GENTLY WHISPERED: ORAL TEACHINGS BY THE VERY VENERABLE KALU RINPOCHE PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Kalu Rinpoche | 324 pages | 05 Sep 2000 | Station Hill Press | 9780882681535 | English | Barrytown, United States Works - Shangpa Foundation During his early years, he was tutored by his father at home and received a thorough grounding in the meditative and ritual traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. When Kalu Rinpoche was fifteen years old, he was sent to begin his higher studies at the great monastery of Palpung, the foremost center of the Karma Kagyu school. He remained there for more than a decade, during which time he mastered the vast body of teaching that forms the philosophical basis of Buddhist practice and completed two three-year retreats. In his autobiography, he lists more than 20 other teachers with whom he studied, in addition to his principle teacher, Norbu Dondrub. They include the 14th Dalai Lama, the 16th Karmapa, H. At age twenty-six, Rinpoche left Palpung to pursue the life of a solitary yogi in the woods of the countryside of Kham, Tibet. During the s, Kalu Rinpoche visited central Tibet with the party of Situ Rinpoche, and there he taught extensively. Returning to Kham , Kalu Rinpoche became the abbot of the meditation center associated with Palpung and the meditation teacher of the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa. He remained in that position until the situation in Tibet forced him into exile in India. Kalu Rinpoche left Tibet for Bhutan in , before establishing a monastery in Sonada, Darjeeling in In the late s Kalu Rinpoche began to attract Western disciples in India. By the s, he was teaching extensively in the Americas and Europe, and during his three visits to the West he founded teaching centers in over a dozen countries. In France, he established the first retreat center to teach the traditional three-year retreats of the Shangpa and Karma Kagyu lineages to Western students. June Campbell , a former Kagyu nun who is an academic feminist , acted as Kalu Rinpoche's translator for several years. In her book Traveller in Space: Gender, Identity and Tibetan Buddhism [3] , she writes that she consented to participate in what she realised later was an abusive sexual relationship with him, which he told her was tantric spiritual practice. She raises the same theme in a number of interviews, including one with Tricycle magazine in Lama Gyaltsen had served since his youth as his secretary. Former Kalu Rinpoche, he himself, chose whom to come into this world through. Situ Rinpoche sent a letter of recognition with Lama Gyaltsen to the 14th Dalai Lama , who immediately confirmed the recognition. He is now known as the Second Kalu Rinpoche. Kalu disclosed he was abused, paused then broke down, revealing for the first time that he had been sexually abused at the age of 12 by older monks [9] from the monastery he attended. By definition, the state of enlightenment of a buddha or enlightened being is a state which, when attained, gives that direct experience that sentient beings presently lack. To proceed with a path of spiritual development is to remove those layers, which then permits this potential to actualize. Such purification allows the tathagatagarbha to express itself completely, without any limiting or hindering factors. In practicing Buddhadharma, one is taking refuge in the Buddha, confident that the Buddha Shakyamuni attained the state of direct experience, and confident that one has the ability to attain this same state. When one takes refuge, one openly declares that one's spiritual goal is the state of enlightenment. Now, the state of enlightenment to which one aspires expresses itself inherently and automatically as supreme compassion. This, in and of itself, is a source of incredible blessings; but whether or not one is able to receive such blessings depends upon one's own particular situation. Specifically, does one have faith in the source of blessing? Does one have the confidence and faith in Buddha Shakyamuni? If one does have such faith and confidence, then this provides a kind of opening and space in which blessings can enter. The traditional texts speak of the buddhas' compassion being like a hook, and the practitioners' faith and confidence being like a ring which the hook can catch. Once that connection is made, it is possible for the recipient of the vow of refuge to begin to experience the benefits of the connection. One receives actual blessings and begins to develop toward full realization of enlightenment. The only way one can definitely experience such blessings is by providing the opening in oneself for the hook to make its connection. In taking refuge, one is creating the open space in one's mind so that the blessings and compassion of all the buddhas, which are inherently there, can be felt. When one takes refuge in Buddha Shakyamuni, one is additionally taking refuge in his teachings, known as the Dharma, and in the close adherents practicing Buddhadharma, known as the sangha or monastic community. One takes refuge with the basic confidence that the Three Jewels represent a source of blessing, of inspiration, and of spiritual development. Once the connection has been made and the faith and confidence continues in a person's mind, this connection remains valid. The benefits of the connection are not something limited to the context of this life. It can be said that those who take refuge, acknowledging faith in the Lord Buddha and in their own potential. The process of becoming enlightened might be felt as a direction or guidance by some unseen force or principle. However, it is not that one is being led anywhere in the sense of the hook pulling the ring ; rather the individual simply comes to a particular state of attainment. On a practical level, there is a sense of being given guidance and of having found a safe refuge, a source of benefit in helping the practitioner overcome and eliminate the fears, sufferings, and problems in this life and in the future states of existence that the mind will experience. Once a positive connection exists in this life, then the mind can be guarded from lower states of rebirth. There is a sense of being guided towards purity of being, which is, by definition, the attainment of enlightenment. Once having taken refuge, the whole wealth of the teachings becomes available to the practitioner. Henceforth, a teacher may have confidence when giving teachings to the student. Thus, in taking refuge, one makes oneself accessible to the teachings; or rather, one makes the teachings accessible to oneself. In each of the three yanas, the principle source of refuge is the Three Jewels. However, if one intends to practice the vehicle of the vajrayana, then one also takes refuge in the Three Roots. The root of all blessing is the Tsaway Lama; the root of all accomplishment is the Yidam; and the root of all activity is the Dharmapalas the Dharma protectors. The person who bestows the vow of refuge is the lama. When one receives the vow of refuge, one visualizes the lama surrounded by innumerable buddhas and bodhisattvas, all of whom are giving refuge. There is a mundane aspect, in which one prostrates and recites the vows before a physical spiritual teacher of Buddhadharma. As well, there is a transcendental aspect, in which one connects to the force of blessing and compassion of all the buddha fields and levels of accomplished bodhisattvas. If, after having taken this vow, one keeps it unbroken, then, in this very lifetime one will be protected from fear and suffering. Furthermore, throughout all future lifetimes until one attains complete enlightenment , one is also protected from the fears and suffering of samsara. The root of keeping the vow of refuge intact is to maintain faith. This is very easily accomplished: by remembering the great blessing, great compassion, and great power of the activity of the Three Jewels and the Three Roots with love, faith, and devotion, one simply recites the refuge prayer seven times each day. This repeated recitation takes less than five minutes of one's busy day, yet the prayer has strong benefits associated with it. The verbal recitation clears away obscurations of the door of speech, while the mental attitude of devotion clears away obscurations of the mind. There are several versions of refuge prayers, some shorter and some longer, but their meaning is all the same. Usually one is encouraged to recite a seven-line refuge prayer; but if this is difficult to remember when beginning, one may also say seven times the simple line, "I take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha until I attain enlightenment. This gift provides a strong memory of the day on which the lama bestowed his blessing. Furthermore, the name itself has a very auspicious meaning and signifies an auspicious connection with the Dharma. Thus, in wholly regarding what takes place on this auspicious occasion of taking the vow of refuge, it can clearly be seen that this simple action is the basis of all one's future Dharma practice and thus is extremely important. Even someone who is very old and incapacitated can still think and come to the conclusion that taking refuge is a beneficial step. But what about a child too young to understand the concept? Due to a number of factors, a certain blessing is imparted to the child taking part in a refuge ceremony. One factor is that parents who bring their child to a refuge ceremony are doing so out of faith. They wish the child to receive some kind of blessing and are acting with a sincere desire to help the child's spiritual development.