Awakening to the treasure
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wherever I am
If I am with the Teacher
That place is more sacred
Than any pilgrimage place

Wherever I am
If I am with the Guru in my heart,
I am home.


A prayer for the path
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Breathing the One who is
the nature of compassion and wisdom
May I become the vessel
Of all medicines

May I spend the rest of time
Repaying to all beings
The unending kindness of my inner and outer Mentors.

The first Buddhist prayer I ever learned

Before sharing it, I just want to mention something for those who are not as familiar with Buddhism. The mind of enlightenment, simply put, is synonymous with compassion for all living beings, along with the deep wisdom to see what they need and be able to provide it. It is a deeply transformative experience which heals oneself and simultaneously seeks to heal others. And so, I pray:

The mind of enlightenment is supreme
And most precious
Wherever it has not arisen, may it arise
And where it has, may it only grow stronger and stronger

Amen

Jugney's first post, Tso Pema

Tashi delek all you cyber-bloggers. I am finally making my entrance onto the travel blog, which so many other pilgrims have graced with their words and experiences. We are at Tso Pema right now, in Northwestern India, which has the holy lake where it is said Guru Padmasambhava was born in a lotus as an 8-year old child (Padmasambhava is Sanskrit for "Lotus-born One.") Rinpoche and some of us circumambulated around the lake, and did prostrations alongside Tibetan women singing beautiful heart prayers.

This is the only destination on the pilgrimage where we have had the opportunity to stay in a Tibetan monastery, and it's quite wonderful. You should see how small my room is. I love it! Of course most of the other rooms are normal size, but I tend to like smaller, cozier rooms myself. They work better as a meditation cave =) I must say though, I am just on the shore of the lake and have a breath-taking view, so from a feng shui perspective the space is not small at all.

Because we are directly on the lake, it is windy here. This made me think about Tibetan prayer flags and how the wind that passes through them is said to pass on the intentions of those who hang them and the blessings of the prayers inscribed on them. Since the wind here comes from the lake, I feel the wind flowing through the city is like the blessings of the lake's holy presence. While Padmasambhava, the great teacher, passed away in the conventional sense over 1000 years ago, he still breathes here.