A Journey Begins With A Single Step
Gondo deleg! I come bearing big news! The group of villagers who left to explore caves have finally returned home and they bring with them lots of discoveries from the caves. There are many papers and artifacts, but one thing in particular is of major interest. A travelogue was found which describes a sacred pilgrimage. It was sent to the nunnery I live in, because some of the senior scholar nun are in charge of analyzing the text and discussing it’s significance. Earlier today, right after the expedition group returned, I was informed that I am able to sit in on the meetings and listen to the discussions! I am so grateful for this opportunity to gain knowledge and learn more. Earlier this evening the first scholastic meeting was held on the nunnery grounds in the new library. There was a group of about fifteen nuns and monks, all scholars who came to analyze the travelogue. Today, it was just the first meetings of many to come, so once everyone got settled in, the monk leading the group read out the text to us.
The travelogue was about a sacred pilgrimage to a hidden land of of great significance; also known as a beyul. Everyone knows that a beyul is a land that is sacredly blessed so that when the time comes in the world when evil overtakes and the Buddha’s teachings are forgotten these beyuls will come into full effect and serve as refuge to Buddhist and the Buddha’s doctrine. The great master Padmasambhava blessed many large and small beyuls. According to the text there are four great hidden lands in the four directions of Tibet and that are also dedicated to the four meritorious acts. Along with the sites of the caves Guru Padmasambhava there was also a guide book, called a yig, which informs one of the skills needed to overcome the obstacles encountered on the way to the sacred land.
Growing up, my parents told me stories about Guru Padmasambhava and how when he roamed he entrusted hidden land of great sanctity to the protector deities of Tibet. These lands, which can also be called ‘intermediate lands’, are very beautiful. They have an abundance of animals and wildlife and it is said that the land itself resembles not only sacred spaces, such as a monastery, but even resembles the Buddha. Beyuls are such happy places that they can even be compared to heaven of Padmasambhava, or the spiritual center of Bodh Gaya. Another aspect is that it is a source of tantric teaching; a place where people will flourish and an earnest practice will bring forth a rainbow body. But, knowing all the good aspects of beyuls that the deities bring, they are still protectors. Whenever the sacred land is polluted or disrespected the local deities and native guardian spirits will become agitated. They may take on the forms of a tiger, a wild wolf or dog, or naga spirits will send poisonous snakes. They can be extremely fierce.
In the travelogue there are four caves spoken about. The first cave called shar phyogs sbas phyug, the eastern cave, is known for its peaceful white deity. The southern cave; lho mkha ‘gro gsang phug is the cave of longevity and increased knowledge. The western cave, nub dbe chen phyug contains sacred images representing body, speech, and mind. It also has ritual objects and the complete sutras and tantras translated into Tibetan. The purpose of this cave is for the attainment of ‘supreme higher attainment’. The last cave, the northern cave, also called byang lha ris shying phug is where the northern field for the application of wrathful activities are. Going there will produce signs of spiritual growth and realization for Tibetans. The main reasons that Buddhists go on a pilgrimage to these sacred caves is, in the most common case, to gain merit. There is also the idea that because an individual went on this pilgrimage, potential obstacles which might have blocked the journey of their souls after death will now be removed. Others go with intentions of gaining higher attainment. It is said that the one who obtains this higher attainment in this life will be established in the omniscient state of the most perfect Buddhahood in the next life. In Tibetan that is called rNam mkhyen rdzogs pa’i sangs rgyas kyi go ‘phan and it is what most grasp for.
The meeting this evening was very informative and I am so interested in learning more about these sacred caves. I myself have never been on a pilgrimage but many of my family members and others at the nunnery have. For us as Buddhists, pilgrimage represents a large part of the spiritual aspect. We hope to gain as much merit as possible to aid us in our journey, and by partaking in pilgrimage we not only overcome challenges to strengthen our faith, but pay our respects to the great masters of our religion. With all that being said, I must get ready to go to bed! It has been a long and exciting day, I cannot wait for what tomorrow has in store. I get to sit in on more scholarly meetings to analyze the travelogue found. Goodnight!
With a loud sound, I wake up to my room. It must be the middle of the night, the moon is shining through my window lighting my surroundings. I hear some more noise outside so I walk over to my window to see if I can tell what woke me. Standing outside my room is a man, at closer look I can tell he is an elderly lama. Why is he here? Still dressed in my pajamas, I put on my shoes and go outside to find out his reasoning. It is pretty warm out, which is odd for this time of year, so neither I or the lama are wearing jackets. As I approach him to ask what he is doing, without saying a word he hands me a backpack. I open it, and inside is some food, water, prayer flags, juniper, and prayer beads. The lama is holding a prayer wheel in his right hand and with his left hand, motions for me to follow him as he walks away. Without knowing why, I decided to follow him into the night.
We have now walked past the outskirts of the village and have started to ascend to a path leading into the forest. What feels like we have been walking for hours, the lama stops along the path, and begins spinning the prayer wheel. While the lama was doing that I reached into my bag and pulled out the juniper. I started a fumigation offering for purification. Juniper is used for smoke rituals as a fragrant offering to the gods and local deities. It is to purify and cleanse because our actions may have offended the local deities or we may have possibly defiled the surrounding environment. We do not want the deities and spirits to become estranged and withdraw their favours. After this rite the lama and I continued along the path, deeper into the forest and shortly later, the path came to an end and we stopped once more to preform the purification rituals. On a pilgrimage, we should perform this rite regularly because we may have unknowingly committed an unfavourable deed against the local deities. I thought that the lama had led us to a dead end, but he continued on into the dense forest; stepping over fallen logs and gently pushing aside plants.
After a while longer of walking through the forest, we come upon an overhang with what looks like a tunnel or cave underneath it. Surrounding the opening of the cave, prayer flags are hung and as we approach, the lama starts chanting a prayer. I reach into my backpack and pull out the prayer flags and join the others at the entrance. The lama takes off his shoes, and motions for me to do the same. As I follow the lama into the cave, he lights a better lamp to see in the darkness. There are marking along the wall, and the tunnel suddenly opens to a more spacious area. Right after we enter the lama performs a prostration towards something on the wall, and I copy and do the same. After I get a closer look and it seem to be an imprint of something. I start to think that it must be an imprint of the Guru Padmasambhava! The lama has helped me to one of the caves spoken of in the travelogue. I take all the things out of my bag, and we make offerings of incense, rice, and cloth. After we make the offerings, the lama begins to perform a ritual. I am not sure what the ritual was for, but what I understood was that it was about gaining merit and paying respects to the great master Padmasambhava.
After the ritual is performed, we being to exit the cave, and both the lama and I drink water and toss it over our head. I know that this is another purification notion. We begin to follow another tunnel away from the main area, and slowly I can see the light from the outside. As we get closer and closer to the exit, I can feel the wind and sunlight touching my face. And suddenly I heard a loud sound.
My eyes snap open; I’m laying in my bed at the nunnery. Its morning time and my friend has awoken me. She tells me that I have overslept and need to hurry or else I’m going to miss the first meeting of the day which is analyzing the travelogue found. My pilgrimage to the sacred cave must of been a dream! I am neither upset or relieved, the adventure I had was very exciting and I feel as though I gained merit from it. I am eager to learn more about the text today and gain the perspectives of the elder on the topics. Although my adventure may have not happened in this reality, it was none the less sacred.
