The Khenpos led the sangha in prayer on Vulture Peak. Many ornate offerings, incense, garlands, flags and prayer sticks had been left here by pilgrims. After the requisite haggle, the local Brahman was paid off to guarantee us a few moments of relative peace while we recited the Heart Sutra. This short text recounts a dialogue between two great bodhisattvas that originally took place on this site in the presence of the Buddha almost 2500 years ago. The teaching cycle associated with the Heart or Prajnaparamita Sutra, is considered the Second Turning of the Wheel of the Dharma which emphasizes the emptiness of all conditioned things. In the midst of our chanting, a raucous sound drew attention upward as we watched a vulture fighting with a few smaller birds. They can be seen in the upper left of the photo. We climbed around the hill and sat in various caves, one of which the Buddha was supposed to have occupied, before gathering on the peak. I would have loved a wider angle shot on this scene but one of the students with our group had brought along her college age daughter, a non-practitioner who took up her perch on the corner of the ruin, just out of camera range to the right, as if no one would notice her. Oblivious of the fact that she and her transparent water bottle were occupying a prominent place on a visual shrine, this tall blonde girl must have felt a bit awkward but opted to ignore that vibe and hold her position, casually writing in her journal while us fanatics chanted the Seven Line Prayer and the Heart Sutra. I couldn't help thinking, "Now if that was my kid...." Incredibly mundane thoughts, even here in this place where the Buddha odyssey unfolded... the whole morning had a true sense of unreality about it. I thought about my home sangha and sent them a psychic postcard before gathering a few rocks and heading back down the hill.
TURTLE HILL © 2000