The name
RED HAT: Realisation, Enlightenment & Dharma of the Highest Attainment Teaching. In Tibetan Buddhism the “Red-Hat” sects or schools include the three oldest of the four main schools, Nyingma, Sakya and Kagyu. In fact all the diverse traditions we see today have come from these rich roots. the Tibetan word gompa is a contraction which is common, of the two words gom-meditaton and pa-building or place and can be translated as “temple”.
The founder
The trust was formerly established in 1997, by Ron Brooks (Ngawang Kedup), whom from 1970 spent over 12 years in Nepal and India receiving teachings and transmissions from the high Tibetan masters that were around at that time. Since, his life has been dedicated to working to establish the Dharma, invite teachers and continuing as a devote practitioner.
The goal
The goal of the trust is to establish the infrastructure and environment for people to come in contact with suitable teachings and develop themselves. Adhering to the “Rime” principals of a non sectarian approach to Tibetan Buddhism, the not for profit trust actively invites teachers and organises events at a minimal cost for the benefit of the community.
Rime:
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche had this to say about the idea of the rimé tradition (ref – http://www.deerpark.in/):
“Buddha said that at the core of Buddhist practice, there are three things one should avoid–desire, anger, and ignorance. Rimé liberates one from these–attachment. The spirit of rimé should not be understood as a sort of new age movement where everything is collected under one roof. Dissolving sectarianism is the quintessence of rimé. Historically, human beings have suffered because of their attachment to their countries, concepts, and especially religions. And they become attached even within their particular sect of that religion. This attachment can be expressed as anger toward others or at least as a sort of disinterest in the activities of others. Such sectarianism has existed with great cost to Christians, Muslims, Jews, and even Buddhists. At least between Buddhist sects there has been no bloodshed, only the loss of many great teachings…. Buddha’s teaching is like the lion’s roar. The only danger to a lion is the decay from within. And to prevent this, it is essential for the authentic teachings of the Buddha to be studied and practised.”
The logo
The logo in the upper left corner is the Nagyur Nyingmar logo. This is the oldest and first school of ancient Tibetan Buddhist lineages. The logo was drawn up by Lama Gonpo Tsetan Rinpoche, Ron’s root teacher.
Symbolism of the peacock
“To illustrate the differences taught in the various yanas [i.e., paths], Dudjom Rinpoche always used to recount the story of the poisonous plant. The plant is a symbol for emotional defilements or negativity. A group of people discover that a poisonous plant is growing in their backyard. They begin to panic, as they recognize that this is very dangerous. So they try to cut down the plant. This is the approach of renunciation, which is taught in Hinayana as the method to eradicate the ego and the negative emotions.
Another group of people arrive, and, realizing that the plant is dangerous, but that simply cutting it will not be sufficient since its roots remain to sprout anew, they throw hot ash or boiling water over the roots to prevent the plant from ever growing again. This is the approach of the Mahayana, which applies the realization of emptiness as the antidote of ignorance, the root of ego and negativity.
The next group of people to appear on the scene are the doctors, and when they see this poison they are not alarmed; on the contrary, they are very pleased, since they have been looking for this particular poison. They know how to transform the poison into medicine rather than destroying it. This is the tantric approach of the Vajrayana, which does not abandon the negative emotions, but through the power of transformation uses their energy as a vehicle to bring realization.
Finally, a peacock lands, and dances with joy when it sees the poison. It immediately consumes the poisonous plant and turns it into beauty. It is a Tibetan belief that the peacock owes its beauty to the fact that it eats a particular species of poisonous plant. The very nature of the peacock is such that it can actually consume poison, and THRIVES on it; hence it does not have to transform the poison, but eats it directly. The peacock represents Dzogchen, the path of self-liberation, the fruition of all the nine yanas. ” (Sogyal Rinpoche, Dzogchen and Padmasambhava, 1990, Rigpa Fellowship)