Vajradhara in the Flesh In the late 1970s, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche commissioned the Tibetan artist Sherab Palden Beru to paint a Vajradhara thangka for the main shrine of Karma Dzong in Boulder Colorado. There are many stories about the creation of this thangka (posted elsewhere). As is the custom, the Vidyadhara calligraphed ‘OM AH HUM’ on the back of the thangka to empower the body, speech, and mind centers of Vajradhara. Then, during his last visit to Boulder in 1980, His Holiness Karmapa XVI blessed the thangka with golden handprints. Mark Nowakowski was present for the event and described it this way: “He dipped his hands into very golden-yellow saffron water, (it might have had gold-leaf in it as well), and then placed his hands very firmly on either side of the HUM, thus leaving his hand prints. Then he very carefully used his thumbs to paint-in the blank spaces left from the hollows of his palms. Then he signed his name between them, with his famous ‘Mary’ signature (it looks like Mary in English). As you can see from the photo, His Holiness and the Vidyadhara and everyone were very happy! There was a joyous and uplifted feeling of having this thangka blessed so thoroughly.” Later, the following verse was composed by the Vidyadhara and calligraphed by Lama Ugyen Shenpen along the bottom of the thangka: The hundred-family mandala actualization Is the illusory dance of the wisdom of That, The dharmakaya which is free from the complexities of departing and changing, The vajra holder, vajra primordial brilliance, May you alone always remain in this representation: Please grant the co-emergent siddhis. OM AH HUM VAJRADHARA SAMAYA-TISHTHA SIDDHI-VAJRA YATHA SUKHAM This poem refers to the ineffable aspect of Vajradhara as the co-emergent, non-dual, and luminous presence of the dharmakaya. The magic (siddhi) of the thangka is that the outer, inner and secret aspects are all embodied in its ineffable presence. In other words, it isn’t just an image of Vajradhara; it ‘is’ Vajradhara. And Vajradhara isn’t a separate entity; neither are you. There are no separate entities. When you sit properly before this thangka your ego melts away. What remains are the co-emergent siddhis. As Clarke Warren puts it, “The thangka is indeed a non-dual portal joining the absolute truth of its core meaning and the relative truth of its appearance thanks to the lineage blessings with which it is soaked.” In the picture of the Karma Dzong shrine room we see the thangka as it looked in 1980. Above the thangka hangs a photograph of the Sixteenth Karmapa. On the left are photographs of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (top), and Suzuki Roshi. On the right are photographs of Jamgon Kongtrul of Sechen above a portrait of Trungpa Rinpoche as a young monk in Tibet. It was in the presence of this thangka that the Vidyadhara bestowed his first full Vajrayana empowerments in the West. Many eminent lamas also taught here. The list includes the Dalai Lama, the 16th Karmapa, the 17th Karmapa, Dilgo Khyentse, Sakya Trizin, Ugyen Tulku, Jamgon Kongtrul III, Tai Situ, Khenchen Thrangu, Jigme Phuntsok, Dzogchen Ponlop, Dzongsar Khyentse, Gantey, Jetsun Khandro, Tsultrim Gyatso, Kusum Lingpa, Chokyi Nyima, and Sakyong Mipham. In the picture of the handprint ceremony, we see Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the 16th Karmapa, with Jamgon Kongtrul III on his right and Chogyam Trungpa beaming in the background. It was a joyous moment for them all. But there is another message is this picture; a message of the fleeting nature of our precious human existence. His Holiness died the very next year after this photo was taken. Chogyam Trungpa died just six years after that. Then Jamgon Kongtrul died in a tragic car accident in 1992 even as he was searching for the 17th Kamapa tulku. Life is a very tenuous thing. Don’t waste it. Don’t just admire Vajradhara like a tourist – be Vajradhara in the flesh! Info drawn from: Original chronicle in 2008 by Clarke Warren Comments by Mark Nowakowski Photographs by Joyce Peterson
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 15:09:04 +0000
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