before with my Dad (George), plus special shrine rooms that were only for the King and his ministers (Lat had a friend who worked for Royal Crown Property Management and who possessed a large ring of magical keys). I had such a fun time with them. My new friends even drove two cars to the airport to see me off. What a sweet bunch of people.

And then I re-entered the Kathmandu Grind.

Kathmandu BBQ!

I would just like to announce that I recently bought a little BBQ grill and i am having a blast with it.  Last month Catherine and I invited Mort and Fuki and Arthur over for some grilled veggies.  We made colorful and delicious shish-kabobs, after which Mort commandeered the grill for a batch of chicken wings soaked in various mouth-watering marinades.  We must allow adults their toys as well.

Honeymoon in Vietnam

I suppose this is a little late in coming, but here are some pictures from our Honeymoon in Vietnam last December and January. We had a good time. First we flew into Hanoi in the north via Bangkok and found it to be colder that we expected and had to buy Catherine a coat. We roamed around Hanoi for a couple days and were slightly put off by the blocky communist architecture and war monuments depicting soldiers firing AK47's. 

Next we travelled east to Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island. We hired a large cruising junk with several other tourists and boated around these amazing limestone islands that rose straight out of the water, exposing shear cliff faces. There were thousands of these islands and we just sailed between them all.  It was a two night/three day tour. The first night we stayed on the junk and on the second we celebrated Christmas in a luxury Hotel. During the second day of our Ha Long trip, our guides took us on a delightful bicycle tour of one of the islands, and later that day we went sea kayaking through a hole in a cliff and found ourselves in a quiet, enclosed salt water lake. It was really beautiful.  Possibly the most worthwhile trip you could take in the north.

Afterwards, Catherine and I took both trains and buses south down the coast, stopping in various scenic towns and resorts along the way. Hoi An in particular had escaped the bombing of the American War and was very picturesque, with beautiful temples, a wide river through town, excellent restaurants, and many colorful tailor shops. I ended up having a pair of pants and a jade-green silken robe made, and Catherine had them make her a pair of pants, an exquisite black and red traditional Vietnamese dress, a bright red jacket and a pair of cute brown leather shoes. Tailoring in Hoi An turned out to be addictive. 

Of the other places we stayed, the north end of Mui Ne Beach was most note worthy. Quiet with a busier beach community to the south and beautiful clean beaches. We spent a lot of time drinking beer and lying in hammocks on the beach. And at the end of our trip, we flew out from Saigon (Ho Chi Min City), stayed a couple days in Bangkok which is always nice, and finally flew back home to Kathmandu.

I want to help the environment, but it's not always clear how to do so from KTM.

I suppose I'm fairly worried about the environment, but there just doesn't seem like there is a lot i can do from Kathmandu. I use energy-saving lights and we recently bought this little scooter that gets great gas mileage (if only gas were consistently available in KTM).

We have solar hot water, which is very common in KTM simply because it's cheaper that gas or electric heating, but we also have on-demand gas heating for the shower. Interesting to note is that these days the average Nepali in Kathmandu often has both solar heated water and electric solar panels on his roof or on the ledge outside the house. So Kathmandu is definitely going green, but not by choice. The government shuts off power to all parts of Kathmandu in a 16 hour a day load shedding schedule, leaving residents with only 8 hours of electricity a day. We broke down and bought a back up battery and power inverter. Not as environmentally friendly, but more dependable.

I also try not to litter, but it seems like a totally futile pursuit in such a garbage filled part of the world. I once asked a Khenpo (monk Professor), "Paltrul Rinpoche said sexual misconduct results in being reborn or having to live in very dirty places filled with excrement, while Dakpo Rinpoche said it results in being reborn in a very dusty place. Since Kathmandu is VERY dusty and you can see cow, dog, and human shit EVERYWHERE, does that mean we have all committed sexual misconduct in past lives?" The khenpo replied that Kathmandu was only dirty because of "economics" and was therefore exempt from the above statements. He went on to explain what a Holy city Kathmandu was, but i'm not sure i see this distinction of "economics." Dust is dust, and shit is shit.

I suppose using the outdoors as a toilet could be seen as a boon to the environment, tho, as it is a type of fertilizer. Just be careful not to step in it.

Kathmandu Wedding

Yes, the rumors are true, Catherine and i have gotten married. Back on December 12, two days before my birthday. I guess i have no excuse for forgetting our anniversary, now. Our parents all flew in for the occasion, Charlotte and Gary Carlson, George and Mary Kay Prindiville, and Phil and Sara Dalton. In addition, my sister Kelly, her husband (my brother) Tom (Reddig-Carlson) and my nephew and niece, Nate and Zoe all flew out as well.

The Carlsons and Daltons both flew out early to get a chance to see what Catherine and I looked like when we were up to our gills in work, running around frantically in our surprisingly busy schedules. We put both families in neighboring rooms at the Valley Guesthouse in Boudha. The Prindivilles arrived a few days later and opted to stay at the Hyatt Recency on the outskirts of Boudha. Reddig-Carlson Clan arrived the day before the wedding (the parental units wanted Nate and Zoe to miss as little school as possible... go figure) with just enough time for the ladies to have their never-before-seen saris fitted for the wedding the next day, and to then run to the rehearsal dinner.

It’s always nice to have a fancy rehearsal dinner. Even if there was no rehearsal. We all taxied out to the Garden of Dreams in Thamel and feasted at their Kaiser Cafe, along with friends Mort and Fuki, Arthur, James Hopkins (whose sister’s son plays soccer with Nate in NC as it turns out), Joanne, and Prachanda. We had a wonderful Indo-Continental buffet prepared and many of us thoroughly stuffed ourselves with food and wine before wandering out into the Garden for moonlit strolls. Nate wandered out into the darkness to practice his photography skills. He took some nice contrasty photos of the garden. However, we didn’t wander long, because many of us were exhausted from travel (Reddig-Carlsons) and wedding planning (Catherine and i).

On the morning of the wedding, Catherine ran off to have her hair done with an army of female support. I met her later at the Monastery where we entered the main temple hall during a White Amitayus long-life ceremony. The day before, Catherine and i sponsored the ceremony on behalf of the long life of our marriage. We sat on cushions on the left side of the hall with our parents seated behind us in chairs and guests seated on cushions towards the doors. Catherine and i walked up to Rinpoche in the center aisle and he blessed our rings, blessed us with long life, gave me a statue of Guru Rinpoche and Catherine a silver butter lamp. He then gave us a brief talk saying that we were entering into a spiritual marriage, not a vehicle for further samsara and suffering, but a vehicle for learning and spiritual development. He identified me as skillful means and Catherine as wisdom. Then after a brief photo session, everyone else came up to offer prayer scarves first to Rinpoche and then to Catherine and i. In the end we found ourselves buried beneath mountains of white and yellow scarves. Digging our way out of them was like emerging from the womb all over again. Then came the photo session in earnest. And of course tea on the monastery’s front yard.

In the evening Catherine and I drove out Dwarika’s Hotel in a heavily decorated taxi for the wedding party. We served dinner for 140 people with endless drinks and laughter around Dwarika’s sky-blue pool with stone tiger water spouts. Ryan Conlon and Prachanda’s band Inner Groove played jazz and funk in the early evening and were later replaced with Leo Brauer’s 80’s ipod hip-hop, while people danced, drank and ate themselves into oblivion. Phakchok Rinpoche and his mother, Dechen la, and sister, Mingyur, even made an appearance and schmoozzed with the guests. Catherine and I slipped away to our private room around 11:30 and it did indeed seem like we were the only people at the party who were not intoxicated. Guests called the event the Party of the Century, and the best party they’d ever been to in Kathmandu. We were pleased that it went so well.

A couple days later Catherine and i took the family to a traditional pottery village in Timi, east of Kathmandu where we saw how old school Nepalese pottery could be. Afterwards we drove up to Nagarkot for two days and one night to give our families a chance to get out of Kathmandu Valley pollution and see the Himalayas for a change. It was a nice, rustic little place and we spent our time hiking, eating, talking, reading, and drinking hot rum punch around the wood-burning stove in the main lodge. The views were Spectacular.

Then over the next few days every left for home or further travels. It was wonderful to have every one there and to spend so much time with family that we don’t really get a chance to see that often. And now that they had left, we finally had a chance to breathe. Hallelujah!

Enthronement of Tulku Urgyen Yangsi November 19-21

Arrival of Tulku Urgyen Yangsi Rinpoche

Many months before the actual enthronement, Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery buzzed with countless activities in careful preparation for this occasion. For many this special day would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The monastery’s chief administrators intended to make the occasion a memorable one both for Tulku Urgyen Yangsi Rinpoche and for the thousands of devotees expected to attend. 
Several days before the Big Day, the monastery had erected four special Welcome Gates along the main route into Boudha from the local airport. These gates, constructed of 15-foot metal poles and silk banners, formed stately archways over the roads. In Tibetan, Nepali and English, the bright banners proclaimed: “Welcome to His Eminence Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche’s Return Celebration.”

At 3:15pm on Friday November 14th, Tulku Urgyen Yangsi Rinpoche arrived at Kathmandu’s Tribuvan Airport escorted from New Delhi, India by his parents, Neten Chokling Rinpoche and Sangyum Tenzing Chöyang Gyari, and by Mingyur Rinpoche and Tsoknyi Rinpoche. About 75 people were on-hand to greet him and offer katas. Yangsi Rinpoche, dressed in a long-sleeved knee-length silk brocade jacket and fitted wool cap, graciously accepted a kata (silk scarf) from each and every person present, including the half-dozen airport security police. With his right hand, he lightly touched each person on the head while, with his left hand, he tightly held Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche’s hand. Moments later, the high Lamas and their entourage sped off to the 5-star Hyatt Hotel in Boudha Nath where Yangsi Rinpoche and his parents were settled into a spacious comfortable suite on the hotel’s 5th floor. 
At about 4:30pm, Yangsi Rinpoche and his family were escorted to the Hyatt’s private lounge on the 6th floor where afternoon tea and delicious Tibetan snacks, specially prepared by our monastery’s monks, were offered to the high Lamas and about 60 devotees gathered there. As planned, Yangsi Rinpoche and his parents remained at the Hyatt until November 19th when they formally shifted to Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery. Occasionally, they received small groups of close friends and visitors, including such esteemed callers as Sogyal Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche.
Day One of the Enthronement Celebrations

At the very break of dawn on Lha Bab Düchen, one of the holiest days in the Buddhist calendar, flocks of participants started to gather in the outer courtyard of the monastery. From the main shrine hall, came the rhythmic chants of the monastic assembly already well into their recitation of morning prayers. Emerging from the early morning mist, like a miraculous display, the monastery resembled a majestic celestial palace wonderfully festooned with resplendent brocades, long satin streamers and colorful Buddhist prayer-flags. 

As though bowing their heads in homage, clusters of flowers bloomed all along the monastery’s pathways. Several huge tents canopied the courtyards directly in front of the shrine-room and behind the monastery. Four large movie screens had been erected at strategic spots around the monastery to add to the audio-visual experience of all those seated outside the main temple.

In anticipation of finally meeting the reincarnation of their beloved teacher, hundreds of disciples had journeyed to Kathmandu from all corners of the Earth. Having reached the monastery, they mingled with the congregation of monks and lay-practitioners from Nepal, Tibet, India, Sikkim, China and other parts of Asia. The whole harmonious gathering seemed in an increasing state of blissful enthusiasm. 

A few happy tears were shed as Dharma friends, who hadn’t seen each other in a decade, were reunited. One after another, high Lamas arrived and were escorted into the main shrine hall by Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche or Phakchok Rinpoche. Along with the monks, about two dozen Western disciples served as hosts, hostesses and volunteers, helping visitors find their seats, either inside the temple or in the covered courtyard, serving tea and attending to any and all special needs.



At about 10:00am, the vivid blue November sky was utterly cloudless as everyone assembled outside to welcome the arrival of Trulshik Rinpoche, Tulku Urgyen Yangsi Rinpoche and his extended family members. Some monks wore colorful costumes and auspicious masks. Local Tibetan laymen, in their finest traditional garb, lined up beside elegant Tibetan women in their silk chubas and floral hair-ornaments. 
The arrival of the two Precious Ones —Trulshik Rinpoche and Tulku Urgyen Yangsi Rinpoche — was unforgettable. Preceded by the cavernous resounding of Tibetan oboes and the piercing clash of Tibetan cymbals, followed by incense-bearing monks, the Rinpoches entered the shrine hall beneath a large multi-colored silk brocade parasol.

Inside the temple, 20 minutes of prayers and purification practices continued followed by the actual enthronement ritual.

Once Yangsi Rinpoche had been placed upon the high throne and had received empowerment from Trulshik Rinpoche, seemingly countless auspicious offerings of mandala and representations of enlightened Body, Speech and Mind were laid before him. Prayers for Yangsi Rinpoche’s long and healthy life and for the flourishing of his activity were recited by more than 400 guests seated within the temple. 

Five professional camera crews, from places as far away as Bangkok, Amsterdam and New York, filmed the entire 4-day event. In mid-morning, poised in the temple’s center aisle, Khenpo Sherab Dorje read aloud the abbreviated life-story of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. Later on, Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling and its affiliated monasteries, nunneries, retreat centers, Gomdes and various organizations presented offerings and well-wishes. Both before and after lunch, other monasteries, nunneries, Gomde centers and local Tibetan and Nepalese organizations and clubs had the opportunity to make offerings. 

While the high Lamas dined with Yangsi Rinpoche on the monastery’s upper floors at noon, everyone else was invited to enjoy a delicious luncheon buffet at appointed sites throughout the monastery’s grounds. From 2:00pm onwards, thousands of people, from every background, stood patiently in immensely long cues that wound throughout the monastery compound in order to present a silk kata to Yangsi Rinpoche, thus forming a strong karmic bond with him. For more than 4 hours, Yangsi Rinpoche sat erect on his throne good-naturedly receiving a kata from each person, and touching them on the head with his hand or a wrapped Dharma text.

That evening, Ka-Nying’s extended family of high Lamas invited all those who had traveled from afar to enjoy an elaborate banquet held at the 5-star Hotel Yak and Yeti. About 900 people attended. Everyone enjoyed the delicious feast, each other’s company and the presence of most of the high Lamas who had come to the enthronement. Before the evening was over, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche offered a poignant speech thanking those who had come from a great distance, and encouraging everyone to continue to keep a positive outlook and to strive for the benefit of others.
 

Day 2 of the Enthronement Celebrations

Once more, the second day started early with prayers in the monastery’s main temple and culminated with the arrival of Trulshik Rinpoche, Yangsi Rinpoche and other high Lamas. Acharya degrees were presented to a number of monks, with excellent scholastic achievements, in the monastery’s monastic college (Tib. shedra). For Yangsi Rinpoche’s enjoyment, three shedra monks recited pages and pages of carefully memorized Dharma discourses, along with their personal understanding of the texts. Later, in the middle of the shrine hall seven shedra monks took part in a lively traditional debate. Additionally, special honor was paid to a number of Rangjung Yeshe Institute’s Western shedra translators who were felicitated with white katas. Lastly, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche gave a brief touching speech and repeatedly petitioned Trulshik Rinpoche to please enjoy an exceedingly long and healthy life for the benefit of beings.
Again, everyone was offered an elaborate feast. Throughout the afternoon, people stood in long lines to present scarves and gifts to Yangsi Rinpoche. Everyone was astounded at the little boy’s extraordinary kindness, stamina and patience as, without waning, he blessed thousands of people from early morning until early evening. One of the head monks estimated that, in those two days, about 15,000 visitors paid homage to Yangsi Rinpoche.

Bodhgaya, India

Sorry everyone, It's been a long time since i've updated this blog. Winter was really busy. I suppose it all started with the trip to Bodhgaya back in October. Well, at the last moment Rinpoche was not able to go. He had overworked himself and fell ill. In his stead Rinpoche sent Khenpo Jampa Donden. Catherine went as his translator and I went to escort one of our Boston College students.

The morning of our flight Rinpoche called our home and told me to take extra good care of Khenpo and to tell Khenpo that Rinpoche said I supposed to take extra good care of him. Rinpoche also asked me to make many prayers, including a prayer for President-elect Obama. So it turned out that I was also going to Bodhgaya as Khenpo's attendant and as a lama. It was actually really nice having the chance to spend some time with Khenpo because he's such a lovely person. So kind and so humble. We flew, along with several other students of Rinpoche’s, to Varanasi, were picked up by Kristen, a nice woman who was working for the Antioch Program, stayed in a nice hotel in town and the next day, because of protesting railway workers, we rented jeeps to Bodhgaya.

In Bodhgaya we stayed at the Burmese Vihar, as usual, and Khenpo taught the 30 or so American Antioch College students who were there for a semester abroad, learning about Buddhism. Khenpo taught for five days, covering the four thoughts that turn the mind from samsara (the rarity of this precious human body, impermanence, the sufferings of this world and the unfailing law of karma (cause and effect)) briefly and then diving into Madhyamika Philosophy. At one point he taught about the Lack or Emptiness of Self, and the students railed against him (in a playful way, if that is possible) expressing and propounding their views of the self. One student even claimed his self was multiple and undying. It was a blast. Khenpo never told anyone they were wrong, but instead just played devil’s advocate, showing the students the consequences of their claims. I think they really enjoyed the teachings, in part because Khenpo taught in a very unconventional way (by Tibetan standards) and let students just ask questions as they arose instead of making them wait for a time set aside specifically for Q&A. That way their doubts were dispelled immediately.

Bodhgaya has changed quite a bit. More buildings, more internet (there were none when i first started coming) and more money changers. But the Mahabodhi Temple is still the same. We all went there together to say prayers, light thousands of butter lamps, and Khenpo even gave refuge and bodhisattva vows (Rinpoche had forced him to. Without the Boss’s mandate, he never would have. Khenpo is way too humble). One highlight of the trip to the Mahabodhi Temple was seeing that the beautiful gold gilded statue that Rinpoche had offered the year before was now in a glass display case in front of the Bodhi Tree on what seemed like permanent display.

We even managed a day trip to Vulture Peak, where the Buddha taught the Heart Sutra, and to the ruins of the great Buddhist university of Nalanda, though neither Khenpo nor Catherine could come because of Antioch student interviews.

After the teachings concluded, we jeeped back to Varanasi and spent a day by the Ganges with all the sadhus. The whole scene down there has sadly gotten really touristy with Brahmin pujas (read "shows") under Broadway lights. I remember when it was just beggars, barbars, and boatmen. I guess times change.

The next day, we flew back to KTM.