The Gyalwang Drukpa

I just arrived a couple of hours ago, after a very fruitful walking pilgrimage to Maratika and back. There were basically two reasons that prompted me to organise this walking pilgrimage spontaneously. Firstly, I wanted to do this to dedicate for the longevity of all the enlightened masters, especially my own gurus and my parents. Secondly, as all my 200 nuns here in Druk Amitabha Mountain had just finished their 8 months' retreat and an examination that they did very well on, and since they had done such a good job, therefore I decided to take them for the walking pilgrimage. It took us 3 days to walk there, 3 days to stay there and another 3 days to walk back.

Many people did not agree that I should go on a walking pilgrimage to Maratika, because they told me, "You have breathing difficulties, your feet will be suffering, please don't walk, take a helicopter." All these problems of mine are well-known to people.

Walking down was not so difficult, but walking up was very difficult, especially so when the path was very steep. I guess I have been eating too much and exercising too little, so I was having shortage of breath, yet I was feeling so happy when all 200 over people were so happy spending time together, chanting mantra, walking up and down, buying foods and drinks from local people on our way, and distributing them to everybody. We really had so much fun exchanging our things, distributing foods and drinks to everyone. I could not believe that even in such a remote area, almost everything was available when we needed them.

When we were tired, there would be someone selling water, so water was constantly there. Sometimes we got water for free, sometimes we paid very little money. Everyone insisted to be sponsors and everyone rotated to be sponsors. Everyone of us was willing to sponsor food, water and anything just to make others happy and comfortable. When I saw that happening, I felt so warm and touched by the sense of harmonious unity with genuine feeling of love.

The funny thing was that whenever anything was being distributed, I was always the first one to get it. Sometimes I received too much. You can just imagine each of the 200 people gave me something, how much I ended up having. And I didn't want to refuse them because I didn't want to disappoint them. So I had to carry many things and I didn't know what to do. Much later, I found a very good method. I kept the things they gave me for 1 or 2 hours as a show of acceptance of their love for me, then I gave back to them, which made them so happy too. Unfortunately, I discovered this solution a little too late. So next time, I know I could use this trick.

Since I was really having breathing difficulties and I was panting a lot, when I was walking, so all the nuns sincerely requested me to fly back to Kathmandu in a helicopter. But I refused. I told them, "I want to finish the walking pilgrimage very successfully in a way that I will be satisfied and fulfilled that I have done it. If I go now, you all will feel very lost on the way back which is a 3-day walk." Also, this was not a good idea that some people who had money could fly back and those who couldn't afford had to walk. This kind of impression might be there and it would be very discouraging for everyone as a result. Money should not be the reason. We were not doing the walking pilgrimage because we had no money, but because we had to accumulate merit and wisdom. Not only that, we had to practise harmony, to humble ourselves and to get connected with the mother earth.

Walking on earth helps us to build a genuine relationship with the nature, at least with the nature of mother earth. This is the principle of Buddhadharma, this is how you get yourselves closer to nature. It doesn't mean that you always need to walk and you have to abandon other means of transportation. Sometimes, you need to take this kind of excursion just to get some experience.

From the samsaric point of view, not only you will get a mixture of adventures, but also you will get some spiritual benefits, such as a deep experiential knowledge by walking on the earth, climbing the mountain, and enjoying the natural sceneries without having to think much or analyse much using your intellectual knowledge. Being with the nature, such as climbing the mountain, listening to the sounds of waterfall, getting some fresh air and smiling at yourselves with all the loving friends, I think that’s the great part of life.

Without having the education, without having books, books and books, without any of this, you can have almost entire experiential knowledge through keeping in touch with nature. So this is something we have just experienced for the last 9 days.

While we were there in Maratika, we did extensive longlife prayers and practices with Ganachakra and lamp offering for 3 days. The highlight for my nuns was to see my cave, where I stayed for 8 months when I was practising in Maratika for about 1 year many years ago. I took them there, but I couldn’t climb this time because I was too lazy. So I said to them, "Ok, I took you here, so now it’s up to you whether to climb up or not." And they climbed up one after the other, and took 1 and half day to finish. Those who went up didn’t want to come down. I always had to shout their names to ask them to come down, I had to keep repeating, "We don’t have time, come down and give others a chance."

The cave was on the face of a very steep cliff, I had to cliff hang to go from the top of the mountain to enter the cave. But it was a fantastic place to do a solitary retreat. I only had to eat once in 3 days with the rest of the time spent on practice and meditation. It was such a great life.

Many of my students, nuns and other people came to me with eyes full of tears after visiting my cave. They came down to the foot of the cave, prostrated to me and cried, without saying any word. I still don't know why. I was happy that Ngawang Dechen, my previous life's attendant who is 77 years' old, also made it to my cave.

I told my 200 students, nuns and friends about my story of the cave. This is the place that I had done the best practice. This is the cave that I played with two mice for the first time and last time. They were very naughty, they often ate my tormas that I had spent a lot of time making. They bit me and they were irritating me a lot. Then I found tissue paper that I always used to tease the two mice until they became my friends who often came to be in my company and played with me. They became so used to me after a while. I remembered when I finished my retreat at the end of 8 months, I was feeling very sad to leave them there in the cave, and I could also tell from the way they looked at me that they were very sad to see me leave. I wished I could take them back to my home but they would not be used to staying there, so I left them back in the cave.

During my retreat in the cave, once a huge lizard came on my face and left, ever since then I stopped sleeping at night. Externally it was a lizard, innerly or secretly, I still think that it was a manifestation of  a Bodhisattva, who came to tell me that I shouldn’t waste any time. Before this incident, I was sleeping about 10 hours a day.

Anyhow, I had a very good time for almost 8 months and then I stayed in another place to practise for more than 3 months. So altogether I spent almost 1 year in Maratika.

Since all the nuns had very lovely hearts in devotional way to approach these holy places, so I had a good time. My parents also came to join us by helicopter when we reached Maratika. They could not do the walking because of health reasons, otherwise I know they would love to join us and walk with us.

Maratika is the holy place where Guru Rinpoche and Mandarava did longevity practice together and attained enlightenment. This is known as Chimed Rigzin. Chimed means Immortality and Rigzin means Awareness Holder, so it is Awareness Holder of Immortality. There is self-arising vase of immortality that looks like the one Buddha Amitayus holds in his palms, very clearly seen in the cave of Maratika.

I was too tired to go anywhere. I was just camping down there. Looking at myself, I was like a grandpa, sitting there and conducting all the grandchildren to go and pay homage to this place and that place, do this and do that. I was not even lifting my butt from the ground. I felt very embarrassed too but I was too tired to move anywhere. Except going to my cave, and showing it together with nuns, I did very few things physically.

Of course, mentally I was trying to do everything, speech-wise I was reciting mantra non-stopped, doing longevity practices non-stopped, but externally I was like a fat mother pig.

Because of devotion, pure heart and love, this tour was short but extensive, it will definitely bring tremendous benefits to all the beings, especially to those old gurus whom we wish for them to be living long, including my gurus and my father, and all the good and kind-hearted beings in this world who can support the activities that encourage everyone to be good human beings. I think this wish will be fulfilled.

Not that I could see a lot of good omen externally, but innerly I felt quite special that I don't want to put into words. I have not much of things to say.

So Guru Rinpoche got Immortal Enlightenment because of his own wisdom and Mandarava's devotion. So when devotion and wisdom meet, enlightenment is granted. Whoever go to Maratika as guru and disciples, they need devotion and wisdom that work harmoniously, not only in this case, wherever you go for a pilgrimage.

During the pilgrimage, we all kept ourselves very comfortable mentally, so that we were away from the troubles naturally. Troubles were there, but we just flew over the troubles, so we were not hurt nor disturbed by any trouble. We were out of troubles. Experientially, you will always have good memory of the pilgrimage for at least for a couple of years, or forever. For a couple of years, we will enjoy the fruits in our spiritual stomach, such as happiness, bliss, comfort, satisfaction, full of appreciation, etc. For example a couple of years ago, I took more than 300 people for a walking pilgrimage, today I can still see the smile in their hearts. So this is not only something I say or I guess or I imagine, it’s really the case. This kind of experience can even transform your normal samsaric life into the golden life, no matter what the trouble is, it’s not theoretically true but practical true.

Well, I am now back in this world with computer and technology. I am thinking of taking these things easy, as a part of my life. A few days or a few hours ago, I was in high spirit of spirituality without mobile phone, laptops and satellite. Anyway, there was also no hope for mobile phone to work, but funnily enough on top of the mountain in Maratika, you can see people using mobile, I didn't know what they were talking about, or maybe they were pretending to talk but using children toy mobile phone. Sometimes, once in a while, I could see that, but I was not bothered to check. I was above mobile phones and all these modern technologies, that was good also.

But right now, I am in front of modern technologies, I think that is also good teaching. Life needs to have face of spirituality and face of materiality, both can make a fully developed life, if you know how to look at these things. If you don’t, then either one of them may make you suffer. Not only material world, but also spiritual life will also make you suffer, if you don’t know how to handle.

Well, it's getting very late, I don't have any photo to show, but I guess I will do so tomorrow after getting the photos from Jigme Zangmo.

Bye for the time being, good night.