Ra Samye Day 5

Friday 9:29 a.m.
I finished the first hour's meditation of the day half an hour ago, and it really flashed by. When you've been sitting for two to three hour sessions, what's an hour? A mere bagatelle!

There wasn't as much heat yesterday afternoon as I was expecting, but they say it's better in the morning. I just hope it's not because I haven't done the 100,000 prostrations and whatnot! This morning was great though. Every time there's a wee bit of progress.

You can't accept personal responsibility for any success here. This is a communal effort. In the audience there are about fifty practitioners who are probably further along than me. Then there are about thirty or forty monks and nuns. They're putting in nearly six hours a day at this Drubcho. There are conch blowers, horn blowers, cymbal and drum and gong beaters, and some folk waving about these wee twiddly drums. One of the nuns is miked up and she's leading off the chanting and singing. What an effort for her, but the whole monastic sangha are giving it laldy for six hours a day, and there are two other sets of prayer times and the meditation with the lama from 8 till 9.

I don't know the chants or anything. I just sit there doing my thing and let the whole thing wash over me.

The Great Buddha, Lama Yeshe Losal, is not a young man and he's been there for every session. I don't think he needs this for himself. So all praise to him!!!

I could never have done this in Edinburgh, even with my hut!! There is a lot of juju energy builds up in this place. Don't ask me why or how. Lat year two hours of the Dubchen blow my head off! Have to rush. No many breaks around here!

15:09 p.m.
What a wonderful morning I had meditating! Great lunch then I crashed out in the tent for an hour. As I was waking up, I thought I was in a field of jewels. That's more like it. Last night I had a "lost" dream again when I seemed to be lost in a place like downtown Freetown. Not too bad though, just a bit disconcerting.

Here's another bit for the book. This is about arising as a divine being. "You are standing, having four faces and twelve arms, and are embracing Vajravarahi, who has a body of radiant red light."

Never was much use at handling my expectations! Maybe ten days won't do this for you! There's a new book about the 40 years of the Samye Ling on sale just now. There's a photie of Lama Yeshe in it when he was on retreat. He was 12 years doing this juju. The lama is a wee fat baldy guy, as usual, but the joe in the photie is thin and stares out with hair and a beard, half naked, and looking like a loonie, as these yogi joes often do! So if I get some warmth here I should be bloody well delighted!

9:10 p.m.
Once I was staying overnight at a commune called Lauriston Hall. It was near Castle Douglas and we were going to a wedding that morning. I left the caravan we were in and went to find the time. There was a football game going on. Nobody knew the time there. Nobody really cared. They couldn't have been hungry. I was re-directed and asked others. Not a clue. Bloody hippies! Eventually, I found a clock in the hall. I was trying to think of a comparison to what it's began to feel like being here. I don't care much about what time it is anymore either.

I felt so settle in the temple this afternoon. I didn't how long it was going to last, or how much time had passed.

Tell us about ra bliss, Hotboy. The spam robots want to hear about ra bliss though these dudes with the four heads and twelve arms seem much better than the flatheids! Well, Jack, you close your eyes and there is ra bliss. It's just right there. There is some warmth. There is sometimes a bit of heat. Ra bliss blows your arms and legs off, but I'm getting kind of used to ra bliss. It's all over the place. It's everywhere you sit down and close your eyes. Oh, ra bliss, ra bliss, ra bliss. Oh, I'm surfing the oceans of bliss, I am! I'm surfing the oceans of bliss!

This is only half way! Who knows what things will be like tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow!