One of the joys of my Buddhist practice is that often it takes me from my day-to-day life, routine and comfort zone, and into places and realms beyond the limitations of my imagination.
Whether it’s spending 10 weeks living a simple monastic life in the mountains of Spain, or the contemplation of various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, or trying to get my mind to navigate some worlds systems throughout space and time as described in some of the Mahayana sutras.
Saturday, the 5th of October was an occasion that at one level was very real, and on another was outside of my usual perception of space and time.
Sailing along the river Deben and out into the North Sea in Tabatha, Eric’s faithful boat, with Jess at the helm, the sunshine on my skin and the sea breeze in my hair felt very real.
Onboard was a special cargo, entrusted to Eric by Pema, an ex-Nyingma nun, who came to practice with our Sangha at the recent Padmasambhva festival held at our centre. During that festival, organised by Kamalasiha, many of you went into town and concealed ‘termas’ or mystic texts, ready to be discovered sometime in the future.
The possibility of our mission arose within Pema’s mind. She explained to Eric that she had a tablet with the image of the guru Padmasambhava, commissioned by Nyimei Tongzhou Rinpoche. A 1000 of these exquisit tablets had been produced, with the intention of depositing them across the globe in the year of the Dragon, for the benefit of all beings. One tablet was intended for the North Sea.
Hence Tabatha was carrying a heavy black marble tablet, slightly bigger than A4, with intricate gold etching. On one side, a detailed image of Padmasambhava, with flowing cloaks, skull cap, vajra and holding the three-pointed khatvanga (trident) in the crook of one arm. The other side inscribed, again in gold lettering, with the Guru Rinpoche Prayer for the spontaneous fulfillment of wishes in an ancient script.
At the bottom was a note in English explaining why Nyimei Tongzhou Rinpoche had set out to distribute these ‘Termas’ across the globe. The tablets were paid for by wealthy Chinese businessmen.
Once far enough out to sea, we played the Padmasambhava seven-line prayer recorded for us by Kamalasiha (who unfortunately could not be there). We burnt incense, and chanted Pandmasambhava mantras, while scattering red carnations onto the sea, as a gateway for the Guru’s passage. As Jess reluctantly released the beautiful & striking Padmasambhava image into the sea, to the ‘longing’ version of his mantra, we were all gripped with a powerful solemnity; which I felt as an emotional shift in my inner depths.
Scattering the remaining carnations in silence, we all dwelt in the powerful impact of what we had just done, as Tabatha drifted gently in the current, and held us safely in our thoughts.
The terma we had released is unlikely to be found certainly in my lifetime, or that of my grandchildren’s grandchildren. It is however, more likely to be found in millions of years time, when the Buddha’s teachings may have been lost, and the seabed may raise up with the shifting of the earths tetronic plates, or maybe be discovered by future beings living underwater.
Who knows what any future terma discoverers may look like, or indeed, which world system they may be from.
The reality of spending time with friends to play a part in making the vision of someone we will never meet a reality, for the potential benefit of all living beings, in a future time and space outside of my comprehension, is one of humble privilege.
