The Gelongmas are tested in monastic procedure

January 03, 2009, report by Karma Palmo

The gelongma group were required to undergo a test to measure their proficiency in Kagyu Monlam monastic conduct and procedure. The test followed the same lines as last year when His Holiness Gyalwang Karmapa himself tested the gelongmas.

In the days before the Kagyu Monlam began, the gelong group, the getsul group and the getsulma group all faced tests in a similar way. Their groups are very large compared to the twelve gelongmas participating in the Kagyu Monlam this year, the same number as last year.

On the morning of January 3rd, the gelongmas gathered at Tergar Monastery, complete with chogo, namjar and dingwa. They stood in two lines facing one another and were put through their paces by a very kind and patient disciplinarian monk, Woser Jungne. First they had to show that they were wearing their thamshab and zen correctly. Then they were asked to lay down their dingwas folded in the prescribed way, place the namjar on them and put on the chogo, following the quite complicated and specific procedure that His Holiness has devised. Despite the procedure being involved, it is logical and practical, and once it is grasped, it is easy to follow through.

After the gelongmas had donned both the chogo and the namjar, the disciplinarian then asked them to kneel and bow from the waist in an innovation introduced by His Holiness at last year’s Kagyu Monlam, and which is performed during Sanskrit recitation of the Refuge, the Heart Sutra and associated prayers in the early mornings. Following that, the gelongmas had to open the dingwa in a larger configuration, and prostrate three times, handling the robes correctly. They then had to sit, use the tea bowl and begging bowl in the correct way and hold the Kangyur volume properly.

They then had to walk slowly in step, keeping downcast eyes and a decorous manner. Finally, they were asked to remove the chogo and namjar properly and place them over the left shoulder and in the crook of the left arm, respectively, and then pick up the dingwa.

Passing of the test entitled each gelongma to a name card, their entry pass into the Kagyu Monlam, and their right to sit beneath the Bodhi Tree with the gelongs, eat the noon meal with the gelongs and participate in all Kagyu Monlam monastic activities.

The gelongmas were also presented with a new Kagyu Monlam Prayer Book and an environmentally friendly 100% jute Kagyu Monlam carry bag.