A few hours with the Gyuto Monks
Today I finally made it out to see the Gyuto monks of Tibet out at Bondi Pavillion. A month ago the pamphlet had landed in my letterbox at home announcing that they were coming to Sydney, and then my heart fell when I realised that my schedule was packed and I didn't think I could make it.
I realised last week that I was actually free today so made sure I didn't book anything in so I could go out to see them. I didn't know why I had to go and see them, but I had a big feeling that I had to - there was something pushing me in that direction so I hopped on a bus and ended up at Bondi at lunchtime.
I attended a seminar on forgiveness. The head monk is a very funny guy, and whilst he didn't speak that much English, he got his point across and always had a cheeky smile on his face. He basically said that the meaning of life was "42" and went on to explain that it basically meant that what one does affects at least 2 people - i.e. "for two". He also said that forgiveness essentially meant that we had to look at the bigger picture, and see that each of us are essentially the same, trying to live our lives the best way that we can. Once you can realise that that is the underlying cause of people's actions, then it's easier to forgive their actions.
He then went on to explain the symbolism of "Green Tara", and how her jewellery represented essentially the 6 ways of living. He also explained that she was green because green represented the colour of purified air. He also explained that she sat on a lotus, which was a beautiful flower that grows from mud. So all of us are brought up on societal "norms" and this is the mud that we sit in in order to grow and become a beautiful lotus.
After that they started talking a little about healing and my ears perked up when it came to this. He said that Jesus and Buddha used their hands to heal others, but it wasn't their hands that did the healing, it was the underlying love and compassion that they had for others that did most of the healing. I resonated with this because I'm on the opinion that the person who I am helping's soul is the one that is directing the healing when I am working, not necessarily myself. I'm merely the conduit to assist the healing to take place, but the actual "healer" is the person themselves. The head monk said that we can heal ourselves if we got our minds into the right headspace - which I 100% agree with.
He did say other things but I can't remember them right now :P After that, he conducted a 2 min meditation where everyone in the room chanted a specific mantra and then off I went to the room downstairs to see if I could get a puja from one of the monks.
The room was PACKED and in addition to the recording of the monks chanting going on in the background, there were about 6 monks in the rooms giving a personal puja to people so the entire room just had a big "vibe" going on. I ended up waiting for almost an hour to get my private puja (or blessing/prayer) from a monk and by that time I was lightheaded. I'm not sure whether the lightheadedness was the fact that I hadn't really eaten lunch or all of the energy that was in the air - it was probably a bit of both. It got to a point where my body started vibrating and shaking a bit (not visible to others thank goodness).
By the time I sat with the monk, the translator was telling me he was glad I finally got a spot because he had noticed me waiting for a very long time. I was actually quite touched when he came up to me during the wait to check if I had booked because I had been waiting quite patiently! Anyway, I gave my intention of what I wanted from the monk, and he proceeded to chant a prayer for me. During the prayer, my crown chakra was going a bit crazy, and then all of a sudden I noticed tears falling down my cheeks. I tried to stop it but they just kept flowing. When the monk finished, he tied a red string to my wrist and he said it was to help keep negative energies away from me so that I could go down the path that I had chosen. I had to exit out of there pretty quickly after that because I had felt uncomfortable with people seeing the tears!
I was reading later that the prayers of these monks are extremely powerful, and it would not be a surprise if some tears were shed during the prayer. I'm not exactly too sure what the tears were for, but at least I released whatever it was that I needed to! I suspect that the reason why I felt "pulled" to go see them was that I needed them to release whatever it was that had to go.
For a person who grew up as a Catholic, it was a strange and almost surreal experience for me. However, now that I am open to learning about other spiritual teachings, there is no harm in trying it out and then finding your own truth! Now I wonder when this red string bracelet will fall off :D
I realised last week that I was actually free today so made sure I didn't book anything in so I could go out to see them. I didn't know why I had to go and see them, but I had a big feeling that I had to - there was something pushing me in that direction so I hopped on a bus and ended up at Bondi at lunchtime.
I attended a seminar on forgiveness. The head monk is a very funny guy, and whilst he didn't speak that much English, he got his point across and always had a cheeky smile on his face. He basically said that the meaning of life was "42" and went on to explain that it basically meant that what one does affects at least 2 people - i.e. "for two". He also said that forgiveness essentially meant that we had to look at the bigger picture, and see that each of us are essentially the same, trying to live our lives the best way that we can. Once you can realise that that is the underlying cause of people's actions, then it's easier to forgive their actions.
He then went on to explain the symbolism of "Green Tara", and how her jewellery represented essentially the 6 ways of living. He also explained that she was green because green represented the colour of purified air. He also explained that she sat on a lotus, which was a beautiful flower that grows from mud. So all of us are brought up on societal "norms" and this is the mud that we sit in in order to grow and become a beautiful lotus.
After that they started talking a little about healing and my ears perked up when it came to this. He said that Jesus and Buddha used their hands to heal others, but it wasn't their hands that did the healing, it was the underlying love and compassion that they had for others that did most of the healing. I resonated with this because I'm on the opinion that the person who I am helping's soul is the one that is directing the healing when I am working, not necessarily myself. I'm merely the conduit to assist the healing to take place, but the actual "healer" is the person themselves. The head monk said that we can heal ourselves if we got our minds into the right headspace - which I 100% agree with.
He did say other things but I can't remember them right now :P After that, he conducted a 2 min meditation where everyone in the room chanted a specific mantra and then off I went to the room downstairs to see if I could get a puja from one of the monks.
The room was PACKED and in addition to the recording of the monks chanting going on in the background, there were about 6 monks in the rooms giving a personal puja to people so the entire room just had a big "vibe" going on. I ended up waiting for almost an hour to get my private puja (or blessing/prayer) from a monk and by that time I was lightheaded. I'm not sure whether the lightheadedness was the fact that I hadn't really eaten lunch or all of the energy that was in the air - it was probably a bit of both. It got to a point where my body started vibrating and shaking a bit (not visible to others thank goodness).
By the time I sat with the monk, the translator was telling me he was glad I finally got a spot because he had noticed me waiting for a very long time. I was actually quite touched when he came up to me during the wait to check if I had booked because I had been waiting quite patiently! Anyway, I gave my intention of what I wanted from the monk, and he proceeded to chant a prayer for me. During the prayer, my crown chakra was going a bit crazy, and then all of a sudden I noticed tears falling down my cheeks. I tried to stop it but they just kept flowing. When the monk finished, he tied a red string to my wrist and he said it was to help keep negative energies away from me so that I could go down the path that I had chosen. I had to exit out of there pretty quickly after that because I had felt uncomfortable with people seeing the tears!
I was reading later that the prayers of these monks are extremely powerful, and it would not be a surprise if some tears were shed during the prayer. I'm not exactly too sure what the tears were for, but at least I released whatever it was that I needed to! I suspect that the reason why I felt "pulled" to go see them was that I needed them to release whatever it was that had to go.
For a person who grew up as a Catholic, it was a strange and almost surreal experience for me. However, now that I am open to learning about other spiritual teachings, there is no harm in trying it out and then finding your own truth! Now I wonder when this red string bracelet will fall off :D