Dreaming of Manjushri

No, I did not dream about Manjushri. It was actually Rinpoche who dreamt about Manjushri many years ago. It was in a form Rinpoche had never seen before, sitting on a lotus with his hands in the dharmachakra mudra at his chest and his right leg extended. Rinpoche was excited by the dream but did not dare to worship the form because he did not know if it was an authentic form of Manjushri. You see, although Rinpoche is extremely modern in his presentation of the Dharma, at his essence Rinpoche is still very traditional and will not simply worship deities without lineage or authentication.

So it was not until Rinpoche saw an old image of the same form of Manjushri in a Dharma book that Rinpoche felt comfortable about making prayers and offerings to this form of Manjushri. An old image, an antique image means people have been propitiating the deity for many years already. You can read about this story in detail here but that is the reason why we call this form of Manjushri ‘Dream Manjushri’, because Rinpoche first saw this form in a dream.

Yesterday, we had the honour of inviting Dream Manjushri to the newly-completed fish pond at Kechara Forest Retreat. For me, the day started with the electricity going out. I had only just gone to bed four hours before and suddenly I was boiling. Unable to sleep any longer, I stepped out of my room…straight into JP’s face telling me, “DREAM MANJUSHRI IS HERE.”

I was at the fish pond within 10 minutes. Let’s just say, it helps when you do not have hair to wash! 😀

By the time I got there, Dream Manjushri was already being unloaded from the lorry by the team at Kechara Discovery who make our statues. Standing 9ft tall and made of copper, eventually Dream Manjushri will turn a lovely pale green much like the Kamakura Buddha in Japan that Rinpoche is so fond of.

It took a large group of us eight hours from start to finish to unpack, clean and insert mantras and other holy items into Dream Manjushri. After the statue was unloaded from the lorry, the metal support beams inside the container were cut away with an electric saw. Then the statue was washed down and cleaned, and touch-ups to the metal and colour were done. In the meantime, a group of us packed holy items and mantras into the life tree / life stick as it rained pretty heavily.

Click to enlarge! In the background, towards the centre of the picture, is the platform for Dream Manjushri. Rinpoche deliberately asked for it to be slightly smaller so it would appear that Dream Manjushri is floating on the pond

It took us about 1.5 hours to finish packing and sealing the life stick before it was purified with incense and inserted into the central channel of the statue. By the time the crane started lifting Dream Manjushri over the power lines and into the fish pond area, it was already pitch black. Some of the boys then jumped into the pond to help guide the statue into its final position before removing the protective bubble wrap all over Manjushri’s face. A puja was done and praises to Manjushri were recited to welcome him to Kechara Forest Retreat, where he will bless all beings seen and unseen in the environment, and also plant seeds of Manjushri in their mindstreams.

It was an auspicious day I was not expecting at all. Given my random sleeping hours, I would normally have slept right through the invitation of Dream Manjushri to Kechara Forest Retreat so it turned out that the power cut was a blessing for me, forcing me awake. Haha it really is a matter of perception… 😉

May Manjushri’s practice and image, and all teachings and rituals associated with this Wisdom Buddha pervade the ten directions. If you would like to pay homage to Dream Manjushri and have an audience with his holy form in Kechara Forest Retreat, please contact the Kechara House front desk at +603 7803 3908.

Opening up the shipping container

Cutting away the supports so we can access the statue to clean it

Doing some touch-ups to the face

A bunch of really, really nice people who will give you the shirt off their backs if it would help you. If you are ever in trouble, this is a group of faces you know you can count on.

Home 🙂

Painting and waterproofing the life tree / life stick. We also inserted mantras and other holy items in here

After cleaning the statue, we moved Dream Manjushri to another location so that the crane would have an easier time lifting the whole statue over the electricity poles into the middle of the fish pond

The life tree / life stick is inserted into the middle of the statue. It is also filled with the mantras for the appropriate places, and holy items and relics including His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche Lobsang Yeshe’s hair and Dorje Shugden tsa tsas

Here is a list of some of the holy items that went into the statue yesterday:

• Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche Lobsang Yeshe’s hair
• Kyabje Ling Rinpoche’s beard
• Kensur Rinpoche Jampa Yeshe’s hair and nails
• Teo Chopon Rinpoche’s robes
• Protector rice
• Protector string
• A khata blessed by Dorje Shugden
• Chakras: Sosordrangma, Hayagriva, White Umbrella, Manjushri, Yamantaka, Tsongkhapa, Dorje Shugden
• Dorje Shugden ruel
• Rolled mantras including Vajrayogini, Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, White Tara, Yamantaka, Green Tara, Dzambala
• Relics from Mt Kailash
• Herbal Tsongkhapa tsa tsa blessed by Dorje Shugden
• Tsongkhapa tsa tsa with Kyabje Dagom Rinpoche’s ashes
• Clay Dorje Shugden tsa tsa from Gangchen Ladrang
• One set of Dorje Shugden’s five families tsa tsas
• Serpom Protector pills
• Herbal pills
• Mani rilbu
• Zong Rinpoche jhinten rilbu
• Pabongka Rinpoche mani pill
• Wish-fulfilling pills
• Jumar 25 rilbu
• Zong Rinpoche mani pills
• Sand from a Yamantaka mandala
• Rice from a Manjushri mandala
• Rice from Gangchen Ladrang (Shigatse, Tibet)
• Bodhi leaves and soil from Lumbini

Cutting off the remaining supporting braces to do the final touch-ups to the back of the statue

On the left, Kechara Discovery staff cut down the supporting braces for disposal. On the right, Kechara Discovery staff do final touch-ups to the back of the statue

Crane lifting Dream Manjushri into position

Offerings set up to do a puja to welcome Dream Manjushri onto the pond

Dream Manjushri is now in the middle of the fish pond to bless all of the beings, seen and unseen, in the environment!

Come and pay homage to Dream Manjushri at Kechara Forest Retreat!

Life in Kechara: Behind The Scenes