Tibetan Arts in the Gompa
The nakedness of the Gompa at Tsegyalgar West changed its skin! The
gray walls and ceiling became a beautiful mix of colors. In a explanation given by Migmar Tsering, it all manifested
itself in a perfect way, as Tibetan
Art is intimately connected with the teachings. Ngobo ངོ་བོ་
Six colors were applied to the ceiling beams: white,
yellow, red, green, black inspired by Sempa Dorje's teaching on the nature of
these six colors (kha dog drug gi rang
bzhin pa). This is found in the Bang
mdzod 'phrul gyi lde mig, one of the main Tantras of the Dzogchen Semde, in
the section Man ngag thams cad kyi sdom
pa zhes bya ba'i dbu, as found in the collection of Tantra of Vairocaha
(Vairo Gyüdbum). Migmar told us this book tells precious
stories, for which a key to understand them is necessary.
In this teaching six aspects of the Bodhicitta are
described through the nature of the six colors: White symbolizes that
Bodhicitta is not overshadow by emotions; yellow indicates that Bodhicitta
gives rise to the Great Wisdom (che ba'i ye shes); red represents the
potentiality that permeates everything; green is the fact of having no
impediment at all (bodhicitta penetrates everything); black nothing and nobody
can modify or change Bodhicitta; The multicolor indicates that Bodhicitta
manifests itself everywhere and in various forms. For that reason these six
colors were chosen to represent the Second of the Three Wisdoms of the Base Rang bzhin རང་བཞིན་.
Below
the beams, on the walls there are several representations, including the
syllables of the three Vajras, and other seed syllables. In the main beam there
are the 'twenty-four syllables of the Great Liberation through seeing' (mthong
grol), which Vajrasattva transmitted to Namcho Mingyur Dorje. All this
represents the infinite potentiality (Thugs
rje རྗེ་ རྗེ་)
the third Wisdom of the Base.
The painting of the Gompa at Tsegyalgar West as well as
other activities took place last April when some practitioners from the Dzogchen Community had the
opportunity to embark in an intense adventure guided by our tireless friend Migmar
and the vigorous and quiet presence of Shuyang Zhong, both surprised us with
their amazing talents.
We never imagine how
contagious the rhythm of work and the unfolding creativity of this great
Tibetan artist could be. Some participants had to overcome some kind
of irrational fears when being up there on the scaffolding, others really moved
as fish under water. But really, the only thing that matters was the joy of our
undistracted presence, painting the Gompa throughout the day. This was, undoubtedly,
a vital collective practice accompanied by Rinpoche’s teachings and sometimes by
a variety of good music.
When you give yourself a
chance to come to Tsegyalgar West and you contemplate the main crossbeam of the
Gompa with the painted mantra in golden letters - mthong
grol - just
remember it was placed there so that each one of us may obtain a cause for
realization.
You can observe strategic
places of this Gompa with syllables such as the Three Vajras or the Longzal as
well as other elements like the classical Tibetan clouds. They were first
sketched in long sheets of paper, then pierced with holes and later Migmar traced
them on the walls. This is an ancient technique that has been done
traditionally in Tibetan monasteries. Piercing
the syllables was also so good, a perfect practice for contemplation, it took a
fast movement of the fingers and an OM AH HUM with each and every little hole.
It is important to mention
other activities that took place in and around the Gompa: workers were placing windows
and wooden doors; the main entrance of the Gompa was rehabilitated. Trees were
planted; a new garden in front of the dining room was born and maintenance of various
fences around the Gar was done.
Every day wonderful food was
prepared by the fantastic Chefs we are so lucky to have in our Community, we
even enjoyed Momos and Chinese dishes thanks to Migmar and Shuyan; this was
too, so special.
The Gar always offers everyone
the great opportunity to practice, collaborate and learn. Thank you Rinpoche.
