A Buddhist Response to the Awesome Construction of Bhutanese Ta Kshang Monastery Bhutanese Ta Kshang Monastery is not only a beautiful iconic Buddhist infrastructure of Bhutan nation. Bhutan is nation of Mahayana Buddhist oriented toward Tibetan Buddhism. The awesome construction of Ta Kshang Monastery had also challenged the Buddha-nature of mirror-like clarity wisdom (rigpa) of those monastery monk builders in 1692. In the ancient time, monastery builders were mostly monks who regarded every difficult task assigned by their master as the actual practice of Buddhist perfection of right concentration (samadhi) and perfect wisdom (prajnaparamita). For the Buddhist monks, works and practice are one. Without out the fearlessness of variable heights and high risks of human construction on a very risky mountain side about 10,240 feet above sea level, it was not possible to construct such an awesome Buddhist iconic architecture on the side of such a high-risk mountain side in Bhutan. I conceive that only adequately instructed, well trained and highly cultivated Tibetan monks of dzogchen were involved in such a dangerous construction of such as a beautiful Buddhist monastery. Without the wisdom of rigpa of dzogchen to generate the fearlessness of potential dangers of such of high-attitude constructions, no ordinary human being can accomplish such an awesome feat. If I were a building contractor, I have no doubt whatsoever that construction monks of rigpa of dzogchen can complete such a great human feat amid many unexpected challenges, difficulties, uncertain weather conditions , potential erosions and potential unexpected accidents. Righa is the fearlessness of non-arising of all phenomena. Fearlesness is the wisdom of non-arising and non-ceasing of complete mental equanimity. Equanimity is the perfection of endurance of birthlessness of all phenomena (great emptiness) . Buddhist notion of emptiness (sunayta) is perfection of wisdom (prajnaparamita) which is the self-manifestation in the great perfection (dzogchen). Dzogchen is Tibetan or Vajrayana teaching of primordial Buddha-nature (Tathagatagarbha) that is revealed to a dzogchen Buddhist practioner. In our present modern era, without the fabulous logistics of a high-powered helicopter driven by an equally professional pilot , such high-rise architecture is deemed crazy and impossible. Could you see what highly cultivated human beings like the genuinely cultivating early Buddhist monks could achieve what modern engineers and construction works could not be able to achieve without the necessary aids of modern awesome construction technology. Even the modern awesome machineries are invented from the scientific and technological minds derived from the wisdom of dzogzhen or Buddha-nature. Let me put it a monotheistic paradigm, it is the God-head present primordially in every human being that helps mankind to invent and assist in performing awesome extraordinary miracles. Ultimately, it is God that creates everything. Correspondingly, from the Buddhist perspective , it is the Buddha-nature or Dzogchen that creates everything. God or Dzogchen is non-other than the primordial Unity of Dependent Co-genesis (Pratityasamutpada). Bhutan is a supermodel of a modern Buddhist nation. The head of government or her political leaders and bureaucrats are committed to regenerate and sanctify the minds of her citizenry with the wisdom of dzogchen. The political-spiritual goal is to elevate human happiness along side with the economic development of Bhutan. Bhutan nation has two national development indicators. The first national development indicator is GNP (Gross National Product) which is the standard pure economic indicator without measurement of human happiness in the process of earning and amassing economic wealth. This is what most modern nations are doing in the 21st century C.E. Bhutan nation prescribes another national development indicator of GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness ) to measure the happiness quotient of the overall Bhutan nation along side with conventional GNP. GDH measures the totality of the happiness of her citizen with respect to actual practice of Buddha Dharma in daily secular activities as well as in all economic activities. Violation of Dharma (Truth) is an indication of citizens’ unhappiness. Non-violation of Dharma is an indication of citizens’ happiness. In other words, GNP must be guided and governed by GDH. Wisely, the Buddhist government of Bhutan ensures that capitalism is not egoistically self-centred. The Buddhist national economy ought to be altruisticaly other centred. This is the true spirit of Mahayana Buddhism. Bhutan is a Mahayana nation based on Tibetan Buddhist wisdom and great compassion. Buddhism like any world faith is to ensure a human being is to be progressive as well as to be happy always but not to be retro-progressive and unhappy; to be orderly and but not chaotic ; to be moderate but not to be extreme; to have mirror-like clarity but not the obscurity of a soiled mirror. We are all potentially happy. Yet , we are actually not so happy if we can see that the entire human civilization in the East and West are seriously being afflicted with separation from the Truth Body of Buddha-nature or the Tree of Life of God-head.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:38:01 +0000
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