Interfaith Journeys
  • Home
  • Interfaith Journeys
  • Stella Reekie

​From a Mountain in Tibet

21/9/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
I’ve recently received a copy of Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche’s biography, ‘From a Mountain in Tibet’.  Lama Yeshe is the Abbot of Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist Monastery set in the valley of Eskdalemuir in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland.  It’s an amazing place - a little bit of Tibet nestling in the Scottish countryside. I’ve come to know it well, having first visited it when the Temple was just beginning to be built and accommodation was sparse. I’ve taken students and teachers to visit it and spent time there engaging in Buddist- Christian dialogue with my good friend Ani Lhamo. She and I first really encountered one another when we were asked to lead a dialogue on the beautiful island of Iona. The weather was glorious and we spent hours talking and sharing our faith journey.  And as can happen on this interfaith journey we realised how much we had in common, how similar some of our experiences were in spite of the differences in our rituals and practices. 
 
Lama Yeshe’s biography tells the story of his early and carefree childhood  in Tibet though he always knew he was destined to be a monk and serve his brother Akong Rinpoche who, as a reincarnated Lama, was destined to be abbot of Dolma Lhakang Monastery.  Lama Yeshe didn’t exactly embrace monastic life finding it rather dull and restricting. He even thought that the escape from the monastery when the Chinese invaded Tibet would be a moment of freedom and adventure. Adventure it certainly was but not a pleasant one.  Nine months of crossing the Himalayas, cold, starving, not quite knowing the way, trying to outwit the Chinese, fearing they might be betrayed was an ordeal beyond anything most of us have had to endure.  Three hundred fled with Lama Yeshe and his brother but only 13 survived to arrive and find refuge in India.  Even the thought of what it must have been like to lose all those companions along the way is quite horrific.
 
For Lama Yeshe reaching India did not satisfy his restless spirit and his ventures there and in the United States describe what some might call a loose way of living – smoking, drinking, womanising – not what one would expect from a Buddhist Abbot!  His honesty in describing his rather wild life is refreshing and consoling.  But then he wasn’t a Buddhist monk or abbot at that time! He did have a conversion experience brought about by dissatisfaction with his life, the love and teaching of high lamas and a rigorous programme of meditation and retreats.  It was this that prepared him for life in Samye Ling and his subsequent appointment as abbot in succession to his brother Akong Rinpoche, the much loved founder of the monastery who was tragically murdered in China in 2013.
 
 I was born the same year as Lama Yeshe and though I’ve lived a very different life I couldn’t but reflect on my own life as I thought of what I was doing when Lama Yeshe was sowing his wild oats and delving into the spiritual life through rigorous retreats and meditation.  I was born in the final years of the Second Wold War so life would have been difficult though I was too young to know that. I was brought up in a Catholic community which was loving and protective, secure and comfortable but set apart from the rest of society, mainly because of the sectarianism that prevailed in Scotland at that time.  We Catholics kept to ourselves. It wasn’t quite Tibet but religion and Church were at the centre of our lives and separate Catholic schools meant many of our friends were Catholic. I entered the Convent when I had finished training as a Catholic teacher so was a sister all the time Lama Yeshe was living his turbulent life.  But I could resonate with a lot of what Lama Yeshe said when he talked about the process of having to face self, break out of illusions as he pursued his spiritual path.  I too have been through programmes of mediation and retreats. I too have pursued a spiritual path and have found this inner journey an adventurous and exciting one with its own struggles and difficulties.
 
Life is an amazing adventure.  How could Lama Yeshe have imagined that he would end his days in a monastery in Scotland when he was growing up in Tibet.  He wouldn’t even have known such a place existed. How could I have imagined that my life would have taken me into the world of other faiths, that my path would cross with a Tibetan Abbot whom I’ve come to know as a wise and honoured friend, that I would come to feel at home in a Buddhist monastery and happily sit with Buddhist friends in meditation.  Such is the exciting and wonderful result of embarking on this interfaith journey! 

0 Comments

A Letter from Mother Earth

7/9/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
For the global Christian community the 24th September until 4th October is the Season of Creation, described by Pope Francis as a time “for undertaking prophetic actions … calling for courageous decisions … directing the planet towards life, not death.”  The challenge and cost of climate change has been a constant in recent times and, while there are some climate change deniers, the danger that our planet is in has become more and more obvious.  We’re all aware of prophetic voices calling us to change, ranging from Sir David Attenborough who at 94 yrs of age is nearing the end of his life, Greta Thunberg who at 17 has a lifetime ahead of her and Extinction Rebellion that attracts people of all ages and backgrounds.
 
Prophets are important people in any society, often ignored and sometimes even persecuted because their message is usually an uncomfortable and unpalatable one.  They say it as it is; they recognise evil for what it is - a degradation of what can and should be;  they name evil in order to reveal the alternative;  they appeal to our better selves; they shake us out of our complacency and challenge us to change our ways.  Prophets are able to listen to the cries of the poor, the marginalised, the disadvantaged, those who cannot speak out for themselves.  In this case and at this time it’s our planet that’s being ignored.  What would it say to us if we were really attentive to its cries, if we could feel its pain and understand the consequences of our actions?
 
It so happens I’ve been reading Active Hope, How to Face the Mess We’re in without Going Crazy by Joanna Macey and Chris Johnstone. I’ve been reading it with a group of sisters from my community.  It’s an excellent book which encourages us to honour the pain of our world in order to bring about its transformation.  Throughout the book there are exercises to help us appreciate and get inside the message of the book.  This week’s exercise is to imagine what the Earth might say through us. The instruction is to write a letter to ourselves that begins “ Dear Isabel, This is your mother Gaia writing …………..”  without thinking too much about it but allowing our words flow quite naturally.  Here’s my attempt at the exercise.
 
“Dear Isabel
This is your mother Gaia writing.  I want you to know how precious you are to me and how dearly I love you. I have called you forth from the beginning of time, led you through many stages of evolutionary growth and given you form at this particular time in history.  And  so too I love all your sisters and brothers whom I have watched over from that moment when humanity started on its evolutionary journey.  I have watched you make mistakes, develop new skills and aptitudes, cooperate and live in new ways, engage in deep philosophical debate, invent new and complex systems for living together and making sense of life.  I have watched you mature and reach for the stars.  But I have also watched you forget your origins and your  place in this magnificent blue planet which is unique in our wonderful solar system.
 
I have watched you forget that you are interrelated not just with other human beings but with all sentient creatures.  Together with them you are made of stardust, you share many DNA characteristics with them,  you depend on them for the health and well-being of our world.  You depend on the trees and plants which beautify our world for the very air you breathe. Without them there would only be a toxic gas that would poison all life. You have sought to use other creatures and living things for your own good. You who are the creatures who have given this planet consciousness have forgotten your stewardship of it. You have forgotten your immense power and ability to live in harmony with nature, to work with it rather than against it. 
 
I feel the pain of this so deeply. I hear the cries of the creatures who have become extinct and those for whom extinction is a real possibility at this moment in time. I feel the pain of the Great Forests that are being cut down for profit, the use of fossil fuels that are breaking down the ozone layer. My heart cries as I watch weather systems go awry with flooding and overheating.   I hear so much pain and my heart bleeds for you all. Sometimes I fear for your future, especially when I look upon the joy and innocence of your children.
 
And yet I have great trust in you and all humanity. There are so many concerned people  whose eyes have been opened to see things in a new light – to recognise the interrelatedness of all life, to recognise themselves as part of a great system of life and not above it, to see clearly how their actions can have consequences for good or for ill. So many of you are working together to turn this earth towards its true destiny which is one of health and wellbeing in both big and small ways.  I want you to recognise your beauty and your power, your ability to do great things for the world in the way you live your life day by day and moment by moment. I want you to be encouraged by my love and desire for your future, my belief in you and support for all the positive steps you take.
 
I do not despair.  I trust you and know you can treat the earth with the love and respect it deserves. Listen to its cries, wonder at its beauty, tread its paths with gentleness and reverence, live life simply and joyfully. The future is in your hands.”

0 Comments

    Author

    I am  a Catholic nun, involved in interfaith relations for many decades.  For me this has been an exciting and sacred journey which I would like to share with others.

    Picture

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    RSS Feed

    Categories
    Religious Performances
    ​​

    All

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.