Sangha Communities

Most dear, most precious, most kind, wish-granting jewels, nuns living in the Lesser Vehicle practice of the three higher training, outwardly and inwardly living with bodhicitta, taking full responsibility for the numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals, numberless human beings, numberless suras, numberless asuras and numberless intermediate state beings, not just in this one world, there are numberless universes, to free them from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bring them to enlightenment as quickly as possible.

So on the basis of that, especially practicing tantra, then the highest tantra, Maha-anuttara Yoga Tantra.

I am so happy you people got together to do Lama Chöpa in the morning and evening, and the protector prayers.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much, thank you so much.

Please think about this verse from one Kadampa Geshe:

Put all the blame on one [the self-cherishing thought]
Others: meditate on their kindness.

“Others” doesn’t just mean our friends, our father and mother, it means all sentient beings, including our enemies, friends and strangers, but especially our enemies.

I already explained the kindness of sentient beings during my talk in Bendigo.

With much love and prayers ...

From my heart I would like to thank the geshes, all the monks, the staff and volunteers and especially you. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, millions, billions and trillions of times, numberless thanks. Then also to offer 100,000 cheesecakes and 100,000 best Italian pizzas and a bottle of best quality champagne for each monk (I’m joking) for quick realizations and to achieve enlightenment.

Then for the night-time, to offer pak to those who like it. This is a particular Tibetan food with rich Tibetan tea, powdered cheese, sugar or honey, and butter, so to those who like pak, offering one million pak. For those who like spaghetti, then to offer 100,000 plates of spaghetti from Italy, from Instituto Lama Tzong Khapa. For those who like potato pancakes from Lawudo, to offer one million of those, and for those who like Sherpa food, to offer shakpa, the soup with rice inside, with round sliced potatoes and some vegetables. My mother also put finger-size pieces of dough in it. So to offer 100 million bowls of shakpa from Solu Khumbu, and then for those who like sen—not the zen or robe that you wear—to offer them sen, the Sherpa food. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!

I made momos when Geshe Jampa Tegchok was there, in the kitchen. It was there that I was taught how to put salt in momos by the ex-abbott Geshe Legden. I guess Geshe-la hadn't had momos for a few months. I was supposed to teach on mahamudra, even though I myself have no idea about mahamudra. At that time Thubten Yeshe was my attendant, she was a nun at that time. I was about to put salt on the momos and Geshe-la said, “Not like that. You put the salt in a glass that has hot water in it, so that melts the salt and then you sprinkle the water on the momos. That way the juice will come out and you can suck the juice as it flows down your arm.”

I tried to do that, but I didn't succeed because the momos came out dry. They were momos for all the Sangha. This memory just came out, so I explained it to you by the way.

What you explained sounds great. Lamrim gives you energy and is the foundation for tantra, so it is very good. Without strong lamrim, then monks don't last. With strong lamrim you can enjoy, otherwise without lamrim then to stay as a monk is difficult, it doesn't last a long time. If understanding of impermanence and death came much earlier, then of course it is different.

Thank you very much again, billions of times.

I have heard that a monastery should not be under or below a road. Then, the monks cannot achieve realizations. There should not be water below the monastery, such as a river, stream, or spring. However, it is very good if the monastery is above the ocean, which is floating around the world, each week arriving in a different country (joking).

My very dear one,
Thank you very much for your letter.

As for the project for nuns, yes, of course. If you are able to provide a place for nuns of different traditions to live, that is very good, also if you can support them—that part is extremely important. Usually that part does not happen, so there are some difficulties. Because of that lack of support, individuals have to go to work, which especially makes living away from a city difficult.

As far as doing prayers and practices together with the other traditions in the gompa, it is not impossible. In the school for young lamas that I attended in Dalhousie in India, many years ago, there were lamas from different traditions. People took turns leading the prayers, and prayers were done from the different traditions. I don’t remember whether the leader does the prayers of the other traditions or whether they all do their own prayers. If more nuns happen to be there, there can be different choices depending what tradition they are from. There could be small temples for each tradition, and sometimes they could do prayers together in the main temple.

It can be open to the four Tibetan Buddhist traditions, but it is up to people from those traditions to come. We don’t have to look after that, and you should not think that if they don’t come, you have failed.

One good thing is that when the nuns become old and are no longer able to look after themselves and need help, this could be one place to look after them, especially FPMT nuns. I feel this is a very important project.

Generally it is not easy for a nuns community. It is easy to have disharmony and quarrels. The success of the community depends on having a good leader who is resident there and guides their practice and discipline. Anyway, there is no problem with the planning.

As for the idea of helping the dying, starting a Buddhist hospice, if there are not many Buddhists, it could be for people of all religions. However, the techniques and the organization could be Buddhist, but presenting a method that fits with others’ traditions.

I will make prayers for this project, and I hope it will be fruitful for all sentient beings. 

Thank you very much. I hope to see you soon. I am sure Vajrayogini is very happy with you. Thank you for your good heart.

With much love and prayers...