His Holiness the 34th Menri Trizin: The Importance of Practicing

- through Fabrice Groult

Published on

Exceptional meeting with the leader of the spiritual tradition Yungdrung Bön, on the occasion of his first trip to Europe, in June 2019.

His Holiness on the 34the Menri Trizin (see box 1) chose to go to Montpellier first. This is where Lama Samten Yeshe teaches, one of his former comrades from the Bonpo monastery of Menri, in theHimachal Pradesh, India. Both had the same master there, His Holiness the 33rd Menri Trizin, who died in September 2017. His Holiness the 34the Menri Trizin brings with him the relics of their master, in the form of tiny pearls intended to be enshrined in a golden stupa. Lessons are organized on this occasion, during which he delivers very precise information.

In contrast, his responses to the interview are simple and brief. When the question leaves the register of its tradition the Yungdrung Bön (see box 2), he answers without hesitation: “I don’t know”. At the end of our interview, he thanks by clasping his hands, gets up and leaves. I follow him with my eyes, he does not turn around. I realize that he gave us the essential: his spontaneous presence, without any desire to please or prove anything.

What can the Yungdrung Bön tradition bring to Westerners?

It depends on each person. If she practices authentically, whether in Yungdrung Bön or buddhism, then she can awaken, free from suffering and the five emotions (ignorance, anger, attachment, jealousy and pride). But if she just practices once in a while, going here and there, then Bön or Buddhist, it won't bring much result.

During your teaching in Montpellier on June 1, 2019, you transmitted the mantra of Sherab Chamma, considered in the Bön tradition as the mother of all Buddhas. We find this mantra on Youtube, can everyone recite it?

Anyone can recite it, but when one has received the transmission of this mantra and the teachings that explain it from a master, the energy is different. It is more powerful and the results come faster: freeing oneself from suffering, purifying emotions, transforming obstacles, protecting practitioners from all types of fears.

“Whoever the teacher gives you lessons, the important thing is to use them well. »

Sherab Chamma embodies the perfection of wisdom. The (symbolic) mother of all beings, she bears to all the same love as that of a mother for her only child. In particular, it protects practitioners from several types of fear, which correspond to different categories of danger: fear of enemies; those arising from imperfections such as attachment, anger or ignorance; fears resulting from erroneous views, which consist in denying what is and affirming what is not, etc.

Can one recite this mantra while pursuing a Buddhist path?

Of course, if we are Buddhist, one can also practice Sherab Chamma. There's no need to change anything, just the method is different. To come to France, I took the plane, the train, but the direction remains the same.

This is your first time in Europe. What is your impression?

I found people who practice, who are interested in the teachings and who already have some understanding of them. My advice: whatever the teacher who gives you lessons, the important thing is to use them well. Read, meditate and practice.

Translation from Tibetan to French: Lama Samten Yeshe

photo of author

Fabrice Groult

Fabrice Groult is an adventurer, photographer and Buddhist who has traveled the world since a young age. After studying Buddhism in India, he embarked on an eighteen-month journey through Asia that took him to the Himalayas, where he discovered his passion for photography. Since then, he has traveled the world capturing images of Buddhist beauty and wisdom. He was a guide for ten years, and is now a journalist with Buddhist News.

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