| [ |
mood |
| |
 sad |
] |
every year, i'll spend xmas all till new year's eve at kong meng san, at the om mani padme hung retreat. the retreat is led by drubwang rinpoche (can read about him here http://www.dharma-media.org/ratnashripj/teacher_drubwang.html), who has done many other retreats like that all over the world. and, singapore has been one place that has consistently hit, and, broken records of the 100million mantras to be chanted.
this retreat has been a yearly affair since the early 2000s. i joined in 2004. the year where the tsunami claimed countless lives. that year, i experienced first hand, what this simple mantra can do for the dead, the ones who've dead in sickness and accidents, pain and sorrow.
the first time i was there, i met drubwang rinpoche for the first time. as i struggled to stay awake while chanting, he too, had been struggling with ill health. he was already 80+, and he knew his time was up, having mentioned he had to go soon. still, the dalai lama wanted him to stay on, and personally wrote a long life prayer dedicated to him.
so, while the aunties around me were busy gossiping instead of chanting, he woke up from what seemed like a fight to stay conscious, and sternly said to the crowd, "you should chant proud and loud. not soft and insincere". then he slumped back into his seat. lifeless. and then we picked up the slack. i chanted wholeheartedly for 7days. i lost my voice and couldn't speak for several days after. but i never felt better. and on the day we hit our target, drubwang rinpoche jumped out of his seat, much to the surprise of his disciples, and started dancing with joy. his eyes were bright, his moves were of pure elation. and then it started to rain very very heavily. he stretched out his arms and said "the heavens have come to bless you!" all this while, fending off his disciples who tried holding onto him, for fear he would fall. he was never able to stand on his own, until when he started dancing with joy :) still, he continued to bless the 1300 of us. such determination to spread the love and knowledge. so much of complaining from able body people like us.
for the next few years, i've been a regular at the retreat. seeing familiar faces. one particular year, drubwang rinpoche was too sick to come. i initially thought he had passed away. but, he recorded a video and spoke to us. poor man could hardly breathe. but he said, "physically i may not be there, but i'm still chanting with you."
this year, i was prepared to skip the retreat on weekdays out of pure laziness. and now that i've received the message of his passing on. i have to go and send my beloved master off. cos he chose to pass on in a foreign land, even though he could have done so in the comfort of his temple in tibet.
there's something to be learnt from this.
om mani padme hum.
|
