Paean to a Bodhisattva Warrior
I offer this in hopes it will help inspire devotion, confidence and practice.
Like the flight of a ya in the sky,
A graceful arc piercing the heavens,
Then falling to strike,
Naturally into the earth again.
After Paul Halpern's death sangha were invited to come to his house and meditate with him before his sukhavati. I was over on the final night to Paul's house to meditate with him from 10 to midnight, the last watch. His wife, Faye, greeted us at the door saying, "Don't be sad. Paul's heart remained warm for two days." This was really joyful news of fruition along our path of devotion, service, study and practice. It was a privilege to be able to practice with Paul that night and it was a very powerful experience.
Paul looked quite good. Restful, at peace, yet still a warrior.
We did the Dorje Dradul Sadhana and it was extraordinarily vivid. The visualizations and their meanings were much easier to maintain than usual, almost spontaneous. More importantly, the power and magic and sense of presence of the Dorje Dradul and his mandala were striking.
This happened not only to me but also to my son, Nyima, and to Will Perkins who had both come over with me for this. We all felt moved and grateful for the auspicious opportunity to work with death and meditation practice. We all came away yearning for further study and practice and with greater experience and confidence of its effectiveness.
To me this was amazing to hear and I told Faye of the extraordinarily powerful experience we were having upstairs with Paul at the same time.
In his commentary on bardo teachings of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in Halifax last weekend Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche reminded us clearly that at the time of death the best practice we can do is to call on the guru. Call on guru, dharma and sangha if we can. But by far most important is to call on the guru. The Dorje Dradul Sadhana is the Dorje Kasung practice that does just that, it calls on our guru. Paul was noted for his unfailing devotion to his guru.
The Dorje Dradul had told us he would never leave us. That he would haunt our dreams. That we could always call on him and he would come and help us. So we did. We called on the Dorje Dradul to come and help our fallen vajra brother. And he did. The Dorje Dradul came and helped. It was unmistakable. Powerful. Vivid. Yet still empty.
Paul, did you call on your guru at the time of death with confidence and love? Is that why your heart stayed warm with realization? That is my best guess. That would have been just like you.
Thank you, Paul.
Even in death, you are still a bodhisattva warrior.
In the True Command,
David Wimberly
Like the flight of a ya in the sky,
A graceful arc piercing the heavens,
Then falling to strike,
Naturally into the earth again.
After Paul Halpern's death sangha were invited to come to his house and meditate with him before his sukhavati. I was over on the final night to Paul's house to meditate with him from 10 to midnight, the last watch. His wife, Faye, greeted us at the door saying, "Don't be sad. Paul's heart remained warm for two days." This was really joyful news of fruition along our path of devotion, service, study and practice. It was a privilege to be able to practice with Paul that night and it was a very powerful experience.
Paul looked quite good. Restful, at peace, yet still a warrior.
We did the Dorje Dradul Sadhana and it was extraordinarily vivid. The visualizations and their meanings were much easier to maintain than usual, almost spontaneous. More importantly, the power and magic and sense of presence of the Dorje Dradul and his mandala were striking.
This happened not only to me but also to my son, Nyima, and to Will Perkins who had both come over with me for this. We all felt moved and grateful for the auspicious opportunity to work with death and meditation practice. We all came away yearning for further study and practice and with greater experience and confidence of its effectiveness.
To me this was amazing to hear and I told Faye of the extraordinarily powerful experience we were having upstairs with Paul at the same time.
In his commentary on bardo teachings of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in Halifax last weekend Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche reminded us clearly that at the time of death the best practice we can do is to call on the guru. Call on guru, dharma and sangha if we can. But by far most important is to call on the guru. The Dorje Dradul Sadhana is the Dorje Kasung practice that does just that, it calls on our guru. Paul was noted for his unfailing devotion to his guru.
The Dorje Dradul had told us he would never leave us. That he would haunt our dreams. That we could always call on him and he would come and help us. So we did. We called on the Dorje Dradul to come and help our fallen vajra brother. And he did. The Dorje Dradul came and helped. It was unmistakable. Powerful. Vivid. Yet still empty.
Paul, did you call on your guru at the time of death with confidence and love? Is that why your heart stayed warm with realization? That is my best guess. That would have been just like you.
Thank you, Paul.
Even in death, you are still a bodhisattva warrior.
In the True Command,
David Wimberly
posted by Chronicles of CTR at 9:44 AM
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