A Glimpse of Life at Lishu
Two Students’ Experiences
Anna-Kaisa Hirvanen, from Finland, is one in the first group of students to start a three-year Bon studies program at Lishu Institute near Dehradun, India. Anna-Kaisa is a founding member of Ligmincha Finland and its first Chair of the Board. She began a blog about Lishu a year ago in March 2015. Here is an excerpt from one of her recent posts, titled “Unbroken Lineage of Wisdom,” from March 2016.
Lishu students January 2016 including Anna-Kaisa (center)
Studying in Lishu is a rare opportunity that I feel grateful to have had once again. Even though one cannot say it is easy or glamorous, since studying and practicing in this kind of simple, quiet environment with a small group of people for sure has its challenges. However, these kinds of conditions are rare to find and beneficial in many ways. For instance, we are living in India, which in itself gives an opportunity to change some of the habitual ways we are used to thinking and acting in the Western countries. Things do not work in the same way as in the West, in fact, quite often they work the opposite way! At the same time, India is a land of great blessings, since so many spiritual traditions are very much alive and a natural part of everyday life here, including the Bon tradition that we can study, practice and experience in more detail and depth in Lishu.
The teaching as well as the texts and prayers that we study in Lishu are in Tibetan, with translation to English. Together with the formal Tibetan language studies this gives the chance to learn more of the Tibetan language, which in turn opens up the teachings in a completely different way than studying them in English only. In a small group of people, with no other activities around to distract us, the teaching and practice is very personal and intensive.
Lishu study group and teachers
We ended this second trimester of studies by attending Sherab Mawe Senghe Initiation in Menri Monastery, which is the root place of study and practice for many Bon teachers and practitioners. To receive blessings in this way is something very precious and rare. Sherab Mawe Senghe (Manjushri in the Buddhist traditions) is the wisdom aspect of the mind, the sharp and clear mind of intellect that we need in order to understand the teachings. This wisdom deity initiation and transmission comes directly from Kuntu Zangpo and has been passed through all Menri enthronement holders until this day. During the initinitiation we were also very much blessed to see a crystal statue of Drenpa Namkha that is very rarely displayed to the public.
Auspicious area for raising prayer flags near
Menri Monastery
Due to the health condition of His Holiness Lungtok Tenpa Nyima, who is the head of the Bon tradition and usually giving this initiation, Menri Ponlop Thinley Nyima Rinpoche was giving the initiation to all the monks, nuns and lay people. During his teaching he asked us to fulfill only one commitment for this initiation this time, which usually has many commitments to fulfill. That is to pray and accumulate long life mantras for His Holiness's health. At the end of the initiation, the white scarves were passed on from the Master to the monks and nuns and from there on we were all holding each other's clothes. This symbolizes the lineage that reaches all the way to Kuntu Zangpo and is still very much alive today. Through this connection to the lineage one could also understand how important it is to receive and pass on the good qualities from all our ancestors and to allow them to grow stronger in ourselves.
Read more of Anna-Kaisa’s Lishu blog
Long Life Mantra Accumulations for His Holiness
Another Lishu student briefly describes her experience at Lishu:
Studying at Lishu is first being able to practice in a quiet and natural environment. Lishu is located in the countryside and is surrounded by luscious green trees and plants. The nearby mountains offer several hiking options. Moreover, students are free from all logistics of food preparation, dedicating their time to the study and practice.
Regarding the schedule, there is a very good balance between teaching times, group practice sessions and personal study and practice time.
We've just completed the second trimester and I can say that having the opportunity to do full-time study is a great blessing. I attended several teachings and retreats for many years before joining the three-year program at Lishu, and I do appreciate going through a cycle continuously according to the texts. Moreover, learning the Tibetan language opens new doors as there are many Bon texts that are not translated yet.
The teachings are very complete. It's not only about texts study, but also about the rituals. For instance, we learned to play the musical instruments (rolmos, conch, drum, flat bell) for the Yeshe Walmo invocation prayer.
Studying at Lishu is also having a regular and close connection with Bon monasteries and the Bon/ Tibetan communities. For instance, in early March we went to Menri Monastery for the Mawe Senghe initiation, and raised prayer flags and made offerings for His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima's long life. Beyond the religious aspect, we generally have been getting familiar and discovering the very rich Bon culture that strongly imprints the Bon texts.
