BE-COMING SPACE ∞
A transpersonal and transmundane work of art with no beginning and no end, facilitated by Jatun Risba (Rikzang Lhamo).
HOMAGE
To the glorious and precious Lama Khentrul Jamphel Lodrö Rinpoché who took many by the hand and introduced them to both the ephemeral quality of worldly phenomena and the indestructible ground of purity and pristine wisdom that abides within every being without exception.
While openly acknowledging the challenges of overcoming self-cherishing and delusional mental patterns and behaviours, the artist-practitioner is using the pursuit of 'Be-coming Space' as a means to endow the mind-heart with the luminous and unconditional state of awareness which everyone possesses innately.
After recognizing the uncertainty of the time of death on one hand and the decaying, impermanent course of life on the other, the inner calling and urgency to be faithful to one’s deepest truth and vocation prevails over petty pleasures. Informed by this perspective, the artist-facilitator remembers and invokes all the teachers, ancestors, beloved human, nonhuman and more-than-human beings for the sake of bringing the entire kin into the practice, so that each and every one is participating in the process of be-coming space, more and more. Thus, all beings and creatures are joining in this celebration of the eternal and gorgeous beauty of life that shines forth when the difference between the observer and the observed ceases to exist.
DESCRIPTION
Be-coming Space will be publicly launched with an intense 38-days long livestreamed practice of Refuge and Prostrations occurring from the 10th of January until the full moon on the 16th of February 2022.
Refuge is the first of the five inner preliminary practices and is regarded as the foundation of all Buddhist paths. Taking refuge means creating a connection between yourself and all the beings who have realized the quality of pristine awareness. In the Refuge and Prostrations practice, one makes prayers and prostrations to the Three Jewels: to the Buddha (your guide on the path of liberation), Dharma (Buddha’s teachings) and Sangha (the community of spiritual companions). On the definitive level, the “three jewels” represent your own Buddha nature. The prostrations serve to purify your subtle body (chakras, channels and winds) by dissolving the self-centered pride into devotion, gratitude, loving kindness and compassion.
During this self-isolation period, the artist-facilitator-retreatant is going to accumulate approximately 100,000 prostrations for the common benefit, dedicating the merits to those who are not able to engage in the practice due to physical, mental or other unfavourable conditions. The practice will last between 10-12hrs per day and will be live-streamed online on the 'Be-coming Space' YouTube channel. The journey will also be documented through the medium of photography. A Polaroid portrait photo will be taken every day after the conclusion of the practice with a recitation of the following verses written by Risba:
A self with no name has no gain and no pain.
Sprinkling out of the inconsistent nature of all phenomena,
Ki be-comes a source of unfabricated creativity, potentia in action.
A charnel ground of possibilities, beyond good and evil.
May ki be-come a partner and companion (in dying) for those without one,
A weight-dispelling camel for all the desperados on the ride to nowhere;
May ki be-come a string of silk, a weaving hand and a mind-blowing beat
For all who are drowning (in nectars).
May ki be-come a plein air mansion with no doors or windows,
A space of full recovery, nourishment and healing,
May ki be-come a shapeshifting star for all who are ready to transcend (the provisional)
And a grip of steel for all who keep falling down and lose direction.
May ki be-come a wish-enhancer, a magic flute,
Powerful com-passion, poison and medicine,
May ki be-come an uprooted tree growing inside
And a cow of treasures for the world.
Just like the all-encompassing
And the limitless and the unborn (consciousness),
May ki always reach out in support
Of all creatures, without exception.
DAILY SCHEDULE AND PRACTICAL INFORMATION
The 'Be-coming Space' retreat will be based on the sadhana The Divine Ladder written by Jetsun Taranatha and used in the Jonang-Shambhala tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The recited texts used during the Refuge and Prostrations practice according to the Kalachakra Ngondro are published in the The Profound Path of Vajra Yoga book (image below) and in The Hidden Treasure of the Profound Path.
Parts of the text will be recited in English on Tuesdays, in Slovene on Thursdays, in Italian on Saturdays and in Tibetan all the other days of the week (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) between 7:00-7:30 am CET (12:50-1 pm CET) in the first session and between 2:00-2:15 pm CET (7:00-7:30 pm CET) in the second session of the day. There will be a lunch & restoration break between 1:00-2:00 pm CET. The stream will continue uninterrupted. Slight changes in the schedule might occur as the practice progresses and cannot be programmed in advance.
PARTICIPATE IN 'BE-COMING SPACE'
All are welcome to join the practice in whichever way they feel most comfortable. You are invited to join the refuge and prostration practice at your home and share feedback, experiences, photos, videos etc. on your social media, blogs or websites by using the hashtag #Be-coming-Space and sharing the link to the artist’s YouTube channel/website. You can also forward your responses via email to jatun dot risba at gmail dot com.
On the next Medicine Buddha day (Feb 8th), the artist will continue the habit of dedicating the merits of the practice to the recently deceased ones or people suffering from illnesses. If you suffer from bad health or know of someone else who does or who has passed away and is currently traversing the bardo, you are welcome to send their name and photo via Whatsapp before Feb 8th. All received requests will be accepted and enacted! Please bear in mind that the artist-facilitator will reply to the received emails only after the completion of the 38-days withdrawal retreat. Thank you!
ABOUT THE 'BE-COMING SPACE' INITIATIVE
'Be-coming Space' opens up a horizon of possibilities for witnessing and experiencing the unfolding of the unborn awareness nature emerging from the union of bliss and selflessness. This is the trajectory this initiative is following, attending to and fearlessly putting out in the world. Conceived as an everlasting initiative, it is intended to create occasions for a communal shading of the “little self” (ego) which activates a release of the suffering, ignorance, aversion and attachment stored in the painbody through unskilful activities, thoughts, emotions, words and behaviours accumulated by living beings through innumerable lives. 'Be-coming Space' is and remains a work in progress for expanding the human heart and consciousness beyond the conceptual and beyond the personal. It shall develop, shift formats and media organically, as a response to the challenges humanity and the world will be facing ...
DEDICATION
“May the virtue of this practice be dedicated towards the realization of one’s primordial goodness and wisdom which will enable and assist the blossoming of harmony and peace in this world. May all beings have the good fortune to receive authentic teachings and to put them into practice until complete liberation. May everyone encounter, practice and complete the path to the ultimate nature of reality during this very lifetime.” (Rikzang Lhamo)
DISCLAIMER
The 'Be-coming Space' initiative is an artistic rendition of traditional Buddhist practices and modes of inquiry facilitated by Jatun Risba (Rikzang Lhamo). The artist-practitioner is approaching and inhabiting this non finito work in a creative way which does not necessarily reflect in detail every instruction and teaching offered by Khentrul Rinpoché and the Dzokden community. Any disharmony and inaccuracy in the process is the sole result of the author’s ignorance, so please be compassionate.