Gunapala & Rijudaya

Hi everyone

I am at Adhisthana for the ECA meeting (European Chairs Assembly), a meeting of the chairs and directors of Triratna centres and projects throughout the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe. I had planned to share some of what we have been doing on this week’s blog but instead I want to tell you what we have been doing in the Shrine room this evening. I was scheduled to lead a meditation and Puja and, given the news of the deaths of Gunapala and Rijudaya, I decided to dedicate the evening to them.

We started the evening around Bhante’s burial mound, circumambulating and chanting the mantra of Green Tara as she was Gunapala’s yidam (meditation figure). We then returned to the shrine room and, after reading the Bardo verses form the Tibetan book of the Dead, Lokeshvara shared memories of Gunapala. It was lovely to hear him rejoice in Gunapala as a friend, an Order member, a husband and a father. In the short sit after listening to Lokeshvara I found myself full of images and memories of Gunapala, particularly from the period in the 1990s when I lived in Valencia and he in Guyhaloka in the mountains above Alicante. Most months he and the others living there would travel down to Valencia for an Order weekend. There weren’t that many of us so they were quite intimate, at least originally and I got to know him quite well. He was, as Lokeshvara said tonight, a beautiful man.

After a short period of meditation I then rejoiced in Rijudaya. He was also a beautiful soul. I got to know him when I moved back to Glasgow in 2019. He loved coming to the Glasgow centre for festivals and order events. He would make the journey happily and always expressed his gratitude that he had found Triratna and had been ordained. I remember how delighted he was when he was invited to be ordained and I thought his name, given by Dharmapala was the perfect name for him. Rijudaya means ‘he who is upright and kind’ and he really was. He will be sorely missed by family and friends and I’m sure there will be a big gap for the sangha in Lambert. He loved the group and took his responsibilities to the sangha very seriously and sincerely.

After my rejoicing, Karunadhi read a poem of Bhante’s about White Tara. White Tara was Rijudaya’s yidam and I had shown him this poem not very long ago. We chanted the White Tara mantra and then sat in meditation. It was a lovely evening and I feel we really brought both Gunapala and Rijudaya to mind and heart.

So Scotland has lost two beautiful human beings and Triratna Scotland will miss them. I am sure, however, their legacy will live on in different ways and they touched the lives of many of us. May they each go well on their journey. My heart goes out to Gunapala’s wife Maitrihridaya and their three lovely daughters: Eva; Alice and Stella as well as their friends and Sangha members in the Highlands. Also to Rijudaya’s sister Shirley-Anne and all his friends and sangha members in Larbert, Stirling and across Scotland.

For now, as always, may all beings be well, may all beings find true happiness and its causes and may all beings be free from suffering.