As is the tradition, once every twelve year cycle on the Monkey Year, is a celebration throughout Tibet of the Birthday of Guru Padmasambhava, who is known to have been born on the tenth day of the fifth lunar month in Oddiyana. Nechung Monastery is also hosting this ceremony officially with the Tibetan Government in Tibet and also here in exile. It is normally celebrated at the Monastery in Lhasa with His Holiness the Dalai Lama attending it personally.
It is perhaps of interest to note that the first time in exile it was celebrated with His Holiness at Drepung Monastery in south India in 1980, where it was headed by the great Abbot Khenchen Pema Gyaltsen, Khensur Yeshe Thup and Khenpo Lobsang Nyima, as well as the Ganden Trisur Rinpoche, at that time the Abbot of Namgyal Monastery, and many of the great masters and scholars still alive. Thereafter it was always celebrated in Dharamsala at Theckchen Choeling and we had the great honour that Kyabje Minling Trichen Rinpoche graced the occasion as the Chief Guest in 1992.
This year’s ceremony was however different as His Holiness himself decided that the ceremony should be conducted at Rewalsar. It was indeed a joy for all of us participating. His Holiness reached on the 13th of July at noon and right after lunch commenced teaching to the public on Patrul Rinpoche’s “Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones”, A Discourse Virtuous in the Beginning, Middle and End. Thousands of devotees from all walks of life and Himalayan areas attended this important event and enjoyed such a beginning of deep insight of the Buddha Dharma.
The next day started early at four o’clock with the necessary rituals of the Northern Treasure’s Inner Rites of Lama Rigzin Dungdrub, which was also attended by His Holiness. After a short break the much awaited trance started with the five officially invited oracles going one by one in trance and some from the audience who spontaneously went into trance as well. Then in a grand procession the Guru statue was taken around the temple. The oracles resumed their attendance in the temple with His Holiness while the palanquin of the Guru circumambulated the lake.
His Holiness then recited the “Strict Overwhelming Words (bka’-nan rab-brjid) of Guru Rinpoche to all the oracles present while reminding them of their oath taken in the beginning with Padmasambhava. Thereafter His Holiness returned to his residence and met with some people while the monks continued the rites.
After lunch His Holiness bestowed the initiation of Guru Rinpoche according to the Northern Treasure. This was received with an even larger public that arrived just early that morning. The ceremony ended successfully and early next morning around six o’clock His Holiness left for Dharamsala. But even before that he took special time to meet with the elderly and sick people and gave them a short guidance on their practice and how to meditate at the last stage of their lives, which was an enormous gift to those he spoke directly to and to those bystanders who also happened to listen interestingly.