Neil, myself and our good friend Art have made a commitment to climb up to the summit of Mount Benson once a month as our little pilgrimage. For the past three months, we've made the trek up our local hill (summit 1032 meters) to get our blood pumping, enjoy the 360 degree view of Nanaimo and the surrounding area and send some positive thoughts (prayers) out to the world for peace, compassion and an end of suffering for all beings. So far we've lucked out with the weather and even today, although it was overcast and incredibly windy at the summit, we could still see clear to the Coastal Mountains on the mainland. Another friend, Majie, joined us for the early morning climb to bring two sets of prayer flags to the summit, following in the tradition of the Tibetan Buddhist practice of hanging the flags at the highest points around a village to send out prayers of compassion on the wind. The ones we placed at the top of Mount Benson have images of Chenrezig and the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum.
In the Tibetan pantheon of enlighten beings, Chenrezig is renowned as the embodiment of compassion of all the Buddhas, The Bodhisattva of Compassion.
It is said that whenever we are compassionate, or feel love for anyone, for an animal or some part of the natural world, we experience a taste of our own natural connection with Chenrezig. Although we may not be as consistently compassionate as some of the great meditation masters, Tibetan Buddhists believe that we all share, in our basic nature, unconditional compassion and wisdom that is no different from what we see in Chenrezig and the enlightened beings.**
After the flags were secured in the howling wind and we recited a few Om Mani Padme Hum's, I let out a loud 'WHOO-HOO' to celebrate the beauty of the colours flying in the wind and my heart filled with appreciation for the mountain, my companions, the community and the opportunity to send a little love out into the world.
**This information and more about Chenrezig can be found at http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/chen-re-zig.htm
