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Nearly thirty people from all parts of the Boston Shambhala sangha gathered Tuesday night for a long and moving celebration to support the long life of our Kongma Sakyong, Mipham Rinpoche.
The evening began a few minutes late, but on time, Shambhala time that is, as we scrambled to arrange the shrine room after the weekly yoga class, and people started streaming in. Acharya Emily Bower lead us in opening chants and gave a short introduction to the Tenshuk, or Long-Life Ceremony that had occurred in Halifax early that morning. We then turned the lights low and sat mesmerized for nearly an hour and a half while watching a video sent to us by Shambhala International that showed various highlights of the day’s events. The room felt close and warm, the energy vibrant as we oo-ed and ahh-ed the snippets of the blessing, seeing familiar faces in the people presenting their offerings to the Sakyong, Sakyong Wangmo, and His Eminence, some of us moving closer to the screen to watch the Lingdro dancers. We cried out when we thought we saw our Director Jill Blagsvedt flash by the camera!
It was incredibly moving to listen to the Sakyong’s address at the end of this video. You could tell that he didn’t quite know how to say goodbye for a year and three months, the length of his upcoming retreat. His messages were of deepening our practice, developing our kindness and compassion for each other within our community and strengthening ourselves to then turn the flower outwards, offering Shambhala to the world at large which so desperately needs our teachings of sanity and kindness. He also mentioned having “garuda bumps”. He left us with the request to devote at least one practice session a week to him, that through our practice we could connect with his mind, and therefore never be far apart.
Once this video finished, servers passed around delicious goodies, and Co-Warrior of the Center, Tom Ericsson gave an impassioned request for offerings to His Eminence for all that he has given to our community, and all that he is offering for the long life of our Sakyong. After that, we again dimmed the lights to watch “Joyful Vajra”, highlights from a feature documentary work in progress on the remarkable life and times of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. Tears streamed down some faces, and giggles were also shared - especially at the funny way media reporters pronounced the Sakyong’s name or Shambhala. It was such a joy to see snippets of Rinpoche’s life. We concluded with chants and a very rousing Shambhala anthem, the last note held out long and strong. The lungta in the room was palpable.
We cleaned up quickly and sat around on the couches for possibly another hour, just sharing in the radiance of the evening. I don’t think we left the Center until nearly 11:30pm, on a Tuesday night, the Kongma Sakyong, strong in our Boston hearts.
