The Wearing of the Zentra.

Dos, don'ts, and who cares (some do) about wearing the red-and-white striped "Ngagpa shawl".

Episode Transcript

(00:04):
Well, hello and welcome, dear listeners.
Whether you are new or returning, this is Series 2, Episode 2 of the Double Dorje podcast, and
it's about the wearing of the zentra.
Before I get going, I'll confess that in the previous episode I was so excited to be getting going

(00:28):
on Series 2 again that I completely forgot to mention that it would be a great help if you would
like, follow, subscribe, or tell your friends.
Please do that if you enjoy this.
This might seem to be a trivial point, a very small point, but it is one that can give trouble
because people have such conflicting ideas about it and suffer, of course, from that tendency we

(00:53):
all have when we have a certain amount of knowledge about a particular field but not a lot of background.
We often tend to think that the way we first learnt it is the only proper way.
This is not the case.
Unsurprising. There you go.
So to save embarrassment and doubt, and to cast a little bit of light into some corners of Tibetan

(01:19):
Buddhist practice, we're going to talk about that today.
Now, I said zentra at the beginning, we often say zen, and to avoid any confusion, I should point
out that we're talking about a shawl.
The word zen here, apart from sounding the same, has no connection at all to the Japanese tradition

(01:43):
of Zen Buddhism.
What sort of shawl?
The simplest pattern is, as it happens, quite like an Austrian flag.

(02:04):
There are two red panels on the left and right, and one white panel in the centre, extending along
the length of it.
I have, in particular, seen Kagyu lamas wearing this, although I don't think it's exclusive to them,
at least not as far as I know.
Perhaps more commonly seen are designs which include small, actually rather thin, blue, white and

(02:29):
red strips woven into the fabric, also in a longitudinal direction.
The red tends to be a maroon, the white is often off-white, but the concept is red and white.
The ends of the shawl are formed into a fringe, almost a bunch of strings, maybe five inches long,

(02:53):
something like that.
This is the classic Ngagpa shawl.
If you're not sure about Ngagpas, then of course you can Google for yourself, and I did speak about
them in series one way back at episode 4.
Some of the designs of this shawl are specific to particular lineages, so I may return to this

(03:19):
point, but it does imply that just picking up such a shawl in some random dharma store and wearing it
because you think it might be fun, is not a good way to go about it.
The shawl is worn over the shoulders.
It's quite long, so you put it over both shoulders and the ends will come down to the floor, pretty much.

(03:42):
The right hand end, the end over your right shoulder, is passed under the right arm and thrown up and
over the left shoulder, where it should have enough weight hanging down your back to keep it in place.
The end on the left, or the side on the left, is either left resting over the left forearm, either

(04:06):
casually or neatly folded, or it can be taken across the shoulders in one way or another.
I do know one of those, but it's a bit difficult to describe without demonstrating.
Anyway, if you don't want to look like a rank outsider, you need to understand how to wear the shawl.

(04:28):
I have had occasion to notice people being carefully observed to see whether they've just picked up
a shawl because today's the day and they think it'll look good, or whether they are actually used to wearing it.
You need to get it right.
So that's what it is.
The next question, of course, is what does it mean?

(04:49):
As in many cases, symbolic meanings can be given to almost anything, in fact.
The stripes can be thought of as representing the parallel energy channels in the body.
The red and white represent also, rather differently, to some extent, the monastic community, the

(05:12):
Sangha, who in Tibetan Buddhism wear dark red, while the white represents the non-monastic Sangha.
I should mention actually that the mere wearing of maroon robes does not mean that somebody is or
is pretending to be a monk or nun.
In the past in India, and in fact, in some countries even today, white clothing is worn by

(05:38):
committed lay Buddhists, either all the time or on special ceremonial occasions.
More importantly than either of these contexts though, the red and white are the classic tantric
colours and correspond to the basic polarities of existence.
The sun and the moon, as in Hatha Yoga - and I should mention here that in the Indo-Tibetan way of

(06:04):
thinking, the sun is female, the moon is male.
So the two colours represent the union of male and female, warmth and coolness, left and right, and
as many other things as you need.
Who then could or should wear a shawl of this type, a zen?

(06:31):
This is where it gets interesting.
There are very different views and traditions, and it does pay to tread carefully.
First of all, it would be really outside of the tradition for anyone to simply take it upon
themselves to start wearing this.
There's no law against it. There's no law against calling anything Buddhist if you want to, but it

(06:54):
would be outside the tradition.
As a rule, it is a teacher who says whether a particular student should or shouldn't wear this zen.
Now, at the strict end of the spectrum, where people have very hard rules about this, we could

(07:16):
consider the great Tenzin Palmo, author of “Cave in the Snow”, and her tradition.
Recently, I had the good fortune to meet her, along with a few other students, to listen to what
she had to say.
Some of us on this pilgrimage trip were armed with zentras, which we intended to wear when the

(07:37):
occasion was appropriate.
This was not one of those occasions.
Why not?
Because the nuns at Dongyu Gatsal Ling, her nunnery, wear the striped zentra after a retreat lasting twelve years.

(07:57):
Yes, that's T-W-E-L-V-E in letters, and it's 1, 2 in numbers.
So for us, baby little would-be Buddhist yogis and yoginis, to swan around in our striped shawls
would have seemed more than a bit disrespectful.

(08:19):
Coming down a notch, in some parts of the Kagyu tradition, the title Lama is closely tied to
completion of a three-year retreat.
Many people do a three-year retreat without becoming Lamas, but not many are recognised as Lamas
without having done one.
The wearing of a striped zen is, in turn, part of that deal and that setup.

(08:44):
So, somebody in that tradition who's walking around in such a zen is making a statement about
having completed a three-year retreat and perhaps even being a Lama.
Coming down another notch, I have heard it said in Nyingma circles that Guru Rinpoche never said

(09:06):
anything about three-year retreats.
He just said that his followers, and I venture to count myself amongst them even though I'm at the
bottom end of that particular spectrum, he said that his followers should wear red and white.
The zen is the way we do that.
Another source of confusion and frankly muddled ideas connected with this is as follows.

(09:33):
There are some who like to draw too close a parallel between the wearing of the zen as a Ngagpa and
the wearing of monastic robes as a monk or nun.
These people talk about a Ngagpa ordination saying that that is what entitles or even obliges them
to wear the zen.

(09:54):
Now, the whole idea of a Ngagpa ordination is somewhat contentious.
If you've taken refuge, understand what it is, and mean it, then you are a Buddhist.
If you take the Bodhisattva vow, understand it and mean it, then you are a Bodhisattva, even if
it's a rather little one.
If you take monks' or nuns' vows, you become a monk or nun.

(10:19):
If you take an empowerment from what is known as the higher tantras, then you are a mantra
practitioner, a practitioner of the Vajrayana or one can say a Ngagpa, which just means a
practitioner of mantra.
It seems possible that somewhere in the vast marketplace of Tibetan spiritual traditions, there may

(10:43):
be something called a Ngagpa ordination, but it's not widespread and it's not common.
And it's not, as far as I know, the case that the majority of Ngagpas have taken this ordination.
If you look around on the internet, you will find some teachers who will sell you a course or
attendance at some empowerment, telling you that having completed the course, which may be cheap or

(11:09):
may be expensive, or having attended this empowerment, maybe even online, makes you a Ngagpa and
gives you the right to wear the shawl.
I leave it to you to decide how much inspiration there is to be gained from that.
You can probably tell from my tone of voice what my opinion is.
In that connection, I've seen people, actually quite well-meaning as far as I could tell, who were

(11:35):
wearing the striped zen, but who still didn't even know how to fold their fingers to make the
mandala offering gesture.
I can't say it's wrong, but it is kind of out of place if you ask me.
Really, of course, you should ask your teacher what you should do and leave everything else to other people.

(11:56):
Now, in case you're wondering what kind of thing these vows are that play a part in potentially
having the status of being a Ngagpa or being a Vajrayana practitioner, or indeed many parts of the
whole of Buddhism, I would refer you to a book by the name of Perfect Conduct by Dujum Rinpoche.

(12:21):
It goes into huge detail about all these things, and I can assure you, if you've once grasped
what's in there, you will also grasp at the same time why an essential tool in the toolbox of a
Vajrayana practitioner is some kind of confession and purification practises, because boy, you're

(12:44):
not going to manage to keep all those vows all of the time!
Let me give you an anecdotal example, a true one.

(13:05):
A certain student, we'll call him George, had been encouraged by his lama to wear a zen on
appropriate occasions.
The said student has a place in the queue to see, speak a few words to, and receive a blessing from HHDL.
Now HHDL may be familiar to you.

(13:27):
If not, you might think it's a parcel delivery company, but actually it's His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Now George did not want to look pretentious, but on the other hand was aware that his appearance
would reflect on his teacher.
That would be more important than any reflection on George, who would be leaving Dharamsala and that

(13:50):
area, quite possibly never to return, or if so, probably not for a long time, whereas the teacher
lives there, and it was important not to make him look a fool.
So George asked the lama whether or not to wear the zen when being introduced to the Dalai Lama.
He did not want to have any of that sort of “Well, it's up to you, follow your heart” type of answer.

(14:13):
The teacher said, oh yes, you should.
Also mentioning that the Dalai Lama rather likes the Ngagpas.
There's a long historical story there, but let's not get sidetracked today.
So wearing a crisp white shirt and the zentra draped and folded over his shoulders and forearm in

(14:37):
the best and most traditional way he knew how, he wore it to the audience.
His exchange of words with the Dalai Lama was of course quite brief, and then His Holiness lent his
head forward, kind of inviting a head bump.
Now people, and I would include myself in this crowd, can easily get a bit dizzy and overawed on these occasions.

(15:01):
I suppose it's a case of being starstruck, but there is help at hand.
There are assistants who take the arms of the devotee and guide them to do the right thing.
George figured that the Dalai Lama was inviting a head-bump and they encouraged him.
So there it was.

(15:22):
Now this is unusual, not unheard of by any means, of course, and I actually don't know how unusual.
I just know that it is unusual.
When it comes to Tibetans receiving a blessing in this way, one of the assistants is specifically
there for the purpose of helping them, because they tend to stoop so low and look down, not looking

(15:44):
into his face, and as a result the official pictures come out in an almost useless way, showing
only the Dalai Lama and the back or top of yet another black-haired head.
So this one assistant has the specific job of making sure that they look up.
It is clearly stated that you should look up into his face - he likes that.

(16:09):
So the point of that anecdote is that even the Dalai Lama is quite happy about people, including
Western people, wearing a zen.
Well, we've made our way from one end of this rainbow to the other.
I have heard, at the looser end, the expression given to the effect that, don't make such a song and

(16:33):
dance about it, don't overthink it, just wear the fecking thing, dammit!
So there are people who will wear a zen without having very much background or very much
experience, without having received an awful lot of teaching or done retreat or anything of that kind.
We may feel that that's a little bit foolish, but that's a personal opinion.

(16:57):
You have to know that there just are different ways of looking at this.
I suggest we bear this in mind.
Once we know that yes, we or you should or could be wearing the striped zen of a Nyagpa, and,

(17:19):
knowing that, you put it over your shoulders and arrange it appropriately, you feel on the one hand
the blessing of being a part, a tiny part for sure, but a part of the lineage.
In addition to the blessing, you may also feel the weight and the responsibility of living up to

(17:41):
that magnificent honour.
If that is you, good luck.
If you just don't want to, don't worry.
Or if you simply feel that you're not there yet, well, good luck on the path!
We all need that!
That's the end.
Let me remind you quickly to like, follow, subscribe or tell your friends, and hope to see you next time.

(18:07):
Bye.