Virupa Page on the HAR Website

Virupa, the Lord of Yoga, 9th century (Tibetan: bir wa pa, nal jor wang chug); foremost in magical attainments amongst the 84 mahasiddhas of India. He can appear in a number of different forms and colours. He can also appear in different contexts such as a set of lineage images, a narrative scene, the set of Eighty-four Mahasiddhas, as a Guruyoga meditation form, etc. Virupa is not unique to any one tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and therefore can be found almost anywhere. In the Sakya Tradition Virupa is typically depicted in one or all of six textually documented forms that follow the major events in his life story.

When depicted with the right arm raised in the air and performing a wrathful gesture Virupa can easily be mistaken for the Nyingma teacher Shri Simha who appears in a similar posture and gesture.

"Reversing the Ganga and subduing the evil king; while holding the sun - drinking the liquor of the entire country, without being drunk; completely shattering the Linga and subduing the Chandali; to the renowned Lord of Power, I bow my head." (Sakya liturgical verse).

Twenty-one Paintings & Me

Here is an impressive set of twenty-one paintings depicting a large central Shakyamuni Buddha in each with the one hundred and eight previous life and life stories of the Buddha surrounding the center. It is quite impressive to see all hung together and even more impressive that the set is still together. It is very common for art dealers, East and West, to break up sets because the dealers can get more money for individual paintings than for sets of paintings.

Yes, it is Asia Week again in New York City, but for those of you that have been through a few Asia Weeks, then you know it is more like two, three or four weeks in total time investment and cumulative exhaustion.

Sakya Tridzin Wangdu Nyingpo

Additional images have been added to the Wangdu Nyingpo main page. He was the 29th Sakya Tridzin and considered the second Padmasambhava of this Age. He was considered to be a rebirth of Ngor Khenchen Palden Chokyong and others. Most of his profound teachings were received from his father Kunga Lodro, the previous Sakya Tridzin. Wangdu Nyingpo constructed a new Vajrabhairava temple in Sakya with a bigger than life size central image along with the twelve wrathful retinue figures slightly larger than the size of a man. Along with that he constructed a new protector chapel with very large sculpture. Renowned as a 'treasure Revealer' (terton) his books are still available and read today.

Wangdu Nyinpo is sometimes employed as a guruyoga practice based on a text that he wrote himself. He is depicted in a wrathful form with either a black hat topped with a raven or a standard Sakya hat with lappets draped across the top.

The 69th Abbot of Ngor Evam Choden Monastery, Ngagwang Yontan Gyatso (1902-1963), was believed by some to be an incarnation of Wangdu Nyingpo, as is the current Sakya Tridzin, Ngagwang Kunga (born 1941).

The Pillars of Lhakang Chenmo, Sakya Town

The temple of Lhakang Chenmo in Sakya Town, Tibet, is famous for it very large and massive pillars. There are four principal pillars in the main temple of Lhakang Chenmo. Each of the pillars are named and have a special story relating their symbolic meaning and how they came to be in the main temple of Sakya.

- Yellow Pillar

- Tiger Pillar

- Wild Yak Pillar

- Black Blood Dripping Pillar

Sakya Monastery & Town

The Sakya Monastery & Town Page on the Himalayan Art Resources website has been updated with 600 images from the SRG Archive. Not all of the images have been divided into their subject or location themes. This will happen over the next couple of weeks. The Manjushri Cave has been added. This is the location where Sachen Kunga Nyingpo had direct communication with Arya Manjushri during a six month retreat. The Ushnishavijaya Stupa has been added. This is the final resting place for the body of Bari Lotsawa Dharma Drag. Both of these sacred sights are located in the same building on the North side of Sakya to the left of the white patch of earth. The protector chapel of Lhakang Chenmo, the main South Monastery, has also been added.

Flying Out of New York, What Do the Lamas Do?

You know, there has been some talk lately about which electronic devices can be used on a plane and which devices cannot. There has also been some talk about turning all electronic devices off during take-off.

Well, I don't know what the true story is and if there are any universally adhered to policies for electronic devices on planes. I have however flown regularly for the past 12 years. And, I do try and always fly with Cathay Pacific or one of its partner airlines. There are two reasons for this. The first, Cathay flies most of the routes I need to travel. Secondly, Cathay offers great, GREAT, service, as do most of their partners. But, back to my initial point which I haven't yet even started to make.

So, I have used a set of Bose headphones, electronic headphones, for years. They were purchased exclusively for air travel. I'm sure they will work perfectly fine off the plane as well. For me they work great! A friend tells me that the Sony also work well. Regardless, I recommend them to anybody that does a lot of air travel. How they work is - aside from reducing background and foreground noise - they reduce the airplane buzz in your head which more importantly reduces jet-lag. That is the unofficial scientific explanation.

However, back to the point. I have never been asked on Cathay Pacific to turn off my headphones during take-off or landing. On one occasion flying on American Airlines between New York and San Fransisco, prior to take-off, I was asked to both turn them off and to take them off my head.

Now, what is most interesting is that on my most recent flight, which I am writing about now at over 30000 feet, I was not asked once to turn off my Ipad which I was using right up until the end of final taxi immediately prior to gunning the engines and taking-off. I would have continued to use the Ipad but I opted to close the cover and put it down simply because of the shaking of the plane. I was of course still wearing the Bose headphones. So, there you have it, my point. Rules are rules as long as they are enforced or people continue to believe in them. That is the substance of it - my point.

Now, with safety aside, on another topic of some importance, it is nice that Cathay has brought back the beef tenderloin for one of the meal choices in business class on the New York to Vancouver flight. For awhile, and I can't remember for how long, but, they were experimenting with food all too much for my liking. I was fortunate tonight. They bumped me from coach seating up to business class. A class to which I am not completely unaccustomed, yet not guaranteed.

I'm sure there are ways to guarantee business class seating. Aside from money of course. I have a friend who would likely know the particular Catholic saint responsible for arranging such things. Unfortunately Tantric Buddhism does not upgrade and modernize their deities as quickly and as efficiently as the Catholic Church modernizes their saints.

For Tantric deities, if I was to take a guess as to who could assist with business class accommodation, then it would likely be some form of a wealth deity, probably peaceful, but with the added feature of a red body colour - adding a little expediency to the mix - as colours have meaning in Tantric Buddhism.

To their credit, the Catholics have books which describe all of the different saints and especially which particular saint is best suited for each and every special human need and condition. Tantric Buddhism, however, does not. In the interests of keeping up with the Roman Catholics and modernization in general, Tantrics should upgrade and offer deities, cataloged and organized, assorted for all daily human needs and conditions. Towards this common good, surely there must already be a 'Terma' out there, hidden or discovered, that addresses such things as air travel.....what do the Lamas do?

(Written Tuesday night, 20th of December).

Lecture, Leaving Chengdu, Hong Kong

The last lecture was Thursday night. It was on Tibetan Painting Styles. There were 60 + students and teachers. It seemed to go quite well with many questions at the end. There definitely needs to be a system developed for teaching Tibetan styles. There isn't anything right now that is suitable and useful.

I never like to leave Chengdu. It is a city that is comfortable for me. However, I was up at five and to the airport by seven. The flight was delayed an hour but that didn' t prevent me from getting to Hong Kong with plenty of time to catch my next flight. I had a comfortable exit row seat and a perfectly adequate breakfast on the flight. Dragon Air is not as good as Cathay but they try. Because of that extra marks are awarded.

Fortunately for the HK to JFK portion of the trip I won't be traveling in the cattle car. This will allow me to nap as well as get a little work done prior to landing. The ipad is very useful for writing without the cumbersome and large folding laptop. I am now a firm believer in ipad, or similar, technology. It made me more productive and more adaptable to changing work situations and spaces while in Chengdu. It also allows me to carry a virtual Tibetan and English library with me where ever I go.