The screeching sound made by the tyres of the plane was bone-chilling as they touched down on the surface of the long runway. While anxiety was swelling like a monster in my tight chest, I wrapped my palms and fingers firmly around the handle. However, the soon followed greeting, "Welcome to Chengdu International Airport" was much a relief as the plane gradually and affirmatively came to a halt. Yes! We had finally reached Chengdu. . As I turned towards Paldon, Summu and Choepel, our eyes locked and slowly corners of our mouth twitched to an unsure smile, which then burst into happy laughters. It was only minutes away before we meet one of the most important person in our lives. It was him, that we made this trip for.
We jumped to our feet and anxiously waited to exit the plane. Over the other side, at the Premium section, both Megan and Fanny shared the same joy. When we finally exited the plane, our steps quickened as we breezed through the immigration checkpoint to collect our luggage. There, standing right at the entrance of the Arrival Gate was his faithful attendant, Lama Yeshi. He must be somewhere here. I looked up and down, far and near. Though the airport was crowded and busy with people walking around, we located him without much difficulty. Our Guru, H.E. Sangpo Tulku Rinpoche, was standing tall in the midst the crowd, patiently waiting for our eyes to meet. With haste, we sprinted to him, offering kata and in return he hung the kata each around our neck. Offering kata is a Tibetan way of greeting especially to lamas and dignitaries. However, at that moment, how we wished we could just embrace our Guru heartily, who we have not seen for the past 6 months. The agony of not in his presence was immediately relieved and replaced with joy at the moment we caught sight of him. Indeed, that was how strong the bond between a Guru and his disciples can be.
Written by
Ngawang Yonten
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We boarded our chartered van, had a quick breakfast to fill our empty stomach and soon we were on our way to Le Shan, which was two hours away from the city of Chengdu. In China, with its massive land, two hours was just a modest travel time. Soon we were standing in front of Le Shan entrance, as Paldon, Summu, Choepel, myself and even our Guru, H.E. Sangpo Tulku Rinpoche, discharged our gears. Cameras of all types from compact and simple SLR all the way up to the high end SLR were brandishly uncovered from their protective pouch or carrier. Lens of all type were mounted readily on the cameras' frames. The moment we stepped inside the entrance, we wasted no time as shots were furiously fired to all directions. We had paid for a professional tour guide to show us and uncover the mystics of Le Shan, however, none of us were paying much attention to him as we were busy like bees shooting and capturing every details of Le Shan with our cameras.
Finally we reached the famous Wuyou Temple, which was situated on the shoulder height of the Giant Buddha. The first glimpse of the Giant Buddha's head from the Wuyou Temple was no less extraordinaire. More explanations were given by the tour guide, which by now attracted minimal interest from us as we were captivated by the beauty of the Giant Buddha's head and Wuyou Temple. Our Guru, H.E. Sangpo Tulku Rinpoche first led us into the Wuyou Temple main shrine to pay homage to the three Buddhas of the past, present and future. Mantras were said, prayers were made, followed by three prostrations by everyone of us. As we exit Wuyou Temple, our attention now 100% paid on the head of the Giant Buddha as we drew closer to it. Made in Tang Dynasty, which is said to be closed to one thousand and five hundred years old, the Giant Buddha emitted a sense of ancient aura mesmerizing each and everyone of us.
Finally with our wobbling legs, we made the final descend to the ground. A sigh was relief but almost immediately we were gasping for air as the full view of the Giant Buddha sculpture was so grand and majestic that it took our breath away, leaving us in awe. The whole sculpture seemed to be embedded into the cliff of a high mountain. The place we were standing then was a platform built at the base of the mountain cliff. Without wasting a minute, H.E. Sangpo Tulku Rinpoche headed straight to the centre altar. Prayers were read as the wind carried them far and wide, followed by three prostrations led by our Guru.
Suddenly Paldon remarked that she was not feeling well and excused herself as she climbed the steep staircase up again to the top to take a rest. Seeing her face turned at least a shade paler, yet none of us offer to accompany her on the fearful climb as we were busy snapping pictures, was perhaps the gravest mistake we had ever done, for we later found her missing after we too had come back up to the top of the cliff.
Part 2 : A Visit to Le Shan to See the Giant Buddha
To be awakened by the noise of a bustling city in an early morning was not at all familiar to me given that my humble home is situated far from the nearest main road. In the midst of confusion, with a gentle knock on my head, senses began to return as blood gushed into my overnight dormant brain.
"I am now in Chengdu...". I said to myself reassuringly followed by a sheepish smile. "...with my Guru." I whispered.
Suddenly my heart skipped a beat at the thought of him. It seemed unreal that finally we were there with him, sharing the same hotel and sleeping across the same corridor. Despite millions and millions of unskillful actions that we had committed in our past and this present life, we must have done something right to have this good karma to be once again so close with him. Besides that, by the grace of our Guru, he had once again turned the Wheel of Dharma the night before by imparting to us some fundamental and general knowledge of Guru Yoga. Surrounded by us as we obediently took our seats on the floor in his already small hotel room, he mounted on his bed with the same composure as if he was taking his seat on his throne and he began to speak compassionately to quench our thirst of his teaching.
That morning, lying on my bed as I revisit all these seemingly unreal events, which had just taken place the day before, a sense of warmth swelled in my chest spreading to each and every cell. The nice feeling was quick to be disrupted by the sound of Choepel's alarm. Jumping out of our bed, we hurriedly got ready for the the first destination of the day - Le Shan, home to the largest Buddha stone sculpture.
We boarded our chartered van, had a quick breakfast to fill our empty stomach and soon we were on our way to Le Shan, which was two hours away from the city of Chengdu. In China, with its massive land, two hours was just a modest travel time. Soon we were standing in front of Le Shan entrance, as Paldon, Summu, Choepel, myself and even our Guru, H.E. Sangpo Tulku Rinpoche, discharged our gears. Cameras of all types from compact and simple SLR all the way up to the high end SLR were brandishly uncovered from their protective pouch or carrier. Lens of all type were mounted readily on the cameras' frames. The moment we stepped inside the entrance, we wasted no time as shots were furiously fired to all directions. We had paid for a professional tour guide to show us and uncover the mystics of Le Shan, however, none of us were paying much attention to him as we were busy like bees shooting and capturing every details of Le Shan with our cameras.
Finally we reached the famous Wuyou Temple, which was situated on the shoulder height of the Giant Buddha. The first glimpse of the Giant Buddha's head from the Wuyou Temple was no less extraordinaire. More explanations were given by the tour guide, which by now attracted minimal interest from us as we were captivated by the beauty of the Giant Buddha's head and Wuyou Temple. Our Guru, H.E. Sangpo Tulku Rinpoche first led us into the Wuyou Temple main shrine to pay homage to the three Buddhas of the past, present and future. Mantras were said, prayers were made, followed by three prostrations by everyone of us. As we exit Wuyou Temple, our attention now 100% paid on the head of the Giant Buddha as we drew closer to it. Made in Tang Dynasty, which is said to be closed to one thousand and five hundred years old, the Giant Buddha emitted a sense of ancient aura mesmerizing each and everyone of us.
We were so eager to scale down the long spiral of staircase to the feet of the Giant Buddha so that we could have the full view of the stone sculpture. However there was a slight problem. The queue was extremely long and it really put our patience to the ultimate test. Not only the queue was long, as we cramped into the narrow fleet of staircase, bodies pressing against bodies, we were packed like sardine and it took us more than half an hour to reach the ground in this packed condition. Nevertheless, every moment with our Guru was a blessing, despite the tiredness and warmth, we enjoyed the moment with laughters as jokes were shared.
Suddenly Paldon remarked that she was not feeling well and excused herself as she climbed the steep staircase up again to the top to take a rest. Seeing her face turned at least a shade paler, yet none of us offer to accompany her on the fearful climb as we were busy snapping pictures, was perhaps the gravest mistake we had ever done, for we later found her missing after we too had come back up to the top of the cliff."Rinpoche, Paldon is nowhere to be found. We have asked our tour guide and he claimed that he had not seen her coming up". I broke the sudden news to our Guru.
Even though Rinpoche reacted calmly and his demeanor was composed, his eyes were full of concern like a mother sheep who had just lost one of her ewe. The ambience surrounding him became heavy and muzzle, as if everything had come to a standstill except for our pounding hearts. A Guru shared a very special karmic bond with his disciples. It is just like how a mother will feel unease if one of her children suffers great physical discomfort even though in far away distance. A Guru can feel his disciple distress so that he can extend his blessings even though it may not be physically made known to him. In this case, Rinpoche must have indeed showered his blessings to Paldon, for with a few phone calls, we not only managed to locate her but also knew that she was safe and sound.
After we have picked up Paldon, Aunt Fanny and Uncle Cheong, we continue with our journey by climbing and descending endless steps to the back of the Giant Buddha to visit more stone sculptures of various Buddhas and Boddhisattvas. Realizing that our poor legs could no longer carry our bodies after being vertically challenged as we climbed up from the bottom of the cliff where the Giant Buddha sits, the tour guide brought us to a pavillion so that we could rest and enjoy the local specialty, which was a kind of tea named Zhu Ye Qing. Being a tea avid, I could never forgive myself if I did not give it a try. However a small sip of it made me regret immediately. Unlike the usual fermented tea that I am used to, the tea was greenish raw almost like Japanese Green Tea. The only difference was that one sip of it could make your eyes squint in protest of the bitterness. Nevertheless, subsequent sips tasted much better as I acquired the taste. After we had a good rest and myself rejuvenated with the specialty tea, we once again continued our journey.
Even though our energy was mostly drained and our legs turned wobbly like butter, our cameras were all the time snapping away without the slightest sign of slowing down. Indeed, the amount of pictures that we took in various poses, could probably put the next American Supermodel to shame. While stopping to take pictures caused us some delay, it was a shame to miss the opportunity, given that the serene and beautiful environment. Walking through a quiet forest of tall bamboos, surrounded by thick lush leaves everywhere and ancient Chinese architecture made of wood, which creaked mercilessly as we stepped on it, I was virtually transported back to the primeval time of China. The scene of a group of Generals in their ancient heavy clanking armory, crossing the dense bamboo forest in pursuit of criminals, came to my mind. It was either due to hallucination caused by the extreme tiredness or intoxication caused by the extremely bitter tea. Nevertheless, it was an entertaining thought.
Finally we reached our final destination. It was a cave on top of a hill, which housed beautiful sculptures of Buddhas and various Boddhisattvas. The first peculiar sight that greeted me, were long chains of locks everywhere. According to the custom, a dating or even married couple can purchase a lock and attached it to the chain near the main altar in order for Buddha to give his blessings so that the couple will never have to endure separation and remain together forever. Upon hearing this, I suddenly quivered with shiver. Even if I am attached, I can never know the person is indeed whom I want to remain forever. Therefore, for those couple who had a lock affixed there, I was not so sure whether they had done it out of confidence in their relationship or out of stupidity! The next challenge came when we need to descend a steep fleet of staircase from the cave to the bottom of the hill. The steps were so narrow that it could fit only the width of our feet. One misstep could send you rolling down the stairs with probably some fractured bones as sourvenier.
Nevertheless, we had safely descended the stairs and that ended our visit to Le Shan. Without wasting much time, we boarded our chartered van and headed to our next destination Emei Shan. We need to reach the foothill of Emei Shan before nightfall so that we can overnight there before scaling the 3,099 metres high mountain the next day. The journey to Emei Shan took probably an hour or so. It was about 6-ish then. The clouds were parting like balls of cotton, getting ready for a mesmerizing sunset. We passed by row of shops and massive land of crops. As all of us were subdued by immense exhaustion, the van was dead silent, except for the sound of engine roaring.
Suddenly the silence was broken by Rinpoche's handphone ringing. Though he spoke in Tibetan, which none of us understand. Somehow his tone indicated some serious matter were being discussed. We did not know what it was until much later when we were checking in at our hotel lobby after our dinner.
"Nangchen was struck with earthquake and our monastery was affected," he broke the earth-shattering news to us.
We were dumbfounded as we were not prepared for it. It took Paldon several good minutes before she found her voice and more importantly the right words to say as well as the right questions to ask. Telecommunication was then very bad. Therefore not much was known about the condition in the monastery. The atmosphere, just like the parting clouds changed abruptly from joyous to solemn. Laughters replaced by grave expressions. Perhaps this was what Buddha meant by impermanence. Rinpoche was probably then saddled with worries and remorse. If he did, he masked them very well as he remained unusually calm. As a responsible person himself, he probably felt bad for not being there together with his fellow monks to face the disaster. He felt helpless as he was thousands of miles away and communication was cut off. All he could do was reduced to muttering prayers under his breath and hope that no more bad news would come knocking. But bad news, sure they came. Later that night, we were told that the retreat centre had collapsed together with his attendant, Lama Yishi's family house and cracks too were also found on the yet to be completed new monastery.
Lingering in Rinpoche's room, we were emotionally dampened that night to the extend that some of us even had tears filled up to the brink of our eyelids. As we listened to the rain pattering the ground outside, deafening silence returned to the room in between of soft conversations. Nevertheless, even though he looked visibly worn-out, Rinpoche still remained strong and lively trying hard to boost our morale. Realizing that for most of us, it was our maiden trip to this part of the world, he would not want any untoward incidences to spoil our experience. This is the Guru that we know, despite saddled with tricky problems, yet out of compassion, he still put other people's interest as the first priority.
Written by Ngawang Yonten
Written by Ngawang Yonten
