THE TURQUOISE HEART

Boudhanath stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal 

The Boudhanath stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal is supposedly has been built a few centuries after the Par Nirvana of the Buddha. They say that there is a relic in there. Some say it’s Buddha Shakyamuni, some say it’s Buddha Kassapa. But, there is a relic in there.  

The stupa itself was built by a lady called Gajema and her three sons. Now, when they built it, the stupa was supposedly the world's largest stupa. Gajema herself, unfortunately, passed away before they completed the stupa. So, the stupa was built by her three sons.

The three sons upon completion of the stupa make the most amazing aspirations and we should all pray that we can make aspirations like this.

v  The oldest brother, he went to a stupa, and he aspired to be reborn to take Buddha’s teachings to the land of snow- Tibet.

v  The second brother, he went there and he said when my brother is reborn to take the teachings of the Buddha to the land of snow, let me be reborn as his patron to help him.

v  Then, the youngest brother went forward and he said, when my two older brothers are doing this, let me be reborn to dispel their outer, inner, and secret obstacles.

 

Now, while all this was going on, there was a small irritating mosquito that was buzzing around and it is said that the mosquito landed on the neck of the second brother, as he aspired to be reborn as a patron. He swept at it but he accidentally killed the mosquito.

So, by the law of cause and condition, the mosquito was forever wept together with the life of the second brother. Let’s fast-forward a couple of centuries, through their power of aspirations made at the Boudhanath stupa, three brothers were reborn.  

The eldest brother was born as Khenpo Shanta Rishta, commonly known as (Khenpo Bodhisattva) Nalanda Scholar and he was the one who took the Buddha Dharma to Tibet.

The second brother, who accidentally killed the mosquito was reborn as King Trisong Detsen (The Great Dharma King of Tibet).

The youngest brother, who aspired to be the dispeller of obstacles was reborn as the Lotus-born, Guru Rinpoche and the three brothers once again came together and they built another stupa. This time it was the great Samye Monastery in Lhoka, Tibet.  

Let’s not forget about the mosquito…the mosquito forever tied within the life of the second brother was also reborn. But, the mosquito was reborn as Princess Lha Chen Pema Sal (Radiant Lotus), as the daughter of King Trisong Deutsen.

Excerpt from the Turquoise Heart: A Bhutanese Remembers a Bhutanese by Pawo Choyning Dorji1, Mountain Echos Festival, Bhutan. 

~Sherab Lhoyang, MBA, 2020.