Studying with The Tibetans

THE WARRIOR SYLLABLES ARE PURE AND INDESTRUCTIBLE. THE FIRST SOUNDS THAT AROSE FROM THE ESSENCE WERE THE FIVE WARRIOR SEED SYLLABLES "PAWO DRU NGA."

  Before the development of human language, there were only the sounds of nature: waterfalls, wind, rain. Sound had no conceptual associations. When we trace sound farther back to its very beginnings, we arrive at the pure, primordial sounds of the seed syllables. According to the ancient Bon Buddhist tradition, the first sounds that arose from the essence were the five warrior seed syllables:

pawo dru nga

(pawo, "warrior"; dru, "seed"; nga, "five").

They are called warriors because they have the ability to conquer our demons.  The demons they fight are not necessarily evil beings; rather, they are the familiar demons of our emotions from which the experience of evil may arise.

  FOR EVERY DEMON, THERE IS A WARRIOR SYLLABLE THAT CAN OVERCOME IT.

  There are four other classes of demons mentioned in the teachings, some related to karmic forces, others to the subtlest attachment of our own grasping mind. Whether we are troubled by distracting thoughts, having problems with anger, feeling too much desire or attachment, or suffering from karma-related chronic illness, whatever obstacle or obscuration we have is related to one of these demons.

And for every demon, there is a warrior syllable that can overcome it.

  WHEN WE TRACE SOUND FARTHER BACK TO ITS VERY BEGINNINGS, WE ARRIVE AT THE PURE, PRIMORDIAL SOUNDS OF THE SEED SYLLABLES.

  The warrior syllables are pure and indestructible. They are able to penetrate through fear and cannot be destroyed by it. They cut through ignorance and open space; they are the doorway to connecting back to the original essence and to the wisdom qualities that arise from the essence.

  The five warrior syllables are the seed syllables of the five wisdoms.

ONLY WISDOM CAN ULTIMATELY DESTROY THE DELUDED EGO THAT IS THE SOURCE OF ALL OUR DEMONS.

SOWA  RIGPA (Tib. གསོ་བ་རིག་པ་) IS THE SCIENCE OF HEALING AND HAPPINESS. IT IS THE COMPLETE MEDICAL SYSTEM OF TIBET.

Other Himalayan regions also practice Sowa Rigpa including Bhutan, Nepal, Ladakh, Sikkim, and Mongolia. It is one of the oldest healing traditions in existence, yet it remains fully alive and intact even today.

A UNIQUE SYSTEM ENCOMPASSING ALL THE GREAT MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE ANCIENT CULTURES

 It is unique in that it has incorporated elements from the foreign medical systems of India, China, and Ancient Greece, while retaining its own distinctly Himalayan character, shaped by both Buddhist and pre-Buddhist thought. Sowa Rigpa has the fourfold aim of preventing illness, curing illness, extending life, and cultivating happiness.

THE FOUR MEDICAL TANTRAS

The essence of Tibetan medical theory and practice is contained within the Four Medical Tantras (Tib. རྒྱུད་བཞི་ “gyüd zhi”): the Root Tantra, the Explanatory Tantra, the Oral Transmission Tantra, and the Final Tantra. 

THE INCREDIBLE YUTHOKS

The Four Tantras were composed by Yuthok Yonten Gonpo the Elder  (729-854 AD) and revised by Yuthok Yönten Gönpo the Younger (1126-1202). Within these volumes are a detailed explanation of the basis of both health and disease; an extremely sophisticated understanding of anatomy (both physical and subtle), embryology, and pathology; a highly effective diagnostic system with emphasis on pulse and urine diagnosis.

TREATMENT MODALITIES ARE DETAILED AND EXTENSIVE

and a wide variety of treatment modalities including a regimen for diet and lifestyle, herbal medicines, and external therapies such as Ku Nye massage, acupuncture, bloodletting, moxibustion, hot and cold compresses.

ATI YOGA (Tib. Dzogchen) IS THE ALREADY SELF-PERFECTED STATE OF OUR PRIMORDIAL (TRUE) NATURE, WHICH NEEDS NO PERFECTING. FOR OUR TRUE NATURE HAS ALWAYS BEEN PERFECT FROM THE BEGINNING. ITS LIKE THE SKY. ITS IS UNCREATED, YET SPONTANEOUSLY ACCOMPLISHED

Dzogchen is both the final and ultimate teaching, and the heart of the teachings of all the Buddhas. Though generally associated with the Nyingma or ancient school of Tibetan Buddhism founded by Padmasambhava, Dzogchen has been practiced throughout the centuries by masters of all the different schools as their innermost practice.

Its origins reach back to before human history, and it is limited to neither Buddhism, nor to Tibet, nor indeed even to this world of ours, as it is recorded that it has existed in thirteen different solar systems.

Dzogchen is an abbreviation of the Tibetan word "Dzogpachenpo." "Dzogpa" means "complete," or "the end," "chenpo" means great. It is widely translated as "Great Perfection," but this may imply a perfection that we strive to attain, a journey towards the goal of Great Perfection, and this is not the meaning of Dzogchen. Dzogchen is explained as Ground, Path and Fruition, and from the point of view of the Ground of Dzogpachenpo, it is the already self-perfected state of our primordial nature, which needs no perfecting, for it has always been perfect from the very beginning, like the sky. It is uncreated, yet spontaneously accomplished.

THE UNIQUENESS OF DZOGCHEN IS THE WAY IN WHICH IT BRINGS A DIRECT AND PRECISE EXPERIENCE OF THE AWAKENED STATE. A DIRECT EXPERIENCE OF THE ABSOLUTE

A PRECIOUS JEWEL OF A TEACHER IN OUR MIDST.

ABOUT MY JOYFUL TEACHER DR NIDA 

Dr. Nida Chenagtsang was born  a nomad in Amdo, in North Eastern Tibet. He completed his medical training in  Sowa Rigpa in Lhasa, Tibet in 1996.  Alongside his medical education, Dr. Nida trained in Vajrayana with teachers from every school of Tibetan Buddhism and received complete teachings in the Yuthok Nyingthig lineage, the unique spiritual tradition of Tibetan Medicine. He has extensively researched ancient Tibetan healing methods, and has gained high acclaim in the East and West for his revival of little known traditional Tibetan external healing therapies.

Dr. Nida is the Co-Founder and Medical Director of Sorig Khang International, the largest organization of Tibetan Medicine in the West, and Co-Founder of the International Ngakmang Institute, established to preserve and maintain the Rebkong ngakpa/ma culture within modern Tibetan society.

ANOTHER PRECIOUS TEACHER IN OUR MIDST. THE JOYFUL TENZIN WANGYAL RINPOCHE

Founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is a respected and beloved teacher and meditation master in the Bön Buddhist tradition of Tibet. He has students in more than 25 countries, teaches around the world and reaches thousands of students through his online programs.

Trained as a Bön monk, Rinpoche now lives as a householder, allowing him to more fully relate to the needs and concerns of his students. He is known for the depth of his wisdom and his unshakeable commitment to helping students recognize their true nature.

MANTRA

Tayataa Om Bekandze Bekandze 

Maha Bekandze Bekandze
Radza Samudgate Soha

TRANSLATION

Now hear this.. Do away with illness. 

Do away with illness.
Do away with the great illness of
the ignorance of our True Nature.

Let this be grounded in the physical.

ANCIENT BUDDHIST PRACTITIONERS UNDERSTOOD THAT ILLUSIONS WE ENCOUNTER IN DREAMS ARE THE SAME ONES WE ENCOUNTER IN WAKING LIFE.

According to legend, when Siddhartha was glowing right after his enlightenment, people asked him if he was a god, a prophet, a rishi, or a saint, and to each he replied, “No.” What he simply said is “I am awake,” and his answer became his title. The word “Buddha” comes from the Sanskrit root budh, which means “to awaken” and denotes one who has awakened from the deep sleep of ignorance. 

EXCERPT WITH THANKS FROM LIONS ROAR.

ANDREW HOLECEK| JULY 9, 2017