Sound Off for Peace and Well-Being

I would like all my friends to consider something profound.

When we make art work out of something such as ceramics for example, we do not have any doubt that we can express ourselves in some way through that medium.  We may be skilled. semi-skilled or novices, but generally we do not doubt that the clay will bend to our will and could therefore send a visual message if we intend it.

However, we tend to doubt the extent to which we ourselves influence our environment physically, socially or in terms of the general quality of life for ourselves and for those around us. Although the visual examples of how sound influences various types of media have now been around for a long time, humanity as a whole has been slow to understand the depths to which the science of sound plays a role in our daily lives and the extent to which it can be employed for producing profoundly good and tangible results.  

Nine years ago, I returned from living in Nepal for over 20 years living and studying Buddhism in the himalayan region.  I felt to return back to the USA not because I didn't like Nepal but because I felt that there was a reason I was born in the USA.  I felt a wish to benefit the people of my birthplace with the fruits of my long research, study and practice which itself were all realizable due to the un-repayable kindness of my teachers.  

To accomplish this task, I started reflecting on what methods I could bring to bear to communicate the essential practical points of what I had learned in Buddhism while making them easier to understand and gain access to in the western world.  Westerners by nature are curious and seek evidence for so many things.  It is a wonder to me that westerners get in a car and drive somewhere before before they die since they normally need so much intellectual understand of something before they try or benefit from it. I came to the conclusion that there were at least two main methods by which I felt that the movement of Buddhist understanding from East to West could be greatly improved.  One was by the use of sacred geometric architectural structures such as Stupas and other art works, and the second was by teaching the profound sciences of sound I had learned over a 35 year period.

To this end, the Lord of Refuge, Chadral Sangye Dorje offered a name for our center to be in the USA, "Ngakdra Labrang".  Loosely translated this means: "The Academy of Mantric Disciplines" and refers to the Secret Vajrayana path of the Ancient Enlightened ones.  Although it would be silly for me to propose myself as a student of this great accomplished master, I feel very fortunate to have received his blessing stream over my 20 years of living in Nepal and until now.  In hindsight, the name Rinpoche offered our center was prescient because I did not know at the time that the science of sound would play such a large role in my way of communicating the path of Awakening to my friends in the western world.

I would like to make a clear statement here, that both form and sound play a strongly interrelated role with each other.  Form if designed properly, can be a conductor or amplifier of sound vibration energy.  A guitar is one clear example of this fact.  But we tend to think that the guitar's inherent ability to do its job in terms of resonance stops the moment the strings are no longer vibrating.  To a large extent, that is correct within the spectrum of vibration we are most concerned with when playing a guitar.  However, structures do take on other more subtle or quantum imprints and this is something we as scientists have been a bit weak on uncovering or revealing to the masses in a way they can connect to and benefit from.  

I speak here of the path of mantra and the resonance enjoyment body of humans otherwise known as the Sambogakaya in Sanskrit language. I wish to let people know that the path of secret mantra, otherwise known as Vajrayana or the adamantine path, has profound and practical ancient  methods for personal and environmental transformation.  But like most any other technology, a user's manual or guide is required to make full and complete us of it.  Sadly, these days people are very skeptical of leadership of any kind.  Of course, simply hearing a few words about the science of sound, one could play around and get a bit lucky, however, truly wise and serious people turn to lineage sources so they can avoid major mistakes and much wasted time.

One should  always remember that it is not simply that sound can influence matter, people, communities, states, countries, our planet and universal forces, that matters, but how and what we use it for.  Far more powerful than any bomb, hateful meme or chest-pounding, the key to the science of sound lies within generation and sustaining of the mind of compassion.

Slowly but surely, I have been inviting all I know to join me and others in these pursuits of the science of sound and sacred forms because waiting for someone to swoop down from the heavens to take our responsibility away from us is a bad plan for two big reasons.  1. It is unlikely anyone will wish to clean up our mess and 2. if we are not careful to recognize what we have and take responsibility and action to fix it, then in fact, it could happen that someone does in fact swoop down to clean up our mess and we may well be part of that mess to be cleaned up.  I encourage anyone who reads this article to start their research into this path before death comes since death makes such research extremely difficult.

This was written by a stubborn Mantra-holder with the Birth name, "Man, Son of Peace" who has less hair today than he did yesterday.