Tsunami evokes spiritual succor In 49-day ritual, local Buddhists pray for victims Felix Hoover From THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH, Friday, January 28, 2005
JAMES D. DECAMP | DISPATCH At the Columbus Karma Thegsum Choling Buddhist Center, Darrell Peters, left, and Douglas Lin pray for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami.		At a Buddhist temple on the West Side, soft, soothing chants each night compose a memorial for the victims of last month’s catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Since Jan. 5, worshippers have convened at 7 each evening at the Columbus Karma Thegsum Choling Buddhist Center to pray for all the victims, especially those who died. The hour-long liturgical ritual, or puja, is named after Chenrezik, the Buddhist saintly figure, or bodhisattva, associated with compassion. ‘‘After an international tragedy, many people feel a sense of hopelessness," said Lama Kathy Wesley, teacher at the Tibetan Buddhist temple. Many people of many faiths have given money and supplies to complement government relief efforts intended to restore communities and ease suffering from the disaster.
JAMES D. DECAMP | DISPATCH Howard A. Tibbs turns the pages holding the memorial liturgy.		‘‘Even the money we send may not be enough," Wesley said. ‘‘That is the time when the spiritual dimension can help people heal." Tibetan Buddhism teaches that after death, beings spend about 49 days in bardo, a state between death and rebirth. Prayer is intended to help guide those in bardo to a better next life. The local temple normally conducts the Chenrezik puja weekly for all beings, living or dead, but is doing it for 49 consecutive days in recognition of the enormous loss of life in a short period. It’s also being done because the 12 th Tai Situpa Rinpoche, a high-ranking leader in Tibetan Buddhism, requested adherents worldwide to do so. He and others at Sherab Ling Monastery in northern India, where he lives, began the 49-day observance immediately after the catastrophe struck on Dec. 26. Even in this high-tech era, word from the monastery spread slowly, so the local observance began later, Wesley said. Instead of cutting the practice short, the local temple decided that the magnitude of loss warranted a full 49-day observance. Worshippers sit on cushions beneath long, low tables to recite Tibetan chants and prayers, which are interspersed with brief periods of meditation. A group of umdzes, or chant leaders, take turns leading the different worship ceremonies. Jan. 19 was Michael Brennan’s turn, so he tapped a small gong beside his prayer station to signal the start of the ritual.
JAMES D. DECAMP | DISPATCH At the Columbus Karma Thegsum Choling Buddhist Center, Howard A. Tibbs, left, Darrell Peters, right rear, and Douglas Lin pray for the victims of the disaster.		The Chenrezik liturgy is found in long, thin unbound pages, which participants carefully unwrap from their silk brocade covers. Although an English translation is included in the book, chants and meditations are done solely in Tibetan. A transliteration of the Tibetan sounds makes pronunciation possible for those who don’t know the language. ‘‘It’s considered that these were written by realized masters, so the words themselves and the sounds of the words carry blessings," said Ed Powers, a chant leader. Mudras, or hand gestures, are used to make symbolic offerings. The puja can be done individually, ‘‘but groups expand the benefit exponentially," he said. ‘‘I feel like I’m actually doing something that helps," temple member Julane Goodrich said. ‘‘I consider prayer useful, and this practice definitely helps." The Buddhist concept of deities, including Chenrezik, might seem difficult to grasp for those outside the religion, Powers said. ‘‘The thing that’s confusing about deity practice is that it all seems external, that we’re praying to an external deity," he said. ‘‘And in fact, it’s very important to understand these deities are merely manifestations in form and sound and activity of affection which is inherent to us. Somewhere in the mess of our own delusions we are these deities; we have all these qualities." People of all faiths are invited to take part in the observance at the temple, 231 S. Gift St. Guests are welcome to meditate or pray silently in their own traditions, but help is available for those who want to connect with the Buddhist ritual. ‘‘We know newcomers when we see them, and we try to grab them on the way in and make assistance available to them, pairing them with a more experienced person," Powers said. His advice to first-timers is to read along, enjoy the sounds and try to get the gist of what’s happening. ‘‘We usually say don’t try to chant your very first time, but nobody listens to us," Powers said. The temple is extending a special invitation to the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio for Feb. 13, the last day of the international observance, as well as Feb. 22, the end of its own.