And I thought I'd finished this practice....

[icarus]

Well, drat.

Back in 1986, the Venerable Gyaltrul Rinpoche gave instructions on how to do the mandala practice. The thing is, my boyfriend at the time and I were late getting back from lunch. We missed the beginning part of the instruction. Not the part about the meaning of the practice. But we slunk in as the mandala offering was being demonstrated by Sangye Khandro, the translator. Whoops.

Reading books about mandala, they focused on the meaning of the practice and not the practical how to do it. But a friend gave me a diagram and I thought I had it right.

Erm. Not entirely?

This doesn't mean I need to start over, does it? I mean, the meaning's the important part, right?

Anyway, much appreciate Tsem Tulku's concise, practical and rather tongue-in-cheek explanation. "If you don't have time and you're lazy, do the long version. If you're busy and not lazy, do the short version. If you have time and you're lazy, do the long version."

Comments

[zana16]

Thank you for posting this! I remember when I first got my kit, I couldn't find directions anywhere, and when I did they were 7-generation photocopies that didn't make a whole lot of sense.

[icarus]

Thank you! I had this little hand out, and granted it was my own fault I missed the beginning of class, but the hand out ... well, it seemed clear. Except for the part where it didn't say that you're supposed to start the piles on the eastern side TOWARD you. I did the full 100,000 mandala offerings starting the first pile on the edge AWAY from me.

Sigh.

Does this mean I have to redo them? All of them? *whimper*

[zana16]

Wow, you did all 100,000? That's fantastic!

I think you'll have to ask your teacher...

[icarus]

Yes! I just finished in 2011. I had dropped it for years, picked it back up in 2009, and finally, finally....

It's embarrassing how long I've been working on this.

In my defense, I was warned to finish all the preliminary practice accumulations within one year because our temple would be going through an accelerated practice program. Er, um, I didn't manage to do it because, among other things, I was in high school and then I moved (twice!) in the middle of that year.

Then the accelerated program began. Those of us who hadn't finished were given a pass to go ahead with the next and the next and the next levels of teachings, with the promise that we would finish preliminary practice eventually. But I really wasn't ready for accelerated anything and find myself retracing my steps.

Jetsunma told me that I was someone needed to go slowly, step by step. I can definitely see the "slowly" part of that. I accumulate fast, and can practice for hours, but the daily consistency is just not there.

Along the way I did finish the prostrations, bodhichitta (which for some systems is done with refuge but ours is separate), and Vajrasattva. Now I just have to finish Guru Yoga. I'm halfway through.

I think you'll have to ask your teacher...

I know. ::hands over head:: I don't want to....