An interview with Migmar Tsering on his new book and an update on the Changchub Dorje Stupa Project
The Mirror: Migmar, your latest book “The Golden Key of the Lungta” has recently been published by Dynamic Space of the Elements. Can you give us some information about it?
Migmar: People often ask me about how to prepare lungta (Tibetan prayer flags) as they want to do something beneficial for their life, their health or their fortune. However, most people don’t really know how to make them correctly or how to hang them so that gave me the idea to write this book to give people a clear idea about how to do it. All the information in the book I learned while I was studying at the monastery in Tibet.
The book starts by explaining the purpose and the meaning of the lungta and jodar and goes on to discuss the five elements of Tibetan astrology and their relationships to each other. Then it goes into details of the type and color of the support for printing the flags and the different types of inks that can be used for printing.
Most people do not know that the ink that we use for writing on or printing the lungta can also be mixed with different substances such as precious stones or metals or even relics from famous masters that can harmonize the elements and increase the effectiveness of the mantras.
There is an explanation and diagrams to illustrate the colors associated with the five elements and the relationships between the different elements and how to harmonize them for each of the twelve astrological animals.
The book goes on to help us understand the directions that are most beneficial for placing the lungta according to our elements. We can see that this is closely linked to astrology and also sa-chad or Tibetan geomancy. Finally the book helps us to understand which days and even which hours are beneficial, or not, to hang the lungta according to our life, capacity and fortune elements.
The Mirror: Before this recent publication, you published another book “Mandala of Astrological Elements – Jung-We Kyil-Khor”. Is it related to “The Golden Key of the Lungta”?
Migmar: Yes, this first book presents more or less the basis of Tibetan astrology. It is based on the study and analysis of the astrological system called the mandala of the elements and is a lengthy and detailed explanation of how to create the mandala, a little similar to the construction of a namkha. You can learn how to calculate your elements such as life, fortune, capacity and so on and also how to calculate the mewa and harmonize it. This is important, because if the elements are not harmonized, we may live with conflict, the possibility of ill health, negative fortune and so on. In order to create this harmony we arrange our mandala of the elements in a particular way through colors and representations of the elements.
Both books are in English, in color, with beautiful illustrations and plenty of explanatory diagrams. They are available at Merigar, the Dzam Shop or can be ordered from Dynamic Space of the Elements [email protected].
Next year I’m planning on publishing a new book on Tibetan geomancy in three parts: the first part will be pure Tibetan geomancy, the second part about the influence of the Chinese and Indian geomancy and the third part how to resolve negativity. The first part should appear next year.
The Mirror: We’ll be looking forward to the new publication. By the way, I’ve just seen some photos of eight new stupas from the Changchub Dorje Stupa project that are on their way to Italy at the moment.
Migmar: This is the second shipment of eight stupas from the workshop in Chengdu. So in total we have managed to have sixteen cast. People have already ordered four of them and we are planning to take one to Ukraine and are looking for a donor to take one to Russia.
At the end of September, I’m planning on visiting the artist who is making them in his workshop, so the project is going ahead with eight stupas each year. The models that are on the way are a little more intricate than the first eight that arrived and as we go ahead Changchub Dorje’s designs are more and more ornate, more complicated, which means more work to cast them in metal and higher costs.
The Mirror: Thank you Migmar.
For more information on the Changchub Dorje Stupa project:
https://108-stupa.dynamicelements.org/en
[email protected]
Read about the project in The Mirror:
https://melong.com/update-changchub-dorje-stupa-project/
https://melong.com/108-stupas-changchub-dorje-project/
