From Heart of Buddha: Mandalas and Longchen, Longchen Rabjam’s Notions of Mandalas (Oxford 2015)
Longchen Rabjam talks about the mandala of reality, the mandala of the deities themselves that are—and I love to use this phrase that comes from a Guru Rinpoche text—“like the rays of the sun, distinct and yet the same. They are not inventions of the mind, but the expression of the very nature of the universe.” The very nature of the universe is love, joy, compassion, equalness, benevolence, wisdom, the energy and power that’s necessary to establish all of that in this world.
When I was younger in the dharma, the only ways these things were expressed were that all the deities and forms were just inventions of the mind, for the purposes of the meditation. They were like tricks, upaya. Sometimes they’d say, “Oh it’s just skillful means.”
That’s all rubbish. There actually is such a thing as love and compassion, we all know that. And if there is such a thing as love and compassion, you can actually encounter it face to face, you really can. And it’s not going to be an easy meet as it were—but that doesn’t matter—and you’re going to feel reduced to non-ego by meeting real compassion face to face.
Friday, April 1, 2022: 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm UK time. Join the Longchen Foundation for a public viewing on Zoom of the second talk of Rigdzin Shikpo’s Heart of Buddha 2015 teaching on Mandalas and Longchen Rabjam’s Notions of Mandalas.
The Zoom session will begin with 10 minutes of formless meditation, followed by the streaming of Rigdzin Shikpo’s teaching together with Q & A – somewhat around an hour and 10 minutes total. Attendees are welcome to remain after for some discussion and reflection.
Here is the Zoom Link (Meeting ID: 893 2214 5627)
If you plan to attend this teaching, please support the work of the Longchen Foundation by donating £10 or so to the General Fund.
Questions? Please contact Andrew at andrewjmunro@gmail.com.
Other News: Lion’s Roar Retreat This June
This June we will be holding the Lion’s Roar Year 1 retreat, an opportunity to practice the teachings of Gates 1, 2 and 3 in a focused setting with other students and the guidance of a senior student of the Longchen Foundation. If you already are planning to attend the retreat, please note that we have adjusted the dates to be June 4th to June 9th. For more information, please contact tlr@longchenfoundation.org or see the event link here.