{"id":3434,"date":"2017-11-23T13:20:47","date_gmt":"2017-11-23T13:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mugwortborn.com\/project\/episode-eleven-a-variety-of-heroes\/"},"modified":"2025-01-14T15:18:36","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T15:18:36","slug":"episode-eleven-a-variety-of-heroes","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/mugwortborn.com\/id\/project\/episode-eleven-a-variety-of-heroes\/","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE SEBELAS: Beragam Pahlawan"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Sebelum aku dikirim ke Sikkim untuk pelatihan, aku dibesarkan di desa-desa terpencil di Bhutan, kebanyakan bersama kakek-nenek dan ibuku. Pada masa itu ayahku bekerja di Kurseong, dekat Darjeeling, sebagai penyiar dan pembaca berita Radio All India. Satu-satunya radio yang tersedia adalah milik kakekku, dan beliau jarang menggunakannya, supaya tak banyak godaan di desa. Di malam hari, kakek-nenek biasa bercerita, dari situlah aku mulai belajar tentang dunia.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nenekku suka bercerita tentang para lhama dan praktisi hebat. Ini bukan sekedar pelajaran sejarah, beliau akan benar\u2013benar menjelaskan secara detail tentang bagaimana para guru besar hidup, kamar seperti apa yang mereka tempati, apa yang mereka makan, berapa banyak asisten yang mereka miliki. Institusi para Dalai Lama dan lembaga lainnya di Tibet tidak hanya bersifat spiritual, tapi juga agung, sebuah produk sampingan dari generasi ke generasi para lhama yang memainkan peran penting baik dalam hal spiritual maupun sekuler. Aku ingat cerita tentang karpet sutra dan cangkir dari batu giok. Mungkin lebih mudah bagi orang awam untuk memahami sisi dunia yang gemerlap karena hal itu lebih langsung dan nyata. Namun, cerita yang nenekku sampaikan belum tentu benar karena semua yang nenek kisahkan ia dengar dari pihak ketiga atau keempat.<\/p>\n

Kakekku Lama Sonam Zangpo juga suka bercerita. Ia bilang padaku bahwa ketika masih muda, ia pernah melakukan 100.000 persembahan mandala di depan rupang Buddha Shakyamuni, yang dikenal sebagai Jowo, di Kuil Jokhang di Lhasa. Jowo <\/em>berarti abang atau seorang lelaki mulia atau berpangkat tinggi. Sungguh menyentuh bahwa orang-orang Tibet kuno menggunakan istilah\/label yang begitu personal dan manusiawi ketika merujuk pada Buddha Shakyamuni. Rupang Jowo khusus ini dibawa ke Tibet oleh Raja Songtsen Gampo sebagai bagian dari mahar Putri Tiongkok Wencheng dari Dinasti Tang. Orang Tibet percaya bahwa rupang tersebut bukanlah sekedar patung yang terbuat dari batu, tetapi benar-benar perwujudan fisik Shakyamuni. Hingga saat ini, para peziarah dari sepuluh penjuru bernamaskara selama berbulan-bulan dan menempuh jarak yang jauh, dengan tujuan mencapai Jokhang untuk memberi penghormatan kepada Jowo. Tak terkecuali kakekku.<\/p>\n

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Patung Buddha Jowo di Kuil Jokhang, representasi Buddha Shakyamuni di Lhasa.<\/p><\/div>

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Dalai Lama ke-13<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Suatu saat ketika kakek sedang melakukan persembahan 100.000 mandala ini, Dalai Lama ke-13, Thubten Gyatso, bersama semua tshedung (<\/em>sekretaris), datang untuk memberi penghormatan kepada Jowo. Kakekku punya ingatan yang sempurna dan mampu menyampaikan segala sesuatu tentang pertemuan ini dengan detail yang jelas \u2013 para sekretaris dengan jenggot dan kumisnya, jubah yang impresif, menampilkan keagungan. Yang Mulia Dalai Lama dikelilingi oleh para dopdops (<\/em>biksu pengawal) yang kekar, yang dipilih bukan karena kemampuan spiritual atau akademis mereka, tetapi karena tinggi badannya. Beliau juga bercerita melihat Sikyong Reting, Thubten Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen, yang kemudian hari mengenali Dalai Lama ke-14. Kakek mengatakan bahwa Sikyong Reting adalah seorang anak laki-laki yang sangat tampan di usia remajanya, meski bertahun-tahun kemudian, beliau menghadapi banyak tragedi.<\/p>\n

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Tilopa<\/p><\/div>\n

Aku dibesarkan dengan kisah-kisah ini, layaknya beberapa anak yang tumbuh dengan dongeng, dan aku masih merasakan pengaruhnya. Saat aku mengingat kisah-kisah ini, aku menyadari bahwa ada pelajaran yang bisa dipetik. Meski kakek adalah seorang pertapa dari silsilah Milarepa, yang mengajarkan hidup sederhana dan hidup sebagaimana ajarannya, beliau tidak pernah memandang rendah gaya mewah dan megah para bodhisattva agung. Kakek-nenekku menghargai kedua cara hidup, baik yang sederhana maupun yang tidak begitu sederhana. Mereka menuturkan kisah-kisah tentang para bodhisattva dengan banyak pengiring, dengan rasa hormat yang sama dengan, atau bahkan lebih dari, kisah-kisah tentang penghuni gua. Mereka menghargai para pengikut jalan vinaya yang tenang dan murni, dengan penekanan mereka pada kesopanan dan selibasi, sama seperti mereka menghormati jalan para yogi agung yang tampak liar dan tak konvensional. Kami diajari untuk menganggap Kashyapa, Shariputra, Tilopa, dan Naropa sebagai pahlawan. Pada saat yang sama, kisah tentang seorang gila nan suci, Drukpa Kuenley, yang mengikat penisnya dan menyamar sebagai biarawati agar beliau bisa tinggal di biara, diceritakan dengan humor dan rasa hormat.<\/p>\n

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Yang Mulia Karmapa ke-16 pada upacara Topi Hitam.<\/p><\/div>\n

Salah satu cerita yang paling membuatku penasaran semasa kecil adalah tentang topi terbang Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, Karmapa ke-16. Beberapa orang yang kutemui saat itu menyatakan bahwa ada sesuatu yang istimewa tentang cara Karmapa memegang topinya selama upacara. Mereka bilang kalau beliau tidak memegangnya, topi itu akan terbang. Sebagaimana yang terlihat pada foto dirinya di atas takhta, beliau sering duduk dengan satu tangan terangkat memegang topi hitamnya. Salah satu teorinya adalah bahwa topi itu ditenun dari rambut 100.000 dakini, dan karena mereka adalah makhluk yang bisa terbang, topi itu bisa terbang.<\/p>\n

Setelah aku dinobatkan sebagai seorang tulku, aku sangat beruntung bisa bertemu langsung dengan Karmapa ke-16. Ketika itu aku berusia 6 atau 7 tahun. Biara Rumtek terletak cukup dekat dari tempatku diasuh saat itu, di biara istana Maharaja Sikkim di Gangtok. (Pada akhir tahun 1960-an, Sikkim saat itu masih sebuah kerajaan yang merdeka.) Sebelum kunjungan pertamaku, Guruku, Lama Chogden, dan asistenku, Tashi Namgyal, menghabiskan waktu berhari-hari mengajariku bagaimana bernamaskara dan mempersembahkan syal upacara dengan benar kepada Yang Mulia.<\/p>\n

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Karmapa<\/p><\/div>\n

Dalam perjalanan dari Gangtok ke Rumtek, ada perasaan tidak enak di perutku. Saat kami mendekat, aku merasakan dorongan alami untuk memeriksa jubahku dan memastikan semuanya baik-baik saja, meski tak seorang pun yang menyuruhku melakukannya. Karmapa adalah sebuah perwujudan berkah yang tak ternoda, beliau memancarkan kualitas agung yang menjangkau kami bahkan saat kami masih dalam perjalanan menuju biara. Di kemudian hari, aku belajar bahwa ada sisi lain dari kualitas ini.<\/p>\n

Ketika aku pertama kali melihat Yang Mulia Karmapa, aku terpesona bukan hanya oleh beliau sebagai seorang pribadi namun juga oleh seluruh lingkungan di sekitarnya. Kepedulian dan perhatian khusus diberikan secara detail kepada para pengunjung Beliau yang tak ada habisnya, mulai dari rakyat jelata hingga pejabat tinggi. Bahkan pada usia itu, aku punya rasa kagum yang kuat.<\/p>\n

Setelah pertama kali itu, kami sering melakukan kunjungan. Terkadang kami diterima secara berkelompok, dan beberapa kali tidak ada orang lain selain aku. Kami akan bertemu di kamarnya dimana beliau duduk di atas sesuatu yang tampak seperti tempat tidur tetapi juga sebuah singgasana, dicat dengan rumit dan ditempatkan secara diagonal. Beliau memiliki sebuah meja di depannya dan di satu sisi ada deretan tempat duduk bergaya Tibet. Di tengahnya ada karpet yang sangat besar, karpet terbesar yang pernah kulihat. Seluruh pengaturan di Rumtek sungguh luar biasa. Beliau punya begitu banyak barang berharga di kamarnya. Lama Chogden dan Tashi Namgyal akan selalu bersikap extra untuk pertemuan ini, seperti halnya pertemuan pertama. Mengunjungi Karmapa selalu menjadi sesuatu yang dinanti-nantikan, sebagian karena makanan disana sangat beragam dan kompleks. Khyentse Labrang kami tidak kaya dan kami tidak pernah melihat makanan seperti itu. Namun di lubuk hatiku, aku tahu mungkin ada peluang untuk \u201cmelihat langsung topi itu\u201d, dan hal itu sangat menarik bagiku.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche<\/p><\/div>\n

Upacara topi berlangsung di ruangan yang indah di biara, dipenuhi dengan aroma dupa yang terbakar. Kami melantunkan doa kepada Avalokiteshvara sambil menunggu kedatangan Yang Mulia, karena beliau dikenal sebagai perwujudan fisik Avalokiteshvara. Dimulai dengan prosesi oleh para pengiringnya\u2014 begitu bermartabat\u2014termasuk para tulku berpangkat tinggi seperti Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche ketiga dan banyak lainnya. Kemudian para peniup terompet muncul memimpin Yang Mulia memasuki ruangan. Beliau mengenakan dakshu<\/em>-nya, topi Karma Kagyu, yang terbuat dari benang emas mengkilat. Beliau diikuti oleh seorang asisten, yang membawa kotak berisi topi hitam terkenal yang dibungkus dengan sutra indah. Asisten itu mengenakan syal di bahunya dan dengan hormat menutup mulut dengan jubahnya, jangan sampai nafasnya mengenai topi itu.<\/p>\n

Pembukaan kotak itu dilakukan oleh Yang Mulia sendiri, bukan orang lain. Inilah saat yang sangat kutunggu-tunggu. Dalam benak anak-anakku, aku yakin ketika kotak itu dibuka maka topi itu akan terbang dengan sendirinya. Aku menghadiri beberapa upacara topi ini, dan setiap kali, saat Yang Mulia membuka kotak topi, aku memperhatikan dengan cermat menantikan topi itu bergerak. Tapi entah bagaimana Karmapa bergerak dengan anggun, dengan cepat dan mulus mengganti topi kuningnya dengan topi hitam; tidak pernah ada momen dimana beliau tidak memegang kendali. Untuk waktu yang lama, aku meyakini bahwa topi hitam itu akan terbang, andai saja topi itu dilepas.<\/p>\n

Hal yang menarik lainnya bagiku semasa kanak-kanak adalah bahwa perwujudan berkah yang agung dan tanpa noda ini juga dapat bertindak begitu normal. Beliau menggunakan bahasa yang sangat kasar. Jika salah satu pelayannya melakukan kesalahan, beliau mungkin mengatakan \u201cparo saju<\/em>\u201d, yang berarti \u201cmakan jenazah ayahmu\u201d. Dan beliau akan menyapa para rinpoche terhormat lainnya dengan bahasa yang akrab atau sangat biasa, seperti \u201ckhorey,<\/em>\u201d ungkapan yang sama dengan \u201chei kamu.\u201d Dan beliau akan melakukan ini bahkan kepada Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.<\/p>\n

Bahkan ada satu hal lagi yang lebih mengejutkan yang keluar dari mulutnya. Salah satu kenanganku yang paling jelas tentang Karmapa adalah bagaimana, dari waktu ke waktu, beliau akan mengambil selembar kertas dari bawah mejanya dan menampung ludahnya. Ludahnya berwarna hitam. Aku sungguh penasaran. Keluargaku dari pihak Dudjom, dari pihak ayahku, selalu sangat anti-tembakau, tapi seorang lhama yang tinggi ini mengunyah tembakau di depan umum. Aku bertanya kepada Lama Chogden, \u201cMengapa Karmapa mengunyah tembakau? Bukankah itu kelakuan yang buruk?\u201d Lama Chogden menjawab, \u201cMakhluk biasa seperti kita, bahkan jika kita mencoba selama berkalpa-kalpa untuk memahami bagaimana dan mengapa makhluk agung ini berjalan di bumi ini, kita tidak akan pernah mengerti.\u201d Beliau mengatakan seharusnya aku tidak boleh punya pikiran yang menghakimi.<\/p>\n

Hal ini tidaklah sulit untukku. Aku tidak tahu apakah itu devosi, tanpa usaha dan tanpa keraguan sedikitpun aku merasa bahwa Yang Mulia akan selalu melindungiku. Perasaan itu tidak pernah berkurang. Beliau bukan hanya seorang lhama yang agung, beliau juga seorang raja yang digdaya.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Pertemuan di Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling.<\/p><\/div>\n

Suatu kali aku mengunjungi Yang Mulia di Nepal di Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling. Kami sedang duduk di kamarnya dan tiba-tiba beliau menatapku lama sekali. Beliau kemudian mengangkat sebuah patung rusa kecil dari kayu dan memberikannya padaku, sambil berkata, “Aku harap kamu akan berwelas-asih dan penuh cinta seperti rusa ini.” Setelah beberapa waktu, beliau memilih seekor singa dari batu pualam dan berkata, “Aku harap kamu menjadi pemberani seperti singa ini.” Aku masih punya singa, tapi rusanya hilang. Mungkin aku juga telah kehilangan welas asihku.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Singa yang diberikan Karmapa ke-16 kepada Rinpoche di Nepal.<\/p><\/div>\n

Namun aku mencoba menenangkan diri dengan cerita burung ini:<\/p>\n

Karmapa mengumpulkan banyak burung eksotik. Suatu waktu ketika aku mengunjungi Beliau di Nepal, salah satu burung lepas dari sangkarnya. Burung biru yang sangat kecil dan mahal ini telah diberikan oleh seorang pengikut yang kaya raya. Burung itu memerlukan kandang khusus, AC, serta segala macam perlakuan khusus. Semua biksu dan tulku mengejar burung itu seperti orang gila mencoba menangkapnya. Aku hanya berdiri di dekat Karmapa, hanya menonton. Tiba-tiba burung itu terbang ke bawah dan hinggap di bahuku. Karmapa sangat senang, seperti anak kecil. Beliau berterima kasih kepadaku seolah-olah aku dengan intensi melakukan sesuatu untuk menangkap burung itu. Beliau berkata, \u201cIni berarti kamu telah melatih bodhicitta di masa lalu.\u201d Itu memberikan kesan yang lebih dalam dibandingkan semua filosofi yang kupelajari selama bertahun-tahun.<\/p>\n

Berada di dekat Yang Mulia, dan juga mendapatkan pengasuhan khusus ini, menanamkan dalam diriku, betapa pentingnya untuk tidak menjadi ekstrem. Memperkenalkan anak-anak ke berbagai jenis pahlawan bukanlah untuk membingungkan anak, namun ini laksana meletakkan dasar nondualisme.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Foto oleh Pawo Choying Dorji<\/p><\/div>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sebelum aku dikirim ke Sikkim untuk pelatihan, aku dibesarkan di desa-desa terpencil di Bhutan, kebanyakan bersama kakek-nenek dan ibuku. Pada masa itu ayahku bekerja di Kurseong, dekat Darjeeling, sebagai penyiar dan pembaca berita Radio All India. Satu-satunya radio yang tersedia adalah milik kakekku, dan beliau jarang menggunakannya, supaya tak banyak godaan di desa. Di malam […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"Before I was sent away to Sikkim for my training, I was raised in remote villages in Bhutan, mostly by my grandparents and my mother. My father was away working in Kurseong, near Darjeeling, as an All India Radio announcer and newsreader. The only radio around was owned by my grandfather, who rarely used it, so there were few distractions in the village. In the evenings, my grandparents would tell stories and this is how I started to learn about the world.\r\n\r\n\"\"My grandmother liked to tell stories about the lamas and great practitioners. These were not just history lessons, she would really go into detail about how the great masters lived, what kind of rooms they stayed in, what they ate, how many attendants they had. The institution of the Dalai Lamas and others in Tibet were not only spiritual, there was this grandeur, a byproduct of generations of lamas playing an important role in both spiritual and secular matters. I remember stories of silk carpets and jade cups. Maybe it's easier for ordinary people to relate to the glittering worldly side of things because it was more immediate and apparent. Mind you, the tales my grandmother told me may not have been correct since everything she told me she had heard third- or fourth-hand.\r\n\r\nMy grandfather Lama Sonam Zangpo also liked to tell stories. He told me that when he was young he once made 100,000 mandala offerings in front of the Shakyamuni Buddha statue, known as Jowo, at the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. Jowo<\/em> means elder brother or noble or high-ranking man. It is so touching that the ancient Tibetans used such a personal and human label when referring to Shakyamuni Buddha. This particular Jowo statue was brought to Tibet by King Songtsen Gampo as part of the dowry of the Chinese Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty. Tibetans believe that it is not just a statue made of stone, but that in fact it is Shakyamuni in flesh and blood. Even today, pilgrims from the ten directions prostrate for months and miles, aiming to reach Jokhang to pay homage to Jowo. My grandfather was no exception.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_247\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"720\"]\"\" The Jowo Buddha Statue in the Jokhang Temple, representing Buddha Shakyamuni in Lhasa.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_248\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"217\"]\"\" The 13th Dalai Lama[\/caption]\r\n\r\nOne time when my grandfather was doing this 100,000 mandala offering, the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, with all his tshedung<\/em> (secretaries), came to pay homage to the Jowo. My grandfather had a perfect memory and could convey everything about this encounter with vivid detail \u2013 the secretaries with their beards and mustaches, the impressive robes, the display of majesty. The Dalai Lama was surrounded by burly dopdops<\/em> (monk bodyguards), who were selected not for their spiritual or academic merits but for their height. He also described seeing Sikyong Reting, Thubten Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen, who later recognized the 14th Dalai Lama. My grandfather said that Sikyong Reting was a very handsome boy in his teens, although years later, he faced many tragedies.\r\n\r\n \r\n

<\/div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_249\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"225\"]\"\" Tilopa[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThese were the stories I grew up with, the way some children grow up with fairytales, and I still feel their influence. As I recall these stories, I am realizing that there is a lesson to be learned. Even though my grandfather was an ascetic in the lineage of Milarepa, who taught simple living and lived as he taught, he never looked down condescendingly on the majestic style and splendor of many of the great bodhisattvas. My grandparents valued both ways of living, the simple and not so simple. They told tales of grand entourages with just as much respect, or even more, as tales of cave dwellers. They appreciated the serene and pure vinaya path followers, with their emphasis on decency and celibacy, just as they revered the path of the great yogis who were seemingly wild and unconventional. We were taught to regard Kashyapa, Shariputra, Tilopa, and Naropa as heroes. At the same time, stories of the divine madman, Drukpa Kuenley, tying up his penis and posing as a nun so he could live in a nunnery, were told with humor and reverence.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_250\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"275\"]\"\" His Holiness the 16th Karmapa at a Black Hat ceremony.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nOne story that most intrigued me as a child was about the flying hat of Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the 16th Karmapa. A few people I was hanging around at that time pointed out that there was something special about how the Karmapa held his hat during ceremonies. They said that if he didn\u2019t hold on to it, it would fly away. As you can see in photos of him on the throne, he is often seated with one hand lifted to his black crown. One theory was that it had been woven from the hair of 100,000 dakinis, and since they are creatures of flight, the hat could fly.\r\n\r\nAfter I was enthroned as a tulku, I had the great fortune of meeting the 16th Karmapa in person. I was 6 or 7 years old. Rumtek Monastery was quite near where I was being groomed at the Maharaja of Sikkim\u2019s palace monastery in Gangtok. (In the late 1960s, Sikkim was still an independent kingdom.) My tutor, Lama Chogden, and my attendant, Tashi Namgyal, spent days before my first visit teaching me how to prostrate and the proper way to offer a ceremonial scarf to His Holiness.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_251\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"200\"]\"\" The Karmapa.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nOn the drive from Gangtok to Rumtek, there was a feeling of butterflies in my stomach. As we approached, I had a natural impulse to check my robes and make sure that everything was proper, even though no one had told me to do so. The Karmapa was such a stainless embodiment of the blessings, he exuded a majestic quality that reached us even as we were still on the road to the monastery. Later, I learned that there was another side to this quality.\r\n\r\nWhen I first laid eyes on His Holiness the Karmapa, I was overwhelmed not just by him as a person but by all of his surroundings. Special care and attention had been paid to every detail for his endless visitors, from commoners to dignitaries. Even at that age, I had a strong feeling of awe.\r\n\r\nAfter that first time, we made frequent visits. Sometimes we were received in groups, and several times there was no one else but me. We would meet in his chambers where he sat on something that was like an bed but also a throne, elaborately painted and diagonally situated. He had a table in front of him and on one side there were rows of Tibetan style seating. In the center was a very big carpet, the biggest I had ever seen. His whole setup at Rumtek was just amazing. He had so many precious things in his room. Lama Chogden and Tashi Namgyal would always make such a big deal out of these meetings, just like the first time. Visiting the Karmapa was always something to look forward to, partly because the meals were so elaborate. Our Khyentse Labrang was not well off and we never saw that kind of food. But also at the back of my mind I knew that there might be a chance for an \u201caudience with the hat,\u201d and that was so exciting for me.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_242\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"259\"]\"\" Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche[\/caption]\r\n\r\nHat ceremonies took place in a beautiful room at the monastery, permeated with the scent of burning incense. We chanted prayers to Avalokiteshvara as we waited for His Holiness to arrive, for he was known to be Avalokiteshvara in the flesh. First came a procession of his attendants\u2014so dignified\u2014including highly-ranked tulkus like the third Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche and many others. Then came the trumpeters who led His Holiness into the room. He wore his dakshu<\/em>, the Karma Kagyu hat, made out of shiny golden thread. He was followed by another attendant, who carried the famous black-hat box, wrapped in beautiful silk. The attendant wore a scarf on his shoulder and respectfully covered his mouth with his robe, lest he breathe on the hat.\r\n\r\nThe opening of the box was done by His Holiness and no one else. This was the moment I so eagerly awaited. In my kid\u2019s mind, I was convinced that when the hat box was opened the hat would fly out on its own. I went to several of these hat ceremonies, and every time, just as His Holiness opened the hat box, I watched closely for the hat to make its move. But somehow the Karmapa moved with such grace, swiftly and seamlessly replacing his yellow hat with\u00a0 the black hat; there was never a moment when he wasn\u2019t in control. For a long time, I had no doubt that the black hat would fly, if only it were set free.\r\n\r\nAnother fascination to me as a child was that this majestic, stainless embodiment of the blessings could also act so normal. He used really foul language. If one of his attendants made a mistake, he might say \u201cparo saju,\u201d<\/em> which means \u201ceat your dead father\u2019s body.\u201d And he would address other respected rinpoches with familiar or base language, like\u00a0\u201ckhorey,\u201d<\/em> which is similar to saying \u201chey you.\u201d And he would do this even with Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.\r\n\r\nEven more shocking was something else that came out of his mouth. One of my most distinct memories of the Karmapa was how, from time to time, he would take a piece of paper from under his table and collect his spit. The spit was black. I was so intrigued. The Dudjom side of my family, my father\u2019s side, has always been very anti-tobacco, and here was this high lama chewing tobacco in public. I asked Lama Chogden, \u201cWhy would the Karmapa chew tobacco? Isn\u2019t it a really bad thing to do?\u201d Lama Chogden replied, \u201cOrdinary beings like us, even if we tried for eons to understand how and why these great beings walk in this earth, we will never understand.\u201d He told me that I should not have a judgmental mind.\r\n\r\nThis was not difficult for me to do. I don\u2019t know whether it was devotion, but without effort and without a single doubt I felt that His Holiness would always protect me. That feeling has never waned. He was not only a great lama, he was also a powerful king.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_244\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"\" A gathering at Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nOnce I visited His Holiness in Nepal at Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling. We were sitting alone in his quarters and suddenly he stared at me for a long\u00a0time. He then lifted a small wooden statue of a deer and gave it to me, saying, \"I hope that you will be as compassionate and loving as this deer.\" After some time he selected a marble lion and said, \"I hope you will be as fearless as this lion.\" I still have the lion, but the deer is lost. Probably I have lost the compassion too.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_243\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]\"\" The lion that the 16th Karmapa gave to Rinpoche in Nepal.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nBut I try to placate myself with this bird story:\r\n\r\nThe Karmapa collected many exotic birds. Once when I was visiting him in Nepal, one of his birds escaped from its cage. This very small expensive blue bird had been offered by a wealthy patron and it needed a special cage and air conditioning and all kinds of special treatment. All the monks and tulkus were chasing it around like crazy trying to catch it.\u00a0 I was just standing near the Karmapa, just watching. Suddenly the bird flew down and rested on my shoulder. The Karmapa was so happy, like a child. He thanked me as if I had actually intentionally done something to catch the bird. He said, \u201cThis means you have practiced bodhicitta in the past.\u201d That made a deeper impression than all the philosophy that I studied for years and years.\r\n\r\nBeing around His Holiness, and also having this particular upbringing, ingrained in me the importance of not falling into extremes. Exposing children to different kinds of heroes is not about confusing the child, but about laying a foundation of nonduality.<\/a>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_252\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"907\"]\"\" Photo by Pawo Choying Dorji[\/caption]","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"project_category":[85],"project_tag":[],"class_list":["post-3434","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project_category-episodes-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mugwortborn.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/3434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mugwortborn.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mugwortborn.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/project"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mugwortborn.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mugwortborn.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mugwortborn.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/3434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mugwortborn.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mugwortborn.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"project_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mugwortborn.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_category?post=3434"},{"taxonomy":"project_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mugwortborn.com\/id\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_tag?post=3434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}