Losar Tashi Deleg

Well, I figured it was about time for another post. I was going to make one last Sunday, but... I didn't.

Anyway, as you probably don't know, today is Losar, Tibetan New Year. Or yesterday, the 14th, was Losar, but I figure since I woke up on the 14th and I'm still awake it kind of counts. Not technically or really at all, but for the purpose of this post it makes enough sense.

Today I celebrated Losar the way I celebrate any other holiday: I did absolutely nothing. Sure, I meditated a bit. I contemplated. I realized that memory foam pillows work incredibly well as meditation cushions. Not an amazing insight but it's something. I was actually going to wake up at 0400 to connect with other practitioners via webcast and do Mandarava practice, but my alarm didn't go off. So, I woke up at 0630 or thereabouts, looked at my phone and cursed. Then I went back to sleep. Not a great start to the Iron Tiger year. If the way we start a year determines the way we end it, I will finish 2010 lethargic, lazy, foul-mouthed and oddly content. Or maybe that's just apathy. I'm never entirely sure.

Story time. I realize I mentioned Mandarava and you likely don't know who that is. If you do, I'm incredibly surprised. Mandarava was an Indian princess, born in the 8th century, CE, and one of Guru Padmasambhava's two primary consorts. Her story seems quite similar to that of Shakyamuni. She was a princess who felt drawn to spirituality but her father didn't want that, so he imprisoned her. Regardless, she and Guru Padmasambhava were drawn to each other and the king, fearing for the purity of the bloodline and his daughter's apostasy, decided to have them burned on a pyre. Talk about protective. Anyway, when the king checked on his daughter and Guru Rinpoche, he found that the fires had been transformed into a lake at the center of which was a lotus upon which sat Mandarava and Guru Rinpoche in union. Mandarava became Guru Rinpoche's first consort. His other consort was a Tibetan, Yeshe Tsogyal. As far as I can tell, Mandarava seems to be an under-appreciated Buddhist teacher and saint. I see and hear of a number of practices concerning Yeshe Tsogyal but hardly any that are based on Mandarava, so I kind of enjoy the practice for that.

That's actually something I like about Vajrayana. Women are respected just as much as, if not more than, men. At least as a principle. Guru Rinpoche manifested rainbow body and so did Mandarava. I like that.

It's 0245 and I'm tired. So, as much as I'd love to continue this I better turn in. I hope y'all enjoyed this post and I'll be back within the next couple weeks. I'd say days but I'd rather not lie inadvertently.

Cheers.