PURITY OF THE ELEMENTS
By Claudio Cipullo
Healing art
Débora Tabacof is a very good friend of mine. Many years ago, in 1993 we were in the car together in São Paulo. I joined Lama Gangchen Rinpoche there during his visits, because his English wasn’t so good those days and I used to translate for him. Débora told me about her ideas of creating an association of Healing Art, embracing the Himalaya, Amazonia and Andes together. She basically believed that the purity of the five elements is what brings healing. “With the presence of Lama Gangchen we have the wisdom from Himalaya and we can bring that to Amazonia and Andes,” she said. So I clearly remember how her ideas came about and I said to her: “You should start that association and you should become the president of it!” And so it happened.
Beautiful Amazonia
Not much later Rinpoche was invited by her and some friends to travel to this incredibly beautiful Amazonia.
First we went to Belem, a beautiful place. Then we went to Santarem, rented a boat and went on the river, into the jungle. I remember one time when we saw two rivers: one pitch black and the other pure white. At some point they came together and mixed. The view was stunning.
The most incredible experience I had during that amazing journey was when Rinpoche and I were invited to set foot on a place that had never been entered or touched by humans before. Eugênio, the founder of Health and Happiness project, and a friend of ours took us there. From the big boat we got on a small canoe and not long after we entered in what I experienced as the sub-consciousness of the world. It was a very special moment, with just the three of us. Rinpoche, Eugênio and me. I could sense that Rinpoche blessed the place, and at the same time it was an internal experience; I entered the deepest state of sub-consciousness myself on that spot, being with Rinpoche.
Then Rinpoche found the skin of a huge snake, which was also very special. We must have stayed there for around an hour, off the boat. It was quite dangerous and wild with all kinds of animals around there. Anyway, the purity of the elements was amazing. I am deeply grateful to those who invited me to this exceptional occasion of a journey through Amazonia.
Taking the essence
So the aachaa association became a fact and since then we did a yearly course called Taking the essence – TCHULEN for many years on a row. Every year I travelled from Italy to Brazil to conduct this course. Many people came; sometimes there were even fifty participants. I like Brazilian people very much. They are like children: when there is something new they get excited. They are a very open and special culture, being a mixed population of so many different tribes and nationalities
The practice of ‘Taking the essence’ is in fact called Tara NgalSo Tchulen, a form of Vajrayogini. Usually you cannot do Vajrayogini without having received an initiation, but Rinpoche was so kind to give us the Vajrayogini NgalSo practice. During the course, we eat normal for two days, then we take only juices and special pills with the nature of flower petals for four days and then again normal food for two days.
According to the Himalayan wisdom, you change the ordinary image of yourself, you enter a completely new, pure image and in this way you heal your elements on the gross, subtle and very subtle level.
Like a dream
Nine years ago we stopped the course, because sometimes one needs a change. It was simply the moment to stop. But last year Débora asked Rinpoche if I could come again, so Rinpoche told me to go and I was happy to.
21th of April 2016, we did the course in the magnificent place in Bahia: Praia do Espelho, Mirror Beach. They want to emphasize the importance of the purity of elements by choosing a pure place. Well, if you have an image of heaven, it surely looks like Mirror Beach.
There was a nice group of people including doctors, psychologists, psychianalists and professors. There were even some children. What I experienced there was that the people act exactly in accordance with Rinpoche’s teachings. “Together we can!” Work without effort, in a smooth way. And everything was flowing smoothly. We didn’t need any rules. Even the children were happy and enjoying the beach. The main point was that they all understood the main teachings of Rinpoche about the importance of caring for the inner environment and the outer environment.
Four hours of practice a day, then to the beach. It was like a dream. Somebody in the group was very depressed when she arrived but soon she started to feel better and at the end of the course she was cured.
The food was also amazing as well as the juices. In Europe salad is often whitish green these days, but in Brazil it is healthy dark green. And the taste of the juices is unbeatable. This was also due to our great cook, Nelson, who is a healer and kindly took care of this incredibly good food. He is very skillful in adding different natural flavors and tastes, even when the food is basic and simple. He even used the raw salt from the Himalaya. He is super conscious of the purity of the elements. I called him an alchemist, but he refused that name. He says an alchemist is someone who has already reached enlightenment. He preferred I called him an aspergist, someone learning to become an alchemist.
Anyway, when we were in the car many years ago, talking about this idea, we didn’t know what it would lead to. Now I wish to thank Débora and aachaa people for all these incredible years where we did many activities together. In this way we are given the chance to experience the validity of Lama Gangchen Rinpoche’s teachings.