Back in Lishu in 2016
Lishu-Institute, Kotra Kalyanpur, Dehradun, India
January 11th 2016
-Anna-Kaisa
Prayer flags in Lishu
Happy New Year from Lishu-Institute!
River Ganga
The day after I arrived here, on the last day of the year 2015, we got invited to do a daytrip to Haridwar and Rishikesh to get blessing from Mother Ganga, her water running clear blue-green in these places.
New Year tea and cake
On the first day of 2016 we received guests from the Za Mongyal Yungdrung Ling Bon Monastery, Manduwala, which is 15km from Lishu Institute. The founder of the monastery Thinley Gyatso, Head Lama Yungdrung Tengyal and the young monks joined us for lunch and afternoon tea with new year cake!
Class room
We started our studies on Tuesday 5th January with our teachers Menri Geshe Sherab Lodoe and Ph.D Sangmo Yangri. In the mornings we study the third and fourth Greater Vehicles of Mahayana Sutra, Thug Je Sempa ( Mind Only) and Yungrung Sempa Tro Med Pa (Middle Way School) from the text “The Nine Ways of Bon from Central Treasure”. Next class is for the hagiography of Buddha Tonpa Sherab Miwo Che. Right now we are studying the chapters four to seven (The Teaching of Dharma, Homage to one hundred Buddhas, Homage to one hundred Dakinis and Marriage of Shenrab Miwo Che). Whole hagiography contains 18 chapters.
Afternoon classes are for tibetan language topics including tibetan grammar, reading, conversation class and studying Bon prayers, for example Ngondro prayers and prayers for deceased.
Our teachers Geshe Sherab Lodoe and Ph.D Sangmo Yangri
Geshe Sherab Lodoe was born in a Bonpo village called Tsarong, located in the area of Kham in Tibet. When he was on a pilgrimage at the sacred mountain Kongpo Bon Ri, he heard about Menri Monastery in India. He felt a calling to go there to receive all the teachings of Bon tradition and later he left for the difficult journey walking from Tibet to Nepal through the Himalayan region. He reached Nepal and from there he proceeded to India and finally met his destination, Menri Monastery on 20th February 1999. In the same year, on the auspicious fifth day of the Tibetan New Year which is also the birthday of one of the greatest Bon-master Nyame Sherab Gyaltsen who is reagarded as the second Buddha in Bon-tradition, he got the ordination from His Holiness Menri Trinzin Lungtok Tenpa Nyima Rinpoche and His Eminence Menri Ponlop Trinley Nyima Rinpoche. Next month, on 19th March, he was admitted to Bon Dialectic School of Menri Monastery. His studied Dzogchen, Tantra, Sutra and all other ten Tibetan sciences. After fifteen years of intensive studies he received his Geshe degree on 9th March 2014.
I asked Geshe-La how he feels after the first week of teaching us westerners. He was very happy and surprised about the determination of the students, coming from so many different countries to new circumstances in India, Lishu Institute, to study and practice here. He feels the students are very dedicated to learn these precious teachings.
About our other teacher, Ph.D Sangmo Yangri, you can read more from the previous chapters of this blog from the spring 2015.
Second week of our precious studies has begun, will be updating the blog within few weeks again!
Lishu scenery
