DEATH WITH HIS TEACHER (PHOWA HAS GOOD RESULTS)

Javier Geigner was the life of the Buddhist Center in Lima where he lived, for many years. He answered the phone, opened the door, taught the different meditations to newcomers, and was well loved by all. Being blind was no problem for learning. His friends would get for him different conferences of Lama Ole, and he would listen to them over and over. Then he would say ten minute eggs based on what he would hear. He was very keen in practice, and he was almost finishing Ngnondro when Lama Ole came to Lima and told him:”Javier, you are a great Yogui.” That he told him in private, otherwise it would have awakened some people´s envy. That time he also told him “You and I will always be together.” In the months that followed we would find out how true that would come out to be.

By 2010 I first noticed he was losing weight. We checked this and planned a diet that would make him gain weight. Then in January 2011, he told me he had a pain in his lower back. I took him to the doctor. The X=rays showed some scoliosis, so we thought that was that. Later since the pain continued, I took him to my acupuncturist. After a month of treatment with no good results, she told me we had better take him for a general checkup.

We did and after a long week having all sorts of tests, we found out he had a very big tumor in his left lung: it was cancer. Javier had smoked one pack of cigarettes a day for more than fifty years, and he had always known that could happen to him. Even lama Ole had asked him to quit smoking so he could live longer. Needless to say, he started a treatment after a positive biopsy.

Lama Ole came to Lima and we had a retreat in a hotel in Miraflores. We had morning and afternoon sessions, but people slept in their homes or their hotels. By then Javier was in so much pain he stayed in the Center and listened to the sessions by Skype. Finally one afternoon he made an effort and went. As we were leaving, as soon as we reached the street, he lighted a cigarette and I was really upset by that.

The other people living in the Center were very respectful and put up with his coughing and fading strength as he got chemotherapy. The time came when I got an early morning call from Javier. He didn´t want to wake me up, but he thought he was bleeding. I drove quickly to the Center and after calling his doctor and making him a blood test, I took him to the hospital. That was on a Wednesday morning end of August. He had been feeling better the two previous days. We had been making plans for the following days. He wanted to write a letter to Lama Ole, and another to the Sangha who were being so nice to him.

In Europe, Monday of that same week Lama Ole had a dream about Lima Peru. He told that to Natalia, and both thought something might happen to Javier. Lama Ole asked Natalia to call Alfonso here in Lima and have him arrange communication by Skype for Lama Ole with Javier. He had something to tell him. Alfonso had something important to do and forgot all about it. He would soon be sorry.

Javier was bleeding internally. By Thursday he was very ill. The doctor told me he may die. Friday morning he was taken to Intensive Care. Carmen had come to keep us company bringing a bag I needed. We were having coffee when he died. As we went to the floor where he had been I was told to go to the doctor´s office. We rushed down several floors down the stairs and went into his office. There he told me Javier had passed away. I called Sonia, his first wife and also his nephew. Carmen called the Sangha. Lama Ole found out about it half an hour after Javier had died. As generous as always, he wanted to help him and looked for him in Bardo, but he was nowhere to be found. Lama says he had gone straight to Dewachen. He had allowed us to have Javier´s wake in his room in the Center. As we gathered round him to meditate, we could sense there was no energy there. Later one of his daughters arrived from Argentina. I took her inside the room and she also sensed there was no one in the room but us two.

We cremated Javier on Sunday morning. All the Sangha attended. That evening I had a dream. I was in a place where there was a Gompa. They wouldn’t let me in, but I could see Javier sitting in a garden in the sun. He was smoking. Then they all gathered in the gompa to recite mantras. I could hear the most beautiful masculine voice singing a sadhana. As I woke up and sat in bed I could still hear that voice. I will never forget it. I was nor the only one to dream about Javier in a gompa. Other people also did. Javier had another daughter who lived in Madrid. She later came and took the urn with his ashes to Karma Guen in Malaga, as Javier had wished.

Now, how could Lama Ole be so close to Javier he could sense something might happen to him? Javier had done several Phowas and he had taken Buddhist practice very seriously. He had even met Karmapa and had a very moving exchange of words. So if you are a good practitioner you can even skip Bardo. I have had a few dreams with messages from Javier. All I can tell you is he is having a great time. I guess all it takes is a great teacher and a good student to go straight to Dewachen.

You can see Lama Ole´s yearly schedule in the internet. So when is the next Phowa near you? Don´t miss it!

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LA MUERTE CON SU MAESTRO

Javier Geigner le daba vida al Centro Budista Camino del Diamante en Lima, donde vivió por ocho años. El contestaba el teléfono, abría la puerta, enseñaba a los nuevos las distintas meditaciones; y era muy querido por todos. El ser ciego desde los cincuenta y tantos  no era un problema para que el aprendiera. Sus jóvenes amigos le conseguían distintas conferencias grabadas de Lama Ole Nydahl y él las escuchaba una y otra vez. Luego solía hacer charlas de diez minutos basado en lo que había escuchado.

Javier era muy aplicado en su práctica diaria y estaba casi terminando en Ngnondro (Prácticas Preliminares) cuando Lama Ole vino a Lima y le dijo: “Javier, eres un gran Yogui.” Esto por supuesto se lo dijo en privado, porque si no hubiera despertado la envidia en algunos. Esa vez también le dijo “You and I, we shall always be together” (Tu y yo siempre vamos a estar juntos.)En los meses siguientes averiguaríamos cuán cierto eso podía resultar.

Por el año 2010, me di cuenta que Javier había perdido peso. Lo comprobamos con una balanza y planeamos una dieta rica en calorías que le hiciera engordar. Luego en enero del 2011, me comentó que tenía un dolor en el lado izquierdo de la espalda. Lo llevé al doctor. Las radiografías mostraban una leve escoliosis y entonces pensamos que eso era todo. Como el dolor continuó, lo llevé  a mi acupunturista. Después de un mes de tratamiento sin buenos resultados, la doctora me dijo que sería mejor hacerle un chequeo general. Eso hicimos por mayo y después de una semana de someterlo a todo tipo de pruebas  le encontraron un tumor muy grande en el pulmón izquierdo: era canceroso.

Javier había fumado una cajetilla diaria de cigarrillos por más de cincuenta años y siempre había sabido que esto le podía ocurrir. Hasta Lama Ole le había dicho: “Deja de fumar amigo, vivirás más tiempo.” Demás está decir que comenzó un tratamiento después de una neumonía y una biopsia que dio positivo.

Lama Ole vino a Lima y tuvimos un retiro en un hotel de Miraflores. Teníamos sesiones por la mañana y por la tarde. La gente se iba a dormir a sus casas o cuartos de hotel. Por ese entonces Javier tenía tanto dolor que se quedó en el Centro y escuchaba las sesiones vía Skype. Finalmente una tarde hizo un esfuerzo y llegó allá. Al momento de retirarnos, apenas llegamos a la vereda delante del hotel, prendió un cigarrillo y me molesté mucho por eso. Más adelante dejaría de fumar. Las otras personas que vivían en el Centro eran muy respetuosas y toleraban el ruido de su tos y que le disminuyeran las fuerzas como resultado de la quimioterapia. 

Llegó el día en que recibí una llamada de Javier muy temprano. No me quería despertar, pero pensaba que estaba sangrando. Manejé con rapidez al Centro y después de hablar con su doctor y hacerle una prueba de sangre lo llevé al hospital. Eso fue una mañana de un miércoles a finales de agosto. El se había sentido mejor los días previos. Habíamos hecho planes para los siguientes días. El quería escribirle un correo a Lama Ole y otro a la Sangha( el grupo de practicantes) los cuales habían sido tan buenos con él. Estando sus dos hijas fuera del país, ellos habían sido como una familia para él.

En Europa, el lunes de esa semana lama Ole soñó con Lima, Perú. Se lo contó a Natalia Rivas y ambos pensaron que algo le sucedía a Javier. El martes, Lama Ole le pidió a Natalia que contactara a Alfonso en Lima para que concertara una comunicación por Skype con Javier. El lama quería hablar con él. Alfonso tuvo algo urgente que hacer y se olvidó del encargo. Pronto se arrepentiría.

Javier estaba sangrando internamente. El jueves estaba ya muy grave. El doctor me dijo que podía morir. El viernes por la mañana temprano lo toqué y estaba helado. Lo llevaron a cuidados intensivos. Carmen, una compañera del Centro había venido a la clínica a acompañarme y a traerme un maletín que necesitábamos. Estábamos las dos tomando café en la cafetería cuando Javier murió. Sin saber nada subimos al piso y me dijeron que fuera al consultorio del doctor. Bajamos rápidamente varios pisos por las escaleras y entramos .Entonces me dijo que Javier había fallecido.

Llamé a Sonia, su primera esposa para que le avisara a su hija mayor, y también a su sobrino. Al rato me llamó Sammy, la otra hija desde Buenos Aires. Carmen le avisó a la Sangha. Lama Ole se enteró que Javier había muerto, media hora después. Con su generosidad habitual, el lama lo quiso ayudar en ese trance y lo buscó en el Bardo (estado intermedio después de la muerte), pero no lo pudo encontrar. El lama dice que Javier se fue derecho a Dewachen (Paraíso). Nos permitieron velar a Javier en el que había sido su cuarto en el Centro. Cuando nos sentamos todos alrededor del ataúd podíamos sentir que no había energía alguna. Nos reunimos a hacer el ritual del Phowa por él, pero no era necesario. Más tarde llegó Sammy de la Argentina. La hice entrar a la recámara y ella también sintió una gran ausencia. Solo estábamos las dos. Para los Tibetanos el alma permanece en el cuerpo a la altura del corazón por tres días después de muerta la persona. En los velorios normales hay una “presencia”.

Cremamos a Javier el domingo por la mañana. Todos los amigos y practicantes acudieron. Esa noche tuve un sueño: yo estaba en un lugar donde había un templo. No me dejaban entrar, pero podía ver a Javier sentado en el pasto de un jardín bajo el sol. ¡Estaba fumando! Luego todas las personas que estaban allá entraron al templo y empezaron a decir mantras. Pude escuchar la voz masculina más hermosa cantando una sadhana. Cuando me desperté y me senté en la cama podía todavía escuchar la voz maravillosa. Nunca la podré olvidar. Yo no fui la única en soñar con Javier diciendo mantras en una Gompa (templo). Otras personas cercanas también lo hicieron.

Javier tenía otra hija, la cual vivía en Madrid. Ella vino después y se llevó la urna con sus cenizas a Karma Guen, un lugar de retiros budista cerca de Málaga. Allí hay un templo muy grande y viven algunos lamas tibetanos. Allí vivió varios años el lama Mipham, padre del Karmapa Thaye Dorje. Descansar allí era lo que Javier hubiera querido.

Ahora ¿Cómo Lama Ole pudo estar tan cerca de Javier que presintió que algo le iba a pasar? Javier había hecho varios Phowas ( el primero en 2002) y tomaba su práctica con mucha seriedad. Hasta había viajado a Karma Guen a conocer al Karmapa Thaye Dorje y había tenido un intercambio de palabras muy emocionante. Entonces, si eres un buen practicante ¿te puedes saltar el Bardo?

He tenido otros sueños con mensajes de Javier. Solo les puedo decir que la está pasando muy bien. Creo que toma un gran maestro y un buen discípulo para ir directo a Dewachen. Lama Ole Nydahl tiene su agenda anual en internet. ¿Cuándo será el próximo Phowa? Habría que averiguarlo.

LIBERATION BY LISTENING

Kalu Rinpoche was the first Buddhist teacher Lama Ole Nydahl had after he met Karmapa. He was very well known in Europe and he was loved by all who knew him. He founded centers in France and wrote many books.

In 1993, we obtained a cassette called “Liberation by Listening”, which came from France. That meant that if you listened to it you could get liberated. It had him reciting Bardo Thodol, what Tibetans say to a dying person so that he finds his way to a better rebirth. It also had some pujas or prayers.
As soon as we put the cassette on and started to listen to the lama reciting the text in Tibetan, we had a great experience. I could feel my Chakras, Nadis, all the nerve centers in my body activating. It was unforgettable to listen to his husky voice (he was an old man by then).

A couple of years went by and suddenly there was a chance to put the cassette to good use. The father of a member of the Sangha , a lady we’ll call Sandra, passed away. But he was not happy with this, and had no intention to follow the bardo. So he stayed on in the house and made a lot of noise. Doors and windows would slam by themselves. The glass panes of windows would make creaking noises, objects would fall: all the things that a playful ghost would do. Sandra and her mother were scared stiff, because no matter how much they had loved the deceased, from then on since he had left his body; they preferred he would follow the path of no return.

Sandra was telling me this while she looked at some pictures of lamas I had in the room. Then she said: "How cute he looks, he seems to belong to another world”. It was a picture of Kalu Rinpoche in his old age with some pigeons. You could tell he was a spiritual being. I then associated him with the cassette and talked to her about it. She decided then and there to take it home and play it, since she was ready to do anything to get rid of those unwanted noises.

After a week I met her in Meditation and she told me: “I can’t believe it, but the first time we played the cassette, the strange noises ceased.” Either the mantras transcended language and acted on their own; or when you died you became polyglot and understood all languages. The Lama in Bardo Thodol gave instructions to the deceased, telling them what they would find in the path they had to follow.

Sandra continued to play the cassette for several days, and later she gave it back to me. She was relieved there were strange noises no more. Her father had listened to Bardo Thodol and had gone through in search for the light.

As gossip is the best means of advertising, there were a few others afflicted with the same problem: close relatives who after sudden death refused to go and manifested themselves as best they could terrorizing the living.

The most important case was that of Alice’s ex-husband, a poet who had died in a plane crash. After his death he had gone on writing. His daughter had moved in to his apartment near Larco street and his old typewriter would click every afternoon, the keys moving by themselves. The daughter later bought a computer for her children and got rid of the typewriter. Then the computer would get started when nobody was there. But our great national poet had died twenty years ago, so he didn’t know a thing about computers. So our friendly ghost would manage to start the computer, but didn’t know how to store information, and even less to print it. Had he had the knowledge, it would have been very fortunate for the heirs, to go on publishing posthumous work.

There was no doubt it was him because the grandchildren were able to see him, and the eldest granddaughter would feel good in her granddad’s company if she was left alone in the house. He would be seen in a leather jacket and checkered scarf. “He looks just the same, grandma.”, they would tell Alice. They were proud of their grandfather’s presence. “He takes care of us”, the grandchildren would say.

But he was not a quiet ghost, and following his bohemian habits, one New Year’s Eve when everyone was out, he had a party with other ghosts. The neighbors complained and called the caretaker and the police, but there was nobody home. There were many, but could not be seen.

Alice consulted a medium, and she advised her to have masses said for him, not a few, but like one hundred, and to say one thousand prayers. Alice started the task, but got tired along the way. Finally she confided in me and I lent her the cassette. I then forgot all about it.

I met her some time later and she was distraught. “Albert has already left”, she told me sadly. “We do not hear or see him anymore”. Our poet had left and had gone somewhere else to keep on writing. He was never seen or heard again.
Needless to say, our cassette was used as many times as it was needed, always with good results. With present technology, my friend Juan made a CD with Kalu Rinpoche’s recitation of Bardo Thodol. There it is, ready to help any confused spirit who resists the idea he is dead, or who ignores he has to abandon persons or things he is attached to because he has a long way to go for his own good.

As to Kalu Rinpoche, he left this world, but he is already back from Bardo, which is the state after death which lasts forty-nine days in most cases. As any Boddhisattva of enlightened mind who returns to help all sentient beings; his Tulku is already in Siliguri and was officially recognized by Dalai Lama. They say he is a beautiful boy. He already passed the Tulku test and identified personal objects from his previous life from among many objects.

For one thing is certain: great Buddhist teachers always come back to help sentient beings. That is the Bosshisattva vow.

MISFORTUNES OF A BEAUTY

She was a real Spanish beauty: she had long jet black hair, brown eyes and good looks. As she walked down the street, or on riding a bus; men would tell her:”- lady, you are beautiful!”She was in her late forties or early fifties, but she looked much younger. The Sangha had already moved to Ribeyro street, and it was growing.

Giselle was a new arrival .She came for a Phowa and stayed. She got along well with everybody because of her outgoing personality. She was a hot little divorcee with two grown children. She had married really young, in her teens.

We practiced together and later started going out with other members of the Sangha. She was a really good cook and enjoyed preparing fabulous dishes for us. After meditation, on weekends, we usually shared some food. She was eager to help with that. What she didn’t understand well was Buddhism .  She liked Lama Ole but still was a devout of Little Jesus of Prague, a small image  of whom she had in her bedroom. Now next to it she had placed a picture of Lama Ole and an illustration of Mahakala . She enjoyed meditation though, and was trying hard to finish Small Refuge.

She had had several boyfriends after she divorced ; and she didn’t enjoy being alone. So one evening I offered a dinner party, I was glad to see her with an escort. The man was plain, chubby and had a moustache. Giselle had bright a delicious souflée and he a bottle of wine.

That day of spring there was a beautiful moon in the sky, but early in the evening there was an eclipse. There were a dozen friends over and as we chatted, I hadn’t realized Giselle and he beau  were arguing until they raised their voices. “Bad omen” I thought.

The next morning she called me and told me how she had met him. She had gone to visit a friend and she had been introduced to her brother. They had instantly liked each other and started dating. He had been very protective to her and helped her with fixing her car, which had been giving her problems lately. Though it was only the beginning of spring and it was not so warm, they had spent a weekend in his sister’s beach house South of Lima.

He had been the favorite grandson of a very rich man, and had been brought up accordingly. After his grandfather died when he was in his twenties, he had lost all privileges .He was in his early forties and still hadn’t found himself. Though Giselle was happy, there was something I didn’t like about him. I just didn’t know what it was.

Time went by and it was the end of December. We were going to celebrate New year’s Eve in the Center on Ribeyro street. Somebody was baking the turkey. We needed a side-dish so I remembered Giselle knew how to make  wonderful rice with black olives. I rang her up to ask her for the recipe and she sounded distressed at the other end. Her suitor had revealed his true self. He had become violent one evening scaring the wits out of her and had even locked her up in the bedroom. After the row she had tried to break up, but he was obsessed with her and had started stalking her. As she rejected him, he would call her several times during the night to insult her and he seemed to have a large repertoire of denigrating  names, specially lots of synonyms for prostitute. He would also do the same with e-mails. He sent them with all types of letters and in all colors.

Giselle asked her friend information about her brother and it turns out he had done time in jail for something related to drugs. Our Cinderella’s prince had turned out to be an ogre. He was more than forty years old and still lived off his mother. He had made plans to work with her, but he had only been using her.

As I prepared the rice I got a call. Giselle was desperate because he was on the intercom of her apartment building, calling her names. After a while she called again. He had managed to get into the building and was yelling insults at her door. I told her to call the police.

We had a nice evening at the Buddhist center with Carmen Salas and Rosa Rivas, Javier, Alfredo and all the other good friends. We talked and danced all night.

The next day I called to find out what had happened .It seems after a while the man had left all of his own. Still our beauty felt in peril.

After a few weeks she managed with a lawyer cousin  , to get a restraining court order to keep the man away. He now couldn’t get close to her. She thought that had done it, but that was far from true.

The man started calling in turn all the members of the Sangha to “·talk about Giselle”. He said he was madly in love with her, that he didn’t know what she had done to him, but that she had bewitched him. That she had done the Kamasutra to him and that he couldn’t forget her. The more she rejected him the more he insisted.

He would call us with the excuse of talking about Buddhism, then as soon as he was in he would change the subject. Carlos, a psychologist volunteered to give him therapy. We all listened to him but tried to make him understand there was no hope. In the end I begged him not to call me anymore.

Giselle started dating a blonde surfer. One day as she was getting into his car to go to the beach, she saw the man standing in the corner of the street looking at her window. Soft kitty tough kitty, she pretended not to see him.

Sometimes when I look at the moon I remember that lunar eclipse and all the misfortune it brought to our beauty. What was important is that we reacted as one and helped her during that period. We stood by her until the jilted beau faded into oblivion.

WHY THE LAMA CRIED - (WE’LL NEVER KNOW)

Miriam Cotes came to Lima to teach towards the end of 2003. It was Javier’s idea to have a show in the theatre of the district of San Isidro. It was called “Buddhist Stories, Some Answers, and Meditation.” A couple of young actors staged the stories and alternated with some stories told by kids of the Sangha. At the end of each story  Domingo, who had a deep voice would say ·”…And the master says:”, and a wise and profound sentence would be read. Miriam was integrated to the show giving teachings, answering questions and directing at the very end Three Lights Meditation. We had full house for two evenings and it was a great success.

Miriam told Carlos, the head of Lima Center that Javier should go to Karma Guen to meet Karmapa. With time the means to collect the money appeared. There was a worldwide fundraising through the Internet group of KagyuIberoamerica.  Little by little the money flowed in. An envelope with 16 Euros arrived from Maracay, in Lima we collected money, Dharma Teachers sent money from Germany. All who knew him gave money, but it was still not enough; and we didn’t have yet all the money for the ticket from Lima to Malaga, Spain.

I had taken lessons on how to read the I Ching and offered Javier a reading. A double trigram came out: mountain over mountain. The mountain also symbolizes meditation and lack of movement; innamobility. The verdict said to keep still and let his friends do the work.

In May of 2004 the Gompa of Karma Guen was to be inaugurated with the attendance of his Holiness Seventeenth Karmapa Thaye Dorje, Shamarpa Rinpoche, Lama Ole and Hannah and all the most important leaders of Karma Kagyu  Lineage. They would give many transmissions: of Mahakala, of Amithaba and of Amithayus, plus teachings would be given by Manfred Siegers, Hannah and Kenpho Karma Gnedon. There would also be Phowa with Lama Ole.

Javier had at the time a small Buddhist Center in San Bartolo, a seaside resort some 50 kilometers South of Lima. If you didn’t own a car, the only means of transportation were some very old buses which stopped at the Center’s front door. Carol, a  Welsh friend I had, called them “those rattling things”. Since Javier was blind, it wasn’t easy for him to come to Lima , and if he was going to travel, he had to know beforehand in order to pack and be in Lima on time for his trip. He had a plane reservation and a visa on his passport, but the date approached and nothing happened. The fundraising went on, but we didn’t have yet enough money though we were close. The day before, Carlos phoned Javier and told him “Pack and come as if you were going to travel.” Javier arrived in my house that morning, the eve of the trip and we waited. Then in the evening we went to the Buddhist center on Ribeyro Street. Carlos and Dania, finally showed up at eight o’clock with the ticket. There had been a cancellation and they could get a cheaper fare. Only then Javier was sure to travel . At that time after thanking friends for their help, we went to do some last minute shopping . The plane left the next morning at 9 am., but he had to be in the airport at 6. His daughter Sammy and I saw him off.

Javier had an unusual trip to karma Guen. The friends of the Sangha took turns to receive him. Pelusa was at the Airport in Madrid and took him to the bus station. At the other end in Malaga, the bus had barely stopped when Nacho, a friend of the Sangha in Malaga got  in the bus and called his name. He drove him to Karma Guen.

After leaving his bag in the library where he would sleep with 39 others, Javier was taken to the Gompa for the Puja of Mahakala. They left him on a hall to the right near the altar. He was surprised to hear the sound of Tibetan trumpets.”There is Karmapa” (he heard someone say), and felt him pass next to him. It was only an hour after having arrived. Javier told us later it was very moving to hear three thousand persons singing the Puja of Mahakala all at once, in one voice.

Javier always repeated the Bodhisattva vow, but he was also very thankful, so during those wonderful days he thought about how could he return the favor to the friends of the Peruvian Sangha.

He thought it would be a good idea to get a bag of rice and make Karmapa bless it. With that purpose he asked Angela , a German friend who had come from Mexico and was working in the kitchen, to give him a bag of rice. The days went  on and nothing happened.

After the event finished and Karmapa left, some twenty persons stayed in Karma Guen. One day Angela appeared bringing a bag of rice, and she put it on Javier’s bed. ”Here is what you asked for” -she said.

Now Javier had the rice but Karmapa was gone. Kenpho Karma Gnedon went to see him that afternoon and Javier asked him to get him an appointment with Lama Mipham Rinpoche, Karmapa’s father.

Next morning Kenpho returned to say the appointment was at 11.30 that same morning. He asked if Javier had someone to take him there. Javier lied and said yes. He would soon find someone to take him. After a while came Maria Brun from Uruguay. Later Luigi of Brescia showed up. When asked if they wanted to come along, they gladly agreed to go to the meeting with Mipham Rinpoche.

The three went happily together and at the door they met Pedro Gomez. A Tibetan lady opened the door and let them all in. Inside were Lama Mipham, his wife Mayum and a translator. Javier sat on a chair with Pedro to his right, then Luigi and Maria. Lama Mipham was on a wheelchair since he had had a stroke. Pedro said “mampo, manpo”…

Then it was Javier's turn to speak. He thanked the lama for having given us Karmapa. He told him he came from faraway Peru and many other things. Then he stretched his arm and showed him the bag with rice and asked him to bless it. They gave it to the lama while Pedro was telling Javier what went on. ”He put it on his forehead, his throat and his heart to bless it” -Pedro said. Then the noise of sobs were heard. The lama was crying and nobody knew why. He then gave the bag with rice to Mayun and she did the same thing crying too.

Later she, who had seated next to Javier gave him the bag already blessed and asked him his name. He said “Javier”. She said “spell it”, and he did. Then Javier asked her her name and she said “Mayum”. Javier asked her to spell it, and she did. Everyone laughed while she spelled her name. In a distended atmosphere Lama Mipham gave a short teaching and finished the meeting giving the malas and other presents. Javier got a beautiful amber mala. All left full of joy. A few days later Javier went to Madrid and then flew back to Lima.

We will never know why the Lama and his wife cried. Maybe it was because he came from such a faraway place, maybe because he was blind, who knows.

Javier made small bags with the blessed rice to give to friends as a source of inspiration. Even Miriam Cotes got a small bag the next time she came to Lima and she took the rice to give out to friends of the Parkway Sangha, after telling them the story of the rice once cried over.

IT’S BEEN ALMOST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS

Next January 2014 ; it will be twenty-five years since Lama Ole came for the first time to Peru to teach. We have many memories: and the purpose of this blog is to rescue them before time takes them away forever.

As Lama Ole and Hannah were experiencing the adventure of exploring a new territory; we started a spiritual adventure under his guidance. Many people have listened to his teachings. Many still follow them. There have been many Phowas and Mahamudras in Lima.

What is most important is that very many persons have heard that they are not their bodies.  They have their bodies to give love and protection to others, but that they are that which listens through our ears and sees through our eyes. I don’t know how many have really understood that.

Others have realized that constant meditation will give them peace; and that external things only give short pleasure but are impermanent. A few have understood that you can only find joy  within. Those who have experienced joy through Buddhist practice know what Lama Ole means.

The inner development that we can achieve in this life through Lama Ole’s teachings is something that will not be lost. We can take it on to the next life. In fact is the only thing we can take.

And SONAM, or the merit we achieve through practice will allow us to better understand the teachings. How can we thank  the Lama for such precious gifts? There are things so precious that they are priceless. Lama Ole has gone incessantly around the globe giving these precious teachings to anyone who can hear. He has affected many people positively and conquered many hearts.

I am sorry the old times when we received Lama Ole and his entourage as close friends and had time to go to the beach are gone. He is now busier and busier because he has many more students and has to write books.

Today we have a Center in Lima where ten people live. We’ve come a long way from five persons meditating in my living room in 1991! Now we have a large Sangha. And we also visit each other with other sanghas.

Next week we will have Phowa here in Lima in a seaside resort (Ancon) outside of Lima. The weather is still warm, so it will be lovely. I can only make wishes a lot of people come!

OUR FIRST CENTER

By 2003, Carmen had rented a room on the second floor of a two story building in Miraflores. She told us they were renting out the rest. It was a small apartment with a large living room good for a Gompa which had a balcony. There was also a small kitchen and one bedroom and a bathroom. Carmen’s room was also on the second floor, but on the other side of a wall. Soon we would tear down that wall.

We had been meeting Mondays at Rosa’s school and Thursdays in Carlos’ apartment. Michaela had advised it would be good to start a live-in center and we were eager to try. I was happy because the new center in Ribeyro street was three blocks away from my house.

Alfonso moved to the only bedroom and Mauricio and other friends helped with the painting. This was in 2003. In September 2004 Javier would also move in after the wall was torn down. On the other side of the wall on the second floor there was an office, a bathroom, Carmen’s bedroom. Then by itself, on the other side of a staircase was Javier’s room which had a bathroom. So then we had three persons living in our center. Natalia made a movie at the time we tore down the wall.

Carlos would direct Meditation on Thursdays. We also met on Mondays and Javier was always there, so he would open the door, greet the people and direct the Meditation, which since he was blind, he had learned off by heart. This would make Alfonso jealous, so he would ask that Mondays, the ones in charge would be the young ones, namely himself and Mauricio. Alfonso would never be there because he was working and Mauricio would not show up; so Javier would end up being in charge again out of responsibility. This would be cyclical until we had a larger Sangha and Lama Ole came up with the Ten Minute Egg, which made the attention shift from one person to another and so egos did not become bloated.

The kids wanted to paint the walls sky-blue. The lama came and blessed the place. He came to give a lecture in Petroperu Auditorium in February 2004. Now we were practicing Buddhists, we had a place of our own and it had been blessed. We could only grow from then on.

THE YOUNG ONES

The new Millenium also brought young ones. He had been a drug dealer but wanted more out of life. She would take drugs and walk for hours down Lima’s streets listening to her walkman. He was tall and heavy. She was beautiful, and they were friends. They showed up one day and they stayed.

As Karmapa came out of Tibet his energy field became stronger; said Lama Ole. We soon had a lot of young friends. There was Alvaro our best Yogui, the one who finished Ngnondro first. Mauricio was the cleverest and Alfonso had a very strong connection with Lama Ole. Soon they brought their friends and we had two groups: those who were middle aged and the young ones.

In the beginning there were complaints from the older group about the vocabulary, conduct and drug use of the young ones though not all had that conduct. Some people with stiff concepts left. But those people hadn’t  ever been serious Buddhists in the first place. They had come to have a nice time.

The Sangha became a group of practitioners, young and old. The young were obviously friends with the young, but both groups got along well. Now there were more hands to help out pasting posters whenever there was a public lecture and they were very useful using the internet which had become a handy instrument to spread the word.

With time Valerie returned to live in Lima and became an important member of our Sangha. She would take care of the Dharma shop. She would travel to Germany also and bring books. Soon we had a big Sangha with many lovely young people.

LEARNING WITH MICHAELA

That year Michaela had come with Lama Ole for the Phowa and she stayed after he left. We had a Ngnondro  retreat in San Bartolo. That was very important because we had a lot of new people and they were not taking things seriously. Some persons thought Buddhism was a nice thing to do once a week: to “relax” with meditation. Those were “Buddhism Consumers” according to Michaela. To be a “producer” you have to be a serious practitioner, do Ngnondro  and meditate on a daily basis, Michaela said. It is true that some people have the inner need and some don’t, but if you practice you will find you have “surplus”, extra energy to work for the sangha. With time you can have a better understanding of the teachings because merit enhances comprehension.

Michaela’s teachings sank in and many people started Ngnondro. Javier was one of the most enthusiastic. He had become blind in his late fifties, so if you explained the visualization well to him he could do the practice. He had an excellent memory for the mantras and the rest of the text. Carmen, Violeta , Rosa and Carlos also joined “the producers”. Soon we had a large group of practitioners. It was thanks to Michaela’s visit and retreat that people started Ngnondro in Lima. Lama Ole had given a Ngnondro retreat many years before, but people were not ready at that time.

 

We had been lucky enough to borrow a seaside apartment down at the beach, so we had nice evening reunions and early morning dips in the ocean. Javier from then on referred to Michaela as his Buddhism “Madrina”(godmother) and had a special feeling for her.

 

The new Millenium brought changes. Some young people would soon come. We would soon have a place of our own. Michaela had told us it would be nice if we had a live in center. We looked forward to it and soon the right circumstances would come. Meanwhile we started practicing seriously.

THE NEW MILLENIUM

We celebrated the coming of the New year in Carlos’ apartment. We were a small group, but we would soon meet more friends. Carmen Salas and Violeta were already coming.

There were some new members who had not yet met Lama Ole since he did not come in 1999. They would have to wait until year 2,000, and they made instant connection with him when they finally met him. A young German girl called Valerie came to Lima in order to make a research and made contact with us. Her then boyfriend was Buddhist. We would get together in Javier’s Internet place to read Diamond Way web page and find out more about Karmapa. We also met to study “Things as they are.”

A lady called Rosa Rivas came over one day. She was friend of Carmen. She had a school in San Borja, called  “Maria Reiche”. She offered the premises whenever we needed a larger place for a conference. I remember Eduardo Herrera gave a lecture there. We also started meeting for meditation in the school on Mondays. We kept meeting on Thursdays in Carlos’ apartment. That was in San Isidro, another neighborhood.

In November of year 2,000, my daughter Stefanie got married and all my sangha friends attended the ceremony. Some days previous to the wedding, Javier had rented a house in San Bartolo, a seaside town 49 kilometers south of Lima. He would have the first Internet place in the beaches of the south. That meant business went well that summer (January, February, March)     of 2001.

We also started using Javier’s house in San Bartolo as a place for lectures and retreats (renting the local stadium). It became officially a Diamond Way Center when Hannah told him he had the blessing. In his office, Javier had a thangka I had given him, a picture of Mahakala and a small Buddah blessed by Lopong Tsechu. It was fun for all of us to go south, have teachings, eat seafood; and later have a walk and a dip in the ocean. Many Dharma teachers went there.

In year 2002 we had Phowa and that changed many lives. It was a difficult Phowa because Lama Ole always advises not to take drugs if you want to take Phowa. He says if you do take drugs not to go. That time a lot of young people came and they were taking drugs. I was translating for Lama Ole and I could see he was troubled. It took an extra effort of Lama’s extraordinary energy to drive us all to the final goal. But it was not in vain, because after that Phowa several young people approached our sangha and many stayed until today.

….AND THE PIGEONS CAME TO DIE

The other day when Peter Gomez was visiting the center in Lima, we had a conversation with Ricardo La Serna. We were remembering those days when Lopong Tsechu along with Lama Kalsang and Maggie had stayed in his house in Miraflores, the same place where Lama Ole, Hannah, Pedro Gomez and friends has arrived in 1990 for the first time.

Ricardo was talking of 1996 after Lopong Tsechu left. ”After he left the energy of the place had changed” he said, ”I think it was because in his room he had pasted on the wall the images of two Yidams. And he talked to those Yidams on the wall. Maggie and Lama Kalsang had never seen him do this anywhere else.”

Sometime after they left the first pigeon came to die in Ricardo’s house. It flew in through the window and was found dead on the dining room floor.

The house had access to the roof and for the next few months Ricardo kept finding dead pigeons. If he left windows open they would come, fly in and die inside. There were no dead pigeons in the neighboring houses.

Ricardo had two brothers who had migrated to the US and were now citizens. They obtained American residency for Ricardo and he was planning to go to California soon to live and work there. Since he was leaving Peru for several years Ricardo was planning to rent his house.

One morning he found a dead cat on his doorstep. The cat had come to die there. One day he found an image pasted on his front door. It was that of a monk, but the head had been cut off. That person had also thrown some rice inside the house through a window. She was a very small black lady who was followed everywhere by five little dogs all mongrels. She came over to Ricardo’s house and left under the door a card with the image of Saint Martin of Porres, a black 16^th century Catholic saint who loved animals. Somehow all seers and witches had sensed a source of power in Ricardo’s house which altered the energy of the neighborhood.

One day a dead dog appeared on the doorstep. That was the last straw. Ricardo peeled off the Yidams and painted the walls. Slowly things went back to normal. Ricardo left for the United States and rented the house. He would live in California for many years. It would be there that he met Lopong Tsechu for the last time. He probably made him laugh. Ricardo always made Lopong Tsechu laugh.