---| --- ---| ---| | | |---| | | | | | | | | | | -- |---| |--- |--- |---| | | | | | | | | | | | | ---- | | |--- |--- | | |---| GASSHO Electronic Journal of DharmaNet International and the Global Online Sangha Volume 1, Number 5 ISSN 1072-2971 July/August 1994 ======================================================================= Editor-in-Chief: Barry Kapke dharma@netcom.com or Fidonet: 1:125/33.0 Copy Editor: John Bullitt john.bullitt@metta.ci.net Board of Advisors: Robert Aitken Roshi Amaro Bhikkhu Carl Bielefeldt Bhikkhu Bodhi Thubten Chodron T. Matthew Ciolek Roger Corless Rev. Karuna Dharma Christina Feldman Gangcen Tulku Rinpoche Maha Ghosananda Joseph Goldstein Joan Halifax Ayya Khema Anne C. Klein Jack Kornfield Jacqueline Mandell Ken McLeod Andrew Olendzki Charles S. Prebish Alan Senauke Thanissaro Bhikkhu Christopher Titmuss others to be announced ======================================================================== GASSHO is a Buddhist newsletter, published by DharmaNet International, P.O. Box 4951, Berkeley, CA 94704-4951, a not-for-profit organization. ======================================================================== {1} EDITORIAL: Message from the Editor {2} NEWS BRIEFS {3} DHARMANET NEWS {4} NEW RESOURCES {5} CONFERENCE NEWS {6} LETTERS {7} DIALOGUE: The Fourth Precept: Deep Listening & Loving Speech (Thich Nhat Hanh) {8} ARTICLE: Conventional Women, Ultimate Woman: Gender, Nonduality, and the Goddess (Jamie Hubbard) {9} ARTICLE: The Mother Essence Lineage (Ngakpa Chogyam Rimpoche) {10} REFEREED ARTICLE: Presence With a Difference: Buddhists and Feminists on Subjectivity (Anne C. Klein) {11} PRACTICE: The Significance of Ordination as a Buddhist Nun (Ayya Khema) {12} CALENDAR: August - September 1994 {13} REVIEWS {14} RESOURCES: DharmaNet Publications By/About Buddhist Women {15} SANGHA: Greater San Francisco Bay Area Dharma Centers (USA) {16} SERVICE: Jamyang Choling {17} ANNOUNCEMENTS {18} A PARTING THOUGHT {19} ABOUT GASSHO [Ed.: Page numbers are not particularly meaningful in an electronic format. Instead, each article is demarcated by a number within braces. This allows you to use the Search feature of your newsreader or file viewer program to "fast forward" to the section you want to read. Also, italics are represented in the electronic version of GASSHO by the code "//"; while this employs two characters rather than one, it was found to be more aesthetically representative of italics for low-ASCII viewing, as well as being relatively unproblematic for using the "search and replace" features of text processors to substitute other italics codes.] ======================================================================= {1} EDITORIAL ======================================================================= The electronic format for journals is still evolving, trying to find those compromises that are broadly appropriate to readers on many platforms and which are conducive to online reading. //Gassho// has been a pioneer in these explorations, and it is a pleasure to see other journals drawing from and expanding upon our example. I am happy to see the growth of electronic journals, and particularly, to see the development of electronic resources within the Buddhist community. In this issue of //Gassho//, there are articles containing endnotes, a bibliography, and a glossary; these "appendages" to the textual "body" are elegantly served by WorldWideWeb (WWW) browsers, but present a somewhat cumbersome dilemma for traditional linear formatting and reading. Issue #5 has elected to include these supplementary materials as a part of the sequential text, rather than to separate them into accompanying documents. Insofar as endnotes, I am hoping that the search features of readers' text browsing softwares will accommodate relatively smooth switching back and forth between article text and endnote text. In Professor Anne Klein's article, "Presence With a Difference," endnote pointers occur in pointed brackets (e.g., ) and the actual endnote is notated as . So in reading the text, I come to the endnote pointer and call up my search option, designating the search parameter to be "". After reading the endnote, I again call up the search option, this time searching globally for "", which returns me to the place in the text where I had left off. Since this feature exists in *most* text readers and editors, this seemed like a reasonable solution. Your feedback on this is certainly encouraged. This issue also inaugurates a new "section" focusing on "Service." This section, or department, will highlight in each issue a selected group or organization whose activities contribute to global peace, the advancement of Buddhist values, the elimination of suffering, the promotion of world health and community. It is hoped that this section will be of benefit to individuals who are looking for ways to be of service, as well as to promote the good works of grassroots groups and underfunded projects. Moreover, it is hoped that these efforts will be inspirational in helping to establish and support a tradition of service and selfless generosity in our various cultures. Lastly, I am proud to see this issue, "Women in Buddhism," come together. As Director of DharmaNet International and Editor of //Gassho//, I have been concerned with the visible absence of women -- in the online communities, as well as in prominent roles within Buddhist communities. I don't consider it insignificant that the "Women in Buddhism" issue had to be postponed due to a dearth of submitted material. I am pleased to see this issue of //Gassho// manifest, and, even so, the predominance of male voices addressing women's issues is conspicuous. I hope this issue of //Gassho// will encourage more women to add their voices to the ongoing dialogue in our online community. With that, my appreciation and thanks goes out to all the men and women who contributed to the "Women in Buddhism" issue of //Gassho// and my encouragement for others to become involved. With metta, Barry Kapke ======================================================================= {2} NEWS BRIEFS ======================================================================= ------------------------ Ven. Nyanaponika Honored ------------------------ On 30 August 1993 the Amarapura Nikaya, one of the three branches of the Maha Sangha in Sri Lanka, conferred the honorary title of Amarapura Maha Mahopadhyaya Sasana Sobhana (= Great Mentor of the Amarapura Nikaya, Ornament of the Teaching) upon four of its distinguished elder monks, all above the age of 90. Among them was Ven. Nyanaponika Mahathera, 92, co- founder of the BPS [Buddhist Publication Society] and its present Patron, who was ordained into this Nikaya 57 years ago. The scroll and title were presented at a convocation in Colombo with Sri Lanka's President, D.B. Wijetunga, as the guest of honor. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi received the award on behalf of the Mahathera. [From: Buddhist Publication Society Newsletter #25, Winter 1993-94] ----------------------- Anne AITKEN (1911-1994) ----------------------- Anne Aitken (nee Hopkins) was born in Chicago, Illinois USA on the 8th February 1911. She died in Honolulu, Hawaii on the 13th June 1994. Anne Aitken, a schoolteacher by training, has been an exemplary student of Zen, both in Japan and USA. Initially an unwilling and dispirited lay student, she -- nevertheless -- has resolutely studied the Dharma (and with the great success too) under such eminent Zen masters as Hakuun Yasutani Roshi, Soen Nakagawa Roshi and Koun Yamada Roshi. Despite her delicate constitution, she observed an intensive and regular zazen schedule and she eagerly took part in many tens of the sesshin and zazenkai conducted in Hawaii and elsewhere. She gracefully and deservedly carried two Buddhist names: AN (J.) = "Peace, peace of being at home" and TANSHIN (J.) = "Single mind." Together with her husband Robert Aitken (subsequently Robert Aitken Roshi), she was the founding member, and always the selfless supporter and benefactress, of one of the first western Zen Buddhist training organizations -- The Diamond Sangha (est. October 1959 in Honolulu). She is fondly remembered as a delightful and thoughtful friend to many of the Zen students who studied with Aitken Roshi or visited the Diamond Sangha's Koko An Zendo or the Palolo Zen Training Centre, Honolulu. She spoke and wrote very little. She staunchly refused to assume a role of an "enlightened Zen student" or that of the "famous wife of the famous Zen master". She loved music and flowers and birds and the paintings. She firmly loved the whole of the Diamond Sangha, with its all meandering history, complications, transformations and achievements. Anne Aitken has been a quiet, gentle and very private person. Thus we are fortunate indeed that amongst her sparse writings she has left a short autobiographical note "In spite of myself"[ Kahawaii 1(2), Spring 1979, pp 2-9 ]. Some scattered references to the life and work of Anne Aitken also can be found in: * Aitken, Robert.1982. Willy-Nilly Zen. pp. 115-132. In: Aitken, Robert. 1982. Taking the Path of Zen. San Francisco: North Point Press. * Tworkov, Helen. 1989. Chapter 1 - Robert Aitken. In: Zen in America: Profiles of Five Teachers. San Francisco: North Point Press. pp. 23-62. Anne Aitken Sensei will be badly missed everywhere -- in Hawaii and in the mainland USA; in Japan, in Europe (especially in Germany and Austria), in South America and in Australia too. I know I am very privileged to have had the chance to live a portion of my life in the inspiring and peaceful company of Anne Aitken. --T. Matthew Ciolek Sydney Zen Center & Canberra Zen Group -------------------------------- Yehan Numata, BCA Benefactor, Patron of International Buddhism -------------------------------- Mr. Yehan Numata, probably the greatest patron of Buddhism of our times, died peacefully at the age of 97 in Yokohama, Japan on May 5, 1994. He was a native of Hiroshima Prefecture. Mr. Yehan Numata came to the United States as a young student and graduated from the University of California in 1928. He studied economic statistics. During the summers he worked in the farm belt in the Fresno area, and became quite active in our [Buddhist Churches of America] local temples in central California. He was one of our earliest contributors to the establishment of a "Buddhist press" in the English language. His idealism in implanting Buddhism in America never faltered. He never forgot his student days and left a legacy by setting up a foundation to help students from our regional and national temples in the BCA jurisdiction. Numata founded the Mitsutoyo Corporation, now the world's leading manufacturer of precision measuring instruments, in 1934, solely for the purpose of raising funds which could be dedicated towards the promotion of Buddhism. The Buddhist Churches of America and its affiliate organizations have benefitted greatly from the generosity of Mr. Numata. He was a strong supporter of our programs and the academic endeavors at the Institute of Buddhist Studies [in Berkeley CA]. The IBS has received sizable subsidies each year for the //Numata Chair// and the publication of the journal, //The Pacific World.// He has established similar //chairs// in Buddhist Studies at other graduate schools, six in the United States, two in Canada, and three in Europe. For promoting better understanding of Buddhism he established the //Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai.// Through this organization he has distributed thousands of volumes of the //Teachings of Buddha// in thirty languages in hotels and schools throughout the world. Another project of the BDK is the translation of the Chinese Tripitaka (//Taisho Daizokyo//) into English, which is headquartered in Berkeley, simply referred to as //The Numata Center.// The center has already published three volumes, and one is in the hands of the printers. Four or five volumes are expected to be published each year. Mr. Numata has also constructed Ekoji temples in Japan as well as in other countries. A thirty million dollar Ekoji project is nearing completion in Dusseldorf, Germany. Mr. Numata's various activities reveal him to be a bodhisattva-like figure who gave himself freely, influencing countless lives to greater humanity by kindlier and compassionate ways. He will always be remembered in America where he gave so much. [Reprinted, with permission, from //Wheel of Dharma//, Volume 21 Issue 6 (June 1994). //Wheel of Dharma// is published monthly by the Buddhist Churches of America, 1710 Octavia Street, San Francisco CA 94109.] ---------------------------------------------------- "Reincarnation" of Tibetan great lama Kalou Rimpoche "identified" in France ---------------------------------------------------- France 2 TV (Teletext), Paris, in French 1548gmt 17 Jul 94 Text of report entitled: "'Little Buddha' in Saone-et Loire " On Sunday [17th July] two thousand people attended a ceremony in which a four year-old became a lama. It took place in the temple of Kagyu Ling, at La Boulaye [Saone-et-Loire departement, in Burgundy], the largest Buddhist sanctuary in Europe. Born in Paris from Bhutano-Tibetan parents, the child has been identified" as the reincarnation of the great lama, Kalou Rimpoche, who died in 1989. The child was only one year old when he was able to recognize several objects which had belonged to the lama. The child will soon be sent to the Sonada monastery, in India, for 12 years of training. [From: World Tibet Network News (94/07/23 22:00 GMT)] ----------------------------- Nunnery Surrounded by Troops; Rural Unrest "Intensified" ----------------------------- LONDON, July 23, TIN -- Chinese paramilitary police have placed a cordon around a rural nunnery in the mountains north of Lhasa in response to a brief demonstration by five nuns last month, according to unofficial reports from the Tibetan capital. The blockade on the nunnery comes as top Chinese politicians in Tibet call for a crackdown on the pro-independence movement, which they say is spreading into the Tibetan countryside. The nunnery was surrounded in response to a brief demonstration by five nuns in Lhasa on 14th June. The women all came from Shar Bumpa nunnery in Phenpo county, 45 km north of Lhasa. The five nuns, who were all born in the nearby county of Phenpo Lhundrup, were arrested and were named today by unofficial sources as Choekyi Gyaltsen or Choeying Gyaltsen, age 24-27, Gyaltsen Sherab, age 19-21, from Phenpo Lhundrup, Choekyi Wangmo, age 20-22, Tsultrim Zangmo, age 23, and Seldroen, age 17-18. In reprisals three days after the incident police, state security officials and members of the People's Armed Police (Wu Jing) are reported to have swooped on Shar nunnery and on adjacent monks' quarters. Some of the nuns struggled with the police and damaged a police vehicle during the raid, according to one report. "Since that day the nunnery and the monastery have been surrounded on all sides by the military and, in a way that is similar to what happened last year in Kyimshi village, they terrorized the citizens, surrounding the monastery day and night and preventing these monks and nuns from leaving the monastery," said a separate report, received from Lhasa last week. Kyimshi is a group of villages in Lhokha Gongkar county, south of Lhasa, that was taken over by troops after protests in June 1993, leading to over 30 arrests. The report said that each monk and nun at Shar Bumpa had been interrogated and that a number of arrests had been made. "According to people who come from this village at present the monastery is surrounded in such a way that the monks and nuns are totally unable to move", claimed the report, which is unconfirmed. "The situation in this area is tense," commented another source, who said the military were living in tents they had set up around the nunnery and the monks' quarters. [From: Tibet Information Network ] ======================================================================= {3} DHARMANET NEWS ======================================================================= --------------------------- //Gassho// Needs Volunteers --------------------------- Volunteers are needed to help with the various aspects of producing the journal //Gassho// -- gathering news, soliciting articles, editing, typing, proofreading, formatting. A six-month commitment is requested. Contact: Barry Kapke by e-mail (dharma@netcom.com). --------------------------------------- DharmaNet International Seeks Treasurer --------------------------------------- DharmaNet International is looking for a qualified individual to serve as Treasurer on its Board of Directors. SF Bay Area resident preferred, but not essential. Duties include: helping set up corporate accounting procedures and overseeing financial matters and reports. Contact: Barry Kapke by e-mail (dharma@netcom.com) or postal mail to DharmaNet International, PO Box 4951, Berkeley CA 94704-4951 USA. ------------ Logo Contest ------------ //Inquiring Mind: A Semi-Annual Journal of the Vipassana Community// is now being produced in an online edition, through collaborative arrangement with DharmaNet International. We are looking for an attractive logo to use for this online edition of //Inquiring Mind// and have decided to hold a contest. A winning logo must: 1. consist of printable ASCII characters in the range 32-126; 2. fit in a space 72 columns wide by 15 lines high; 3. contain the words "Inquiring Mind" or the initials "I M". Here is an opportunity to express yourself! Please send your ideas via e- mail to "im.contest@metta.ci.net"; they will be forwarded on to the IM staff for their consideration. If your logo is selected as the winning one, you'll make lots of merit, many readers will be very grateful to you, and you'll reap lots of personal satisfaction. For more information, contact John Bullitt . ----------------- Changes & Updates ----------------- The Dharma Electronic Files Archive (DEFA) is moving this summer from its original site at ftp.netcom.com to a new host at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Through the generosity of this new host site, online storage will no longer be a problem and DharmaNet can further expand its online holdings. To access DEFA via `anonymous ftp,' ftp (or ncftp) to sunsite.unc.edu and login as anonymous, using your email address as your password. Change directory (cd) to pub/academic/religious_studies/Buddhism/DEFA (see diagram below). To access DEFA via WorldWideWeb, use the Universal Resource Locator (URL): http://sunsite.unc.edu/dharma/defa.html DharmaNet will continue to maintain a scaled-down ftp library at ftp.netcom.com, to serve as a redirector to the new location and to carry general information files about DharmaNet. All Dharma texts and resources will be relocated to sunsite.unc.edu by the end of August 1994. ftp to: sunsite.unc.edu login: anonymous | password: your_email_address | academic | religious_studies | Buddhism / \ DEFA Tantric_Studies / | | / Iconography News / -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Dharmanet Art | | Tibet | | | | | | | Inbound Journals | | | | | | | | General / Resources WTN | | | | | Abhidhamma --------------------- | | | | Vinaya / | | | | | | | | | Theravada / | | | | | Gassho | | Zen | | | | | Inquiring Mind | Vayrayana Forest Sangha | | | Blind Donkey Pureland Bhavana Society | Journal of Buddhist Ethics Clear Mind * * * * * The Buddhist Image Bank, hosted by the Society for Tantric Studies and DharmaNet International, has a change in its access path. To access the Buddhist art, ftp (or ncftp) to sunsite.unc.edu and login as anonymous, using your email address for your password. Change directory (cd) to: pub/academic/religious_studies/Buddhism/Tantric_Studies/Iconography. Thanks to the assistance of Edward Van Tassel and Gunnar Reitel, many of the Tibetan Buddhist GIFs have been identified. * * * * * The Insight mailing list has moved to a more powerful listserv. TO SUBSCRIBE: Send a message to "majordomo@pioneer.ci.net". In the body of the message, put the command "subscribe insight" (leave out the quotes). TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send a message to "majordomo@pioneer.ci.net". In the body of the message, put the command "unsubscribe insight" (leave out the quotes). TO POST messages to the list: Address your message to "insight@pioneer.ci.net". * * * * * Several Buddhist periodicals have recently premiered online editions. DharmaNet International is working with the publisher of //Inquiring Mind// to produce an online edition. The first online issue is available as IM_V10N2.ZIP and is available through DEFA (ftp.netcom.com:pub/dharma), through direct dialup to BODY DHARMA ONLINE or ACCESS TO INSIGHT or other DharmaNet library sites, or through ftpmail. DI has also produced online editions of //The Bhavana Society Newsletter// and is working to produce an online edition of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery's //Forest Sangha Newsletter//. Anyone interested in helping with these online publication projects, please contact John Bullitt . //Blind Donkey// is a journal that was originally founded by Robert and Anne Aitken and has served the Diamond Sangha for over twenty years. With its latest issue the publication has been reborn under the auspices of the California Diamond Sangha where John Tarrant is roshi. An online edition is being prepared. For more information, contact blinddonkey@tigerteam.org The //Journal of Buddhist Ethics// is an electronic journal devoted to Buddhist ethics, and, like //Gassho//, exists primarily as an online publication, but will publish materials in an on-going, rather than periodic, basis. E-mail subscription does not deliver the journal itself but does ensure timely notification of new releases and access pointers. The journal material is retrieved though network tools, such as WWW browsers, gophers, and anonymous ftp. To subscribe, send email to jbe- ed@psu.edu, specifying "JBE Subscription" in the subject line. A sample "mockup" is currently online for WWW viewing: http://www.psu.edu/jbe/jbe.html or through the DharmaNet homepage: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/dharma/defa-home.html Other Buddhist journals and newsletters -- such as //Clear Mind// (of the Sakya Losal Choe Dzong Tibetan Buddhist Society of Canberry Australia), the //Society of Tantric Studies Newsletter//, the //American Academy of Religion Buddhism Section Newsletter//, the //Vipassana Newsletter// (of the International Meditation Centres) -- are archived online, and undoubtedly, many others will follow. Buddhist organizations and publishers interested in adding their publications to the DharmaNet online archives, or interested in assistance in creating online publications, please contact Barry Kapke or John Bullitt (john.bullitt@metta.ci.net>. --------------------- DharmaNet in the News --------------------- DharmaNet is mentioned in the August 1994 edition of //Wired//, the Summer 1994 edition of //Tricycle//, the Volume 14 Number 1 issue of //Blind Donkey: Journal of the Diamond Sangha//, and the Summer 1994 issue of //Hidden Agenda: The newsletter of the Ngakphang Sangha//. ======================================================================= {4} NEW RESOURCES ======================================================================= ------------------------ Thai Tripitaka CD Update ------------------------ It was announced in Issue 3 of //Gassho// that the American Academy of Religion will be the distributor, outside of Thailand, of the Siam Edition of the Pali Canon (volumes 1-45) on CD-ROM. Text is in Thai and Romanized Pali. This monumental work was accomplished at Thailand's Mahidol University Computing Center and includes BUDSIR (Buddhist Scriptures Information Retrieval) IV software for PC and Macintosh users. The BUDSIR IV edition is just now being pressed into CD-ROM and should be ready for distribution. The cost for individuals and Buddhist organizations (eg., temples, monasteries, etc) is $299 (tax and shipping not included) and $599 for institutions with multiple users. Orders may be directed by e- mail to: scholars@emoryu1.cc.emory.edu, with the following notation: Attention: Harry Gilmer RE: Pali CD ROM ------------------ WTN Address Change ------------------ The submission address to World Tibet Network (WTN) News has changed. Please do *not* use the former ctn-list@utcc.utoronto.ca address. Submissions to: wtn-l@vm1.mcgill.ca or fax to: +44-71-722-0362 (U.K.) Subscriptions to: listserv@vm1.mcgill.ca - to join, message should be: SUB WTN-L [your name] - to cancel, message should be: SIGNOFF WTN-L --------------------- New Usenet Newsgroups --------------------- A newsgroup -- alt.religion.buddhism.tibetan -- has been created and appears to have reached fairly wide propagation already. Discussion is taking place in alt.config concerning creating an alt.religion.buddhism (or, alternatively, soc.religion.buddhism) hierarchy. Also, DharmaNet International is exploring the viability of gating selected DharmaNet "newsgroups" into Peacenet. More on this in the next (Sep/Oct 1994) issue of //Gassho//. ======================================================================= {5} CONFERENCE NEWS ======================================================================= -------------------------------- Women Teachers Gather in Vermont -------------------------------- Gyokuko [Carlson] sensei attended a "conference" of five women Zen teachers in Shelburne Vermont between June 3rd and 5th. Also in attendance were the hostess, Sunyana Graef sensei, Dai-en Bennage sensei, Roko Chayat sensei, and Susan Postal. Gyokuko reports: We didn't have a schedule or an agenda and didn't need one. There was very little ice to break and so much to talk about that we could range freely and touch on many things that touch our lives. It is interesting for me to reflect on the relative harmony of the meeting given the disparity in training backgrounds and philosophical differences expressed. I enjoyed being with strong women with whom I could express my differences and be heard without fear. One teacher said the joy for her in this group was to be able to speak without being challenged or scorned. We spoke frankly about some of the difficulties in our past training, our current teaching styles, and how our families intersect with our life of practice and teaching. The frankness of our discussions and the sensitivity of subjects covered makes most of our conversation private and privileged. Through meetings like this, full of honestly and trust, I hope that we can continue to train ourselves as teachers, clarify our thinking, and affirm each other as women. Next year, Gyokuko is scheduled to host the group at DRZC [Dharma Rain Zen Center], something we all look forward to seeing happen. [From: Dharma Rain Zen Center newsletter] ----------------------------------- Electronic Buddhist Text Initiative and Workshop in Korea ----------------------------------- EBTI is an an organization set up to coordinate the efforts of the various groups involved in the input of electronic Buddhist documents. Many efforts are already under way in the field of Buddhist Studies to transfer the handwritten and printed heritage to the digital medium. It is of utmost importance to make sure that the digital texts produced by the various groups can be used in an integrated way. Thus far, the exchange of information between the institutions and individuals involved in the creation of electronic Buddhist texts has been limited. EBTI aims at informing member institutions and individuals about on-going efforts in this area and about the basic issues such as tagging, format, coding etc. The coordination of basic strategies is essential if these materials are to form an integrated body of data accessible to all readers of Buddhist textual material. The main function of EBTI is to serve as an information forum. This is achieved in the following ways: (1) An electronic bulletin board (EBTI-L@uxmail.ust.hk, please send requests for subscription to EBTI-L-request@uxmail.ust.hk, with the word 'subscribe' in the body of the message) (2) Occasional meetings and work group sessions to discuss issues of mutual concern (see below for next meeting) (3) The facilitation of the production and exchange of electronic Buddhist texts. Membership is open to any institution or individual involved in the creation of electronic Buddhist texts. There are no membership fees and no obligations except for the sharing of information with other members. EBTI was formed in April of 1993 following a symposium in Berkeley. In January, 1994, a workshop was held in Hong Kong to discuss SGML issues. A second workshop on tagging (and the first formal business meeting since the Berkeley meeting) is planned for Seoul in October, 1994 (see below). The Board is elected at each general meeting. The current Chairman is Lewis Lancaster of the University of California, Berkeley and the Coordinator is Urs App of Hanazono University, Kyoto. - Information about the EBTI Workshop in Korea - THEME: The meeting will concentrate on the tagging of electronic Buddhist texts and ways to coordinate efforts in various languages. Some input and font issues will also be discussed. LOCATION, DATE/TIME, AND MEETING SCHEDULE: * Saturday, October 1, 1994: Haein monastery, Korea Morning session: Reports about various input projects by participants. Afternoon session: Demonstrations, discussion of character code and authoring issues. Chair: Urs App * Sunday, October 2, 1994: Haein monastery, Korea Morning session: Text encoding issues (SGML and TEI); demos and workshop on Document Type Definitions. Chair: Lewis Lancaster Afternoon session: Business meeting. Future projects. Chairs: Urs App and a representative of Haeinsa. Evening: Journey to Seoul * Monday, October 3, 1994: Dongguk University, Seoul Morning session: Character code issues (Chinese character codes, Unicode, etc.) Afternoon session: Drafting proposal for additional characters in Unicode. REGISTRATION: Please contact Lewis Lancaster if you are interested in participating. Registrations should be sent by fax or e-mail to Lewis Lancaster (fax +1- 510-642-6031; e-mail: buddhst@garnet.berkeley.edu). Korean contact fax numbers: 82-599-313896 (Haeinsa) or 82-2-325-0581 (Seoul). Participants are expected to arrive on Friday morning at Seoul International airport. Transportation to the monastery (Friday afternoon) etc. will be arranged depending on the needs of participants. Incidentally, the Haein monastery houses the oldest complete extant woodblock edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon-one of the largest Buddhist input projects ever (over 80+000 double-sided wooden plates). On Sunday, October 2, we will return to Seoul for the meeting at Dongguk University. The most convenient place to stay is the Sofitel Hotel in central Seoul next to Dongguk University. The Monday meeting will be closed in time for the final flights to Tokyo, Hongkong, Taipei, etc. Participants from the USA can return by late night flights. Participants wishing to speak about specific topics are encouraged to contact Lewis Lancaster (fax +1-510-642-6031) or Urs App (fax +81-75-811- 9664) We are looking forward to meeting you in Korea! --Lewis Lancaster and Urs App ======================================================================= {6} LETTERS ======================================================================= ---------------------------- Revision: DRZC Dharma School ---------------------------- I made a few minor changes in the description of Dharma School after getting input from the people who do it. The changes are minor, but factually more accurate. Thank for your interest in this program. Kyogen Carlson * * * * * Dharma Rain Zen Center, 2539 SE Madison, Portland OR 97214. Contact: Elizabeth Erin Luthy, (505) 635-8409. Dharma Rain Zen Center has a bimonthly Children's Dharma class on Sunday mornings (except during the summer) while their parents are in the zendo. The program was created and coordinated by Center Director and priest Gyokuko Carlson, and Erin. Small children meditate for about 2 or 3 minutes. Older children sit for about 10 minutes. Children set up their own altar, light incense, and time the sittings. Lessons are designed to coordinate with the western calendar and seasons as well as the Buddhist calendar. Art, skits, little ceremonies and other projects are developed to augment the lessons. There are six to eight songs used regularly, with new ones learned over the course of the year. Thich Nhat Hanh's children's Precepts and promises are also included. A Greeting circle is created in the beginning. For this particular Dharma School children may enter in Fall or January. ------------------------------------------ New Organization to Support Activist Monks ------------------------------------------ This is to let you know that a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization has been set up to support the activities of Pra Pachak and other environmentally/ socially active monks in Asia and elsewhere. We are sending out an open invitation to the engaged Buddhist community to assist in raising funds for projects ranging from legal defense for Pra Pachak and a "green walk" from endangered forest to endangered forest across Thailand. Please post suggestions, offers of assistance and other correspondence to: Joe Franke 503-977-3028 Email: jfranke@igc.apc.org ------------------------------------------------ Request of Support for Thai Conservationist Monk Facing Legal Charges ------------------------------------------------ - Background - Pra Prachak is an environmental activist Buddhist monk with an international reputation for forest conservation in Thailand. Since he settled in Dong Yai forest, he has been helping the local people of Pakham district struggle to save the province's last rain-catchment forest from illegal loggers and the governments plan to initiate commercial eucalyptus plantations. Despite the Royal Thai Government's 1988 ban on logging, destruction of the country's remaining forests has continued largely unabated. In an effort to "reverse" this process, the government devised a land redistribution program to assist the rural poor while providing foreign companies with cheap paper pulp from commercial eucalyptus plantations. This re-forestation project known as Khor Jor Kor, required the massive relocation of Thailand's rural population, directly affecting nearly 4.85 people nationwide. After a series of largely non-violent protests, the Anand administration was finally forced to shelve the Khor Jor Kor plan in 1992. While the forced relocations have largely stopped, a policy of "benign neglect" has taken its place. Many of the rural farmers, who fought so hard to retain their traditional land rights, are now finding that crushing poverty is slowly starving them off their lands. When Pra Prachak originally arrived in Dong Yai in 1989, he found that 12 villages in his area were next on the government's list for resettlement. After seeing the extent of the deforestation, he immediately decided to stay and declared the local forest a Buddhist Meditation retreat. He asked the villagers to donate a nearby mountain as a Khet Apaiyataan or "land of forgiveness", to be the heart of the sanctuary, where tree-felling and the killing of wild animals are prohibited. And with the help of local leaders, he began ordaining the largest trees by wrapping them in the sacred yellow thread of the Buddhist clergy. In this traditionally Buddhist country, even destitute loggers are reluctant to cut down these "sanctified" trees. Pra Prachak has also engaged in forest patrols. In cooperation with the village headmen from the Pakham district's 25 villages, a mountain conservation group was formed in 1990. Since then small groups of sympathetic monks and villagers have roamed the forest daily, armed only with walkie-talkies and cameras. With these simple weapons they have been able to protect nearly 20,000 rai of forest (1 rai = 1600 Sq. meters) by documenting the illegal logging and blocking the roads used to transport the timber. Tragically though, two villagers were killed in September 1992, and another in July 1993 following confrontations with illegal loggers. Pra Prachak has also conducted a number of 'Deep Ecology' forest walks and non-violence workshops for local and western environmental activists. These are to raise awareness, and explore ways in which constructive social change can occur. Since economic pressures often force the young to seek employment in the cities, Pra Prachak has helped form a number of Youth Conservation Groups. By training young adults in forest conservation and equipping them with the skills to rebuild their own shattered communities, he hopes that they will begin to see life in the countryside as a viable option. His integrated plan includes organic farming, a children's day care centre, and training the local women to weave silk in order to eliminate the villagers need to rely on logging for income. In the course of such work, Pra Prachak believes that the villagers will slowly regain control over their lives and their community, demonstrating to the government that it is not only possible, but necessary for man and the forest to peacefully coexist. - Campaign - After settling in Dong Yai Forest Pra Prachak has accumulated various charges against himself. Two of these are currently going through the court hearing process; another has recently been dropped. The two still in force are: 1.Conspiracy to cause a public disturbance, and obstructing the duty of the authorities. (Still under appeal.) This has lead to the sentence of a one-year prison term and two years probation. 2.Forest Encroachment. This originally lead to a six-month prison, and two year probation term. After appealing he doesn't have to serve any of the sentence if he doesn't get involved in activities that are considered to damage the environment. Other than these cases, Pra Prachak has had new charges brought against him although no action has yet been taken. He is accused of destroying the forest and taking dead trees in order to build a wooden Buddhist Sala (This is even after an agreement had been made with the Forest Officer and others that such trees could be utilized.); illegal use of radio (formerly supplied to him by the Deputy Interior Minister to help in a pilot project to encourage monks to get involved in forest conservation.); and building a road. From May 20th to June 4th Pra Prachak was invited to visit and to meet with activists, universities, and NGO's in Japan, to raise awareness of Thailand's forest situation in that country. After coming back to Thailand he then joined the protest in support of hunger striker Chalard Vorachat who is striking for greater democracy in Thailand, and also spoke up on stage in support of the cause. After this the governor of Nakorn Ratchasima then issued the arrest for Pra Prachak, on the previous accusation of destroying the forest. This means that Pra Prachak may be taken at any time. He is currently staying at Kao Krajeaw temple in Saraburi province. There also seems to be a general movement to discredit Pra Prachak in the eyes of the public. This has been by local people, some newspapers, and the Forest Officer. The general situation of the villagers in the 14 villages around Dong Yai is that those supporting Pra Prachak feel tired and exhausted. They feel they have no power to stop the loggers who sneak into the forest at night (and during the day whilst Pra Prachak was in not in the area.) There are also villagers who are working for the logging companies, and those openly supporting them now. Other villagers who have not paid so much attention to the situation may be swayed to believe in the negative image that has been painted of Pra Prachak The National Security Council is also now investigating the activities of Pra Prachak. It is believed that this militaristic Council may also try to mirror Pra Prachak in a negative light. We would like to ask your support to distribute this information to other organizations which may be of help. Writing a formal letter to the Prime Minister, the Local Forest Officer, and the Ministry of Interior may also help Pra Prachak. - Addresses - Prime Minister Chuan Leekphai, Government House, Nakorn Pathom, Bangkok 10300, Thailand. FAX 66-2-280-1443. Royal Forest Department, 61 Phaholothin Road, Ladyao, Chatuchak Park, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. Tel.561-4292-3. Fax.579-8611. Ministry of the Interior, Usadang Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand. Tel.221- 3835. Fax.589-3733. For further information contact: International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB), PO Box 1, Onkarak, Nakorn Nayok 26120, Thailand. Tel/Fax.66-37-391-494 Fax.662-546-1518 E-mail: ineb@ipied.tu.ac.th U.S. Contacts: Tax deductable contributions to Pra Pachak's defense and information fund can be made through: First Nation's Health Project, Inc. 6563 SW Firlock Way #6 Portland, OR 97223 (503) 977-3028 Email: jfranke@igc.apc.org Buddhist Peace Fellowship P.O. Box 4650 Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 525-8596 Email: bpf@igc.apc.org P.S. The current General Director of the Police Department (Pratin) has stated in private to our sources that Phra Prachak will be safe whilst he (Pratin) is still police chief. However, Pratin cannot guarantee the situation after October when he retires. [Forwarded to igc:bpf.ineb from the International Network of Engaged Buddhists, Thailand. July 11, 1994.] ======================================================================= {7} DIALOGUE ======================================================================= THE FOURTH PRECEPT: DEEP LISTENING AND LOVING SPEECH by Thich Nhat Hanh //Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I vow to cultivate loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I vow to learn to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self-confidence, joy, and hope. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I will make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.// There is a saying in Vietnamese, "It doesn't cost anything to have loving speech." We only need to choose our words carefully, and we can make other people happy. To use words mindfully, with loving kindness, is to practice generosity. Therefore this precept is linked directly to the Second Precept. We can make many people happy just by practicing loving speech. Again, we see the interbeing nature of the Five Precepts. Many people think they will be able to practice generosity only after they have accumulated a small fortune. I know young people who dream of getting rich so they can bring happiness to others: "I want to become a doctor or the president of a big company so I can make a lot of money and help many people." They do not realize that it is often more difficult to practice generosity after you are wealthy. If you are motivated by loving kindness and compassion, there are many ways to bring happiness to others right now, starting with kind speech. The way you speak to others can offer them joy, happiness, self-confidence, hope, trust, and enlightenment. Mindful speaking is a deep practice. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is a person who has learned the art of listening and speaking deeply in order to help people let go of their fear, misery, and despair. He is the model of this practice, and the door he opens is called the "universal door." If we practice listening and speaking according to Avalokitesvara, we too will be able to open the universal door and bring joy, peace, and happiness to many people and alleviate their suffering. The universal door manifests itself in the voice of the rolling tide. Hearing and practicing it, we become a child, born from the heart of a lotus, fresh, pure, and happy, capable of speaking and listening in accord with the universal door. With only one drop of the water of compassion from the branch of the willow, spring returns to the great Earth. I learned this beautiful poem when I studied the //Lotus Sutra// at age sixteen. When you hear "the voice of the rolling tide," which is Avalokitesvara's practice, symbolizing the universal door, you are transformed into a child born in the heart of a lotus. With only one drop of the water of compassion from the willow branch of the bodhisattva, spring returns to our dry Earth. Th dry Earth means the world of suffering and misery. The drop of compassionate water is the practice of loving kindness, symbolized by the water on the willow branch. Avalokitesvara is described by the Chinese, Vietnamese, Koreans, and Japanese as the person holding the willow branch. He dips the branch into the water of compassion of his heart, and wherever he sprinkles that water, everything is reborn. When he sprinkles it on dry, dead branches, they turn green. Dead branches also symbolize suffering and despair, and green vegetation symbolizes the return of peace and happiness. With only one drop of that water, spring returns to our great Earth. In the "Universal Door" chapter of the //Lotus Sutra//, Avalokitesvara's voice is described in five ways: the wondrous voice, the voice of the world regarded, the //brahma// voice, the voice of the rising tide, and the voice of world surpassing. We should always keep these five voices in mind. First, there is the wondrous voice. This is the kind of speaking that will open the universal door and make everything possible again. This voice is pleasant to hear. It is refreshing and brings calm, comfort, and healing to our soul. Its essence is compassion. Second, there is the voice of the world regarded. The meaning of the word Avalokitesvara is "the one who looks deeply into the world and hears the cries of the world." This voice relieves our suffering and suppressed feelings, because it is the voice of someone who understands us deeply -- our anguish, despair, and fear. When we feel understood, we suffer much less. Third, here is the brahma voice. Brahma means noble -- not just the ordinary voice of people, but the noble speech that springs forth from the willingness to bring happiness and remove suffering. Love, compassion, joy, and impartiality are the //Four Brahmaviharas//, noble dwellings of buddhas and bodhisattvas. If we want to live with buddhas and bodhisattvas, we can dwell in these mansions. During the time of the Buddha, the aim of the practice of many people was to be born and to live together with Brahma. It was similar to the Christian practice of wanting to go to Heaven to be with God. "In my Father's house there are many mansions," and you want to live in one of these mansions. For those who wanted to be with Brahma, the Buddha said, "Practice the four noble dwellings: love, compassion, joy, and impartiality." If we want to share one teaching of the Buddha with our Christian friends, it would be the same: "God is love, compassion, joy, and impartiality." If you want to be with God, practice these four dwellings. If you don't practice these four, no matter how much you pray or talk about being with God, going to Heaven will not be possible. Fourth, the voice of the rising tide is the voice of the Buddhadharma. It is a powerful voice, the kind of voice that silences all wrong views and speculations. It is the lion's roar that brings absolute silence to the mountain and brings about transformation and healing. Fifth, the voice of the world surpassing is the voice with which nothing can be compared. This voice does not aim at fame, profit, or a competitive edge. It is the thundering silence that shatters all notions and concepts. The wondrous voice, th voice of the world regarded, the brahma voice, the voice of the rising tide, and the voice of the world surpassing are the voices we are to be mindful of. If we contemplate these five kinds of voices, we assist Avalokitesvara in opening the universal door, the door of real listening and real speaking. Because he lives a mindful life, always contemplating the world, and because he is the world regarder, Avalokitesvara notices a lot of suffering. He knows that much suffering is born from unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others; therefore he practices mindful, loving speech and listening deeply. Avalokitesvara can be described as the one who teaches us the best way to practice the Fourth Precept. //"Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech, and the inability to listen to others, I vow to cultivate loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering."// This is exactly the universal door practiced by Avalokitesvara. Never in the history of humankind have we had so many means of communication -- television, telecommunications, telephones, fax machines, wireless radios, hot lines, and red lines -- but we still remain islands. There is so little communication between the members of one family, between the individuals in society, and between nations. We suffer from so many wars and conflicts. We surely have not cultivated the arts of listening and speaking. We do not know how to listen to each other. We have little ability to hold an intelligent or meaningful conversation. The universal door of communication has to be opened again. When we cannot communicate, we get sick, and as our sickness increases, we suffer and spill our suffering on other people. We purchase the services of psychotherapists to listen to our suffering, but if psychotherapists do not practice the universal door, they will not succeed. Psychotherapists are human beings who are subject to suffering like the rest of us. They might have problems with their spouses, children, friends, and society. They also have internal formations. They may have a lot of suffering that cannot be communicated to even the most beloved person in their life. How can they sit there and listen to our suffering, and understand our suffering? Psychotherapists have to practice the universal door, the Fourth Precept -- deep listening and mindful speech. Unless we look deeply into ourselves, this practice will not be easy. If there is a lot of suffering in you, it is difficult to listen to other people or to say nice things to them. First you have to look deeply into the nature of your anger, despair, and suffering to free yourself, so you can be available to others. Suppose your husband said something unkind on Monday and it hurt you. He used unmindful speech and does not have the ability to listen. If you reply right away out of your anger and suffering, you risk hurting him and making his suffering deeper. What should you do? If you suppress your anger or remain silent, that can hurt you, because if you try to suppress the anger in you, you are suppressing yourself. You will suffer later, and your suffering will bring more suffering to your partner. The best immediate practice is to breathe in and out in order to calm your anger, to calm the pain: "Breathing in, I know that I am angry. Breathing out, I calm my feeling of anger." Just by breathing deeply on your anger, you will calm it. You are being mindful of your anger, not suppressing it. When you are calm enough, you may be able to use mindful speech. In a loving and mindful way, you can say, "Darling, I would like you to know that I am angry. What you just said hurt me a lot, and I want you to know that." Just saying that, mindfully and calmly, will give you some relief. Breathing mindfully to calm your anger, you will be able to tell the other person that you are suffering. During that moment, you are living your anger, touching it with the energy of mindfulness. You are not denying it at all. When I speak about this to psychotherapists, I have some difficulty. When I say that anger makes us suffer, they take it to mean that anger is something negative to be removed. But I always say that anger is an organic thing, like love. Anger can become love. Our compost can become a rose. If we know how to take care of our compost, we can transform it into a rose. Should we call the garbage negative or positive? It can be positive, if we know how to handle it. Anger is the same. It can be negative when we do not know how to handle it, but if we know how to handle our anger, it can be very positive. We do not need to throw anything away. After you breathe in and out a number of times to recover your calmness, even if your anger is still there, you are mindful of it, and you can tell the other person that you are angry. You can also tell him that you would like to look deeply into it, and you would like him to look deeply into it also. Then you can make an appointment for Friday evening to look at it together. One person looking at the roots of your suffering is good, two people looking at it is better, and two people looking together is best. I propose Friday evening for two reasons. First, you are still angry, and if you begin discussing it now, it may be too risky. You might say things that will make the situation worse. From now until Friday evening, you can practice looking deeply into the nature of your anger, and the other person can also. While driving the car, he might ask himself, "What is so serious? Why did she get so upset? There must be a reason." While driving, you will also have a chance to look deeply into it. Before Friday night, one or both of you may see the root of the problem and be able to tell the other and apologize. Then on Friday night, you can have a cup of tea together and enjoy each other. If you make an appointment, you will both have time to calm down and look deeply. This is the practice of meditation. Meditation is to calm ourselves and to look deeply into the nature of our suffering. When Friday night comes, if the suffering has not been transformed, you will be able to practice the art of Avalokitesvara. You sit together and practice deep listening -- one person expressing herself, while the other person listens deeply. When you speak, you tell the deepest kind of truth, and you practice loving speech. Only by using that kind of speech will there be a chance for the other person to understand and accept. While listening, you know that only with deep listening can you relieve the suffering of the other person. If you listen with just half an ear, you cannot do it. Your presence must be deep and real. Your listening must be of a good quality in order to relieve the other person of his suffering. This is the practice of the Fourth Precept. The second reason for waiting until Friday is that when you neutralize that feeling on Friday evening, you have Saturday and Sunday to enjoy being together. Suppose you have some kind of internal formation regarding a member of your family or community, and you don't feel joyful being with that person. You can talk to her about simple things, but you don't feel comfortable talking with her about anything deep. Then one day, while doing housework, you notice that the other person is not doing anything at all, is not sharing the work that needs to be done, and you begin to feel uneasy. "Why am I doing so much and she isn't doing anything? She should be working." Because of this comparison, you lose your happiness. But instead of telling the other person, "Please, Sister, come and help with the work," you say to yourself, "She is an adult. Why should I have to say something to her? She should be more responsible!" You think that way because you already have some internal formation about the other person. The shortest way is always the direct way. "B" can go to "A" and say, "Sister, please come and help." But you do not do that. You keep it to yourself and blame the other person. The next time the same thing happens, your feeling is even more intense. Your internal formation grows little by little, until you suffer so much that you need to talk about it with a third person. You are looking for sympathy in order to share the suffering. So, instead of talking directly to "A," you talk to "C." You look for "C" because you think that "C" is an ally who will agree that "A" is not behaving well at all. If you are "C," what should you do? If you already have some internal formations concerning "A," you will probably be glad to hear that someone else feels the same. Talking to each other may make you feel better. You are becoming allies -- "B" and "C" against "A." Suddenly "B" and "C" feel close to each other, and both of you feel some distance from "A." "A" will notice that. "A" may be very nice. She would be capable of responding directly to "B" if "B" could express her feelings to her. But "A" does not know about "B's" resentment. She just feels some kind of cooling down between herself and "B," without knowing why. She notices that "B" and "C" are becoming close, while both of them look at her coldly. So she thinks, "If they don't want me, I don't need them." She steps farther back from them, and the situation worsens. A triangle has been set up. If I were "C," first of all, I would listen to "B" attentively, understanding that "B" needs to share her suffering. Knowing that the direct way is the shortest way, I would encourage "B" to speak directly to "A." If "B" is unable to do this, I would offer to speak to "A" on "B's" behalf, either with "B" present, or alone. But, most important, I would not transmit to anyone else what "B" tells me in confidence. If I am not mindful, I may tell others what I now know about "B's" feelings, and soon the family or the community will be a mess. If I do these things -- encourage "B" to speak directly with "A" or speak with "A" on "B's" behalf, and not tell anyone else what "B" has told me -- I will be able to break the triangle. This may help solve the problem, and bring peace and joy back into the family, the community, and the society. If, in the community, you see that someone is having difficulty with someone else, you have to help right away. The longer things drag on, the more difficult they are to solve. The best way to help is to practice mindful speech and deep listening. The Fourth Precept can bring peace, understanding, and happiness to people. The universal door is a wonderful door. You will be reborn in a lotus flower and help others, including your family, your community, and your society, be born there also. Speech can be constructive or destructive. Mindful speaking can bring real happiness; unmindful speech can kill. When someone tells us something that makes us healthy and happy, that is the greatest gift he or she can give. Sometimes, someone says something to us that is so cruel and distressing that we want to go and commit suicide; we lose all hope, all our //joie de vivre//. People kill because of speech. When you fanatically advocate an ideology, saying that this way of thinking or organizing society is the best, then if anyone stands in your way, you have to suppress or eliminate him. This is very much linked with the First Precept -- that kind of speech can kill not only one person, but many. When you believe in something that strongly, you can put millions of people into gas chambers. When you use speech to promote an ideology, urging people to kill in order to protect and promote your ideology, you can kill many millions. The First and Fourth of the Five Wonderful Precepts inter-are. The Fourth Precept is also linked to the Second Precept, on stealing. Just as there is a "sex industry," there is also a "lying industry." Many people have to lie in order to succeed as politicians, or salespersons. A corporate director of communications told me that if he were allowed to tell the truth about his company's products, people would not buy them. He says positive things about the products that he knows are not true, and he refrains from speaking about the negative effects of the products. He knows he is lying, and he feels terrible about it. So many people are caught in similar situations. In politics also, people lie to get votes. That is why we can speak of a "lying industry." This precept is also linked with the Third Precept. When someone says, "I love you," it may be a lie. It may just be an expression of desire. And so much advertising is linked with sex. In the Buddhist tradition, the Fourth Precept is always described as refraining from these four actions: 1. Not telling the truth. If it's black, you say it's white. 2. Exaggerating. You make something up, or describe something as more beautiful than it actually is, or as ugly when it is not so ugly. 3. Forked tongue. You go to one person and say one thing and then you go to another person and say the opposite. 4. Filthy language. You insult or abuse people. //"I vow to learn to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self- confidence, joy, and hope."// This must be practiced with children. If you tell children they are good-for-nothing, they will suffer in the future. Always emphasize the positive, hopeful things with your children, and also with your spouse. //"I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I will make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small."// Reconciliation is a deep practice that we can do with our listening and our mindful speech. To reconcile means to bring peace and happiness to nations, people, and members of our family. This is the work of a bodhisattva. In order to reconcile, you have to possess the art of deep listening, and you also have to master the art of loving speech. You have to refrain from aligning yourself with one party so that you are able to understand both parties. This is a difficult practice. During the war in Vietnam, we tried to practice this. We tried not to align ourselves with either of the warring parties, the communists or the anticommunists. You will be able to help only if you stand above the conflict and see both the good and the bad aspects of both sides. Doing this, you put yourself in a dangerous situation, because you may be hated by both sides. One side suspects that you are an instrument of the other side, and the other side suspects you are an instrument of the first side. You may be killed by both sides at the same time. That is exactly what many Buddhists in Vietnam suffered during the war. We did not align ourselves with the communists, but we did not align ourselves with the pro-American side either. We just wanted to be ourselves. We did not want any killing; we only wanted reconciliation. One side said that you cannot reconcile with the pro-Americans. The other side said that you cannot reconcile with the communists. If we had listened to both sides it would have been impossible to reconcile with anyone. We trained social workers to go into the rural areas to help with health, economic, and educational problems, and we were suspected by both sides. Our work of reconciliation was not just the work of speaking, but also of acting. We tried to help the peasants find hope. We helped many refugees settle in new villages. We helped sponsor more than ten thousand orphans. We helped the peasants rebuild their destroyed villages. THe work of reconciliation is not just diplomatic; it is concrete. At the same time, we were voicing the peace in our hearts. We said the people in one family must look upon each other as brothers and sisters and accept each other. They should not kill each other because of any ideology. That message was not at all popular in the situation of war. My writings were censored by both sides. My poetry was seized by both sides. My friends printed one of my poetry books underground because the Saigon government would not allow its publication. Then the communist side attacked it on the radio saying that it was harmful to the struggle, probably motivated by the CIA. Nationalist policemen went into bookshops and confiscated the poems. In Hue, one kind policeman went into a Buddhist bookshop and said that this book should not be displayed; it should be hidden and given out only when someone asked for it. We were suppressed not only in our attempts to voice our concerns and propose ways to settle the problems between brothers and sisters, we were also suppressed in our attempts to help people. Many of our social workers were killed and kidnapped by both sides. Each side suspected we were working for the other side. Some of our workers were assassinated by fanatic Catholics who suspected us of working for the communists, and some of our workers were taken away by the communist side. Our workers were quite popular in the countryside. They were very dedicated young men and women, including many young monks and nuns. They did not have salaries; they just wanted to serve and to practice Buddhism. In the situation of war, they brought their loving kindness, compassion, and good work, and received a small stipend to live. They went to the countryside without hoping for anything in return. I remember a young man named An who specialized in helping peasants learn modern methods of raising chickens. He taught them disease prevention techniques. He was asked by a farmer, "How much do you earn from the government each month?" An said, "We don't earn anything from the government. In fact we are not from the government, we are from the temple. We are sent by the Buddhist temple to help you." An did not tell the farmer, who was not so sophisticated, that he was associated with the School of Youth for Social Service, founded by the Department of Social Work of the Unified Buddhist Church. That was too complicated, so he only said that he was sent by the temple. "Why have you come here from the temple?" An said, "We are performing merit." This is a very popular term in Buddhism. The farmer was surprised. He said, "I have learned that in order to perform merit people go to the temple. Now why are you performing merit here?" The young man said, "You know, my Uncle, during these times the people suffer so much that even the Buddha has to come out here to help. We students of the Buddha are performing merit right here, where you suffer." That statement became the ground of our philosophy of social service, engaged Buddhism. The Buddha has to be in society. He cannot remain in the temple any longer, because people are suffering too much. In a few years, we became very popular in the countryside of Vietnam. We did not have a lot of money, but because we worked in the way of performing merit, we were loved by the people. The communist side knew that and did not want us to be there, so they came to us during the night and asked us who had given us permission to work there. Our workers said that we did not have permission from either the government or the communist side. We were just performing merit here. One time the communists gave the order for our social workers to evacuate an area, saying, "We will not be responsible for your safety if you stay beyond twenty-four hours." Another time, some fanatics came from the government, unofficially, and asked our social workers if they were really social workers from the Buddhist community. Then they brought five of the students to the riverbank, and, after checking once more to be sure that they were Buddhist social workers, said, "We are sorry, but we have to kill you." They shot all five of them. We were suppressed by both sides during the night. They knew that if they suppressed us during the day, the peasants in the countryside would disapprove. One grenade thrown into my room was deflected by a curtain. Another night, many grenades were thrown into our School's dormitories, killing two young workers, and injuring many others. One young man was paralyzed, and later treated in Germany. One young lady got more than 1,000 pieces of shrapnel in her body. She lost a lot of blood, and was saved by a Japanese friend who was helping us. Later, we were able to bring her to Japan for surgery. They tried to remove the small metal pieces, but 300 pieces that could not be taken out were left in her body. One day when I was in Paris as representative of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace Delegation, to be present at the Paris Peace Talks, I received a phone message from Saigon telling me that four social workers had just been shot and killed. I cried. It was I who had asked them to come and be trained as social workers. A friend who was there with me, said, "Thay, you are a kind of general leading a nonviolent army, and when your army is working for love and reconciliation, there surely will be casualties. There is no need to cry." I said, "I am not a general. I am a human being. I need to cry." I wrote a play six months later about the deaths of these students, entitled, //The Path of Return Continues the Journey.// [see //Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change// (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1993)] The work of reconciliation is not diplomatic work alone. It is not because you travel and meet with dozens of foreign ministers that you do the work of reconciliation. You have to use your body, your time, and your life to do the work of reconciliation. You do it in many ways, and you can be suppressed by the people you are trying to help. You have to listen and understand the suffering of one side, and then go and listen to the suffering of the other side. Then you will be able to tell each side, in turn, about the suffering being endured by the other side. That kind of work is crucial, and it takes courage. We need many people who have the capacity of listening, in South Africa, in the Middle East, in Eastern Europe, and elsewhere. The Fourth Precept is a bodhisattva precept. We need deep study to be able to practice it well, within ourselves, our families, our communities, our society, and the world. * * * * * THICH NHAT HANH is a Zen Buddhist monk, peace activist, scholar, and poet. He is the founder of the Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon, has taught at Columbia University and the Sorbonne, and now lives in southern France, where he gardens, works to help those in need, and travels internationally teaching "the art of mindful living." Martin Luther King, Jr., nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967, saying, "I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize than this gentle monk from Vietnam." This article was excerpted from //For A Future To Be Possible: Commentaries on the Five Wonderful Precepts//, by Thich Nhat Hanh. Copyright 1993. Reprinted with permission of Parallax Press, PO Box 7355, Berkeley, CA 94707. The chapter on the remaining precept will appear in the following issue (#6) of //Gassho//. The preceding four issues of GASSHO included the first chapters of this series. ======================================================================= {8} ARTICLE ======================================================================= CONVENTIONAL WOMEN, ULTIMATE WOMAN: GENDER, NONDUALITY, AND THE GODDESS by Jamie Hubbard Teaching at a women's college has given me many opportunities to discover that much of current feminist and cultural criticism meshes well with Buddhist ideas, including problematizing the boundaries of self and other, the recuperation of a "strategic self" in the face of postmodern deconstruction, and especially the pervasive discussion of interdependence found from eco-feminism to the cyborg anthropology of Donna Haraway. While I must confess that I often have the feeling that most of these theoretical issues have already been dealt with more thoroughly in the Buddhist context, the political and institutional critique included with so much of current theory is not often of much concern within the Buddhist doctrinal tradition, particularly the Mahayana. Being a somewhat hardheaded fellow, I may not have absorbed overly much in my years of teaching at a women's college, but my students have convinced me of at least two points that I think present a forceful challenge to much of the way the Buddhist treatment of women has been presented by modern writers: 1) there are no human beings that exist apart from gendered bodies and 2) institutions are crucial, particularly so for those whose gender is rendered peripheral by the society that creates the institutions. The usual interpretation found in Western writing on women in the Buddhist tradition is that there is a rift between rhetoric and reality: normative statements affirming the equality of women's potential for Buddhahood are betrayed by the limited institutional access granted women who wish to realize that potential. The old adage about the inevitable breach between ideal and actual is cited in affirmation of the glory of a trans- historical Buddhist truth while the unfortunate, messy, and all-too-human details of the historical reality are decried. But is the matter really so simple as that? Why, we might wonder, is there such an unbridgeable gulf between rhetoric and reality, doctrine and experience? Is the experience of the Buddhist practitioner necessarily so distinct from the Buddhist doctrine that informs it? It is incontestable that many elements of the Buddhist tradition can be -- and have been -- recuperated as affirmations of women's religious equality, beginning with Sakyamuni's declaration that the ultimate fruit is indeed obtainable by women no less than men. One doctrine popularly deployed in such a fashion is the Mahayana rejection of the dichotomy between male and female in the non-duality of emptiness, seen most wonderfully in the "Goddess" chapter of the //Vimalakirtinirdesa-sutra//. This chapter presents the Mahayana notion of truth beyond all dichotomies, and in the process uses the example of gender bias as a powerful demonstration of the illusion of fixed particulars in relation to the truth of the universal: like all fixed or absolute essences, gender is but a limiting dichotomy that has no basis in reality. The chapter opens with the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjusri, questioning Vimalakirti on how a bodhisattva is to regard living beings. A Goddess, overjoyed at the profound discussion of the illusory nature of selfhood, showers the assembly with flowers, leading her to a discussion of the dharma with Sariputra, "foremost of the wise." Sariputra, impressed but unable to fathom how a *woman* could have achieved such wisdom, asks her, "Goddess, what prevents you from transforming yourself out of your female state?" The Goddess replies, "Although I have sought my `female state' for these twelve years, I have not yet found it. . . With this in mind, the Buddha said, `In all things, there is neither male nor female'" (from //The Holy Teaching of Vimalakiirti//, translated by Robert Thurman [The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1976], pp. 61-62). This interchange is truly delightful (especially when the Goddess mocks Sariputra's fixed notions of gender by changing him into a woman) and important as a statement of the equality of all things. At the same time, however, given the fact of the many inequalities faced by women in the real world of Buddhist institutions, we may question, as do my students regularly, the meaning of such a theoretical equality of genders. As one student put it after reading in the //Aganna Sutta// of the central role of sexual desire in the degeneration of the world: The basic focus of the Buddhist tradition has been on the renunciant males. The reason that sexuality is seen like it is, some think, is because most scriptures were written by males who were out of control (sexual lust is the most obvious desire, [accompanied by] public shame of sexual organs). In Nirvana, however, there is no gender. Is that supposed to appease the female community? You get treated like a second class citizen all of your life because some renunciant monks are afraid or obsessed with the idea of someone being sexually different from themselves, but it's okay because in Nirvana you cease to have gender? I really can't imagine this would be a big selling point to women. (Laura Carson, comments posted to class discussion list, //The Politics of Enlightenment//, Smith College, 3/94) As she notes, "selling" the dharma is a tricky point, and two questions arise from this rather typical response to the notion of a gender-free enlightenment: 1) where or what is the locus of the non-gendered reality described by the Goddess; and 2) how can such a reality be relevant to gendered beings, for whom gender constructions matter a great deal? This question also forces one to ponder what social constructs and boundaries would govern a world suddenly shorn of gender markings, a question rather pertinent in light of the virtual communities we now roam so freely, without obvious markings of gender, race, ethnicity, age, etc. Where, indeed, is this magical realm of non-gendered beings? Obviously for the //Vimalakirti// it is the realm of non-duality, the realm of emptiness taken as the equality not just of gender but of *all things*. We should keep in mind that the "Goddess" chapter opens with the question of how to regard living beings in general, a caution against assuming that the Goddess is really even concerned with gender -- gender just happens to be one of the most deeply rooted examples of ignorant, dichotomous thinking and hence extremely powerful as a metaphor or polemic, not in the service of equality for women but rather the truth of non-duality. All discrimination must be transcended in non-duality, even that which would discriminate non-duality from duality; hence too the famous "thunderous roar of Vimalakirti's silence" at the end the chapter on "The Dharma-Door of Nonduality." As with Sariputra's attempt to essentialize gender, the statements in this chapter clearly show that to say, "*This* is the entrance to non-duality" means that there is something that is *not* the entrance and hence the statement itself becomes dualistic. Just as gender discrimination is erased in nonduality so too the discriminations of linguistic representation are eliminated. This "silence" is often taken as the "ultimate" truth, and so perhaps a non-gendered woman (whatever that might mean) corresponds to the "ultimate" woman that I referred to in the title. But nonduality is a tricky business, and although many would like to simply rest with the elimination of gender discrimination, language, and other concepts and constructions, such is clearly contrary to the *critical* thrust of a Buddhist tradition that moves towards accurate discrimination rather than monistic blurs of oneness or sameness. Where is there nonduality that does not simultaneously encompass duality? Where is there an emptiness apart from the form that is empty? To assert such a transcendent realm would be to slide down a slippery slope of moral nihilism, denying the manifold world of interdependent phenomena that the Buddha asserted in place of monist unities. Does emptiness mean nonexistence and nonduality imply erasure? No, and so the location of non- gendered reality can be none other than the realm of gendered beings. In another idiom, we may all equally be human beings, but we are all equally *gendered* human beings. The discriminating wisdom of the Buddhas (prajna) is not the absence of all differentiation and representation but rather maximally accurate differentiation and representation of the way things *really are*. So too Vimalakirti was not merely silent -- he, like the Buddha, also spoke a great deal in discrimination of truth and falsity. It is for this reason that an understanding of nonduality as the elimination of distinctions is of little relevance to beings within the nondual reality of gendered existence. To think otherwise is to endorse an "equality through erasure," the sort of equality that will forever remain utopian (from the Greek //ou// + //topos//, literally "no place," that is, no place in the real world). This is to silence rather than empower women, ignore rather than face the power and importance of difference, and, ultimately, to promote indifference and hence social bias rather than eliminate suffering. Many people, for example, have thought that the lack of sex and other physical markings in Net communication would foster an egalitarian cyber-communion, but this has been far from the reality. It seems that on the net, as with erasing, ignoring, forgetting, or "looking the other way" in physical realities, ignoring and/or bending gender (re)presentations simply allows the dominant socialization to continue unchallenged rather than create equality. We might also question where such a "no-place" of non-gendered existence might lie along either the path of practice, where one's gender has a great deal to do with access to education, teachers, institutional sanctuary, and thereby realization or within the practice of wisdom, in which, if a Buddha is one who teaches uniquely to the needs of the practitioner, surely the recognition of gender difference among those practitioners would be among the most basic skills of an enlightened Buddha. Both of these realms -- the practice that leads towards wisdom and the practice *of* wisdom -- thus include the truth of conventional women, women who live with the constructions of gender. If I am wrong, however, and non-duality means "equality" in the sense of an essential sameness arrived at through elimination of conventional difference, then perhaps the historical reality does not *betray* the doctrinal ideal but rather mirrors it rather accurately. If, on the other hand, nonduality in no way denies worldly phenomena, including social constructions of gender as well as biological difference of sex, we are forced, I believe, to question not only a modern interpretation of a "nonduality" of gender but also the simplicity of the "rhetoric versus reality" model that dominates the discussion of women in the Buddhist tradition. The rhetoric forces us, inexorably, to turn towards the reality. In this context I would like to offer a few comments on the institutional reality faced by women within the Buddhist tradition. Much ink (and, more recently, Internet data packets) has been spilled on the fact that although women have equal potential for wisdom "when they have gone forth from the household life and entered the homeless state, under the doctrine and discipline proclaimed by the Blessed One," their opportunity to realize that potential was immediately limited by the imposition of eight rules which restrict access to doctrine and discipline -- that is, restrict access to that homeless life that is the precondition of wisdom. Leaving aside the question of the historical status of the text and its authorship, I tend to agree with those who feel that rather than hold the Buddha to current standards of correct thinking on and institutional implementation of gender equality we should consider the radical nature of his creation of a sanctuary and safe haven for the nurturing of women's religious dignity within the society of his time. Thus too I believe that it is of paramount importance to keep in mind that the wisdom-equality of women was not merely declared as an independent fact but rather was declared *dependent upon institutional access*, that is, dependent upon entering the "homeless state, under the doctrine and discipline proclaimed by the Blessed One." We know that early Buddhist women celebrated this institutional innovation as both a place of social as well as religious liberation from the poems produced in their exultation: "O free, indeed! O gloriously free am I, in freedom from three crooked things: -- From mortar, pestle, and from my crookback'd husband! Ay, but I'm free from rebirth and from death, And all that dragged me back is hurled away." Just as the future Buddha left the hindrances of society and family behind in order to pursue a higher duty so too women were able to quit the home and leave behind expected sexual roles in the search for wisdom: "Home have I left, for I have left my world! Child have I left, and all my cherish'd heirs! Lust have I left, and Ill-will, too, is gone, And Ignorance have I put far from me; Craving and root of Craving overpower'd, Cool am I now, knowing Nibbana's peace (adapted from //Psalms of the Sisters//, translated by Mrs. Rhys Davids [London: Oxford University Press, 19], pp. 15 & 21). To keep in mind how innovative Sakyamuni was, all we need do is call to mind how budget strictures, zoning laws, bigotry, hostility, and outright violence are used to hamper attempts to create neighborhood shelters or refuges of safety for women in our own times, in spite of the sickening violence women regularly face in North American society. Thus the creation of a women's sangha, whatever we might today think of the eight rules, is not a rejection of historical context but a recognition of it. So too today's sanghas must face today's historical context and not hide behind a rhetoric of equality if they are to create the institutional opportunities for the realization of women's wisdom that Sakyamuni envisioned, for just as there is no emptiness apart from the form that is empty, there is no equality of gender apart from the gendered beings that are, or would be, equal. * * * * * JAMIE HUBBARD is the Yehan Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies at Smith College. His major research concerns are apocryphal Chinese texts of the Three Stages movement from Tun-huang and Japan, institutional and economic history of Buddhism, new Buddhist movements in Japan, and methodological issues in religious studies and Buddhist studies. He has authored various articles on these topics and has written a BBC film titled "The Yamaguchi Story: Buddhism and the Family in Japan." Books in progress include a volume on the Three Stages movement, an edited volume on the "critical Buddhism" controversy in Japan, and a volume dealing with the apocryphal manuscripts discovered at Nanatsudera temple in Nagoya. ======================================================================= {9} ARTICLE ======================================================================= THE MOTHER ESSENCE LINEAGE by Ngakpa Chogyam Rinpoche - Yeshe Tsogyel - The greatest inspiration and role model for women, in terms of Tibetan Buddhism, is the enlightened yogini Yeshe Tsogyel (Ye-shes mTsho-rGyal). Yeshe means 'primordial wisdom', and Tsogyel means 'queen of the ocean- like quality of Mind'. She is the female Buddha of the Nyingma School. As an historical figure she is mother of all Nyingma Lineages. Yeshe Tsogyel, together with her incarnation and emanations are an inspiration to women as role models, and to men as teachers. According to the teachings of the Mother Essence Lineage, there are three styles of teacher-student relationship; according to mDo (Sutra), rGyud (Tantra), and rDzogs-chen (Mahasandhi). According to Sutra one needs a teacher of the same gender. According to Tantra one needs a teacher of the other, or inverse gender. According to Dzogchen the gender of the teacher is irrelevant. From the perspective of Tantra, therefore, female teachers are role models for women and teachers for men -- whereas male teachers are teachers for women and role models for men. Within the Mother Essence Lineage, the practice of everyday life is approached from the View of Tantra, and formal practice is approached from the View of Dzogchen. This account of the Mother Essence Lineage is written in a style that emphasizes View rather than practice; and so it emphasizes the perspective of Tantra. There is tremendous emphasis on what is called living the View in the Mother Essence Lineage, and this is a style of practice that is particularly suited to women. Yeshe Tsogyel was the sang-yum or spiritual consort of Padmasambhava. Padmasambhava is known in the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism as the second Buddha. Padmasambhava was the founder of Buddhism in Tibet, and the Nyingma (Ancient) School represents the first spread of Buddhism in Tibet when it surged with the spiritual dynamism provoked by Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel. Padmasambhava's birth and activity were predicted by Buddha Shakyamuni, who said that a being of tremendous power and compassion would appear after his death, who had the capacity to transmit the teaching and practices of Tantra. The two primary aspects of the practice of Tantra consist of wisdom and active-compassion, and these are regarded as being female and male qualities respectively. Wisdom and active-compassion are fundamentally the enlightened human qualities of Emptiness and Form -- the ornaments of non-duality. (This is a teaching that is also fundamental to the Sutric teaching. It is found in the Heart Sutra, in which it is stated that Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form.) With regard to Tantra, Padmasambhava is Form or active-compassion, and Yeshe Tsogyel is Emptiness or wisdom. From this perspective, the whole of reality is seen as the dance of Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel. Within the Ngakphang Sangha of the Nyingma School, every Lama and her or his spiritual consort are Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel as far as their disciples are concerned. In the Mother Essence Lineage, Yeshe Togyel and her incarnations and emanations are of primary importance, because she is the Mother of Vision, and therefore the Mother of non-dual experience. Tantra contains methods that are particularly valuable for women, because of their emphasis on the development of Vision. It is said, within the Tantric teachings, that women have greater capacity for realization than men because of their greater natural resonance with the sphere of Visionary practice. The most inspirational example in the Tantric tradition of the profound capacity of women is Yeshe Tsogyel. She was the first Tibetan woman to achieve Buddhahood and has had numerous incarnations and emanations in Tibet and the other Himalayan countries. The Visionary origin of the Mother Essence Lineage is Yeshe Tsogyel, and her influence can be traced forward to the twentieth century through her incarnations. The incarnations of Yeshe Tsogyel include: Machig Lapdron; Jomo Menmo; Jomo Chhi-'med Pema; and, Jetsunma Khandro Yeshe Rema -- the women who gave birth to the pure-vision revelations that are called the Aro gTer of the Mother Essence Lineage. Those interested to learn more about the life of Yeshe Tsogyel are referred to Keith Dowman's excellent book 'Sky Dancer', which chronicles her birth, life and realization -- along with a marvellous commentary on the nature of the three inner Tantras. Because this text is easily available, there is no need to discuss the life of Yeshe Tsogyel in this account of the Mother Essence Lineage. Machig Lapdron (Ma-gChig Lap-sGron) 'Unique Mother Torch of Practice' was the incarnation of Yeshe Tsogyel. Machig Lapdron was the great Tibetan yogini who was the originator of the practice of Chod -- the Visionary practice of cutting attachment to one's corporeal form (in terms of the dualistic proclivity to relate to ones corporeal form as a reference-point that proves one's existence). Machig Lapdron too, is quite well chronicled in various texts that are currently available. Jomo Menmo is regarded generally as an emanation of Yeshe Tsogyel; but specifically, in the Mother Essence Lineage, as the incarnation of Machig Lapdron. Jomo Menmo, however, is not very well known to Western audiences, and so I will give a short account of her life that was given to me orally by Jetsunma Khandro Ten'dzin Drolkar, a great hidden yogini of the Nyingma School whom I have had the good fortune to know as a friend and mentor since 1975. - Jomo Menmo - Jomo Menmo Pema Tsokyi (Jom-mo sMan-mo Padma mTsho-sKyid) was born in the Earth Male monkey year (1248 CE) and passed into the sky-dimension in 1283 CE. She was born in the magical vicinity of the cave in which both Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel once stayed. The place was called Zarmolung which was located in an area of Tibet called E-yul, which means 'primordial-awareness country'. Her parents named her Pema Tsokyi which means 'Lotus of the Ocean'. Her childhood was relatively uneventful and her parents were fairly ordinary people. She spent her childhood helping with the general work of living in a family and also helped with herding the yaks and dris. At the onset of puberty (in the Spring of 1261), whilst she was grazing the yaks and dris in the high pasture lands, she fell asleep in a meadow. The alpine meadow was overlooked by the Dewachen- puk -- the cave of great ecstasy, in which Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel had demonstrated attainment. The place was known as Kyungchen-ling -- the place of the great Garuda. The Garuda is the 'Space-eagle', which demonstrates, in its being: the unborn, unceasing, ever present state of enlightenment that is the fundamental ground of the Dzogchen teachings and practices. Whilst asleep, she had a dream of clarity in which she experienced a profound Vision. A sonorous voice awoke her from the unconscious dream state into a state of pure and total presence. She found herself standing in front of the entrance to a secret cave in the mountain side. She entered the cave immediately and with a sense of keen enthusiasm. She did not know what she would find there, but she was consumed with a sense of immanence without hope or fear. Once inside the cave a Vision unfolded in which Yeshe Tsogyel manifested in a phantasmagorical variety of guises. These Visions melted into each other until they coalesced into the form of Yeshe Tsogyel as Dorje Phagmo. Dorje Phagmo means 'indestructible sow' or 'thunderbolt sow'. Dorje Phagmo is the ecstatically fierce Dakini, whose head is surmounted by the head of a sow whose screech shatters illusion. The sound of the screech obliterates all concepts and sharply confides the direct meaning or ro-chig -- the one taste of Emptiness and Form. At the moment in which she apprehended Yeshe Tsogyel as Dorje Phagmo, a complete body of teaching was revealed to her. She understood its meaning in the instant of its appearance. This teaching named itself as 'The Gathered Secrets of Sky dancers'. She realized this teaching was something that she should practice in complete secrecy until its results were obtained. She knew immediately that there would be no obstacle to her fulfilment of these practices. With the arising of this knowledge the Vision of Dorje Phagmo dissolved into Cho-nyi (Chos-nyid -- Dharmata, the Space of reality). Pema Tsokyi awoke from the Vision, and went about her daily life. But wherever she went she gave teachings as the spontaneous expression of her Mind, voice and body. She gave Mind-to-Mind teaching as the natural expression of her presence. She sang teaching-songs as the natural expression of her conversation, and performed vajra-dance as the natural expression of her deportment. This had both fortunate and unfortunate consequences. Many ordinary people were astounded by her and recognized that she was a realized yogini, but the ecclesiastics of that place made people afraid of her. She was slandered as a psychotic, a mad-woman who had been possessed by a demon. Once fear had been stirred up by the jealous male ecclesiastics, people became nervous of Pema Tsokyi. The ordinary people lost their natural faith in Pema Tsokyi. They found themselves unable to have confidence in their own spontaneous devotion, in opposition to the ecclesiastical conservatism that styled her as a demoness. The people then began to make accusations against her as well; saying that she had gone to sleep in the mountains and been possessed by a Menmo -- a demonic female being from another dimension. It was then that she became known as Jomo Menmo -- the Demonic Lady. Because of the ill feeling that the bigoted and narrow-minded ecclesiastics showed toward her, she decided to leave her home and family and never return to the area. It would seem to be a common problem faced by religious ecstatics and wisdom eccentrics, that they are attacked by religious moralists, academics, and philosophers. From the view of the gradual path it is regarded as highly threatening for a simple country girl to gain realization over-night, and it is often the case that the 'uneducated' have a better appreciation of naturally-born wisdom, than those who have studied for long years in search of the same wisdom. It is also the case that men, especially ecclesiastic men, are threatened by female wisdom eccentrics. For those who study to attain wisdom there is often the problem of becoming hide-bound by conventional or traditional religious semantics, and then bigotry and anger usually arise. After a period of ecstatic wandering, she reached a place called La-yak- pang-drong in the western part of Lho-drak, where she met a great Nyingma Visionary -- the gTerton (gTer-ston) Guru Rinpoche Cho-kyi Wang-chuk (Gu- ru Rin-po-che Chos-kyi dBang-phyug). Guru Cho-wang (as his name is commonly contracted) was one of the five sovereign Nyingma Visionaries, and one of the three major emanations of Padmasambhava. As soon as Guru Cho-wang saw Jomo Menmo he knew that she was the perfect sang-yum or spiritual-wife with whom he could bring his realization to fulfilment. Through her relationship with him, Jomo Menmo was able to clear his Spatial-nerves (tsa) of subtle dualistic eddies and currents with in the Spatial-winds (rLung). Once his tsa-lung system flowed with complete freedom he found himself with the capacity of realizing the meaning of every symbolic device within the Visionary teaching he had discovered, but which he had been unable to translate. (The Innermost Secret Heart Essence Tantra of the Eight Wrathful Awareness-beings -- bKa'a-brGyad gSang-ba yong-rDzogs man-ngak-gi rGyud chen-po.) They stayed a brief time with each other, in which they shared songs of realization, and the quintessential instructions according to their individual Vision. When Jomo Menmo decided to take her leave of Guru Cho- wang, he advised her that the time was not right to divulge the Visionary teaching cycle that she had received from Yeshe Tsogyel. He said that it would be better if her Visionary teaching benefited people at a future time. He advised her, instead, to travel throughout Tibet benefiting people in a secret manner. To 'benefit people in a secret manner' is an activity that is particular to women, and does not involve any kind of describable method. Secret activity can comprise any human possibility, and can be utterly unobservable to anyone unless they are open to that style of transmission and teaching. An enlightened woman (or more rarely, an enlightened man) can simply appear to live in the style of an ordinary person with no outer sign of accomplishment, wisdom or even knowledge. Such a woman is of profound influence merely in the ways in which her everyday life causes the innate enlightenment of others to sparkle through the fabrications of their dualistic conditioning. On her wandering throughout Tibet she met many yogis who gained powerful realizations simply by meeting her. The most famous of these was Ling-je Repa (gLing-rJe ras-pa), who experienced the same profound purification of his Spatial-nerves and Spatial-winds as Guru Cho-wang. Jomo Menmo spent her life this way, as a wandering yogini; changing people's lives irredeemably merely through the fact of their adventitiously finding themselves in her presence. In this way she engendered many lineages of female practitioners, two of whom entered the sky-dimension with her at the time of her disappearance from the world. At the age of thirty-six, she climbed to the summit of Tak-lha-ri (Mountain of the Sky Tiger), and on the tenth day of the seventh month (4th of August 1283) she and her two female disciples entered the Sky-dimension and were never seen again. Her extraordinary Visionary teaching returned to the Mind of Yeshe Tsogyel, and was later re-discovered by Rig'dzin Pema Do-ngak Lingpa; who was the incarnation of Guru Cho-wang. - Pema 'o-Zer - Jomo Menmo had various emanations in Tibet, but in 1901 her incarnation was recognized by Gomchenma Pema 'o-Zer. Gomchenma Pema 'o-Zer was raised by Jomo Chhi-'med Pema (who was herself an emanation of Yeshe Tsogyel). Pema 'o-Zer was recognized by her aunt Jomo Chhi-'med Pema, to be an emanation of Tashi Chi-dren. Tashi Chi-dren was the consort of Padmasambhava who manifested in Vision as the Tigress upon which he rode in his manifestation as Dorje Trollo -- the most wrathful of the eight manifestations of Padmasambhava. Pema 'o-Zer's mother father and older brother died of small pox when she was about four years old, and she was left to be brought up by her ageing aunt Jomo Chhi-'med Pema, who was regarded as being a very eccentric old woman. Jomo Chhi-'med Pema lived alone and herded a few goats, but she was however a powerful yogini, and someone who could converse with the local Mountain Protectress and give people answers to questions about their lives and futures. There were heaps of stones all around her dwelling; mounds of pebbles from the river which she had arranged in circles and other shapes. She would carry stones, sometimes quite large ones, for many miles, because she felt that they were in the wrong place. She had some special knowledge, connected with the Protectors, about where certain stones should be. She treated them very much as living beings, and would read meaning into the positions in which she found them. One day, young Pema 'o-Zer fell over and hit her knee whilst she was playing outside her aunts dwelling. When Jomo Chhi-'med Pema heard her crying, she came out immediately with a large stick a gave the rock a severe thrashing, warning it to take very good care of young Pema 'o-Zer in future. Pema 'o-Zer was very moved by this. She felt very sorry for having got the rock into trouble by her stupidity, and thereafter treated the rock with kindness and respect. She would make offerings to the rock, and everyday apologize for the beating that it had to receive. Jomo Chhi-'med would often give young Pema 'o-Zer teaching in this style and the young girl seemed to be able to take advantage of her aunt's style with very powerful effect. She learnt a great deal from her aunt. Jomo Chhi-'med knew the positions of the larger rocks in the river very well, and made predictions about the weather and when to sow or harvest, according to what she saw. If the rocks moved, she would know immediately and it would usually portend some change in weather. The local people would always ask her advice on the weather. Sometimes they would ask her to intervene, in terms of the weather, and she had notable power as a controller of weather. This wisdom-eccentric became the adoptive mother of Pema 'o-Zer, and gave her many instructions on how to practise. She taught her the Dzogchen Long-de and many other kinds of very essential practice. She never chanted texts or used any kind of ritual implements. She had no shrine, and no thangkas in her home. People assumed that she was very poor, and ignorant of religious conventions, but always asked for her help when personal misfortunes overtook them. She did have some disciples who visited her, but they always came secretly and gave no outer sign of 'coming to visit a Lama'. Jomo Chhi-'med would attend teachings when important Lamas came to the area, but she would sit in a state of non-conceptual equipoise rather than listening in an intellectual style. She would never make mudras of any kind, or join in the recitations when empowerments were given. Because of this many people assumed that she was a pious simpleton. When the teachings or empowerments were over she would walk away giggling. She would smile at people very broadly, and laugh very loudly, which monks in particular found rather disconcerting. When asked any question she would often only reply 'Yes!' over and over again, whilst nodding her head vigorously and grinning in an insane manner. This usually had the effect of dissuading people with intellectual pretensions from asking her questions. One day when Pema 'o-Zer was in her late teens, her aunt Jomo Chhi-'med left the house and never returned. (It is not known where she went or what happened to her.) Pema 'o-Zer lived at the house of Jomo Chhi-'med Pema for a while, but one day she had a Vision during her meditation in which Jomo Chhi-'med appeared to her. Jomo Chhi-'med Pema told her to begin a life of wandering in which she would find a suitable sang-yab. Pema 'o-Zer left her aunt's house, which had almost fallen into ruins, and wandered for several years as an itinerant yogini before meeting Rang-rig Togden, a wandering Chodpa (practitioner of Chod). After wandering together through Eastern and Central Tibet, they settled in Mar-Kham where they found a cave called 'Tiger Space of Rainbow Light'. They remained there for the rest of their lives as practitioners of Dzogchen Long-de, the 'Space' or 'Vast Expanse' series of Dzogchen. Gomchenma Pema 'o-Zer's Sangyab and disciple, Rang-rig Togden, was a powerful yogi, especially of the subjugation practices of Chana Dorje (Vajrapani), Tamdrin (Hayagriva) and Khyung (Garuda) a practice he had received from Azom Drukpa. They practiced all their lives and spent almost all their elder years in retreat. When they were in their sixties, Gomchenma Pema 'o-Zer had a Vision of Yeshe Tsogyel that lasted for seven days. When the Vision dissolved back into Cho-nyi (dharmata) she was left with the knowledge that she was going to give birth to a daughter who would be the incarnation of Jomo Menmo, the great female Nyingma gTerton. Jomo Menmo was the consort of Guru Chowang -- one of the gTerton Kings. Sang-ngak-cho-dzong holds the nine prong meteorite iron Vajra made by Padmasambhava and discovered by Guru Chowang through the inspiration of Jomo Menmo, and also the Dorje and Drilbu of Jomo Menmo. - Jetsunma Khandro Yeshe Rema - The birth of Jetsunma Khandro Yeshe Rema was a remarkable event. She was born with great ease and without making any sound. The first thing she did was to making a very long drawn out hiss with her lips drawn up into Wrathful aspect, as if she were performing a Tsa-lung breathing exercise. A great number of eagles appeared in the sky at her birth. They swooped and glided very close to her parents' Retreat Cave entrance. All manner of sky phenomena appeared at her birth, including clouds shaped like yungdrungs and gakyils. Strong gusts of wind sprang up and subsided very quickly. The sun and moon were clearly visible in the sky at the same time. Her mother remained in a state of Vision through the birth, in which she was physically assisted by Rang-rig Togden. Khandro Yeshe slept a great deal as a child but always with her eyes wide open. It was not always easy to tell whether she was asleep or awake because often she would sleep sitting up without any support. She didn't speak until she was five years old but then spoke fluently and without effort. Up until that point she simply listened to her mother and father practising or giving her instruction on practise. She was brought up entirely in retreat and never saw another child until she was an adult woman. As a young girl, she would wander widely in the mountains around her parents meditation cave. She would disappear whenever patrons came to visit and bring food and offerings to the couple. She expressly did not want anyone to see her apart from her parents, and they were quite happy to go along with her in this wish. They never questioned anything that she did or wanted. She wanted very little and was mostly quiet apart from peals of loud and unexpected laughter. She would sometimes be gone for several days and come back with accounts of having visited other realms and of having met Yeshe Tsogyel and Padmasambhava. Her parents instructed her in Trul-khor (Yantra yoga) from a very early age and she had mastered gTu-mo by the age of nine. She could not endure to wear clothes for most of the year until she was an adult and left the retreat cave. This is why she had the name Rema or cotton wearing lady, because she had the power to generate her own inner heat. Khandro Yeshe Rema was about sixteen or seventeen years old when her parents took rainbow-body ('ja'-lus) together. She sewed them in a white tent together after receiving final advice, instructions, and predictions from them; and retired to a distance of twenty one paces to begin her practice. Seven days later she opened the tent and all that was left were their respective clothes, hair, finger nails, toe nails and nasal septum. They had taken rainbow body together. It is a highly unusual event for two people to achieve rainbow body together at the same time, but it was something that had her mother had predicted many years before. This event had a profound impact on Jetsunma Khandro Yeshe Rema and ripened many latent faculties. She gathered the relics of her parents and set out toward Northern Kham and Golok where her Mother had predicted she would find a suitable Sang-yab for the realization of a gTerma cycle that would come into being in the future for the benefit of beings in distant lands. Her mother had given indications that this gTerma cycle would be of immense benefit in the future if certain conditions were met, but that there would also be many circumstantial obstacles to overcome. Khandro Yeshe travelled from place to place practising and living as a wandering yogini. She had the opportunity on several occasions to join up with other groups of practitioners but was intent on travelling alone. She sometimes pretended to be dumb, in order to avoid speaking with people -- especially if they were religious people. She would always speak to children and ordinary people -- especially if they appeared to have difficulties; but she always avoided religious people whenever she could. It took Jetsunma Khandro Yeshe Rema about year to reach Northern Kham and Golok where it was predicted that she would meet her Sang-yab. It was there that she met 'a-Shul Pema Legden who was a monk and a disciple of Khalding Lingpa. She recognized 'a-Shul Pema Legden immediately as having the potential to realize Visions, and so they travelled together to Southern Tibet. 'a-Shul Pema Legden gave up his monk's vows and became her sang-yab. During their journey to Southern Tibet Jetsunma Khandro Yeshe Rema experienced several profound Visionary experiences of Yeshe Tsogyel in which she realized the cycles of Teachings and practice that her mother had predicted. These cycles of teachings and practice came to be known as the Aro gTer -- the teaching of the Mother Essence Lineage. These teachings survive today as a very essentialized and 'very non-elaborate' body of teachings and practice. - The Mother Essence Lineage Today - Tibetan Buddhism is known in the West largely in terms of monasticism. With regard to the monastic sangha, the teaching of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and Bon, are accessed mostly completely through the teaching of monks. It is a small minority of Western Buddhists who are aware of Tibetan Lamas who are nuns. At present the only Tibetan nun to teach in the West is Khandro Rinpoche, a female Lama of the Kagyud School. The dominant spiritual culture of Tibet appears to be male as far as most people are aware. Although this is not an entirely inaccurate portrayal of the dominant spiritual culture of Tibet, it does not convey the spiritual dynamism that existed in terms of women, and the very small family lineages that existed -- in which women were very spiritually influential indeed. Contrary to the overt cultural impression, there were many women in Tibet who were teachers of the most profound level, and many of them had male disciples numbering amongst the highest monastic dignitaries. Some practised as ordained nuns, but many more practised both as ordained Ngakmas and lay yoginis. The Ngakmas and Ngakpas (the male equivalent) were those ordained into the Tantric Ngakphang sangha and tended to live as married couples. Both Ngakmas and lay yoginis are still to be found in the Himalayan countries that surround Tibet; but it is not an easy or simple endeavour to meet them, or even find them. One such remarkable woman is Jetsunma Khandro Ten'dzin Drolkar -- the remarkable yogini who gave me the account of the life of Jomo Menmo. I have the immense good fortune of knowing her both as a teacher and vajra-sister; and as such, have introduced several of my students to her. Jetsunma Khandro Ten'dzin Drolkar is a hidden yogini. Very few people in the West have heard of her, and even in India and Nepal she is not widely known. She is indistinguishable from any other elderly Tibetan woman you might pass on the streets of McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala where she currently lives. Despite her anonymity, she is a close friend of Ven. Sonam Sangpo Rinpoche, Ven. Tharchin Rinpoche and His Holiness Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche -- and highly respected by them for the profundity of her practice and realization. She is a Dzogchen yogini who has spent most of her life in and out of retreat. She has also raised a family, and survived a somewhat difficult husband. One of her sons Trulku Ten'dzin was recognized as an Nyingma incarnation, and currently lives in semi-open retreat with Kyabje Chatral Rinpoche in Yang-le-shod in the Kathmandu valley of Nepal. Apart from the many individual women practitioners and teachers in Tibet, there were also small lineages that existed along-side the major Nyingma lineages. These were the minor lineages of mountain recluses both male and female; and also, hidden female lineages that passed down from through children rather than through incarnation lines. The Mother Essence Lineage is one such lineage of teachings and practices. The Mother Essence Lineage is primarily a lineage of very unusual women, wisdom-eccentrics who were either solitary or married recluses. They were either itinerant Nyingma yoginis and their partners, or those who lived in communities such as the Aro Gar, where the Mother Essence Lineage was disseminated. The Mother Essence Lineage passed initially from aunt to niece, and then from mother to daughter. With this daughter, began the direct daughter-line which was destined to pass down through a succession of women, but due to the vagaries of circumstance and the intervention of the Chinese invasion, the blood line was broken. The daughter was an extraordinary Visionary by the name of Yeshe Rema (Jetsunma Khandro Yeshe Rema) who passed her teachings on to a small group of men and women who gathered around in the final phase of her life. Amongst this small group of no more than a hundred disciples there was a predominant number of accomplished yoginis, nine of whom had remarkable yogic abilities. A-ye Khandro and A-she Khandro in particular manifested yogic powers such as telepathy, clairvoyance and the ability to converse with animals and beings in other dimensions. Yeshe Rema was a pure-vision gTerton, that is to say a discoverer of spiritual treasures. She received several cycles of practice directly from Yeshe Tsogyel the female Buddha and consort of Padmasambhava. These practices were unique and extraordinary, as they consisted of Awareness- being (meditational deity) forms that were all manifestations of Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel. Together with these practices were methods of the three series of Dzogchen and their ancillary psycho- physical practices. Yeshe Rema was advised by her mother to practice these in secret, and only to teach the practices to her daughter. It would then be her daughter who would transmit these teachings to the world. Unfortunately, due to inauspicious circumstances, Yeshe Rema gave birth to a son, and the blood-line was broken. Her Sang-yab (spiritual husband) died, and she never took another consort. Her mother had advised that she should only have one Sang-yab. She also advised that she should only have one child; otherwise her life would be considerably shortened, and she would thus have little time to make sure of her daughter's spiritual training. Her Sang-yab, 'a-Shul Pema Legden, was an old Lama. He died whilst Yeshe Rema was still quite young, and before she had conceived a daughter. This could have meant that Yeshe Rema's cycles of Visionary teaching would have disappeared from the world, but through her yogic power she was able to conceive shortly before 'a-Shul Pema Legden's death. She guided him through the Bardo visions of the intermediate state between lives, and gave birth to him as her own son. It was not possible, for 'a- Shul Pema Legden to be re-born as a woman due to his own remaining karmic obscurations, and so the opportunity was lost in terms of these teachings being made widely known. Yeshe Rema's mother had given her advice about the inauspicious advent of giving birth to a son, and as a result of maintaining these instructions very exactly was able to pass the teaching on to her son by appearing to him in Visionary form after her own death, and whilst he was in solitary retreat at the age of eight. The son of Yeshe Rema was called Aro Yeshe, and she left instructions that the Visionary practices that he would give would be called the Aro gTer. Aro Yeshe was the name that she would have given to her daughter, had she been able to give birth to a girl. During the childhood of Aro Yeshe he was kept away from other boys and from men in general. He was brought up, after the death of his mother, by five yoginis that she had appointed to attend to his education. His childhood friends were two sisters called A- ye Khandro and A-she Khandro who later becomes his Sang-yums. These two girls were the two first disciples to whom he transmitted the Aro gTer, and it was they who actually passed the teachings on to the other disciples of Jetsunma Khandro Yeshe Rema. Aro Yeshe himself taught very rarely because the transmissions were seen as more powerful if they were received from women. Since the death of Yeshe Rema, the tradition was continued by a male lineage holder, supported by two powerful female consorts. This became called the indirect son line. It was called indirect because it came through a male lineage holder, and in this tradition male practitioners have less power of lineal blessing. There is a prediction however, that the direct daughter line will re-emerge with greater power if sufficient women become accomplished in the Visionary methods of the Mother Essence Lineage. My work as a Lama is dedicated to ensuring that such lineages as the direct daughter line can re-emerge. To that end Sang-ngak-cho-dzong has been established as a spiritual organization dedicated to the creation of opportunities for women. Special emphasis is placed on practice in the context of family life, and on encouraging women to engage in teacher- training within this lineage. There are now a group of significant women practitioners within Sang-ngak-cho-dzong who have had inspirational contact with Jetsunma Khandro Ten'dzin Drolkar, three of whom have been ordained into the Vajra commitment of the Ngakphang Sangha. Of the three, one is called Khandro Dechen Tsedrup Yeshe; she is my wife and Sang-yum. She is a great inspiration to me, and we work together as a 'teaching couple'. As a 'teaching couple', an important aspect of our role is to provide an example of the dance that exists as the marriage of two Tantric practitioners. This is one of the most crucial and fundamental features of the Mother Essence Lineage, and one which I will describe at a later point in this essay. Khandro Dechen specializes in the practice of sKu-mNye, a system of psycho-physical exercises which are unique to the Mother Essence Lineage. She is currently preparing a three volume series of the one hundred and eleven exercises that comprise the cycle that stems from the Dzogchen Long-de system. Another of the three ordained women, is Ngakma Nor'dzin Rang-jung Pamo. She is a mother of two, whose husband has also taken ordination. Ngakma Nor'dzin is a craft potter who makes gTer-bums (treasure vases), wonderful drums, and other practice artifacts for Sang-ngak-cho-dzong. She is also a healer and a woman wh