Chöd

This is the 38th entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 31.10.2010.

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Wikipedia:
Chöd is a spiritual practice primarily found in Tibetan Buddhism. Also known as "Cutting Through the Ego", the practice is based on the Prajñāpāramitā sutra. It combines prajñāpāramitā philosophy with specific meditation methods and a tantric ritual.

A form of Chöd was practiced in India by Buddhist mahāsiddhas, prior to the 10th century. However, Chöd as practised today developed from the entwined traditions of the early Indian tantric practices transmitted to Tibet and the Bonpo and Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayāna lineages. Besides the Bonpo, there are two main Tibetan Buddhist Chöd traditions, the "Mother" and "Father" lineages. In Tibetan tradition, Dampa Sangye is known as the Father of Chöd and Machig Labdron, founder of the Mahāmudra Chöd lineages, as the Mother of Chöd. Chöd developed outside the monastic system. It was subsequently adopted by the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Lha Bab Düchen

This is the 37th entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 29.10.2010.

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Wikipedia:
Lhabab Düchen is one of the four festivals commemorating four events in the life of the Buddha, according to Tibetan traditions. Lhabab Düchen occurs on the 22nd day of the ninth month on a Tibetan calendar.

This is a Buddhist festival celebrated to observe the descent of Buddha from heaven back to earth. Buddha had left for heaven at the age of 41, having ascended to The Heaven of Thirty-Three (Trayastrimsa) in order to give teachings to benefit the gods in the desire realms and to repay the kindness of his mother by liberating her from Samsara. He was exhorted by his follower and representative Maugalyayana to return, and after a long debate managed to return. This is considered to be one of the eight great deeds of the Buddha. He returned to earth by a special triple ladder prepared by Viswakarma, the god of machines. On Lhabab Duchen, the effects of positive or negative actions are multiplied ten million times. It is part of Tibetan Buddhist tradition to engage in virtuous activities and prayer on this day.

Vajrasattva Practice

This is the 36th entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 28.10.2010.

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Drupon Sangyas:

"There are hundreds of different practices and all of these practices give different results. Vajrasattva is a very powerful and profound practice. Everyone needs this, even those who have no knowledge on dharma. Even the Dalai Lama does this practice on a daily basis.

Vajrasattva purifies the mind, sins, previous life karma and negative emotions or thoughts. We have negative karma due to the fact that we are not yet enlightened. So we need to meditate and practice. The aim is to become more compassionate, like a bodhisattva, arhat or yogi.

Buddha said that everybody has Buddha-nature mind. For example, if there are ten people here in this room, then there are like ten different buddhas.
If you're hostile towards another person you create negative karma for yourself. And if you're jealous of someone, it's like being jealous of a buddha. Likewise, if you hurt a sentient being, you are hurting a buddha because everyone has Buddha-nature.

Medicine Buddha Practice

This is the 35th entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 24.10.2010.

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Drupon Sangyas:

"All these practices are meant to cure our mind. We can destroy our 5 poisons through the Medicine Buddha practice. It is beneifical for both your physical well-being and mental.

You can visualize that you are offering water to the Medicine Buddha. You can also visualize that you are offering other things, such as food, lotus flowers, incense etc. Even music. Anything can be offered.

We need to practice every day because life is impermanent. We never know when we're going to pass away. We need to understand the law of cause and effect. We need to have a profound understanding of Samsara and its 6 realms. Nirvana is like the pure land of the enlightened ones - the Green Tara, Buddha Amitabha and other great buddhas and bodhisattvas. The pure land of the Medicine Buddha is the best one for us. It has a blue colour (sapphires scattered everywhere across the pure land).

Medicine Buddha Practice

This is the 34th entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 22.10.2010.

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Drupon Sangyas:

"Medicine Buddha reached enlightenment by doing good deeds. How can we become enlightened? You need to contemplate on how you can help other people. However, it depends on your own mind. The Medicine Buddha helped other people. He found himself through meditation.

The best enlightened teacher gives information on how to become enlightened. Gampopa said that we all have Buddha-nature mind.
Human life is precious. It is easier for a human to reach enlightenment than it is for other sentient beings. But we need good motivation.

We are reborn in the six lower realms if we're very aggressive, greedy and too attached.
The lower realms have hellbeings, demons, hungry ghosts, animals etc. The higher realms - humans, gods and demi-gods.

We mustn't think "one day I will become enlightened". We should not have any expectations.

H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's Lecture on Samatha Meditation

This is the 33rd entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 17.10.2010.

*Although I had written around 33 pages in total by hand (by the end of H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's lectures), there were still a few things that I had missed out on during his speech. Mostly due to the fact that I didn't write quick enough to catch everything that he had said, for which I am sorry.
I should also mention that the English translation of every speech was done by Ari-Ma, H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's American disciple and personal translator.

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Samatha ("calm abiding"), comprises a suite, type or style of Buddhist meditation or concentration practices designed to enhance sustained voluntary attention, and culminates in an attention that can be sustained effortlessly for hours on end. Samatha is a subset of the broader family of samādhi ("concentration") meditation practices.

Vajrasattva Empowerment and Refuge

This is the 32nd entry from my fieldwork diary. The original date is 17.10.2010.

*Although I had written around 33 pages in total by hand (by the end of H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's lectures), there were still a few things that I had missed out on during his speech. Mostly due to the fact that I didn't write quick enough to catch everything that he had said, for which I am sorry.
I should also mention that the English translation of every speech was done by Ari-Ma, H.E. Garchen Rinpoche's American disciple and personal translator.

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"All buddhas are of the same essence, it is a union of compassion. The mind of the Buddha is like free flowing water. One attains temporary benefit through accomplishments.