Tashi Lhunpo, Bylakuppe, Karnataka, India, 30 December 2015 - There was still a chill in the air this morning when His Holiness the Dalai Lama came down to the veranda of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. He was to begin preparations for the Sixteen Drops of Kadam empowerment. The early morning sun illuminated the ritual cakes arrayed before a thangka illustrating the Sixteen Drops. As the preparations proceeded, members of the audience arrived and took their seats. Once he was seated on the throne and facing them, His Holiness explained the context of the teaching.
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Ritual cakes arranged before a thangka illustrating the 16 Drops hanging at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Bylakuppe, Karnataka, India on December 30, 2015. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHD
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“Ngok Lepai Sherap, Dromtönpa and Atisha were on Mount Lhari in Yerpa. Ngok, noting that Drom always adopted a humble demeanour, asked Atisha to tell them about his previous lives. Drom protested that there was little to be gained from hearing about how he’d been spinning through the cycle of existence. Ngok took off his hat and said, ‘Look, I’ve become bald and grey, at this stage, please don’t stop the Master from answering my request.’ As Atisha began to tell the tale, he and Drom were filled with inspiration. In their elation, Drom vanished and they beheld a vision involving the sixteen drops.”
His Holiness said that for several generations the teaching remained secret. Phu-chungwa became the holder of the lineage and he explicitly passed it on. He added that since it was particularly related to Tibet, it would be good to begin with a recitation of the Words of Truth.
“The empowerment comes from a pure vision. There is a way in the Nyingma tradition of referring to the distant teachings that originate with the Buddha, closer teachings derived from treasures and profound teachings from pure visions. Dromtönpa and his disciples upheld the teachings common to the Great and Fundamental vehicles, teachings belonging to both the lineage of extensive conduct and the lineage of profound wisdom. Some people like to speak of a blessing lineage, but what is there other than the above mentioned lineages? Perhaps we can say there are instructions generally accessible to everyone and others suited to specific individuals or groups.
“Those who follow the ‘Lamp of the Path’ are those who integrate the practices relevant to the persons of the three capacities, the three trainings of morality, concentration and wisdom contained in the three scriptural collections of discipline, knowledge and wisdom.”
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| His Holiness the Dalai Lama during the first day of
the 16 Drops of Kadam Empowerment at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in
Bylakuppe, Karnataka, India on December 30, 2015. Photo/Tenzin
Choejor/OHHDL |
His Holiness mentioned that he would give the bodhisattva vow, but, because the empowerment was being openly webcast he would not give the tantric vows on this occasion. He clarified that he had been asked if it was possible to receive an empowerment broadcast over the internet and his reply was that it should be possible if people's motivation was good and they could follow the visualizations. He said he’d reflected that since it is possible to take ordination by letter, it should be possible to receive a webcast empowerment.
He mentioned that he had received the empowerment from Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, who had undertaken a special retreat in order to give it. His Holiness said that he too had undertaken the necessary retreat. He had nurtured the hope that when he first came to give the empowerment himself he would be able to offer it to Trijang Rinpoche’s reincarnation. For this reason, although Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen in Los Angeles had repeatedly requested him to give it, he had asked him to wait. In the end the occasion did not occur and he has since given it at Gyumey Tantric College and Thekchen Chöling in Dharamsala.
The Abbot of Drepung Loseling Monastery offered the mandala and representations of the body, speech and mind of enlightenment.
His Holiness explained that it is customary for the master giving the empowerment to recite the self-exhortation composed by Dromtönpa called ‘Tree of Faith’, which reveals the entire range of the path. He said that since copies had been printed and distributed, including a translation into English, everyone could recite it together. That done, he gave the bodhisattva vow. He then began the empowerment of the Sixteen Drops and completed the first ten:
The drop of the outer inconceivable array
The drop of this World of Endurance
The drop of the realm of Tibet
The drop of your abode and the drawn mandala
The drop of the Mother, the Perfection of Wisdom
The drop of her son, Buddha Shakyamuni
The drop of Great Compassion
The drop of Wisdom Tara
The drop of her wrathful form
The drop of Achala, their immutable nature
Stopping at that point for the day, His Holiness said he would complete the empowerment tomorrow. In connection with the drop relating to Green Tara, he mentioned her special connection to the people of Tibet and that Gyalwa Gendun Drup, the First Dalai Lama, had composed a praise to her which ends:
May we always remember our previous lives and
Never be separated from the thought of enlightenment.
May we persevere firmly as a river flows
In following the vast ways of all Bodhisattvas.
Never hoping to benefit ourselves alone,
We vow to engage in the Great Way solely for others
And pursue the attainments that actually benefit,
Such as mystic vision, clairvoyance, patience and skill.
May we never be faint in furthering through infinite fields
The holy teachings of the Victorious Ones;
And in order constantly to fulfil the needs of beings,
May we quickly and easily gain the stage of the Buddha.
