This issue of the Wind Horse introduces two Brazilian sangha members who live and work at Khadro Ling when they are not on the road performing in their band, Os The Darma Lóvers. Yangzam cooks for the lamas and works in the office, and Luis Nenung leads temple tours for the many tourists who visit the Gonpa on the weekends. Lama Trinley spoke with them in Brazil last February.
LT: Would you tell us a little about your dharma activities, beginning with how you met Chagdud Rinpoche?
Yangzam: Nenung and I had been looking for the right spiritual path and teacher for a long time. We had met masters but none we felt a connection with, and tried many different things— macrobiotic food, astrology . . .
Nenung: Magic. (They both laugh) But nothing really worked.
Yangzam: We had heard of H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche and often thought to visit him in Três Coroas, but it wasn’t until I had a miscarriage that we came here. Rinpoche talked to us about karma and suggested we do a specific practice. At first I was quite upset by what he said but, in a couple of days, I really appreciated what he had offered us.
Nenung: When we asked him about the baby, we were looking for sympathy. So when he talked about karma as the cause of suffering, it wasn’t exactly what we expected to hear. But it was a blessing, because he placed the tools for working with suffering and karma directly in our own hands.
Yangzam: We were both impressed with Rinpoche, the teachings, and the path. The first event we attended was a Vajrakilaya retreat. It was very powerful for us. Afterwards, I wanted to stay and work in the kitchen. Six months later, when work on the temple really started, I moved here to cook.
LT: Were you playing music together at the time?
Yangzam: No, the music didn’t happen until we had known Rinpoche for a while. Years ago, I had worked in the music business as a manager, but never sang professionally. It is interesting that when I took refuge with Rinpoche, he gave me the dharma name Yangzam, which means “melodious.” I have always sung Brazilian songs at parties, and Nenung used to sing in a rock band. But it was only after we had been together for seven years that we began to sing together. Nenung has always written lyrics, but it wasn’t until he began his ngondro that he started to write songs about the dharma.
Nenung: I was living in Novo Hamburgo at the time and doing a lot of practice. I had reams of poetry but no accompanying music. So I bought a guitar and taught myself to play it. At first it was just something to do with the poetry but, when I played the songs for Yangzam and we sang them together, we were surprised at how complementary our voices were.
Yangzam: I cooked while Nenung attended Dzogchen retreat. It was after that retreat that we began to talk seriously about our music. We needed a name and thought of Os The Darma Lóvers. We got Rinpoche’s approval to use the word “dharma,” and I decided to use the name Yangzam.
Then a good friend, who sings in a famous punk rock band, asked us to open his show in Novo Hamburgo. After that, everyone said we should record, so we made a demo tape— without any expectations. A Porto Allegre radio station played our tape and many people liked our music. It’s simple blues— just guitar and two voices.
Yangzam: When I was a child, I used to listen to Brazilian and other Latin American music with my father. But as teenagers, my friends and I listened to rock-and-roll. When people ask me about my formal education, I often joke that it was sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. But now I realize how fortunate I am— that I must truly have had some merit and blessings— to have survived those times. I am “cured” but many of my friends from those times have since died.
Nenung: We know many people in the music business who have good intentions but don’t know how to break out of their pat- terns. In his heart, our punk-rock friend is looking for a path but never takes the time to do it. He is too busy building his career and making money.
LT: If you become famous, will you have less time for work and practice here at Khadro Ling?
Nenung: We are our own managers and always tell people that dharma comes first, our music second. They know this. We were invited to Floranopolis this month, but the Dzogchen retreat was too important to miss.
Yangzam: Our priorities are very clear. The only reason Os The Darma Lóvers exists is because of the lama’s blessings. The dharma has been very healing for both of us because, when we first met Rinpoche, I was quite confused and Nanung was very sick.
Nenung: You could say that my body was confused.
LT: How is your health now?
Nenung: All my life, I have dealt with severe breathing problems, but when I began the ngondro, they got a lot worse. My lung capacity was at only twenty percent, and I needed oxygen to sleep at night. The best doctor in Porto Allegre told me that I would need a lung transplant and progressively more medicine. I began intensive Vajrasattva practice and, in three months, I was very close to death. But then something shifted, my health started to improve, and in the last two years, I haven’t needed medicine at all. Once I stopped taking the medicines, I never went back for treatment.
Yangzam: Now both Nenung’s health and my mind are better. With Rinpoche I have found a much bigger reference point. If you don’t have any reference point, then it’s not easy to recognize your potential. Looking inward is very difficult if you don’t have a spiritual practice. In my family, I was always viewed as the crazy one. My four brothers and sisters are all successful—they went to university and have good jobs; one sister is a doctor, and one brother is very wealthy. My parents always wondered when I would be successful. Nenung: Now she is the sanest person in her family. The others may be successful in a worldly sense, but they are very confused.
Yangzam: Trying to balance their work, houses, and children makes them crazy, so they take their problems to my parents. On the other hand, I’m the one who offers sanity and support to my mother and father. They know that whenever they need me, I will help them because that is the way of dharma.
Nenung does more formal practice, while I engage in activity. Rinpoche has always told me that my dharma activity will tame my mind. Cooking for him is very good for me because I have too much pride. He can be very strong and gruff with me, and he always mirrors my emotions. At first this was very difficult for me. But now when I work with him, he smiles and jokes. I don’t have so much hope and fear about what he thinks of me, so maybe my mind is a little better. For thirty-six years, I didn’t know what I wanted. Now I know, in my heart, that I want to sing about the dharma and help Rinpoche.
LT: Your music alludes to Chagdud Rinpoche and the dharma, so people must ask you questions about them.
Nenung: We have found that whenever people hear about the dharma, they want to know more. In Brazil the younger generation tends to think of most traditions as square. But because Buddhism is new here, many teenagers are drawn to it. People are finding out that you don’t need to be a monk or a nun to be Buddhist. We are normal people. We have families and problems. Someday I may even have green hair.
Yangzam: I have noticed that children have a very special connection with our music. I believe that it’s important for people of all ages to see and hear Os The Darma Lóvers. Whenever we perform and I look out into the audience, I can see how much people need and want a spiritual path.
We try to use all our concerts as practice. Backstage we establish our motivation and Nenung sings the Seven-Line Prayer. Onstage we visualize Tara and we use red lights. It’s a challenge to sing, play and maintain the visualization. At the end of every show, we dedicate the merit to all beings.
Whenever we are interviewed, we try to share our happiness at having found this path and encourage people to visit Khadro Ling. We don’t expect material gain through our music. We don’t worry about it. If money comes, we can give it away.
LT: What is the story behind the song “Sweet Lama”?
Yangzam: It was actually inspired by Lama Shenpen. We first recorded the song as “Sweet Lama Shenpen,” but later decided that “Sweet Lama” was better because dharma is not a personal thing. It’s much bigger than that. “Lama” pertains to all lamas. All lamas are sweet because they dedicate their lives to the dharma. And this is wonderful because there can never be too many people in the world doing this.
This issue of the Wind Horse introduces two Brazilian sangha members who live and work at Khadro Ling when they are not on the road performing in their band, Os The Darma Lóvers. Yangzam cooks for the lamas and works in the office, and Luis Nenung leads temple tours for the many tourists who visit the Gonpa on the weekends. Lama Trinley spoke with them in Brazil last February.
LT: Would you tell us a little about your dharma activities, beginning with how you met Chagdud Rinpoche?
Yangzam: Nenung and I had been looking for the right spiritual path and teacher for a long time. We had met masters but none we felt a connection with, and tried many different things— macrobiotic food, astrology . . .
Nenung: Magic. (They both laugh) But nothing really worked.
Yangzam: We had heard of H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche and often thought to visit him in Três Coroas, but it wasn’t until I had a miscarriage that we came here. Rinpoche talked to us about karma and suggested we do a specific practice. At first I was quite upset by what he said but, in a couple of days, I really appreciated what he had offered us.
Nenung: When we asked him about the baby, we were looking for sympathy. So when he talked about karma as the cause of suffering, it wasn’t exactly what we expected to hear. But it was a blessing, because he placed the tools for working with suffering and karma directly in our own hands.
Yangzam: We were both impressed with Rinpoche, the teachings, and the path. The first event we attended was a Vajrakilaya retreat. It was very powerful for us. Afterwards, I wanted to stay and work in the kitchen. Six months later, when work on the temple really started, I moved here to cook.
LT: Were you playing music together at the time?
Yangzam: No, the music didn’t happen until we had known Rinpoche for a while. Years ago, I had worked in the music business as a manager, but never sang professionally. It is interesting that when I took refuge with Rinpoche, he gave me the dharma name Yangzam, which means “melodious.” I have always sung Brazilian songs at parties, and Nenung used to sing in a rock band. But it was only after we had been together for seven years that we began to sing together. Nenung has always written lyrics, but it wasn’t until he began his ngondro that he started to write songs about the dharma.
Nenung: I was living in Novo Hamburgo at the time and doing a lot of practice. I had reams of poetry but no accompanying music. So I bought a guitar and taught myself to play it. At first it was just something to do with the poetry but, when I played the songs for Yangzam and we sang them together, we were surprised at how complementary our voices were.
Yangzam: I cooked while Nenung attended Dzogchen retreat. It was after that retreat that we began to talk seriously about our music. We needed a name and thought of Os The Darma Lóvers. We got Rinpoche’s approval to use the word “dharma,” and I decided to use the name Yangzam.
Then a good friend, who sings in a famous punk rock band, asked us to open his show in Novo Hamburgo. After that, everyone said we should record, so we made a demo tape— without any expectations. A Porto Allegre radio station played our tape and many people liked our music. It’s simple blues— just guitar and two voices.
Yangzam: When I was a child, I used to listen to Brazilian and other Latin American music with my father. But as teenagers, my friends and I listened to rock-and-roll. When people ask me about my formal education, I often joke that it was sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. But now I realize how fortunate I am— that I must truly have had some merit and blessings— to have survived those times. I am “cured” but many of my friends from those times have since died.
Nenung: We know many people in the music business who have good intentions but don’t know how to break out of their pat- terns. In his heart, our punk-rock friend is looking for a path but never takes the time to do it. He is too busy building his career and making money.
LT: If you become famous, will you have less time for work and practice here at Khadro Ling?
Nenung: We are our own managers and always tell people that dharma comes first, our music second. They know this. We were invited to Floranopolis this month, but the Dzogchen retreat was too important to miss.
Yangzam: Our priorities are very clear. The only reason Os The Darma Lóvers exists is because of the lama’s blessings. The dharma has been very healing for both of us because, when we first met Rinpoche, I was quite confused and Nanung was very sick.
Nenung: You could say that my body was confused.
LT: How is your health now?
Nenung: All my life, I have dealt with severe breathing problems, but when I began the ngondro, they got a lot worse. My lung capacity was at only twenty percent, and I needed oxygen to sleep at night. The best doctor in Porto Allegre told me that I would need a lung transplant and progressively more medicine. I began intensive Vajrasattva practice and, in three months, I was very close to death. But then something shifted, my health started to improve, and in the last two years, I haven’t needed medicine at all. Once I stopped taking the medicines, I never went back for treatment.
Yangzam: Now both Nenung’s health and my mind are better. With Rinpoche I have found a much bigger reference point. If you don’t have any reference point, then it’s not easy to recognize your potential. Looking inward is very difficult if you don’t have a spiritual practice. In my family, I was always viewed as the crazy one. My four brothers and sisters are all successful—they went to university and have good jobs; one sister is a doctor, and one brother is very wealthy. My parents always wondered when I would be successful. Nenung: Now she is the sanest person in her family. The others may be successful in a worldly sense, but they are very confused.
Yangzam: Trying to balance their work, houses, and children makes them crazy, so they take their problems to my parents. On the other hand, I’m the one who offers sanity and support to my mother and father. They know that whenever they need me, I will help them because that is the way of dharma.
Nenung does more formal practice, while I engage in activity. Rinpoche has always told me that my dharma activity will tame my mind. Cooking for him is very good for me because I have too much pride. He can be very strong and gruff with me, and he always mirrors my emotions. At first this was very difficult for me. But now when I work with him, he smiles and jokes. I don’t have so much hope and fear about what he thinks of me, so maybe my mind is a little better. For thirty-six years, I didn’t know what I wanted. Now I know, in my heart, that I want to sing about the dharma and help Rinpoche.
LT: Your music alludes to Chagdud Rinpoche and the dharma, so people must ask you questions about them.
Nenung: We have found that whenever people hear about the dharma, they want to know more. In Brazil the younger generation tends to think of most traditions as square. But because Buddhism is new here, many teenagers are drawn to it. People are finding out that you don’t need to be a monk or a nun to be Buddhist. We are normal people. We have families and problems. Someday I may even have green hair.
Yangzam: I have noticed that children have a very special connection with our music. I believe that it’s important for people of all ages to see and hear Os The Darma Lóvers. Whenever we perform and I look out into the audience, I can see how much people need and want a spiritual path.
We try to use all our concerts as practice. Backstage we establish our motivation and Nenung sings the Seven-Line Prayer. Onstage we visualize Tara and we use red lights. It’s a challenge to sing, play and maintain the visualization. At the end of every show, we dedicate the merit to all beings.
Whenever we are interviewed, we try to share our happiness at having found this path and encourage people to visit Khadro Ling. We don’t expect material gain through our music. We don’t worry about it. If money comes, we can give it away.
LT: What is the story behind the song “Sweet Lama”?
Yangzam: It was actually inspired by Lama Shenpen. We first recorded the song as “Sweet Lama Shenpen,” but later decided that “Sweet Lama” was better because dharma is not a personal thing. It’s much bigger than that. “Lama” pertains to all lamas. All lamas are sweet because they dedicate their lives to the dharma. And this is wonderful because there can never be too many people in the world doing this.
This issue of the Wind Horse introduces two Brazilian sangha members who live and work at Khadro Ling when they are not on the road performing in their band, Os The Darma Lóvers. Yangzam cooks for the lamas and works in the office, and Luis Nenung leads temple tours for the many tourists who visit the Gonpa on the weekends. Lama Trinley spoke with them in Brazil last February.
LT: Would you tell us a little about your dharma activities, beginning with how you met Chagdud Rinpoche?
Yangzam: Nenung and I had been looking for the right spiritual path and teacher for a long time. We had met masters but none we felt a connection with, and tried many different things— macrobiotic food, astrology . . .
Nenung: Magic. (They both laugh) But nothing really worked.
Yangzam: We had heard of H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche and often thought to visit him in Três Coroas, but it wasn’t until I had a miscarriage that we came here. Rinpoche talked to us about karma and suggested we do a specific practice. At first I was quite upset by what he said but, in a couple of days, I really appreciated what he had offered us.
Nenung: When we asked him about the baby, we were looking for sympathy. So when he talked about karma as the cause of suffering, it wasn’t exactly what we expected to hear. But it was a blessing, because he placed the tools for working with suffering and karma directly in our own hands.
Yangzam: We were both impressed with Rinpoche, the teachings, and the path. The first event we attended was a Vajrakilaya retreat. It was very powerful for us. Afterwards, I wanted to stay and work in the kitchen. Six months later, when work on the temple really started, I moved here to cook.
LT: Were you playing music together at the time?
Yangzam: No, the music didn’t happen until we had known Rinpoche for a while. Years ago, I had worked in the music business as a manager, but never sang professionally. It is interesting that when I took refuge with Rinpoche, he gave me the dharma name Yangzam, which means “melodious.” I have always sung Brazilian songs at parties, and Nenung used to sing in a rock band. But it was only after we had been together for seven years that we began to sing together. Nenung has always written lyrics, but it wasn’t until he began his ngondro that he started to write songs about the dharma.
Nenung: I was living in Novo Hamburgo at the time and doing a lot of practice. I had reams of poetry but no accompanying music. So I bought a guitar and taught myself to play it. At first it was just something to do with the poetry but, when I played the songs for Yangzam and we sang them together, we were surprised at how complementary our voices were.
Yangzam: I cooked while Nenung attended Dzogchen retreat. It was after that retreat that we began to talk seriously about our music. We needed a name and thought of Os The Darma Lóvers. We got Rinpoche’s approval to use the word “dharma,” and I decided to use the name Yangzam.
Then a good friend, who sings in a famous punk rock band, asked us to open his show in Novo Hamburgo. After that, everyone said we should record, so we made a demo tape— without any expectations. A Porto Allegre radio station played our tape and many people liked our music. It’s simple blues— just guitar and two voices.
Yangzam: When I was a child, I used to listen to Brazilian and other Latin American music with my father. But as teenagers, my friends and I listened to rock-and-roll. When people ask me about my formal education, I often joke that it was sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. But now I realize how fortunate I am— that I must truly have had some merit and blessings— to have survived those times. I am “cured” but many of my friends from those times have since died.
Nenung: We know many people in the music business who have good intentions but don’t know how to break out of their pat- terns. In his heart, our punk-rock friend is looking for a path but never takes the time to do it. He is too busy building his career and making money.
LT: If you become famous, will you have less time for work and practice here at Khadro Ling?
Nenung: We are our own managers and always tell people that dharma comes first, our music second. They know this. We were invited to Floranopolis this month, but the Dzogchen retreat was too important to miss.
Yangzam: Our priorities are very clear. The only reason Os The Darma Lóvers exists is because of the lama’s blessings. The dharma has been very healing for both of us because, when we first met Rinpoche, I was quite confused and Nanung was very sick.
Nenung: You could say that my body was confused.
LT: How is your health now?
Nenung: All my life, I have dealt with severe breathing problems, but when I began the ngondro, they got a lot worse. My lung capacity was at only twenty percent, and I needed oxygen to sleep at night. The best doctor in Porto Allegre told me that I would need a lung transplant and progressively more medicine. I began intensive Vajrasattva practice and, in three months, I was very close to death. But then something shifted, my health started to improve, and in the last two years, I haven’t needed medicine at all. Once I stopped taking the medicines, I never went back for treatment.
Yangzam: Now both Nenung’s health and my mind are better. With Rinpoche I have found a much bigger reference point. If you don’t have any reference point, then it’s not easy to recognize your potential. Looking inward is very difficult if you don’t have a spiritual practice. In my family, I was always viewed as the crazy one. My four brothers and sisters are all successful—they went to university and have good jobs; one sister is a doctor, and one brother is very wealthy. My parents always wondered when I would be successful. Nenung: Now she is the sanest person in her family. The others may be successful in a worldly sense, but they are very confused.
Yangzam: Trying to balance their work, houses, and children makes them crazy, so they take their problems to my parents. On the other hand, I’m the one who offers sanity and support to my mother and father. They know that whenever they need me, I will help them because that is the way of dharma.
Nenung does more formal practice, while I engage in activity. Rinpoche has always told me that my dharma activity will tame my mind. Cooking for him is very good for me because I have too much pride. He can be very strong and gruff with me, and he always mirrors my emotions. At first this was very difficult for me. But now when I work with him, he smiles and jokes. I don’t have so much hope and fear about what he thinks of me, so maybe my mind is a little better. For thirty-six years, I didn’t know what I wanted. Now I know, in my heart, that I want to sing about the dharma and help Rinpoche.
LT: Your music alludes to Chagdud Rinpoche and the dharma, so people must ask you questions about them.
Nenung: We have found that whenever people hear about the dharma, they want to know more. In Brazil the younger generation tends to think of most traditions as square. But because Buddhism is new here, many teenagers are drawn to it. People are finding out that you don’t need to be a monk or a nun to be Buddhist. We are normal people. We have families and problems. Someday I may even have green hair.
Yangzam: I have noticed that children have a very special connection with our music. I believe that it’s important for people of all ages to see and hear Os The Darma Lóvers. Whenever we perform and I look out into the audience, I can see how much people need and want a spiritual path.
We try to use all our concerts as practice. Backstage we establish our motivation and Nenung sings the Seven-Line Prayer. Onstage we visualize Tara and we use red lights. It’s a challenge to sing, play and maintain the visualization. At the end of every show, we dedicate the merit to all beings.
Whenever we are interviewed, we try to share our happiness at having found this path and encourage people to visit Khadro Ling. We don’t expect material gain through our music. We don’t worry about it. If money comes, we can give it away.
LT: What is the story behind the song “Sweet Lama”?
Yangzam: It was actually inspired by Lama Shenpen. We first recorded the song as “Sweet Lama Shenpen,” but later decided that “Sweet Lama” was better because dharma is not a personal thing. It’s much bigger than that. “Lama” pertains to all lamas. All lamas are sweet because they dedicate their lives to the dharma. And this is wonderful because there can never be too many people in the world doing this.
This issue of the Wind Horse introduces two Brazilian sangha members who live and work at Khadro Ling when they are not on the road performing in their band, Os The Darma Lóvers. Yangzam cooks for the lamas and works in the office, and Luis Nenung leads temple tours for the many tourists who visit the Gonpa on the weekends. Lama Trinley spoke with them in Brazil last February.
LT: Would you tell us a little about your dharma activities, beginning with how you met Chagdud Rinpoche?
Yangzam: Nenung and I had been looking for the right spiritual path and teacher for a long time. We had met masters but none we felt a connection with, and tried many different things— macrobiotic food, astrology . . .
Nenung: Magic. (They both laugh) But nothing really worked.
Yangzam: We had heard of H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche and often thought to visit him in Três Coroas, but it wasn’t until I had a miscarriage that we came here. Rinpoche talked to us about karma and suggested we do a specific practice. At first I was quite upset by what he said but, in a couple of days, I really appreciated what he had offered us.
Nenung: When we asked him about the baby, we were looking for sympathy. So when he talked about karma as the cause of suffering, it wasn’t exactly what we expected to hear. But it was a blessing, because he placed the tools for working with suffering and karma directly in our own hands.
Yangzam: We were both impressed with Rinpoche, the teachings, and the path. The first event we attended was a Vajrakilaya retreat. It was very powerful for us. Afterwards, I wanted to stay and work in the kitchen. Six months later, when work on the temple really started, I moved here to cook.
LT: Were you playing music together at the time?
Yangzam: No, the music didn’t happen until we had known Rinpoche for a while. Years ago, I had worked in the music business as a manager, but never sang professionally. It is interesting that when I took refuge with Rinpoche, he gave me the dharma name Yangzam, which means “melodious.” I have always sung Brazilian songs at parties, and Nenung used to sing in a rock band. But it was only after we had been together for seven years that we began to sing together. Nenung has always written lyrics, but it wasn’t until he began his ngondro that he started to write songs about the dharma.
Nenung: I was living in Novo Hamburgo at the time and doing a lot of practice. I had reams of poetry but no accompanying music. So I bought a guitar and taught myself to play it. At first it was just something to do with the poetry but, when I played the songs for Yangzam and we sang them together, we were surprised at how complementary our voices were.
Yangzam: I cooked while Nenung attended Dzogchen retreat. It was after that retreat that we began to talk seriously about our music. We needed a name and thought of Os The Darma Lóvers. We got Rinpoche’s approval to use the word “dharma,” and I decided to use the name Yangzam.
Then a good friend, who sings in a famous punk rock band, asked us to open his show in Novo Hamburgo. After that, everyone said we should record, so we made a demo tape— without any expectations. A Porto Allegre radio station played our tape and many people liked our music. It’s simple blues— just guitar and two voices.
Yangzam: When I was a child, I used to listen to Brazilian and other Latin American music with my father. But as teenagers, my friends and I listened to rock-and-roll. When people ask me about my formal education, I often joke that it was sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. But now I realize how fortunate I am— that I must truly have had some merit and blessings— to have survived those times. I am “cured” but many of my friends from those times have since died.
Nenung: We know many people in the music business who have good intentions but don’t know how to break out of their pat- terns. In his heart, our punk-rock friend is looking for a path but never takes the time to do it. He is too busy building his career and making money.
LT: If you become famous, will you have less time for work and practice here at Khadro Ling?
Nenung: We are our own managers and always tell people that dharma comes first, our music second. They know this. We were invited to Floranopolis this month, but the Dzogchen retreat was too important to miss.
Yangzam: Our priorities are very clear. The only reason Os The Darma Lóvers exists is because of the lama’s blessings. The dharma has been very healing for both of us because, when we first met Rinpoche, I was quite confused and Nanung was very sick.
Nenung: You could say that my body was confused.
LT: How is your health now?
Nenung: All my life, I have dealt with severe breathing problems, but when I began the ngondro, they got a lot worse. My lung capacity was at only twenty percent, and I needed oxygen to sleep at night. The best doctor in Porto Allegre told me that I would need a lung transplant and progressively more medicine. I began intensive Vajrasattva practice and, in three months, I was very close to death. But then something shifted, my health started to improve, and in the last two years, I haven’t needed medicine at all. Once I stopped taking the medicines, I never went back for treatment.
Yangzam: Now both Nenung’s health and my mind are better. With Rinpoche I have found a much bigger reference point. If you don’t have any reference point, then it’s not easy to recognize your potential. Looking inward is very difficult if you don’t have a spiritual practice. In my family, I was always viewed as the crazy one. My four brothers and sisters are all successful—they went to university and have good jobs; one sister is a doctor, and one brother is very wealthy. My parents always wondered when I would be successful. Nenung: Now she is the sanest person in her family. The others may be successful in a worldly sense, but they are very confused.
Yangzam: Trying to balance their work, houses, and children makes them crazy, so they take their problems to my parents. On the other hand, I’m the one who offers sanity and support to my mother and father. They know that whenever they need me, I will help them because that is the way of dharma.
Nenung does more formal practice, while I engage in activity. Rinpoche has always told me that my dharma activity will tame my mind. Cooking for him is very good for me because I have too much pride. He can be very strong and gruff with me, and he always mirrors my emotions. At first this was very difficult for me. But now when I work with him, he smiles and jokes. I don’t have so much hope and fear about what he thinks of me, so maybe my mind is a little better. For thirty-six years, I didn’t know what I wanted. Now I know, in my heart, that I want to sing about the dharma and help Rinpoche.
LT: Your music alludes to Chagdud Rinpoche and the dharma, so people must ask you questions about them.
Nenung: We have found that whenever people hear about the dharma, they want to know more. In Brazil the younger generation tends to think of most traditions as square. But because Buddhism is new here, many teenagers are drawn to it. People are finding out that you don’t need to be a monk or a nun to be Buddhist. We are normal people. We have families and problems. Someday I may even have green hair.
Yangzam: I have noticed that children have a very special connection with our music. I believe that it’s important for people of all ages to see and hear Os The Darma Lóvers. Whenever we perform and I look out into the audience, I can see how much people need and want a spiritual path.
We try to use all our concerts as practice. Backstage we establish our motivation and Nenung sings the Seven-Line Prayer. Onstage we visualize Tara and we use red lights. It’s a challenge to sing, play and maintain the visualization. At the end of every show, we dedicate the merit to all beings.
Whenever we are interviewed, we try to share our happiness at having found this path and encourage people to visit Khadro Ling. We don’t expect material gain through our music. We don’t worry about it. If money comes, we can give it away.
LT: What is the story behind the song “Sweet Lama”?
Yangzam: It was actually inspired by Lama Shenpen. We first recorded the song as “Sweet Lama Shenpen,” but later decided that “Sweet Lama” was better because dharma is not a personal thing. It’s much bigger than that. “Lama” pertains to all lamas. All lamas are sweet because they dedicate their lives to the dharma. And this is wonderful because there can never be too many people in the world doing this.
This issue of the Wind Horse introduces two Brazilian sangha members who live and work at Khadro Ling when they are not on the road performing in their band, Os The Darma Lóvers. Yangzam cooks for the lamas and works in the office, and Luis Nenung leads temple tours for the many tourists who visit the Gonpa on the weekends. Lama Trinley spoke with them in Brazil last February.
LT: Would you tell us a little about your dharma activities, beginning with how you met Chagdud Rinpoche?
Yangzam: Nenung and I had been looking for the right spiritual path and teacher for a long time. We had met masters but none we felt a connection with, and tried many different things— macrobiotic food, astrology . . .
Nenung: Magic. (They both laugh) But nothing really worked.
Yangzam: We had heard of H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche and often thought to visit him in Três Coroas, but it wasn’t until I had a miscarriage that we came here. Rinpoche talked to us about karma and suggested we do a specific practice. At first I was quite upset by what he said but, in a couple of days, I really appreciated what he had offered us.
Nenung: When we asked him about the baby, we were looking for sympathy. So when he talked about karma as the cause of suffering, it wasn’t exactly what we expected to hear. But it was a blessing, because he placed the tools for working with suffering and karma directly in our own hands.
Yangzam: We were both impressed with Rinpoche, the teachings, and the path. The first event we attended was a Vajrakilaya retreat. It was very powerful for us. Afterwards, I wanted to stay and work in the kitchen. Six months later, when work on the temple really started, I moved here to cook.
LT: Were you playing music together at the time?
Yangzam: No, the music didn’t happen until we had known Rinpoche for a while. Years ago, I had worked in the music business as a manager, but never sang professionally. It is interesting that when I took refuge with Rinpoche, he gave me the dharma name Yangzam, which means “melodious.” I have always sung Brazilian songs at parties, and Nenung used to sing in a rock band. But it was only after we had been together for seven years that we began to sing together. Nenung has always written lyrics, but it wasn’t until he began his ngondro that he started to write songs about the dharma.
Nenung: I was living in Novo Hamburgo at the time and doing a lot of practice. I had reams of poetry but no accompanying music. So I bought a guitar and taught myself to play it. At first it was just something to do with the poetry but, when I played the songs for Yangzam and we sang them together, we were surprised at how complementary our voices were.
Yangzam: I cooked while Nenung attended Dzogchen retreat. It was after that retreat that we began to talk seriously about our music. We needed a name and thought of Os The Darma Lóvers. We got Rinpoche’s approval to use the word “dharma,” and I decided to use the name Yangzam.
Then a good friend, who sings in a famous punk rock band, asked us to open his show in Novo Hamburgo. After that, everyone said we should record, so we made a demo tape— without any expectations. A Porto Allegre radio station played our tape and many people liked our music. It’s simple blues— just guitar and two voices.
Yangzam: When I was a child, I used to listen to Brazilian and other Latin American music with my father. But as teenagers, my friends and I listened to rock-and-roll. When people ask me about my formal education, I often joke that it was sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. But now I realize how fortunate I am— that I must truly have had some merit and blessings— to have survived those times. I am “cured” but many of my friends from those times have since died.
Nenung: We know many people in the music business who have good intentions but don’t know how to break out of their pat- terns. In his heart, our punk-rock friend is looking for a path but never takes the time to do it. He is too busy building his career and making money.
LT: If you become famous, will you have less time for work and practice here at Khadro Ling?
Nenung: We are our own managers and always tell people that dharma comes first, our music second. They know this. We were invited to Floranopolis this month, but the Dzogchen retreat was too important to miss.
Yangzam: Our priorities are very clear. The only reason Os The Darma Lóvers exists is because of the lama’s blessings. The dharma has been very healing for both of us because, when we first met Rinpoche, I was quite confused and Nanung was very sick.
Nenung: You could say that my body was confused.
LT: How is your health now?
Nenung: All my life, I have dealt with severe breathing problems, but when I began the ngondro, they got a lot worse. My lung capacity was at only twenty percent, and I needed oxygen to sleep at night. The best doctor in Porto Allegre told me that I would need a lung transplant and progressively more medicine. I began intensive Vajrasattva practice and, in three months, I was very close to death. But then something shifted, my health started to improve, and in the last two years, I haven’t needed medicine at all. Once I stopped taking the medicines, I never went back for treatment.
Yangzam: Now both Nenung’s health and my mind are better. With Rinpoche I have found a much bigger reference point. If you don’t have any reference point, then it’s not easy to recognize your potential. Looking inward is very difficult if you don’t have a spiritual practice. In my family, I was always viewed as the crazy one. My four brothers and sisters are all successful—they went to university and have good jobs; one sister is a doctor, and one brother is very wealthy. My parents always wondered when I would be successful. Nenung: Now she is the sanest person in her family. The others may be successful in a worldly sense, but they are very confused.
Yangzam: Trying to balance their work, houses, and children makes them crazy, so they take their problems to my parents. On the other hand, I’m the one who offers sanity and support to my mother and father. They know that whenever they need me, I will help them because that is the way of dharma.
Nenung does more formal practice, while I engage in activity. Rinpoche has always told me that my dharma activity will tame my mind. Cooking for him is very good for me because I have too much pride. He can be very strong and gruff with me, and he always mirrors my emotions. At first this was very difficult for me. But now when I work with him, he smiles and jokes. I don’t have so much hope and fear about what he thinks of me, so maybe my mind is a little better. For thirty-six years, I didn’t know what I wanted. Now I know, in my heart, that I want to sing about the dharma and help Rinpoche.
LT: Your music alludes to Chagdud Rinpoche and the dharma, so people must ask you questions about them.
Nenung: We have found that whenever people hear about the dharma, they want to know more. In Brazil the younger generation tends to think of most traditions as square. But because Buddhism is new here, many teenagers are drawn to it. People are finding out that you don’t need to be a monk or a nun to be Buddhist. We are normal people. We have families and problems. Someday I may even have green hair.
Yangzam: I have noticed that children have a very special connection with our music. I believe that it’s important for people of all ages to see and hear Os The Darma Lóvers. Whenever we perform and I look out into the audience, I can see how much people need and want a spiritual path.
We try to use all our concerts as practice. Backstage we establish our motivation and Nenung sings the Seven-Line Prayer. Onstage we visualize Tara and we use red lights. It’s a challenge to sing, play and maintain the visualization. At the end of every show, we dedicate the merit to all beings.
Whenever we are interviewed, we try to share our happiness at having found this path and encourage people to visit Khadro Ling. We don’t expect material gain through our music. We don’t worry about it. If money comes, we can give it away.
LT: What is the story behind the song “Sweet Lama”?
Yangzam: It was actually inspired by Lama Shenpen. We first recorded the song as “Sweet Lama Shenpen,” but later decided that “Sweet Lama” was better because dharma is not a personal thing. It’s much bigger than that. “Lama” pertains to all lamas. All lamas are sweet because they dedicate their lives to the dharma. And this is wonderful because there can never be too many people in the world doing this.
