Report on Shedra Opening at Tsurphu
Tsurphu is different. Anyone who has ever been there has probably had a similar experience. It is different in terms of the country, its people, the surroundings and of course of what seems to be so important for us, food. But what also differentiates it from other places is the fact that it is the Seat of H. H. The Seventeenth Karmapa, The Supreme Head of Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is strong, imperious and sometimes hardly bearable. Lhasa is already a challenge but Tsurphu is an aggravation - situated about thousand metres higher than the capital, protected by high mountains it gives the impression of a medieval castle. A lot of Westerners and Taiwanese come up for a day to receive His Holiness‘ blessings. But due to the altitude, the rough climate and the excellent butter tea they simply can’t make it and have to return to the lower grounds. Though for me, it was quite different. I love tsampa, adore high mountains and enjoy such vicinities, having studied German philology and specialised in medieval philosophy, literature and language. I don’t want to bore you with stories like that - there are plenty already.
My stay lasted two weeks. The particular time was chosen because of the opening of the Shedra. A shedra is an institution which is comparable to a university. In fact I would describe it as something like a Buddhist university. It is for those monks who want to engage in higher philosophic training in order to become philosophy teachers for the next generation. Generally monks can either be trained in a more basic or a higher way. Basic education which is offered in all monasteries, includes the making of tormas, learning and studying of rituals, basic texts and meditation, playing music and of performing the „Chams“ the so-called Lama dances whereas higher education includes the intellectual training, the study of Mahayana texts with all given techniques therein. Not every monastery has a shedra but wherever there is a shedra there is the performing of all basic monastic activities. Shedra monks stay separated from the common monks. They engage in fewer rituals since their task is to study hard. In exile we can find five such institutions - one in Rumtek, His Holiness’s Seat outside of Tibet, one in Sherab Ling, in H. E. Tai Situ Rinpoche’s vicinity in Northern India, one in Namo Buddha, Thrangu Rinpoche’s place near Kathmandu, Gyalpo Rinpoche’s in Swayambhu, and one open university in Varanasi where not only monks, but also nuns and lay people have the limited possibility to study.
One of the main activities at Tsurphu was to establish and provide a place for this type of university in the monastery, the Seat of all the past and future Karmapas. With the help of Karma Kagyu Verein, Germany, the building could be constructed within a very short period and so the activity could finally start in October 1998. After nine years of successful studies the students attain the title of Khenpo. In fact this final degree is only given if the student is worthy of being conferred it. Not only if his intellectual studies but also his mind and inner qualifications are sufficient to bear this title. In this sense it is somehow comparable with a Western PhD but still different because the moral component is one of the most important facts upon which it is decided if the candidate will or will not be given this degree. A Khenpo is not only a person who possesses very good intellectual but also a very fine attitude towards others and dedication for dharma. Some Khenpos become abbot of monasteries.
In Tsurphu seventy monks have joined the shedra since its beginning. One abbot, Khenpo Lodro and several elderly monks who themselves currently also study at the university transmit the traditional program. Normally only those who have reached a minimum age of eighteen are welcomed to enter the institution. The monks are categorized into three groups of students - beginners, intermediate and advanced. They have to successfully pass an entrance examination. His Holiness wants his monks to study hard and as a future project the best ones to also learn foreign languages. His monks will be available to teach in Tibet and other parts of the world, such as Europe, America, etc. Anywhere where there is need for them.
The opening was performed on May 25th 1999. First the huge Shakyamuni thangka was rolled out on the prepared space on the opposite of the entrance to the main monastery and while all the people who had come from Lhasa to join the event were watching this, His Holiness passed the monastery and went to the grounds of the Shedra in order to formally present the project to the public although only invited guests were allowed to enter. First a puja was performed in the Lhakang with all the shedra monks participating. Pawo Rinpoche was present during the whole event. Then Pema and Magda Wangyal from Germany, a Taiwanese woman and I were allowed to offer kataks to His Holiness first, receiving His blessings and then to Pawo Rinpoche. Afterwards we were asked to come to Karmapa’s rooms in the shedra courtyard where each of us was presented with a Green Tara statue. A wonderful meal was served and a cook from Lhasa did his best to spoil the monks and us. In the afternoon a folkloristic program took place with different Tibetans singing, performing various traditional dances which was followed by the final part of the program again in the vicinity of the Shedra. The monks entered debate on the basis of what they had learned up to that moment in the presence of His Holiness and of Pawo Rinpoche who sat beside H. H. Karmapa.
His Holiness encourages everyone to contribute to the Shedra, one of His activities to enable young monastics in the land of snows to receive the traditional education which has stayed the same ever since the beginning of the lineage to ensure this lineage of transmission stays alive.
Ani Palmo, a new name of Mag. Sabine Arzt-Januschke, after ordination in the Karma Kagyu order, is a member of the Himalayan Voice family since April 1998. As our representative for Europe and the US, she has been helping this magazine in several ways with dedication and commitment to truth. Chief. Ed. (published in The Himalayan Voice No. 16, Oct/Nov. 1999)