(Mt. Meili seen outside of the hotel room window)
In 2002, we planned to visit Yunan, Dali, Lijiang and
Zhongdian but were advised by Weidong from Beijing that it would be too cold in
December then. Instead, he suggested the Southern Silk Road which was warmer
instead (an ancient route for horse and tea leaf trading). So, we travelled to
Kunming, Ruili and Tengchong and gave the scenic Dali, Lijing and Zhongdian a miss.
This time, however, we are fully prepared to fulfil
our original plan. 13 years later, on 2nd August 2015, 21 of us took
a flight to Yunan which we have been longing for, with two other members from
Hangzhou meeting us at Kunming. Our airplane were encircled by a rainbow
throughout the whole flight, lasting more than 3 hours.
On the first day, our tour guide, a dark and skinny
lady, kept telling us about the current social problems facing China. Those
born in the 80s and 90s are experiencing a high divorce rate today, and she
said a marriage will end up being a divorce without fail. She even illustrated
her point by sharing with us a real story that happened to someone she knew – a
couple decided to go their separate ways over a bag of garbage! China, after
going through ten years of mishaps, followed by speedy economic development, is facing many
social ills now. Finally, when she told us that she wished to be born as a
panda in her next life, I was completely dumbfounded!
On the second day, we ascended Mt. Jizu. It was a very
formidable task to a Singaporean making our way up the mountain (3,240 m in altitude),
despite the fact that we took a cable car ride to complete the first part of
the journey. When we arrived at the foot of the mountain, a sun halo appeared
in the sky, showing the presence of the enlightened beings and the dharma
protectors and their firm commitment to be with us at all times. When we
reached the Huashoumen (cave), we did a Avalokitesvara Prayer and made offering
of buttered lamps. Dharma Sister Bing later shared with me that she “saw” the
entire cave transforming into rainbow lights. She could see the rainbow lights
whether she opened or closed her eyes. She had a vision of Mahakasyapa and
Avolikitesvara appearing in the rainbow lights. Dharma Brother Shao had a
vision too that he “saw” all of us entering the cave to pay homage to
Mahakasyapa who has entered a state of profound meditation since more than
2,500 years ago. He has been waiting for the arrival of Maitreya Buddha in this
world, as instructed by Sakyamuni Buddha during his time, to hand over his robe
to Maitreya in future. Everyone in the
group made a vow before Mahaksyapa, “In future, when Bodhisattva Maitreya comes
to this world to attain his Buddhahood, we will join Mahakasyapa in welcoming his
arrival.”
On the third day, our official tour guide, Xiao Shan, finally
appeared. She also shared the same story about the couple who divorced over a
bag of garbage! It is obvious that China is facing a serious social problem today!
Only the teachings of the Buddha can cure the social ills by treating the
mental health of the people.
When we arrived at Lijiang, we headed straight to the
Vajrayogini Cave. Sakyamuni Buddha called it “The Most Supreme Spiritual Cave
in Jambuvipa”. It is connected to 25 other dakini caves. Today, there is a
majestic looking Tibetan temple being built right in front of the cave and the
abbot is Yingba Vajra Master from the Karma Kagyud. Someone said that Yingba
Vajra Master did his retreat in Southern India for more than 10 years. He was identified
by H.E Tai-situ as the right candidate to build a monastery at Vajrayogini
Cave. So, he returned to China to fulfil the task assigned by his teacher.
There is a place within the vicinity of the Vajrayogini Cave that is believed
to hold the key to the Huashoumen. Legend has it that when Mahakasyapa left
India with the robe of Sakyamuni Buddha in his hands, he came to this
Vajrayogini Cave to pay homage to Vajrayogini. He left behind the key to the
Huashoumen before heading his way to Mt. Jizu. Traditionally, the Tibetan
Buddhists would draw the key from here before heading to Mt. Jizu. We saw the
video footages of Venerable Haitao on his pilgrimage tour to Mt. Jizu and
learnt about this history. Venerable Haitao has a strong connection with H.H
Karmapa. His pilgrimage tour to Mt. Jizu was quite an important event in the
Buddhist circle. According to the legend, the 1st Karmapa had a
vision of this Vajrayogini Cave in his meditation. The 8th Karmapa
personally made a pilgrimage tour to the cave. And the 10th Karmapa
stayed at the cave for more than 20 years. This cave has a strong karmic
connection with the Karma Kagyud indeed.
On the 7th day, on the 8th of
August, we came to Zhiyun Temple. It was so coincidental that August is the
period when the Karma Kagyud holds its annual grand ceremony. This time, the 17th
Dongbao Zhongba Rinpoche personally presided over the ceremony attended by
thousands of layman Buddhists and ordained monks. We took part in the ceremony
too since we happened to appear at the right place at the right time. We
offered khattas and our X-Tour books to Dongbao Zhongba Rinpoche too.
Of course, we also visited the ancient cities of Dali
and Lijiang, including the Mt. Yulong. We did not spend much time on these
locations partly because it was the summer holiday of China, where every place
was full of crowds. They were also not our places of interest anyway. When we
reached Shangrila, we merely made a brief stop at Songzanlin Monastery which
was also very crowded. Very quickly, we headed straight to Mt. Meili as it was
one of the most important stops in our plan.
Mt. Meili ranked first in the list of eight sacred
mountains within the region of Big Tibet. It is ahead of Mt. Kailash. The road
was bumpy. Xiao Shan told us that Mt. Meili hardly showed its face. It will be
even more difficult for us to catch a glimpse of it in this rainy season. Song
Song, our local tour guide told us that this is the year-of-birth (year of
goat) of Mt. Meili, where Tibetans have the tradition of doing pilgrimage tours
around the mountain during this period. She already did it this year. She also
had a dream last night that she found herself arriving at Mt. Meili. When we
were approaching Mt. Meili, the cloudy sky (it has been raining daily since our
arrival) suddenly changed into a sunny sky near the area of Mt. Meili. Nearly
all thirteen peaks showed their faces right before our eyes. We felt exhilarated!
Our group did a Padmasambhava Prayer before Mt. Meili. All the clouds suddenly
seemed to come to a stand-still, exposing Mt. Meili before us. When the prayer
was over, Padmasambha appeared in the form of cloud above the sky. It was
absolutely inconceivable! We prayed before every sacred Buddha statues that we
came across – not knowing that we actually became part of the scenery to the
Chinese tourists who either stood around watching us or joining us in the
prayer at times.
On our way back to Shangrila, we visited a small temple
– Feilai Temple. The image of the mountain god – Gawagebo of Mt. Meili was
enshrined within the temple. When we paid our respect to him, he descended and
gave blessing to everyone. There were many Tibetans who came to this temple who
requested me to touch their heads as a form of blessing. Surprisingly, the
person in-charge of the temple asked me if I could help to invite Dongbao
Zhongba Rinpoche to visit this temple? Obviously, Donbao Zhongba Rinpoche must
be too pre-occupied by the various religious activities that he has not been
coming to this place for a long time.
When the whole tour was about to come to a perfect
closure, we met a local lady at the airport who has been working for Silk Air
for more than 20 years. She saw how cheerful our members were – chatting and laughing
in a carefree manner – a social behavior that is hardly seen in China for a
long time. She felt very touched and requested to take a photo with us. She
told me that she has been working here for 20 years for a reason – for a
meeting with me today! She sent me off at the boarding gate, and returned to
her duty with much reluctance. We only met once, and yet she has so much faith
in me, and we felt so familiar with each other. I saw the tears in her eyes, when
she finally turned away……
Only the true teachings of the Buddha can help all
sentient beings during this degeneration time…… I truly believe in this,
especially when I visited Yunan, Dali, Lijiang and Shangrila this time.
Acho Rinpoche
14th
August 2015
Blessing the Tibetans
Mt. Jizu
Yingba Vajra Master, Abbot of Vajrayogini Cave.
Xiao Shan & Song Song, our tour guides.
Mt. Meili
