14 July 2016 I went to a morning session and an afternoon session of the celebration at Choling monastery (in Bir). It was very helpful to have Pema explain what was going on in the morning. The lamas were “incarnating” or visualizing female deities, which explained the elaborate skirts and long-haired wigs. The session was interrupted by Scott’s dog bite. That dog was definitely rabid. [As a side note, I went to the clinic with Scott to have the bite treated. Fifteen minutes and $5 later, he had received the first of four rabies shots. Glad I didn’t spend $300 per shot in the U.S. before I went!!] In the afternoon I stuck around for two hours. Some Tibetan ladies gave me cardboard to sit on, and were very concerned that I was re-using my cup for tea. I couldn’t follow what was happening: it was like watching a foreign film without subtitles. I did recognize Padmasambhava—score! [Padmasambhava took Buddhism to Tibet and is considered a kind of second Buddha.] And then it looked like there was kind of a battle of the bands between two sets of deities. I liked those masks: big smiling Buddha-heads, which I kind of wish students would wear to class, since it looks like they’re really interested. Walking around town today I saw a sign for a Sakya monastery, so it looks like 3 of the 4 branches are represented. Saw Lama Pema at the event. His monastery (Tsering’s) paid their respects. There was a funny old holy man sitting on a stool on the grass. People would come up to him and put a kata around his neck as a sign of respect. He would accept it, namaste them, and then when they had turned to go, take it off and throw it on the ground. The crowd found this pretty funny. So did I. 9/14/2022 04:08:34 pm
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Author Rebecca Moore is Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at San Diego State University. She is currently Reviews Editor for Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions and Co-Director of The Jonestown Institute. Archives
December 2021
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