Thanks, Mickie!

I was going to spare all of you the boredom of hearing about my actual work here, but I’ve received a few requests so here it is. Those of you who prefer to read about bugs and drums can stop reading now.

My first goal has been to learn Tibetan better and get to know the monks. One of the key pieces of equipment to facilitate this has been a digital audio recorder that I received from my mother-in-law, Mickie, for my birthday. I record teachings, conversations, and readings (described below), and play them back later to learn what words they’re using and what I missed the first time around.

Thanks, Dad!

My second goal has been to learn as much about Bön from their perspective as I can, especially with regards to ritual. What is Bön? It is the allegedly pre-Buddhist, ancient Tibetan religion that has its own Buddha and lineages but otherwise has a lot in common with Tibetan Buddhism. When I find out about something interesting happening, or come upon it by accident, I either video it or just sit and watch. Later, I ask my teachers to explain what was happening. Many thanks to my dad, who gave me this video camera many years ago.

Thanks, Treasure Revealer!

My third and final goal is to study the work of an important Bön figure from the 12th-13th century. He was a “treasure revealer,” which means that his texts were allegedly written many centuries earlier by ancient Bön masters, who then buried these works in the earth or in the mind-streams of special individuals. At the right time and place, these “treasure texts” were then unearthed and taught.

This revealer’s texts comprise a big chunk of the Bön canon (a rough equivalent of the Bible) and yet almost none of his work has been translated into English. Thus, his life and possible ongoing significance remain mostly unexamined outside of Bön circles.

Right now, I am working with my teachers to translate his biography, known in Tibetan as a namtar. It’s slow going — in addition to the archaic words used in the text I’m still learning my teachers’ accents and vocabularies — but I’m getting there. I also ask monks and others what they know about this figure, try to find links from his work to modern day religious phenomena, and will eventually read more of his treasure texts with my teachers.

There’s much more to say but I think that’s plenty for now. Questions welcome. That means you, Mom.