November 27, 2017 | UHCL Staff
Five Tibetan monks from the Gaden Shartse Norling Monastery in Mundgod, India made University of Houston-Clear Lake a stop on their tour of the U.S. to share Buddhist philosophy and demonstrate the construction of a sacred sand mandala to students, faculty and the community. Geshe Lobsang Wangyal,--Geshe meaning something equivalent to “Father” in the Buddhist faith and similar to a doctorate in academic terms—spoke through an interpreter about his journey through monastic life and his experiences coming to the U.S. for the first time.
Wangyal, 52, said that he came from a very poor, struggling village in Tibet as one of ten children. “I was fifteen years old when I decided to become a monk,” he said. “In the temple in my village, I could see the monks were totally different from the other people. They looked like they had peace in their mind, always had a happy face. You could see they were mentally very happy, so this was my decision.”
Normally in a monastery, Wangyal explained, a young monk finds a tutor. “Your tutor becomes responsible for you as a monk; he sends you to school, teaches you manners, and educates you as a father would. My tutor was my uncle. My parents were very happy that I made this decision.”
Parents in Tibetan culture who have two sons hope that one will become a monk. “It’s a little like in Western culture, where you hope one of your children becomes a doctor,” he said. “Parents feel that if their son is successful as a monk, he’ll be part of the monastery, which helps people, so they are very proud.”
Wangyal said he has never regretted giving up a secular life, even from such a young age. “As a lay person, you do not have much time to practice the teachings of Buddha because you might have a wife and children,” he said. “Being a monk means you always have time to practice. I dedicate my life to the benefit of others. I am happy that I have no distractions in life; it is my choice to practice Buddhist teachings in my own way.”
The monastic life is a good one, he said. “I have learned the rituals and studied the philosophy, and now I am Geshe, so I am successful. I have no bad thoughts about others at all. I have learned to practice love and compassion and to control my emotions, like hatred or desire. And if I can’t help, then I never harm.” He added that a central Buddhist belief is that this earthly existence is not the only life, so if he creates good karma in this life, then he will be happier and have an even better next life.
Wangyal said that although he has traveled internationally before, he had never been to the United States before their tour. “I have noticed the roads are very good here and everyone follows the rules, which they do not do at all in India,” he said. “And here, there’s always electricity. In our monastery, that is not always the case.” They will return to their monastery in India, he said, in two years, after they complete many more stops on their tour.
“We don’t choose this life as monks for ourselves, we want to help people,” he said. “We want to share what we know and we hope people use it to benefit themselves.”
The monks worked several hours a day throughout their weeklong visit to UH-Clear Lake on a sacred mandala, a spiritual, ritually constructed symbol made of sand that represents a form of sacred architecture.
In creating the mandala, the monks invited Buddha’s purity and holiness into the environment. “It takes patience and concentration,” Wangyal said. “You have to practice a lot to make one. You do it many times till it’s familiar. You have to give it time to work slowly and carefully because it’s something special. If it’s your first time, there are books and diagrams you have to learn.”
It is an ancient practice and every detail is in the books, from the color, the symbols, and the diagram itself. “The one we are making here is a certain deity who represents protection from negativity and wisdom for those who want to be educated,” Wangyal explained. “There are many different mandalas that represent all kinds of things, like compassion, wisdom, healing—all illustrating different deities in Buddhism.”
During the hours he’s working on the mandala, Wangyal said that he is praying and meditating. “Making a mandala is like making a blessing,” he said, which is why observers in Western culture are usually aghast when the mandala’s imminent dissolution occurs. “It’s part of our belief in impermanence,” he said. “Everything has its own time, like our life. Nothing is permanent in this world, and according to its time, it has to go. So, there’s no attachment to worldly things and when we destroy it, we dedicate it and pray. This is also good karma, which we dedicate to all living things.”
