The Lama’s Visit
It was more than Khema Samavati could have ever imagined or even wished for.
At first it seemed like the village was not going to pull together in bringing the Lama. Many townsfolk were very sad and worried after the hailstorm, and people were not leaving their homes much. It was difficult to get people excited about the potential of the Lama visiting. Once it was known that the invitation had been accepted though, and it would be only two days before the Lama arrived, everyone pulled together!
A thrown for him to sit on while performing ceremonious blessings was needed and builders came forth with tools, material and their skills to put it together. The thrown was installed behind the front altar in the monastery’s main hall. The altar before it was adorned with a richly coloured silk on top of which powerful objects like the vajra and the phyi’i dkyil-‘khor (outer mandala, made of overturned silver bowls, laden with rice mounds, representing the universe as anoffering for a wisdom teaching) would be placed while the town receives the lama’s blessings formally. To create other ritual objects, like all the tormas and a large sand mandala, several artists offered their hands in assistance to the monks and nuns so these objects could be made most beautifully. The preparation became almost as exciting as the actual event was anticipated to be, especially in contrast to the devastation felt after the hailstorm. The nuns also took over the task of cleaning and preparing the main hall of the monastery while many of the monks went off to a secluded area further up the mountain to practice tantric dances for healing the community. With the Lama’s presence and blessings the power of the dance, chanting, music and rituals will be enhanced and the meritorious affects will reach deep into the karma which connects the many past and future lives of the town’s people.
The day of his arrival townsfolk lined the street leading up to the monastery. Everyone was clutching prayer scarves to offer the Lama. Some of the local artists had used white chalk to trace the eight auspicious symbols in an ornately bordered line leading to the monastery entrance. The monastics all lined up next to the chalked walkway to receive the Lama. The collective excitement was palpable, even the young children were jumping up and down, sqealing and smiling. Upon exiting his vehicle the lama was met by the head monk who held a precious umbrella over the lama’s head which protects him from negative spirits and disease. He entered the monastery followed by the monastics and then the lay people. There was one local monk chosen for his deeply resonant vocal abilities who led the chants as the monks first made the offering of the phyi’i dkyil-‘khor (outer mandala), the vajra, and prayer flags. The tormas were laid out on an altar at the far end of the room which was facing the thrown. The lama joined his voice in the chant while the lay people filed by making their offerings of prayer scarves and each receiving a blessing.
Following the initiation of the day’s proceedings the nuns served the lama and the monks tea while the lama gave a dharma talk on attachment. For Khema Samavati it was a very validating dharma talk because it was a topic she had reflected on many times over the past 22 years since her husband passed away. Basically he said that attachment makes us human, it is okay to have a little bit of it. It is when our grip on what we have attachment for becomes too tight that we end up being harmed by it. A little attachment is normal, it helps us to function as human beings, but too much is the cause of suffering and so it is up to us to discern when we are gripping too tightly. Khema Samavati remembered the process of grieving her husband’s death. The first year her grief overpowered all of her mental faculties to the point that she wanted to die herself. For a time that year she stopped caring for herself, some towns people were worried for her and some were starting to fear her. It was the former head nun who invited her to the nunnery to be cared for for a while. The compassion shown by the nuns back then helped Khema to relax and start the ultimate healing process, the process of loosening the grip of attachment. This was obviously a pivotal teaching for Khema as it was the aspect of Buddhism that inspired her to become a nun in the first place.
After the dharma talk and closing dance and puja ceremonies the Lama made his way outside. There he inquired about how the town had weathered the hailstorm. When one of the younger nuns spoke up about the nunnery being so badly damaged and having lost many of its books and artifacts, the lama offered to help rebuild the damaged book room in the nunnery and make it even better and more fully stocked. This offer was unbelievable for Khema, she hugged the young nun who had spoken up and prostrated to the lama. Along with his offer to build a library he wanted there to be a printing press so that the village could have the most comprehensive and modern material. The lama had heard of the town’s healers campaign to assist managing the naga illness in the next town over. He praised the town for hteir bravery and compassion and to show appreciation in that effort he offered to fund the building of a medicine factory. For Khema this was a definite sign that her town was on the correct karmic path after all.
