#49 Wisconsin

Today was Hay River KTC;  a Tibetan Kagyu outfit in Ridgeland, WI, run by Lama Yeshe (John Samuelson), who completed a three-year retreat at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD) in Woodstock New York.  KTD is the North American home of the Kagyu lineage, and it is run by Tai Situ Rinpoche, heart-son of the Karmapa (leader of the Kagyu lineage).   I took lay vows under Tai Situ in Nepal in 1978.   

Today's practice was simply the Chenrezi-Amitabha Puja, or a reading of a long prayer to the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the primordial Buddha in the Pure Land.   The prayer can be downloaded here: 

I was surprised to be one of only four persons in the room and to have complete access to a very kind and well trained Lama, along with the lovely chanting led by Carolyn.  I felt at home, but also sad for the lack of attendance, something I have encountered across the country. 

The prayer (along with the introductory prayer) essentially wishes well-being for all of the lineage of lamas and Buddhas, and emphasizes the great opportunity we have to practice the spiritual path. 

Many of the lines, in their supplication to one deity, I find akin to Christian prayer: 

Buddha of great compassion, hold me fast in your compassion.
From time without beginning, beings have wandered in samsara,
Undergoing unendurable suffering.
They have no other protector than you.
Please bless them that they may achieve the omniscient state of buddhahood.

Is it believable?   Some have said, 'well, all that Tibetan deity stuff is a psychological representation.'  OK, but it's certainly better than a lot of the nonsense I have running around in here.  As Bob Dylan says, you have to serve somebody. 

I appreciate all of the flavors of Buddhism, and today, it's colorful, but still nutritious.