General Spiritual Director
Fall Festival 2024 ~ Day 4
Oct 29, 2024
NKT-IKBU International
Fall Festival 2024
Festival Diaries
The Beauty of the mandala of Heruka
On Monday we spend the day entering into Heruka's mandala. Physically we enter the beautiful Temple, itself a representation of Heruka's palace, for the two sublime sessions of the Heruka empowerment. Then mentally, through the concentration of the empowering Spiritual Guide, the blessings of Venerable Geshe-la, and our own pure imagination and intentions, we are created as a newly arisen Heruka Body Mandala.
Day 4~ Entering into Heruka's pure land
This delightful video shows the beauty of the Kadampa Temple for World Peace fourteen years after it was opened by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche.
As we are guided through the various stages of the empowerments there are so many special and beautiful practices, details, subtleties and insights. There is an awareness and deep sense of good fortune that in each moment we are creating pure causes for enlightenment. There is immense gratitude, a blissful peace, and a deeper understanding and appreciation for the transformative power of Highest Yoga Tantra.
In the precious word empowerment we received extraordinary encouragement from Venerable Geshe-la about how, when we cease ordinary appearance with wisdom, pure appearance naturally appears. To highlight this transcendent possibility, the Temple in Brazil includes within it the most detailed and exquisite representation of Heruka's mandala, gloriously illuminated, and beckoning us inwards to cultivate our own body mandala.
To conclude the empowerments we make many offerings and blessed dedication prayers including the tsog offering, Assembly of Good Fortune. Thank you Venerable Geshe-la for this most precious gift and thank you to Gen-la Dekyong who granted this empowerment.
A different way to enjoy our life ~ with Gen-la Dekyong
Between the empowerments people relax in the grounds under shady trees, finding quiet corners for meditation or enjoying the company of Sangha. Everything feels very pure, and for those visiting from abroad the tropical setting adds an extra other-worldly element to the day. In one participant's words, 'the place felt full of love!'
Today, new 9-inch metal Heruka statues appeared in the Tharpa shop. They were filled here in Brazil for the Festival, and people are delighted to have the opportunity to take one home.
