Halesi Maratika visit May 2016

‘Halesi’ Maratika Cave (3100 ft) It is a place full of natural beauty, cultural inheritance and is popular among the Hindus, for whom it is associated with Lord Shiva, as well as Buddhists all over the world. It lies in the eastern part of Nepal Khotang district and 225 Km from Kathmandu airport. For Buddhists his power-place is generally associated with Guru Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), where he and his consort Mandarava were blessed with immortal life by Buddha Amitayus. The caves of Maratika are mentioned in tibetan literature up from the 12th century. The ‘Sanglingma’, a Kathang (biography) of Padmasambhava discovered by Nyang Ral Nyima Öser, describes the original event, which made the Maratika caves a sacred place for Buddhists: At the request of the Bodhisattva Avaloketesvara, the Buddha Amitayus once taught eighteen tantras of long life. The Dakini Sangwa Yeshe recorded them and hid the teachings afterwards in the Maratika-Cave. While Guru Padmasambhava was in the kingdom of Sahor, he met king Arshadhara’s daughter, a sixteen-year-old maiden called ‘Mandarava-Flower’, who endowed the qualifying marks of a tantric adept. The Guru magnetized her and took her along as his spiritual consort and support in practice. Later on, the Master and his consort went to Maratika, disclosed the mandalas of Buddha Amitayus and practiced the earlier by Sangwa Yeshe hidded long-life-tantras. After three months they had a vision of Amitayus, who appeared in the sky and placed the nectar-filled vase of immortal life upon their heads. So he blessed Master Padma to be the daka Hayagriva and Mandarava to be his consort, the dakini Vajra Varahi. Thus they attained the vidyadhara level of longevity beyond birth and death. While the Guru later went to Tibet to establish Buddhism there, Mandarava stayed in India, where she had a lot of deciples. 2nd May 2016, Topden Thinley Kunchap and Gyamtso Namgyal, Khambagar, Tashi jong monastery performed a Chewang (blessing)