My thoughts after the lama has come and gone. (October 22)

The experience of having the lama visit our village was one that I will have a hard time forgetting. His teachings were very interesting, and I would like to share them with you. One of the teachings that we received from the visiting lama was about the Kalachakra, or the circle of time. The Kalachakra explains cycles of things like the sun and moon, and also the cycle of the universe. He explained how many scholars focus on trying to explain the outer world such as the universe, but he said that it is more important to focus on the inner world of your mind when seeking the truth about the world. He said that it is inner perfection that we need to pursue and purify, and that understanding the inner world is equal to understanding the universe. We need to pay attention to the external world to help us understand the inner world as much as we need the inner world to understand the external world. In understanding the inner world we are able to see the outer world as empty. The lama gave us the example of dreams, he said that a man cannot distinguish between a dream and what exists outside of a dream, and if you analyze it you can see that nothing really exists like it’s all in a dream. I found this to be a very interesting teaching and a lot of what he says reminds me of the texts that I have been taught from such as the Heart sutra when it teaches you about emptiness. The world is always changing and going through stages, so it does not exist inherently, just as the Heart sutra explains.

Ever since experiencing a death ritual, I have been thinking about the power of rituals. Even having the lama visit us has shown this to me. Many material objects are used in a ritual, such as the mandala and the chalk drawings that I helped to make for the arrival of the lama. I have seen artists that are able to beautifully paint deities that can be used in rituals and I have also helped to make pills that are used in rituals. These objects can all be used to help us with our meditation practices, and can help us to see the world in new ways. The mandala is used to help us meditate on the vision of paradise where the deities reside, and can help to purify the mind and the space where there will be a ritual. The pills can help protect the mind from illusion that causes ignorance. Only with wisdom are we able to be free of ignorance and free from illusion. Rituals can help us to imagine our potential of being a Buddha, and embodying the characteristics of a Buddha, such as compassion. Compassion is important in the path to enlightenment because when other people are happy, you can find happiness. This is why I decide to help others, such as when I went to help with the naga illness. When we are able to be free of the illusions of the world, we can be free of suffering. This is why we read the sutras, such as the prajna paramita, that give us wisdom to destroy the illusions. With the help of teachers like the lama, we are able to gain the wisdom and knowledge that we need. This is why I was very happy that the lama was here to be able to help everyone in my community, not only by giving us knowledge but also helping us through his donations towards the library and the medicine factory.

A medicine factory would be very beneficial to our community; it may even bring more people to our village because when it is built, it will be the only one in our region. We will be able to collect the medicinal materials needed to make the medicine and store them in the factory and we may even be able to get the machinery we need to make the pills. With the help of all of the doctors in the village, we will know how to make medicine for our region and have the resources we need in order to do so. I am very excited for the construction of this medicine factory to begin. Also, living in the nunnery, I am very happy to hear that there will be a new library, and even with a printing press! With this, we will be able to make books much quicker and we will be able to have many copies of the same book. It is a lot of work hand writing a book, and takes a lot of time. I am very excited for the future of our village.