by Nicky Glegg and Peter White
Photo above of Namkhai Yeshi with webcast and sound engineers and sunset by Peter White
All other photos by Daniyal Ibragimov
We arrived from the UK at Dzamling Gar with the usual minor travel obstacles, the perfect time and place to see Namkhai Yeshi teaching Dzogchen.
Entering the gate of Dzamling Gar.. Excitement and curiosity – the teachings will be wonderful, but how will so many people fit in a single hall? Can a place in a town really be as beautiful as they say? What will there be for lunch? The gate of the Gar opened on a fairyland of trees and shade; so many different hibiscus, towering arches of succulent spikes, trailing cactus and drifts of flowers in shades of purple here, red and yellow there, cooling the meandering paths up the hillside. Did you see that amazing tree with thorns like rhinoceros’ horns on every branch?
Although there must have been a huge amount of pre-planning and organization, everything ran so smoothly. Volunteers used their initiative to get things done. The place always seemed spacious, and clean, the toilets worked and the queues were short. Dzamling Gar embodies effortlessness and spaciousness. Supported invisibly by the hard work and harmonious collaboration of so many volunteers.
After the effortless experience of registration a thousand people mingled in the beautiful hall, each space lovingly laid out with cushions and chairs and refreshed daily. I heard every sound with ease, I was never too hot or too cold.
Before the teaching, and after, the terraces rippled with dancers – Vajra Dance, Khalong of the Song of Vajra and 12A, Khaita; fiercely bright in the hot afternoons, glowing richly in the early morning. Awesome sea sunsets from the Gönpa steps. From the joyful greetings on the way into teachings, to the laughter in the lunch queue, every person echoed our Masters’ teachings of self-reliance, co-operation, and love.
The view in the Gönpa was devoid of extraneous frills; it indicated a clarity of purpose. The space had been painstakingly prepared with sound absorbent walls and baffles to create an optimal environment for the ambient quadraphonic sound demonstrations. In front Namkhai Yeshi sitting simply with a picture of the Master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and a glorious white ‘A’ above.
Photo: Peter White
We commenced every session with Guru Yoga and the Song of the Vajra, with Namkhai Yeshi patiently guiding us to improve our resonance and coherence of the song.
Namkhai Yeshi covered the path to Trekchod integration, referring to the book ‘The Luminous Clarity of the Universe’ and the 21 Semdzin practices contained therein. He indicated that with these essential practices our wisdom can accumulate, which is something very subtle and not based on ‘ground’ consciousness (as he explained later). We need to develop that capacity which is analogous to a third eye, an intuitive and subtle perception, something that goes with us through the intermediate states.
Namkhai Yeshi covered ideas new to many; through words such as ‘affordance’ – bringing individuals into group appreciation through our relationship with our environment and its significance; the Dzamlingar Gompa being an affordance to our receiving the dharma blessing of merit and wisdom! Going further, he also indicated the importance of going beyond words; the mind’s ability to make infinite visions for any word. The sea was his example, also the root syllable of a deity.
As the retreat progressed Namkhai Yeshi talked in detail about sound and light, their nature and specifically how we perceive them. How sound can be a more simple and direct means in the Teaching and practice; he referred to the Dral Thal Gyur tantra – and how different sounds can affect us according to their characteristics. He used specific demonstrations and ‘sound paradox’s’ in the quadraphonic space to allow us to experience these phenomena directly. He had also developed interactive sound games on an 8×8 tablet to allow us to experiment with presence and open perception in a non-predictive space.
At the end of several sessions I sat and watched as a seemingly endless line of groups went to try the games with Yeshi. It was a joyful affair and the Gompa listened to the sounds as people interacted and Yeshi explained then re-explained patiently and attentively how the interface worked. I felt a great sense of space and presence in those moments. It felt very much like Yeshi was giving us empowerment to find our own language of knowledge, to feel total confidence in our individual nature and wisdom.
When, between the teaching sessions, I talked to other students it became apparent that we were receiving different understandings appropriate to our different perspectives. We, ‘older’ practitioners were often somewhat shaken and disoriented by some of the teachings, causing us to reassess our unquestioned habits and assumptions. Somehow Namkhai Yeshi seemed to be able to communicate personally to us all!
Namkhai Yeshi addressed the deep subject of consciousness and wisdom. He indicated that sunrise and sunset are powerful times for the practitioner because our ‘substrate’ consciousness naturally diminishes, and so in these brief moments there is an opportunity for natural wisdom to arise. It is often the time when our best ideas come! He also showed very clearly how the empiricism of the Dzogchen practitioner is a truly 1st person experience, we can quietly discover and, unlike science, we have no need to objectivize our experiences or proselytize the teachings.
During the retreat I often had the sense of eternity in the moment: time dilation was an unavoidable reality! The inevitable last day of the retreat arrived too soon. Namkhai Yeshi kindly gave us some simple, sound advice: relax, enjoy, try to avoid extreme feelings and behaviors that promote these feelings. Don’t be conditioned by technology. Keep a list of the good things you did, reflect, how did you succeed in those good things? Never forget the importance of Guru Yoga; Guru Yoga polarises our merit and wisdom to ensure it continues to help us on the path to wisdom and liberation.
At the very end of the retreat Thinley Koblensky (Gakyil Director) from the Dzamling Gar Gakyil offered his heartfelt gratitude, on all our behalf, to Namkhai Yeshi for his being here to teach us. As Namkhai Yeshi had mentioned the power of love more than once and it was Saturday 14th February, Valentine’s Day, Thinley declared Dzamling Gar to be the Gar of Love, which seemed very appropriate to the powerful moment we all shared.
