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LIFE AT SURMANG DUTSI TIL 

Based on an interview with The Surmang Khenpo, November 2009

Dutsi Til now:

Surmang Dutsi Til monastery:  old Lhakang in background, shedra construction in foreground.  Photo by the Surmang Khenpo in 2006

In the time since Surmang Dutsi Til re-opened, there has not been a consistent presence of dharma teachers, nor any suitable facilities at which they can teach.  The group practice schedule has focused on two periods during the year: during the extended Losar season from December-March, as described below, and also a brief group practice period in the summer.  The summer practice period includes a lhasang, a wrathful Padmasambhava practice, and a peaceful deity practice.  At other times, monks do their own individual practices at their residences on the monastery grounds or else they are visiting their homes or other monasteries.  There are also groups of monks on long-term retreat.

Dorje Kyung Dzong, Surmang.  photo by Peter Seidler 2001

The Losar practice season

Traditionally, at Surmang, there are two Losars:  a small Losar (Lo Chung), which begins on the 1st day of the twelfth Tibetan lunar month; and the main Losar  (Lo Ching), which begins on the 1st day of the first month of the Tibetan New Year.

Ten days before Lo Chung, the monks practice Dorje Trollo, Mahakala, and other wrathful practices to dispel obstacles.  These practices are similar to the mamo chants that Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche instituted for the Shambhala sangha in the West.  The elaborate Dorje Trollo practice done at Surmang includes the mamo chants. 

On Lo Chung day, the monks have a one day holiday.  After that, the monks do many practices in preparation for the main Losar, Lo Ching.  These include Chakrasamvara, Vajrayogini, Mahakala and Mahakali pujas, among other practices.  Several of these practices are further wrathful practices to dispel obstacles.  They also rehearse the Chakrasamvara dance.

Monks watching the Chakrasamvara Dance at Surmang Dutsitil, 2006. 

The first day of the first Tibetan month is Losar, and there is a 7 day holiday.   After this, the monks prepare for the pinnacle event of the annual cycle of practices at Surmang, the Chakrasamvara Dance.  The Chakrasamvara Dance is held on the 13th, 14th, and 15th days after Losar.

To read Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's comments about the Chakrasamvara Dance, please go to Chakrasamvara Dance

After the Chakrasamvara Dance is completed, the monks continue with many other practices until some time near the end of March.  Khenpo listed the following pujas as examples of the many practices done: Chakrasamvara puja (one week); Vajrayogini puja (one week); Vajrakilaya puja (one week); Chod (5-7 days); Wrathful Padmasambhava; Hayagriva; Avalokiteshvara; Amitabha; Tara; Vajrapani; and Dokar (a female deity, meaning "White Umbrella").

Education program for the children of Surmang:

As noted in the Konchok Foundation 2009 year-end report, Surmang was able to have an education program in the past year that included most of the children in the village from ages 6 through 12.  This took place from November 2008 through spring of 2009 thanks to support from a group of European patrons. 

Photo taken in 2009 by unknown person from Surmang

LIFE AT THE NEW SHEDRA AT SURMANG DUTSI TIL

The Surmang Khenpo emphasizes that the new shedra will dramatically improve the hosting of dharma teaching at Surmang Dutsi Til.   When the new shedra is fully operational, teaching programs will take place continuously for 11 months during the year.  In addition to resident teachers, including Trungpa Rinpoche XII, visiting lamas and khenpos will be invited to teach, living in the teacher accommodations on the second floor of the shedra.  There will be a strict monastic practice schedule for most of the year, rather than the limited time periods in which group practice can take place now.  The shedra will also greatly increase the total amount of residential accommodations at Dutsi Til.

Khenpo states that the teaching programs at the shedra will be made to available to nuns as well as monks, and that there will also be classes for lay people and children.

Chakrasamvara Dance at Surmang in 2002, photo by Khenpo Tsering

CHAKRASAMVARA DANCE 

The following quotations from the 11th Trungpa Rinpoche about the Chakrasamvara dance are reprinted from his book "The Mishap Lineage," with the gracious permission of Carolyn Gimian (editor) and Shambhala Publications.)

Student:  Could you say something more about the lama dance?

CTR:  "It's very elaborate.  It has 360 moves or themes.   ..... There's about a three hour performance first, which is the preparation of the ground, and then there is another approximately five hour performance establishing the shrine, the creation of a mandala; and then there is a twenty four hour dance concerned with the actual mandala itself.  There are certain movements connected with taking refuge and taking the bodhisattva vow as you chant and dance.  And then there is exorcising the hostile environment and the calling upon blessings.  And then you have visualizations. All of them are in the form of the dance.

“This particular dance is different from the basic Tibetan dance that you might see or have seen already in films, where the dancers are wearing robes.  In this chakrasamvara dance they are dressed in heruka costumes, or horse bones, carved and inlaid with jewels and so forth.  That's supposed to represent the various yogic exercises that have developed.  This is part of hatha yoga practice, supposedly.  The idea is that there is what is known as "fast dance" and "slow dance."  In fast dance you're supposed to speed up the "slow dance" - which is competing with a cloud, you know; you are not moving at all.  You know that idea.  It's a complete sadhana; you begin to get into it more and more.

“I started to learn when I was about sixteen.  And not having had enough exercise the first three days, my whole body completely ached;  I had flu and everything.  And they said, "You shouldn't just lie down.  You should come down and do at least three hours of practice."  And I kept hanging on and finally I felt much better.  I could get into the rhythm of the whole thing and the energy that exists. It's more like just movement dance, more connected with Tai Chi or something like that than the traditional Tibetan Dance, which is very jumpy and very fast.  But this one is very slow and movement oriented.  You have to have a drum in your right hand and a bell in your left hand, and you have to learn to use them properly as well.  After every full beat, you ring your bell.  So everybody has to be synchronized, the whole orchestra and all the dancers.  And it's very defined, six of this and seven of that and then ten of that.  Then the leaders of the dance make certain moves that indicate which parts of our body we're going to use to begin with as a main movement.  It's very much like the feeling of Chakrasamvara; you dance all the time, and you sort of put your passion out constantly.  You relate with your passion.  And the more you relate with your passion, the more you get into it.

“This particular dance is based on a great feast.  So in the middle of the dance circle there's a great feast, which is eventually distributed to everybody.  And there is a blessing of the feast, visualizing yourself and the altar table with the feast as part of the great mandala as well.  And you bring in the jnanasattva by a certain dance movement; usually that particular part is very slow.  I was able to dance only about six times, because it happens only once every year.  And I began to enjoy it more every year.  I wasn't particularly approved the first year as a good dancer, but as I went on I had memorized the whole thing completely.  People used to carry little books attached to their ornaments or dance costumes, but I didn't have to use that either.  I was very good at it; I had become a good dancer...."

Student:  Does everybody wear the same costume?

CTR: " Yes, they all wear the same costume.  In a certain part of the dance, all the dancers are divided into twos, you and your partner.  And the movements are the opposite, the rhythms are the same but the movements are opposite, so it is very difficult to do.  That's the particular part when you visualize you and your consort."

Student:  Are the movements one set of patterns of movements?  Is it the same pattern each year?

CTR: "Yeah, sure.  Otherwise you couldn't learn. But the movements are very precise.  I found that first you have the hassle of learning the dance and how to do the dance properly.  And after that you begin to know the implications behind it.  And traditionally what used to happen is that when you sounded your bell a certain way or the monk in charge of chanting sounded his bell a certain way, it was a tea sound,  they brought tea around as you danced.  And there's also another sound you make that's the liquor sound.  So you have tea and liquor alternately.  And while you dance you are actually allowed to drink some kind of beer or chang or even arak, which is a more concentrated sort of thing."

*****

NOTE:  copies of "Lama Dances of Surmang," which includes portions of the Chakrasamvara Dance as well as the Surmang version of the Black Hat dance are available on our donation gift site  http://www.konchok.org/donation_gifts.php