Tangtong Gyalpo was a Tibetan meditation master who lived and taught for 125 years. His profound lineage of longevity practices and meditation instructions continues to thrive 600 years later. Among his many activities to help beings, he constructed scores of iron suspension bridges across dangerous rivers, effectively discovering the alchemy to forge steel links out of iron ore. Many of his bridges are still in use today in the Himalayas.
His abilities to influence and control the outer elements of earth, water, fire, and wind were nothing short of miraculous. His tradition of using meditative concentration to avert natural disasters (and the tremendous suffering that would ensue) continues to inspire Buddhist practitioners in these skeptical modern times. His life story, King of the Empty Plain, the Tibetan Iron-Bridge Builder was translated into English and published in 2007 by Cyrus Stearns. The stories of his long life, however, can never be contained in one book, and are very much woven into the fabric of Tibetan Buddhism. As this quote from the preface demonstrates, the advice given to our lineage of practitioners from this master remains an important reminder to utilize our human lives wisely.
"On the mountain of the illusory body of the four elements is the monastery of uncontrived mind.
It's the sublime place where bliss and lucidity arise.
Be single-minded in that place of practice!"
The statue of Tangtong Gyalpo in this pavilion project was commissioned by Lama Jamie Kalfas and sculpted by Glen Sandvoss, an artist who trained for years with Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. It will be placed at Rigdzin Ling across from the pavilion and statue of Padmasambhava(of whom he was considered to be an emanation of), on a rotatable dais on top of his throne to be able to face the direction of any future forest fires that threaten the area. Welded ship anchor chain will be used as posts to support the roof over the statue, with each link weighing approximately 56 pounds. With the immediacy of the elements on this planet being obviously out of balance, there is timely interdependence in helping to manifest this project. Thank you for any support and generosity that you can provide.
In the service of the Buddha Dharma,
Michael McLaughlin
D O N A T I O N S
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