H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche gave the following teaching during the first drubchen in Brazil.
My students often ask to record me chanting Vajrakilaya, as well as the other practices we do. This is certainly not necessary for the continuity of the Nyingma lineage—particularly this lineage of Vajrakilaya—because there are many great lamas and lineage masters, some His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche’s students, who maintain this lineage. We have created these archives for the same reason that a family collects pictures of older generations— so that in the future family members can see what they looked like. The way I chant may not be so important to the rest of the world, but these tapes might help you, as my dharma family, to remember my style of doing things and maintain this tradition into the future.
I first learned this style of chanting Vajrakilaya from His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche in the 1960’s. I also studied in Kalimpong with one of his best students, at which time Dudjom Rinpoche listened and approved of our way of chanting. Some time later, at His Holiness’ suggestion, I studied with Mindroling Trichen, a great siddha and the throne holder of Mindroling Monastery at Dehra Dun.
Seven years later, I met with His Holiness and many of the vajra brothers with whom I had first learned the chanting. When we chanted together, I noticed there were subtle variations in our tunes, even though we had studied with the same teachers. Perhaps in having being away from them for so long I had forgotten or changed something. I have noticed that over time slight variations will often arise in tunes.
Later someone asked His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche’s oldest son Dungsey Trinley Norbu Rinpoche, a great scholar and practitioner, about these variations, singing him two tunes and asking which one was correct. His reply was that you couldn’t expect chanters with different voices to sound exactly alike. There are differences that occur according to the qualities of individual voices. So in the case of these subtle variations it is not as if you can say one is right and the other is wrong.
What is important is not to lose the essence and meaning of the practices you do by worrying about specific details, such as exactly which way the tormas should be made or exactly how the song should be sung. If in the future small changes occur in these tunes and not everyone chants exactly the same way as I do, it is not such a big deal. The reason we record these songs now is so that in the future it will be easier for you remember them.
When asked what kind of torma should be made for the Longchen Nyingtik practice, the great terton and lineage holder Jigme Lingpa said, “Make something that looks very nice.” When asked what kind of tunes should be sung he said, “Sing something that has the blessings of tradition, and whatever tradition you use, sing it well.”
There are many stories about the great blessings that can arise from following tradition. In Eastern Tibet there was a monastery that had performed a drubchen for many generations, and although the yogis there were very good practitioners with strong faith and meditation, they were not scholars. When the time came to construct the sand mandala, the text said to put a vajra fence around the outer edge of the mandala. But the Tibetan word for vajra fence, dola, also means rock fence, so they established a tradition of putting rocks on the edge of the mandala. For many years the mandala was constructed in this way.
One day a visiting scholar pointed out their mistake—that it shouldn't be a rock fence but a vajra fence. So they drew vajrasana took the rocks away, making the mandala in the “correct”way. That night they set all the tormas on the shrine, thinking to start puja the next day, but in the morning not one torma was left—the mice had taken them all. Thinking that this wasn't such a good sign, they remade the tormas, but in the night they disappeared again.
At that point they went to a high lama with realization and told him about this unfortunate turn of events, asking whether this obstacle was a bad sign. The lama looked into the situation with wisdom and said, “Was there some tradition that you changed?” Forgetting about the rocks, they replied that nothing has been changed, but the lama insisted that something had been done differently. So they thought about it and realized “Oh yes, we changed the mandala, drawing vajras in the traditional way and taking the rocks out.” Then the lama replied, “What you've done for many years, using the rocks in your practice and visualization, has become your tradition. It is not wise to change this now. Set up the rock fence the way it was before.” So they returned the rocks to the mandala and set up the shrine, and that night the mice didn’t eat the tormas.
Likewise, we have done things in a certain way with great faith, and so there are great blessings in relying on and maintaining this tradition. It is wonderful to do so. This is our first drubchen in Brazil. I have done almost twenty in the United States,and although they may not have been perfect and we may have made some mistakes, a tradition has been established. We have our own rock fence and there is blessing in this.
There is another story I often tell about a Vajrakilaya practitioner named Dapsharwa, a yogi who lived in the woods by himself. One day the accomplished practitioner and scholar Sakya Pandita, who was known to speak directly with the deity Manjushri, was walking along the road and heard the Vajra-kilaya mantra coming from the water of a nearby creek. The water was filled with the sound of the mantra; he thought to himself, “There Must be a Vajrakilaya practitioner nearby.” But when he asked the local residents if an accomplished practitioner lived nearby, their reply was that no such person lived there. So he asked them if anyone lived near the creek, and they said that there was an old man living up the creek in a cave who mumbled morning to night, but that he was not a lama. At that point Sakya Pandita realized that the villagers did not know what a great practitioner the yogi was.
Sakya Pandita decided to go and visit him. Usually a lama of Sakya Pandita’s stature would have an entourage, and all of the horses would have bells on them so that everyone would know he was coming, but this time he was alone. He sneaked up slowly so that the bells would not sound. As he approached the mouth of the cave he dismounted from his horse, and when he listened carefully, he heard Om Benzra Chili Chilaya Sarwa Bigenam Bam Hung Phet being repeated over and over again. At which point Sakya Pandita thought, “He is a good siddha, but he is saying the mantra wrong.”
When he entered the cave he saw an old man sitting on a calfskin. The yogi Dapsharwa immediately recognized him and joyfully offered up his seat. Then Sakya Pandita said, “You have done very good practice and I can see your powers, but you are saying the mantra wrong. Imagine the powers you would have if you just corrected the mantra. It is not Vajra Chili Chilaya but Va-jra Kili Kilaya.” The old man was very humble and respectfully thanked Sakya Pandita for the correction. As Sakya Pandita left he said, “Sometime I may need your help,” and the practitioner replied,“Any time you ask, I will try to help.”
At that time in India, the Hindu Tradition was quite powerful and debates were held to decide which religion a specific region would practice.These were very important in that if a Hindu scholar won, then all the Buddhists in that region would have to convert to Hinduism. There was a particular Shiva practitioner named Chogyi Gawa who was very skilled at debate, so as he traveled around more monasteries were being converted to Hinduism.
Because Sakya Pandita was well known as a great Buddhist Scholar, he was invited to a particular monastery to debate Chogyi Gawa. Sakya Pandita felt that he could win a debate, but because he knew that the Shiva practitioner had miraculous powers, he asked the Vajrakilaya siddha Dapsharwa to accompany him there.
When the day of the debate arrived, the participants met in the monastery’s shrine room. Sakya Pandita sat with his back to the shrine, and the Shiva practitioner sat by the door. Sakya Pandita was a Manjushri practitioner who had felt the blessings of his chosen deity and would speak with him regularly. In his practice he always visualized Manjushri in the space in front of him, so during the debate this is what he did.
At the beginning of the debate each participant was given nine cushions to sit upon, but each time they lost a point they would have to give their opponent a cushion. By the end of the first day Sakya Pandita had one cushion left, and the Shiva siddha had seventeen.
When the scholar returned to his quarters he spoke to Manjushri saying, “Where have you been? Why didn’t you help me today?” And Manjushri replied, “Your visualization is a little wrong. You are placing me above your opponent’s head and be-sides that you take a proud position by sitting with your back to the objects of refuge on the shrine. Tomorrow change places with Chogyi Gawa and visualize me over your own head. Then you will not lose.
The next day he followed his deity’s instructions and everything was different. By the time the sun was setting, Sakya Pandita had seventeen cushions and the Shiva practitioner had only one. At that point Chogyi Gawa said, “I didn’t lose this debate to you, but to that orange person with the sword who is above your head.” He then flew up into the sky. Sakya Pandita turned to the Vajrakilaya siddha and said, “Bring him down.” So Dapshare pulled out his phurba and rolled it as he recited the mantra Om Benzra Kili Kilaya Sarwa Bigenam Bam Hung Phet. But Cho-gyi Gawa flew higher. At which point Sakya Pandita turned to Dapsharwa and said, “Before I corrected you, you said Vajra Chili Vajra Chili Chilaya—try that.” When the old man repeated the original mantra, Chogyi Gawa immediately fell to the ground.
The point of these stories is that faith has tremendous power. Even if you say the words of the prayers or mantras a little wrong, faith and the wisdom blessings of our practice will produce conditions that lead to realization. There Are two kinds of practitioners who gain accomplishment. There are those practitioners who first remove all their doubts through questions and answers and then begin to practice.Then there are those who have great faith and practice without doubt.They gain accomplishment through the power of their faith. It is with this kind of faith that we maintain our traditions, and I believe there is some benefit in it.
H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche gave the following teaching during the first drubchen in Brazil.
My students often ask to record me chanting Vajrakilaya, as well as the other practices we do. This is certainly not necessary for the continuity of the Nyingma lineage—particularly this lineage of Vajrakilaya—because there are many great lamas and lineage masters, some His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche’s students, who maintain this lineage. We have created these archives for the same reason that a family collects pictures of older generations— so that in the future family members can see what they looked like. The way I chant may not be so important to the rest of the world, but these tapes might help you, as my dharma family, to remember my style of doing things and maintain this tradition into the future.
I first learned this style of chanting Vajrakilaya from His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche in the 1960’s. I also studied in Kalimpong with one of his best students, at which time Dudjom Rinpoche listened and approved of our way of chanting. Some time later, at His Holiness’ suggestion, I studied with Mindroling Trichen, a great siddha and the throne holder of Mindroling Monastery at Dehra Dun.
Seven years later, I met with His Holiness and many of the vajra brothers with whom I had first learned the chanting. When we chanted together, I noticed there were subtle variations in our tunes, even though we had studied with the same teachers. Perhaps in having being away from them for so long I had forgotten or changed something. I have noticed that over time slight variations will often arise in tunes.
Later someone asked His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche’s oldest son Dungsey Trinley Norbu Rinpoche, a great scholar and practitioner, about these variations, singing him two tunes and asking which one was correct. His reply was that you couldn’t expect chanters with different voices to sound exactly alike. There are differences that occur according to the qualities of individual voices. So in the case of these subtle variations it is not as if you can say one is right and the other is wrong.
What is important is not to lose the essence and meaning of the practices you do by worrying about specific details, such as exactly which way the tormas should be made or exactly how the song should be sung. If in the future small changes occur in these tunes and not everyone chants exactly the same way as I do, it is not such a big deal. The reason we record these songs now is so that in the future it will be easier for you remember them.
When asked what kind of torma should be made for the Longchen Nyingtik practice, the great terton and lineage holder Jigme Lingpa said, “Make something that looks very nice.” When asked what kind of tunes should be sung he said, “Sing something that has the blessings of tradition, and whatever tradition you use, sing it well.”
There are many stories about the great blessings that can arise from following tradition. In Eastern Tibet there was a monastery that had performed a drubchen for many generations, and although the yogis there were very good practitioners with strong faith and meditation, they were not scholars. When the time came to construct the sand mandala, the text said to put a vajra fence around the outer edge of the mandala. But the Tibetan word for vajra fence, dola, also means rock fence, so they established a tradition of putting rocks on the edge of the mandala. For many years the mandala was constructed in this way.
One day a visiting scholar pointed out their mistake—that it shouldn't be a rock fence but a vajra fence. So they drew vajrasana took the rocks away, making the mandala in the “correct”way. That night they set all the tormas on the shrine, thinking to start puja the next day, but in the morning not one torma was left—the mice had taken them all. Thinking that this wasn't such a good sign, they remade the tormas, but in the night they disappeared again.
At that point they went to a high lama with realization and told him about this unfortunate turn of events, asking whether this obstacle was a bad sign. The lama looked into the situation with wisdom and said, “Was there some tradition that you changed?” Forgetting about the rocks, they replied that nothing has been changed, but the lama insisted that something had been done differently. So they thought about it and realized “Oh yes, we changed the mandala, drawing vajras in the traditional way and taking the rocks out.” Then the lama replied, “What you've done for many years, using the rocks in your practice and visualization, has become your tradition. It is not wise to change this now. Set up the rock fence the way it was before.” So they returned the rocks to the mandala and set up the shrine, and that night the mice didn’t eat the tormas.
Likewise, we have done things in a certain way with great faith, and so there are great blessings in relying on and maintaining this tradition. It is wonderful to do so. This is our first drubchen in Brazil. I have done almost twenty in the United States,and although they may not have been perfect and we may have made some mistakes, a tradition has been established. We have our own rock fence and there is blessing in this.
There is another story I often tell about a Vajrakilaya practitioner named Dapsharwa, a yogi who lived in the woods by himself. One day the accomplished practitioner and scholar Sakya Pandita, who was known to speak directly with the deity Manjushri, was walking along the road and heard the Vajra-kilaya mantra coming from the water of a nearby creek. The water was filled with the sound of the mantra; he thought to himself, “There Must be a Vajrakilaya practitioner nearby.” But when he asked the local residents if an accomplished practitioner lived nearby, their reply was that no such person lived there. So he asked them if anyone lived near the creek, and they said that there was an old man living up the creek in a cave who mumbled morning to night, but that he was not a lama. At that point Sakya Pandita realized that the villagers did not know what a great practitioner the yogi was.
Sakya Pandita decided to go and visit him. Usually a lama of Sakya Pandita’s stature would have an entourage, and all of the horses would have bells on them so that everyone would know he was coming, but this time he was alone. He sneaked up slowly so that the bells would not sound. As he approached the mouth of the cave he dismounted from his horse, and when he listened carefully, he heard Om Benzra Chili Chilaya Sarwa Bigenam Bam Hung Phet being repeated over and over again. At which point Sakya Pandita thought, “He is a good siddha, but he is saying the mantra wrong.”
When he entered the cave he saw an old man sitting on a calfskin. The yogi Dapsharwa immediately recognized him and joyfully offered up his seat. Then Sakya Pandita said, “You have done very good practice and I can see your powers, but you are saying the mantra wrong. Imagine the powers you would have if you just corrected the mantra. It is not Vajra Chili Chilaya but Va-jra Kili Kilaya.” The old man was very humble and respectfully thanked Sakya Pandita for the correction. As Sakya Pandita left he said, “Sometime I may need your help,” and the practitioner replied,“Any time you ask, I will try to help.”
At that time in India, the Hindu Tradition was quite powerful and debates were held to decide which religion a specific region would practice.These were very important in that if a Hindu scholar won, then all the Buddhists in that region would have to convert to Hinduism. There was a particular Shiva practitioner named Chogyi Gawa who was very skilled at debate, so as he traveled around more monasteries were being converted to Hinduism.
Because Sakya Pandita was well known as a great Buddhist Scholar, he was invited to a particular monastery to debate Chogyi Gawa. Sakya Pandita felt that he could win a debate, but because he knew that the Shiva practitioner had miraculous powers, he asked the Vajrakilaya siddha Dapsharwa to accompany him there.
When the day of the debate arrived, the participants met in the monastery’s shrine room. Sakya Pandita sat with his back to the shrine, and the Shiva practitioner sat by the door. Sakya Pandita was a Manjushri practitioner who had felt the blessings of his chosen deity and would speak with him regularly. In his practice he always visualized Manjushri in the space in front of him, so during the debate this is what he did.
At the beginning of the debate each participant was given nine cushions to sit upon, but each time they lost a point they would have to give their opponent a cushion. By the end of the first day Sakya Pandita had one cushion left, and the Shiva siddha had seventeen.
When the scholar returned to his quarters he spoke to Manjushri saying, “Where have you been? Why didn’t you help me today?” And Manjushri replied, “Your visualization is a little wrong. You are placing me above your opponent’s head and be-sides that you take a proud position by sitting with your back to the objects of refuge on the shrine. Tomorrow change places with Chogyi Gawa and visualize me over your own head. Then you will not lose.
The next day he followed his deity’s instructions and everything was different. By the time the sun was setting, Sakya Pandita had seventeen cushions and the Shiva practitioner had only one. At that point Chogyi Gawa said, “I didn’t lose this debate to you, but to that orange person with the sword who is above your head.” He then flew up into the sky. Sakya Pandita turned to the Vajrakilaya siddha and said, “Bring him down.” So Dapshare pulled out his phurba and rolled it as he recited the mantra Om Benzra Kili Kilaya Sarwa Bigenam Bam Hung Phet. But Cho-gyi Gawa flew higher. At which point Sakya Pandita turned to Dapsharwa and said, “Before I corrected you, you said Vajra Chili Vajra Chili Chilaya—try that.” When the old man repeated the original mantra, Chogyi Gawa immediately fell to the ground.
The point of these stories is that faith has tremendous power. Even if you say the words of the prayers or mantras a little wrong, faith and the wisdom blessings of our practice will produce conditions that lead to realization. There Are two kinds of practitioners who gain accomplishment. There are those practitioners who first remove all their doubts through questions and answers and then begin to practice.Then there are those who have great faith and practice without doubt.They gain accomplishment through the power of their faith. It is with this kind of faith that we maintain our traditions, and I believe there is some benefit in it.
H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche gave the following teaching during the first drubchen in Brazil.
My students often ask to record me chanting Vajrakilaya, as well as the other practices we do. This is certainly not necessary for the continuity of the Nyingma lineage—particularly this lineage of Vajrakilaya—because there are many great lamas and lineage masters, some His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche’s students, who maintain this lineage. We have created these archives for the same reason that a family collects pictures of older generations— so that in the future family members can see what they looked like. The way I chant may not be so important to the rest of the world, but these tapes might help you, as my dharma family, to remember my style of doing things and maintain this tradition into the future.
I first learned this style of chanting Vajrakilaya from His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche in the 1960’s. I also studied in Kalimpong with one of his best students, at which time Dudjom Rinpoche listened and approved of our way of chanting. Some time later, at His Holiness’ suggestion, I studied with Mindroling Trichen, a great siddha and the throne holder of Mindroling Monastery at Dehra Dun.
Seven years later, I met with His Holiness and many of the vajra brothers with whom I had first learned the chanting. When we chanted together, I noticed there were subtle variations in our tunes, even though we had studied with the same teachers. Perhaps in having being away from them for so long I had forgotten or changed something. I have noticed that over time slight variations will often arise in tunes.
Later someone asked His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche’s oldest son Dungsey Trinley Norbu Rinpoche, a great scholar and practitioner, about these variations, singing him two tunes and asking which one was correct. His reply was that you couldn’t expect chanters with different voices to sound exactly alike. There are differences that occur according to the qualities of individual voices. So in the case of these subtle variations it is not as if you can say one is right and the other is wrong.
What is important is not to lose the essence and meaning of the practices you do by worrying about specific details, such as exactly which way the tormas should be made or exactly how the song should be sung. If in the future small changes occur in these tunes and not everyone chants exactly the same way as I do, it is not such a big deal. The reason we record these songs now is so that in the future it will be easier for you remember them.
When asked what kind of torma should be made for the Longchen Nyingtik practice, the great terton and lineage holder Jigme Lingpa said, “Make something that looks very nice.” When asked what kind of tunes should be sung he said, “Sing something that has the blessings of tradition, and whatever tradition you use, sing it well.”
There are many stories about the great blessings that can arise from following tradition. In Eastern Tibet there was a monastery that had performed a drubchen for many generations, and although the yogis there were very good practitioners with strong faith and meditation, they were not scholars. When the time came to construct the sand mandala, the text said to put a vajra fence around the outer edge of the mandala. But the Tibetan word for vajra fence, dola, also means rock fence, so they established a tradition of putting rocks on the edge of the mandala. For many years the mandala was constructed in this way.
One day a visiting scholar pointed out their mistake—that it shouldn't be a rock fence but a vajra fence. So they drew vajrasana took the rocks away, making the mandala in the “correct”way. That night they set all the tormas on the shrine, thinking to start puja the next day, but in the morning not one torma was left—the mice had taken them all. Thinking that this wasn't such a good sign, they remade the tormas, but in the night they disappeared again.
At that point they went to a high lama with realization and told him about this unfortunate turn of events, asking whether this obstacle was a bad sign. The lama looked into the situation with wisdom and said, “Was there some tradition that you changed?” Forgetting about the rocks, they replied that nothing has been changed, but the lama insisted that something had been done differently. So they thought about it and realized “Oh yes, we changed the mandala, drawing vajras in the traditional way and taking the rocks out.” Then the lama replied, “What you've done for many years, using the rocks in your practice and visualization, has become your tradition. It is not wise to change this now. Set up the rock fence the way it was before.” So they returned the rocks to the mandala and set up the shrine, and that night the mice didn’t eat the tormas.
Likewise, we have done things in a certain way with great faith, and so there are great blessings in relying on and maintaining this tradition. It is wonderful to do so. This is our first drubchen in Brazil. I have done almost twenty in the United States,and although they may not have been perfect and we may have made some mistakes, a tradition has been established. We have our own rock fence and there is blessing in this.
There is another story I often tell about a Vajrakilaya practitioner named Dapsharwa, a yogi who lived in the woods by himself. One day the accomplished practitioner and scholar Sakya Pandita, who was known to speak directly with the deity Manjushri, was walking along the road and heard the Vajra-kilaya mantra coming from the water of a nearby creek. The water was filled with the sound of the mantra; he thought to himself, “There Must be a Vajrakilaya practitioner nearby.” But when he asked the local residents if an accomplished practitioner lived nearby, their reply was that no such person lived there. So he asked them if anyone lived near the creek, and they said that there was an old man living up the creek in a cave who mumbled morning to night, but that he was not a lama. At that point Sakya Pandita realized that the villagers did not know what a great practitioner the yogi was.
Sakya Pandita decided to go and visit him. Usually a lama of Sakya Pandita’s stature would have an entourage, and all of the horses would have bells on them so that everyone would know he was coming, but this time he was alone. He sneaked up slowly so that the bells would not sound. As he approached the mouth of the cave he dismounted from his horse, and when he listened carefully, he heard Om Benzra Chili Chilaya Sarwa Bigenam Bam Hung Phet being repeated over and over again. At which point Sakya Pandita thought, “He is a good siddha, but he is saying the mantra wrong.”
When he entered the cave he saw an old man sitting on a calfskin. The yogi Dapsharwa immediately recognized him and joyfully offered up his seat. Then Sakya Pandita said, “You have done very good practice and I can see your powers, but you are saying the mantra wrong. Imagine the powers you would have if you just corrected the mantra. It is not Vajra Chili Chilaya but Va-jra Kili Kilaya.” The old man was very humble and respectfully thanked Sakya Pandita for the correction. As Sakya Pandita left he said, “Sometime I may need your help,” and the practitioner replied,“Any time you ask, I will try to help.”
At that time in India, the Hindu Tradition was quite powerful and debates were held to decide which religion a specific region would practice.These were very important in that if a Hindu scholar won, then all the Buddhists in that region would have to convert to Hinduism. There was a particular Shiva practitioner named Chogyi Gawa who was very skilled at debate, so as he traveled around more monasteries were being converted to Hinduism.
Because Sakya Pandita was well known as a great Buddhist Scholar, he was invited to a particular monastery to debate Chogyi Gawa. Sakya Pandita felt that he could win a debate, but because he knew that the Shiva practitioner had miraculous powers, he asked the Vajrakilaya siddha Dapsharwa to accompany him there.
When the day of the debate arrived, the participants met in the monastery’s shrine room. Sakya Pandita sat with his back to the shrine, and the Shiva practitioner sat by the door. Sakya Pandita was a Manjushri practitioner who had felt the blessings of his chosen deity and would speak with him regularly. In his practice he always visualized Manjushri in the space in front of him, so during the debate this is what he did.
At the beginning of the debate each participant was given nine cushions to sit upon, but each time they lost a point they would have to give their opponent a cushion. By the end of the first day Sakya Pandita had one cushion left, and the Shiva siddha had seventeen.
When the scholar returned to his quarters he spoke to Manjushri saying, “Where have you been? Why didn’t you help me today?” And Manjushri replied, “Your visualization is a little wrong. You are placing me above your opponent’s head and be-sides that you take a proud position by sitting with your back to the objects of refuge on the shrine. Tomorrow change places with Chogyi Gawa and visualize me over your own head. Then you will not lose.
The next day he followed his deity’s instructions and everything was different. By the time the sun was setting, Sakya Pandita had seventeen cushions and the Shiva practitioner had only one. At that point Chogyi Gawa said, “I didn’t lose this debate to you, but to that orange person with the sword who is above your head.” He then flew up into the sky. Sakya Pandita turned to the Vajrakilaya siddha and said, “Bring him down.” So Dapshare pulled out his phurba and rolled it as he recited the mantra Om Benzra Kili Kilaya Sarwa Bigenam Bam Hung Phet. But Cho-gyi Gawa flew higher. At which point Sakya Pandita turned to Dapsharwa and said, “Before I corrected you, you said Vajra Chili Vajra Chili Chilaya—try that.” When the old man repeated the original mantra, Chogyi Gawa immediately fell to the ground.
The point of these stories is that faith has tremendous power. Even if you say the words of the prayers or mantras a little wrong, faith and the wisdom blessings of our practice will produce conditions that lead to realization. There Are two kinds of practitioners who gain accomplishment. There are those practitioners who first remove all their doubts through questions and answers and then begin to practice.Then there are those who have great faith and practice without doubt.They gain accomplishment through the power of their faith. It is with this kind of faith that we maintain our traditions, and I believe there is some benefit in it.
H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche gave the following teaching during the first drubchen in Brazil.
My students often ask to record me chanting Vajrakilaya, as well as the other practices we do. This is certainly not necessary for the continuity of the Nyingma lineage—particularly this lineage of Vajrakilaya—because there are many great lamas and lineage masters, some His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche’s students, who maintain this lineage. We have created these archives for the same reason that a family collects pictures of older generations— so that in the future family members can see what they looked like. The way I chant may not be so important to the rest of the world, but these tapes might help you, as my dharma family, to remember my style of doing things and maintain this tradition into the future.
I first learned this style of chanting Vajrakilaya from His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche in the 1960’s. I also studied in Kalimpong with one of his best students, at which time Dudjom Rinpoche listened and approved of our way of chanting. Some time later, at His Holiness’ suggestion, I studied with Mindroling Trichen, a great siddha and the throne holder of Mindroling Monastery at Dehra Dun.
Seven years later, I met with His Holiness and many of the vajra brothers with whom I had first learned the chanting. When we chanted together, I noticed there were subtle variations in our tunes, even though we had studied with the same teachers. Perhaps in having being away from them for so long I had forgotten or changed something. I have noticed that over time slight variations will often arise in tunes.
Later someone asked His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche’s oldest son Dungsey Trinley Norbu Rinpoche, a great scholar and practitioner, about these variations, singing him two tunes and asking which one was correct. His reply was that you couldn’t expect chanters with different voices to sound exactly alike. There are differences that occur according to the qualities of individual voices. So in the case of these subtle variations it is not as if you can say one is right and the other is wrong.
What is important is not to lose the essence and meaning of the practices you do by worrying about specific details, such as exactly which way the tormas should be made or exactly how the song should be sung. If in the future small changes occur in these tunes and not everyone chants exactly the same way as I do, it is not such a big deal. The reason we record these songs now is so that in the future it will be easier for you remember them.
When asked what kind of torma should be made for the Longchen Nyingtik practice, the great terton and lineage holder Jigme Lingpa said, “Make something that looks very nice.” When asked what kind of tunes should be sung he said, “Sing something that has the blessings of tradition, and whatever tradition you use, sing it well.”
There are many stories about the great blessings that can arise from following tradition. In Eastern Tibet there was a monastery that had performed a drubchen for many generations, and although the yogis there were very good practitioners with strong faith and meditation, they were not scholars. When the time came to construct the sand mandala, the text said to put a vajra fence around the outer edge of the mandala. But the Tibetan word for vajra fence, dola, also means rock fence, so they established a tradition of putting rocks on the edge of the mandala. For many years the mandala was constructed in this way.
One day a visiting scholar pointed out their mistake—that it shouldn't be a rock fence but a vajra fence. So they drew vajrasana took the rocks away, making the mandala in the “correct”way. That night they set all the tormas on the shrine, thinking to start puja the next day, but in the morning not one torma was left—the mice had taken them all. Thinking that this wasn't such a good sign, they remade the tormas, but in the night they disappeared again.
At that point they went to a high lama with realization and told him about this unfortunate turn of events, asking whether this obstacle was a bad sign. The lama looked into the situation with wisdom and said, “Was there some tradition that you changed?” Forgetting about the rocks, they replied that nothing has been changed, but the lama insisted that something had been done differently. So they thought about it and realized “Oh yes, we changed the mandala, drawing vajras in the traditional way and taking the rocks out.” Then the lama replied, “What you've done for many years, using the rocks in your practice and visualization, has become your tradition. It is not wise to change this now. Set up the rock fence the way it was before.” So they returned the rocks to the mandala and set up the shrine, and that night the mice didn’t eat the tormas.
Likewise, we have done things in a certain way with great faith, and so there are great blessings in relying on and maintaining this tradition. It is wonderful to do so. This is our first drubchen in Brazil. I have done almost twenty in the United States,and although they may not have been perfect and we may have made some mistakes, a tradition has been established. We have our own rock fence and there is blessing in this.
There is another story I often tell about a Vajrakilaya practitioner named Dapsharwa, a yogi who lived in the woods by himself. One day the accomplished practitioner and scholar Sakya Pandita, who was known to speak directly with the deity Manjushri, was walking along the road and heard the Vajra-kilaya mantra coming from the water of a nearby creek. The water was filled with the sound of the mantra; he thought to himself, “There Must be a Vajrakilaya practitioner nearby.” But when he asked the local residents if an accomplished practitioner lived nearby, their reply was that no such person lived there. So he asked them if anyone lived near the creek, and they said that there was an old man living up the creek in a cave who mumbled morning to night, but that he was not a lama. At that point Sakya Pandita realized that the villagers did not know what a great practitioner the yogi was.
Sakya Pandita decided to go and visit him. Usually a lama of Sakya Pandita’s stature would have an entourage, and all of the horses would have bells on them so that everyone would know he was coming, but this time he was alone. He sneaked up slowly so that the bells would not sound. As he approached the mouth of the cave he dismounted from his horse, and when he listened carefully, he heard Om Benzra Chili Chilaya Sarwa Bigenam Bam Hung Phet being repeated over and over again. At which point Sakya Pandita thought, “He is a good siddha, but he is saying the mantra wrong.”
When he entered the cave he saw an old man sitting on a calfskin. The yogi Dapsharwa immediately recognized him and joyfully offered up his seat. Then Sakya Pandita said, “You have done very good practice and I can see your powers, but you are saying the mantra wrong. Imagine the powers you would have if you just corrected the mantra. It is not Vajra Chili Chilaya but Va-jra Kili Kilaya.” The old man was very humble and respectfully thanked Sakya Pandita for the correction. As Sakya Pandita left he said, “Sometime I may need your help,” and the practitioner replied,“Any time you ask, I will try to help.”
At that time in India, the Hindu Tradition was quite powerful and debates were held to decide which religion a specific region would practice.These were very important in that if a Hindu scholar won, then all the Buddhists in that region would have to convert to Hinduism. There was a particular Shiva practitioner named Chogyi Gawa who was very skilled at debate, so as he traveled around more monasteries were being converted to Hinduism.
Because Sakya Pandita was well known as a great Buddhist Scholar, he was invited to a particular monastery to debate Chogyi Gawa. Sakya Pandita felt that he could win a debate, but because he knew that the Shiva practitioner had miraculous powers, he asked the Vajrakilaya siddha Dapsharwa to accompany him there.
When the day of the debate arrived, the participants met in the monastery’s shrine room. Sakya Pandita sat with his back to the shrine, and the Shiva practitioner sat by the door. Sakya Pandita was a Manjushri practitioner who had felt the blessings of his chosen deity and would speak with him regularly. In his practice he always visualized Manjushri in the space in front of him, so during the debate this is what he did.
At the beginning of the debate each participant was given nine cushions to sit upon, but each time they lost a point they would have to give their opponent a cushion. By the end of the first day Sakya Pandita had one cushion left, and the Shiva siddha had seventeen.
When the scholar returned to his quarters he spoke to Manjushri saying, “Where have you been? Why didn’t you help me today?” And Manjushri replied, “Your visualization is a little wrong. You are placing me above your opponent’s head and be-sides that you take a proud position by sitting with your back to the objects of refuge on the shrine. Tomorrow change places with Chogyi Gawa and visualize me over your own head. Then you will not lose.
The next day he followed his deity’s instructions and everything was different. By the time the sun was setting, Sakya Pandita had seventeen cushions and the Shiva practitioner had only one. At that point Chogyi Gawa said, “I didn’t lose this debate to you, but to that orange person with the sword who is above your head.” He then flew up into the sky. Sakya Pandita turned to the Vajrakilaya siddha and said, “Bring him down.” So Dapshare pulled out his phurba and rolled it as he recited the mantra Om Benzra Kili Kilaya Sarwa Bigenam Bam Hung Phet. But Cho-gyi Gawa flew higher. At which point Sakya Pandita turned to Dapsharwa and said, “Before I corrected you, you said Vajra Chili Vajra Chili Chilaya—try that.” When the old man repeated the original mantra, Chogyi Gawa immediately fell to the ground.
The point of these stories is that faith has tremendous power. Even if you say the words of the prayers or mantras a little wrong, faith and the wisdom blessings of our practice will produce conditions that lead to realization. There Are two kinds of practitioners who gain accomplishment. There are those practitioners who first remove all their doubts through questions and answers and then begin to practice.Then there are those who have great faith and practice without doubt.They gain accomplishment through the power of their faith. It is with this kind of faith that we maintain our traditions, and I believe there is some benefit in it.
H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche gave the following teaching during the first drubchen in Brazil.
My students often ask to record me chanting Vajrakilaya, as well as the other practices we do. This is certainly not necessary for the continuity of the Nyingma lineage—particularly this lineage of Vajrakilaya—because there are many great lamas and lineage masters, some His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche’s students, who maintain this lineage. We have created these archives for the same reason that a family collects pictures of older generations— so that in the future family members can see what they looked like. The way I chant may not be so important to the rest of the world, but these tapes might help you, as my dharma family, to remember my style of doing things and maintain this tradition into the future.
I first learned this style of chanting Vajrakilaya from His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche in the 1960’s. I also studied in Kalimpong with one of his best students, at which time Dudjom Rinpoche listened and approved of our way of chanting. Some time later, at His Holiness’ suggestion, I studied with Mindroling Trichen, a great siddha and the throne holder of Mindroling Monastery at Dehra Dun.
Seven years later, I met with His Holiness and many of the vajra brothers with whom I had first learned the chanting. When we chanted together, I noticed there were subtle variations in our tunes, even though we had studied with the same teachers. Perhaps in having being away from them for so long I had forgotten or changed something. I have noticed that over time slight variations will often arise in tunes.
Later someone asked His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche’s oldest son Dungsey Trinley Norbu Rinpoche, a great scholar and practitioner, about these variations, singing him two tunes and asking which one was correct. His reply was that you couldn’t expect chanters with different voices to sound exactly alike. There are differences that occur according to the qualities of individual voices. So in the case of these subtle variations it is not as if you can say one is right and the other is wrong.
What is important is not to lose the essence and meaning of the practices you do by worrying about specific details, such as exactly which way the tormas should be made or exactly how the song should be sung. If in the future small changes occur in these tunes and not everyone chants exactly the same way as I do, it is not such a big deal. The reason we record these songs now is so that in the future it will be easier for you remember them.
When asked what kind of torma should be made for the Longchen Nyingtik practice, the great terton and lineage holder Jigme Lingpa said, “Make something that looks very nice.” When asked what kind of tunes should be sung he said, “Sing something that has the blessings of tradition, and whatever tradition you use, sing it well.”
There are many stories about the great blessings that can arise from following tradition. In Eastern Tibet there was a monastery that had performed a drubchen for many generations, and although the yogis there were very good practitioners with strong faith and meditation, they were not scholars. When the time came to construct the sand mandala, the text said to put a vajra fence around the outer edge of the mandala. But the Tibetan word for vajra fence, dola, also means rock fence, so they established a tradition of putting rocks on the edge of the mandala. For many years the mandala was constructed in this way.
One day a visiting scholar pointed out their mistake—that it shouldn't be a rock fence but a vajra fence. So they drew vajrasana took the rocks away, making the mandala in the “correct”way. That night they set all the tormas on the shrine, thinking to start puja the next day, but in the morning not one torma was left—the mice had taken them all. Thinking that this wasn't such a good sign, they remade the tormas, but in the night they disappeared again.
At that point they went to a high lama with realization and told him about this unfortunate turn of events, asking whether this obstacle was a bad sign. The lama looked into the situation with wisdom and said, “Was there some tradition that you changed?” Forgetting about the rocks, they replied that nothing has been changed, but the lama insisted that something had been done differently. So they thought about it and realized “Oh yes, we changed the mandala, drawing vajras in the traditional way and taking the rocks out.” Then the lama replied, “What you've done for many years, using the rocks in your practice and visualization, has become your tradition. It is not wise to change this now. Set up the rock fence the way it was before.” So they returned the rocks to the mandala and set up the shrine, and that night the mice didn’t eat the tormas.
Likewise, we have done things in a certain way with great faith, and so there are great blessings in relying on and maintaining this tradition. It is wonderful to do so. This is our first drubchen in Brazil. I have done almost twenty in the United States,and although they may not have been perfect and we may have made some mistakes, a tradition has been established. We have our own rock fence and there is blessing in this.
There is another story I often tell about a Vajrakilaya practitioner named Dapsharwa, a yogi who lived in the woods by himself. One day the accomplished practitioner and scholar Sakya Pandita, who was known to speak directly with the deity Manjushri, was walking along the road and heard the Vajra-kilaya mantra coming from the water of a nearby creek. The water was filled with the sound of the mantra; he thought to himself, “There Must be a Vajrakilaya practitioner nearby.” But when he asked the local residents if an accomplished practitioner lived nearby, their reply was that no such person lived there. So he asked them if anyone lived near the creek, and they said that there was an old man living up the creek in a cave who mumbled morning to night, but that he was not a lama. At that point Sakya Pandita realized that the villagers did not know what a great practitioner the yogi was.
Sakya Pandita decided to go and visit him. Usually a lama of Sakya Pandita’s stature would have an entourage, and all of the horses would have bells on them so that everyone would know he was coming, but this time he was alone. He sneaked up slowly so that the bells would not sound. As he approached the mouth of the cave he dismounted from his horse, and when he listened carefully, he heard Om Benzra Chili Chilaya Sarwa Bigenam Bam Hung Phet being repeated over and over again. At which point Sakya Pandita thought, “He is a good siddha, but he is saying the mantra wrong.”
When he entered the cave he saw an old man sitting on a calfskin. The yogi Dapsharwa immediately recognized him and joyfully offered up his seat. Then Sakya Pandita said, “You have done very good practice and I can see your powers, but you are saying the mantra wrong. Imagine the powers you would have if you just corrected the mantra. It is not Vajra Chili Chilaya but Va-jra Kili Kilaya.” The old man was very humble and respectfully thanked Sakya Pandita for the correction. As Sakya Pandita left he said, “Sometime I may need your help,” and the practitioner replied,“Any time you ask, I will try to help.”
At that time in India, the Hindu Tradition was quite powerful and debates were held to decide which religion a specific region would practice.These were very important in that if a Hindu scholar won, then all the Buddhists in that region would have to convert to Hinduism. There was a particular Shiva practitioner named Chogyi Gawa who was very skilled at debate, so as he traveled around more monasteries were being converted to Hinduism.
Because Sakya Pandita was well known as a great Buddhist Scholar, he was invited to a particular monastery to debate Chogyi Gawa. Sakya Pandita felt that he could win a debate, but because he knew that the Shiva practitioner had miraculous powers, he asked the Vajrakilaya siddha Dapsharwa to accompany him there.
When the day of the debate arrived, the participants met in the monastery’s shrine room. Sakya Pandita sat with his back to the shrine, and the Shiva practitioner sat by the door. Sakya Pandita was a Manjushri practitioner who had felt the blessings of his chosen deity and would speak with him regularly. In his practice he always visualized Manjushri in the space in front of him, so during the debate this is what he did.
At the beginning of the debate each participant was given nine cushions to sit upon, but each time they lost a point they would have to give their opponent a cushion. By the end of the first day Sakya Pandita had one cushion left, and the Shiva siddha had seventeen.
When the scholar returned to his quarters he spoke to Manjushri saying, “Where have you been? Why didn’t you help me today?” And Manjushri replied, “Your visualization is a little wrong. You are placing me above your opponent’s head and be-sides that you take a proud position by sitting with your back to the objects of refuge on the shrine. Tomorrow change places with Chogyi Gawa and visualize me over your own head. Then you will not lose.
The next day he followed his deity’s instructions and everything was different. By the time the sun was setting, Sakya Pandita had seventeen cushions and the Shiva practitioner had only one. At that point Chogyi Gawa said, “I didn’t lose this debate to you, but to that orange person with the sword who is above your head.” He then flew up into the sky. Sakya Pandita turned to the Vajrakilaya siddha and said, “Bring him down.” So Dapshare pulled out his phurba and rolled it as he recited the mantra Om Benzra Kili Kilaya Sarwa Bigenam Bam Hung Phet. But Cho-gyi Gawa flew higher. At which point Sakya Pandita turned to Dapsharwa and said, “Before I corrected you, you said Vajra Chili Vajra Chili Chilaya—try that.” When the old man repeated the original mantra, Chogyi Gawa immediately fell to the ground.
The point of these stories is that faith has tremendous power. Even if you say the words of the prayers or mantras a little wrong, faith and the wisdom blessings of our practice will produce conditions that lead to realization. There Are two kinds of practitioners who gain accomplishment. There are those practitioners who first remove all their doubts through questions and answers and then begin to practice.Then there are those who have great faith and practice without doubt.They gain accomplishment through the power of their faith. It is with this kind of faith that we maintain our traditions, and I believe there is some benefit in it.
