KI KI SO SO LHA GYAL LO

© 2009 Howard McQueen

A friend was recently called to preside over the funeral of a much older friend. He had prepared a somewhat traditional eulogy to sanctify the somewhat obscure and very bold life lived by his older woman friend.

When the moment came to deliver this eulogy, what arose in his spirit could not be contained, and, in the presence of this assembled audience of peoples mostly seventy and older, he invoked and boldly proclaimed

“Ki ki so so lha gyal lo”

I am sitting with him on his floating dock early this morning as he shares this story with me. I was drawn to the psychology of Tibetan Buddhism some twelve years ago, he was drawn perhaps over forty years ago. What follows below is a compilation of pointers he provided, as well as pointers found from a web search on "Ki ki so so".


KI KI SO SO LHA GYAL LO
We invoke the non-aggressive confidence arising from within.
We summon the Windhorse [1],
opening and uplifting the spaciousness of mind,
no room for defeat or remorse,
the clearing and passing of judgment
and all attachment to phenomena.

We ride on our own blessings,
along with all the other noble steeds -
aroused by the provocations of our teachers and predecessors

"Be grounded in the reality of this Earth" proclaims this warrior cry.
Arouse many others, so there is the twinkling in their eyes.
May the light of their spirit burn so very bright,
illuminating the passageways and thresholds
with courage and delight.


[1] In the Shambhala teachings of warriorship, this life force is called windhorse (Tibetan: lungta). Lungta is the unlimited energy of basic goodness, buddhanature, inherent wakefulness. Basic goodness is the most fundamental secret in any situation—difficult or not—and it's something that we already possess. We connect with it through meditation practice. Every day we need to contemplate our own inherent wakefulness. Then we'll have the confidence to raise our windhorse and ride it through life with joy and delight. This is how we become the kings and queens of our own lives.

The beauty of meditation is that it gives us direct experience of the Buddha's discovery that suffering arises from the basic misunderstanding that the self is a solid entity. This basis prepares us for the real possibility of encountering our own basic goodness and raising windhorse. The Shambhala Buddhist teachings are based on maintaining a short consistent daily practice throughout the ups and downs, ebb and flow, waxing and waning of our ordinary lives. This is how we learn that none of it is solid. Because being caught up in a difficult situation can feel very solid, practice is the ideal preparation for hard times. We can then use such situations to inspire our practice and gain strength for the future.
~ ~ ~

May we each recover and be aroused into a fullness to overflow and invoke the many ancient earth blessings. When we come to a passage, a threshold, this is one of the ancient blessings that can summon the inner courage to step forward and into the unknown realm of new possibility. What an awesome way to celebrate the passing of a full life! - HM