“The Biggest Enemy in our life is our own self-deception.”

An evening with His Eminence Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche 

By Kavita A Chhibber 

I had read three books written by him, that resonated deeply with me, so imagine my delight when Ajit and I were invited to meet His Eminence Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche at the home of one of the best hosts and most socially conscious couples in Massachusetts, Sanjay and Bela Kaul. 

His Eminence has been traveling all over the world to bring awareness about a project that is very dear to his heart, The Mahasiddha Sanctuary for Universal Peace, to be built in Lumbini (the birthplace of Gautam Buddha). It will have a  library containing Lord Buddha’s teachings, a museum containing ancient and rare artifacts, a grand assembly hall for 5000 people, other meditation halls and rooms, and the Peace Institute for Buddhist studies and more. 

“Just as we have the Economic Forum at Davos, I have this vision of a World Peace Forum. Thousands of years ago, a very sophisticated civilization flourished in India and the great sages, their wisdom, must be shared with others… because today everyone is struggling in one way or another.”  

“No matter how successful you may be in your own field, we are all vulnerable people, so it is very important for all of us to take this journey together. And Lumbini, Lord Buddha’s birthplace is the perfect place to build this sanctuary,” H.E Rinpoche said. 

He added that the great queen Maya Devi was told by the seers that she will not live to see her child grow up and yet she willingly sacrificed her life to give birth to her child. “She passed away shortly after, but her son became an apostle of peace, and he had the courage to renounce all worldly pleasures to go into the world to discover his true nature. We need to find that courage to go deep within and find our true nature as well.” 

H.E Rinpoche also mentioned that while Maya Devi’s sacrifice was recorded in history, thousands of mothers through civilizations have and will continue to make similar sacrifices for their children. He wanted to honor all the mothers as part of his vision of the sanctuary. 

“The feminine quality symbolizes wisdom and unless we respect and honor that unconditional love and wisdom, we will never be able to achieve true clarity.” 

When you have an enlightened Master amongst your midst, the evening is bound to revolve around good thoughts and shared wisdom. 

For me the most profound was H.E Rinpoche’s take on what meditation really means. 

He said it really was a state of being in the moment, generous and detached. “When you are healthy, financially comfortable, surrounded by good friends and good food, meditation is easy. Today people go to fancy spas and hotels to meditate. But the biggest enemy in our life is our own self-deception. It is very easy to self-deceive and believe that we are great meditators. It is happening with many so-called gurus. Surrounded by thousands of followers, they are losing mindfulness and self-awareness. The real test comes when you are faced with difficult times in your lives. When you are sick, old and dying. Are you then able to practice meditation? Do you have the necessary tools and techniques that you can apply to handle that situation?” 

His Eminence stated that meditation with a generous attitude, offering your practice to benefit all beings, brings joy and benefit to self and others. After all, everyone is looking for ways to be in balance.

 “The ultimate meditation is non meditation. If you want to meditate well, then being in a natural state where we do not need to identify with anything other than being committed to live in the moment, where energy flows unobstructed, within and without, meditation becomes effortless and provides the ultimate benefit.”

“But always meditate with a dual purpose – to benefit self and others. Doing so you are benefitted automatically, and you create good consequences and no karmic debt.” 

During the Q and A session, the best question was asked by Nam Pham, the former Assistant Secretary of Business Development and International Trade at MA Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. Nam asked H.E. Rinpoche that if we meet a devil in our journey, should we eliminate it, even though we are taught not to kill?  Nam was floored by H.E. Rinpoche’s answer.

“He replied that we are already judgmental when we conclude one is evil or not.  By what values?  We should have more compassion toward our enemies, people and things around us.  I am so grateful for this. I realized that I have been in a rut, and I have been so angry because I have not had enough compassion for what is happening around me.  It is hard but I will try to be less judgmental and more forgiving.” 

Nam added that he was “so heartened to learn about Rinpoche’s special project, building a Peace Temple to honor all mothers.  The importance of mothers or women in our Asian cultures have always been overlooked or ignored.  We would be nothing without their unconditional love, sacrifices, talents and dedication.  I hope that many will join his effort and many temples will be established.  Consequently, mothers will no longer have to cry for the losses of their children due to wars and other human-made disasters.”  

H.E. Rinpoche was happy to know from Sanjay Kaul that the community members who had been invited that evening were pillars of the community and they shared a united vision of respecting, nurturing and preserving Indian culture.  H.E recalled that his parents were exiles from Tibet, and he was born in India and so he was even more appreciative of the worthy cause of preserving Indian culture. 

“For me the knowledge, wisdom and the blessings I received from my Guru originated in the land of Aryan. So, we have the highest respect for those who were born and raised and attained enlightenment in India which for us is the land of Aryan.” 

“The great Masters like Padmasambhava, Vimla Mitra and others have actualized the essence and were able to bring that knowledge to Tibet and   shared their teachings with us .”

“And it is my honor and privilege to support all of you in preserving that profound and sacred culture which is the last resort to save humanity.” 

To know more about how to support the Mahasiddha Sanctuary, please go to www.peacesanctuary.org