#26

[ezcol_1third]

Click on green “+” to open each window.

[stextbox id=”download” caption=”Where From?” color=”000000″ ccolor=”ffffff” bgcolor=”78c0f7″ cbgcolor=”2e7cb9″ bcolor=”fde97d” ]The Dambulla Coconut Shell talisman is from Dambulla Cave Temple, Dambulla, Sri Lanka.

[/stextbox][stextbox id=”download” caption=”Where Now?” color=”000000″ ccolor=”ffffff” bgcolor=”78c0f7″ cbgcolor=”2e7cb9″ bcolor=”fde97d”]The Dambulla Coconut Shell talisman now?

Revital W. in Toronto, Canada

Joelle E. in Vietnam

Jasmine D. in Battambang, Cambodia

Freddie in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

[/stextbox][stextbox id=”download” caption=”Write About It” color=”000000″ ccolor=”ffffff” bgcolor=”78c0f7″ cbgcolor=”2e7cb9″ bcolor=”fde97d”]Dambulla Coconut Shell Talisman has its own Facebook group!

Read about people’s experiences with this talisman as it travels from person to person.

[/stextbox][/ezcol_1third]

[ezcol_2third_end][stextbox id=”download” color=”000000″ bgcolor=”78c0f7″ bcolor=”2e7cb9″]

TALISMAN #26: DAMBULLA COCONUT SHELL

The Dambulla Coconut Shell talisman has the power to help inspire a clear vision of what is truly important in your life and gives you the dedication and perseverance to carve it into a concrete reality.

CLICK HERE

IF YOU CURRENTLY HAVE THIS TALISMAN
[/stextbox]

[/ezcol_2third_end]

---

Since 2001, the Golden Temple in Sri Lanka is becoming more and more famous for having the world’s largest Buddha Statue in the Dhamma Chakka Posture.  Even non-Buddhist tourists seem impressed by this massive Golden Buddha Statue and the tour is not complete without a visit to the Buddhist Museum that is housed underneath the massive Buddha Statue.

It was my experience (and confirmed by those in the know) that this statue was really mostly all show and that there was not a very strong spiritual energy that resonated from it. The real and immense power of this temple came from the ancient and sacred caves that lied behind this statue.  One had only to climb a few hundred steps to arrive at the top of the Sacred Dambulla Caves.  What an unforgettably transformative experience it was for me.  This place was not only impressive but magical.

Dambulla Cave Temple (also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla) is the largest and best-preserved temple complex in Sri Lanka.  The five main caves contain more than 150 statues and thousands paintings related to Lord Buddha and his life. The Dambulla cave monastery is still functional and remains the best-preserved ancient edifice in Sri Lanka. It is believed that pre-historic Sri Lankans lived in these caves at least 2700 years ago.

Besides the actual power that comes from this sacred cave complex, I was humbled to my knees to even imagine the endless dedication and hours of sculpting required in order to carve so many beautiful statues right from the cave rock itself.  In a time when so many seem so far away from even knowing the importance of dedication to a spiritual path, this served as a blessed testament that at least somewhere, at some time, there lived, as witnessed here in front of me, some people who had their priorities in order.

I was certain that each statue was hand carved in a state of reverence; as an act of devotion.  How glorious to be able to bath in this purposeful energy.  How affirming of Love, Life and Consciousness Itself.  It was quickly clear to me that I had a precious opportunity to bottle this magical energy and that so many in the world could benefit by coming into contact with it.

This place was so ancient and so powerful that I knew that even a rock that lay on the ground would embody the energy of this sacred place.  Contrary to what I believed would be the case, it became impossible to find such a rock.  At first I looked inside the actual caves.  Nothing!  Imagine, I could not find a simple little pebble. And so I ventured outside the actual caves, but still on the sacred cave grounds.  Impossible but true, even though I looked up, down and all around, I could not find anything.  Nothing.  Not a simple little pebble on the ground of this entire temple rock complex.

It is important to explain that when you first arrive at the top of this sacred rock, everyone can see that there are several surveillance cameras placed all around.  I knew that I was being watched.  A part of me wanted to just go speak with the authorities, perhaps with the chief temple monk, like I had done at many other temples.  I could explain the Talisman Challenge to them and ask directly for something that embodied the power of this place.  Instead I heard an inner voice that told me to just sit and meditate.  After all, I was in one of the most ancient and sacred cave temples in the world.  Just connect directly, I felt.

And so I sat.  I sat in silence in one cave, then in the other.  One by one I meditated in each of the five main temples.  The feeling of silence was almost deafening.  The feeling of reverence made me cry.   I also could feel the suffering of the world.  I wanted to bring everyone to this place.  Not as a tourists, but to pray.  To sit in silence.  To connect with Love.  To help everyone, anyone, realize the simple truth that we are all perfect just the way we are.  That we are all connected.  That it is important to sit in silence and to create your own cave, however which way, so that you can re-connect with the infinite wisdom of the cave within.  Inside all of us is a cave temple complex, so big and so infinitely vast. When we take the time to stop and listen, we enter that cave.  In it we can find the answers and wisdom to everything we ever needed in order to break free.  Everything you ever dreamed of, and infinitely more can be found deep inside of you.  Yes, almost everyone has probably heard this sentence, but paradoxically very few take the time to actually discover for themselves what this really means.

As I walked out of the last cave, I looked down and on the ground I found a piece of coconut shell.  I picked it up instantly.  I felt the impulse to grind it against the ground.  How many strokes and how long would it take to carve this rather soft shell into a specific form, even to smoothen and round its edges into a circle.  I continued for at least 10 minutes; my arm started to ache.   And yet nothing.  I could not even notice a slight difference. If it was so difficult to slightly carve a simple coconut shell, imagine the time and dedication it took to carve this solid cave rock into these magnificent and elaborate Buddha statues. The vision felt so big that I could barely conceive it.  I felt both blessed and inspired.

I could sense in my heart that this coconut shell was intimately connected to the powers of this sacred site and that the reason I could mysteriously not find a single rock was so that I could be guided to this talisman.  Still I wanted to confirm my intuition and wanted to assure that the link was direct.  I held the coconut shell tightly in my hands and entered the first cave.  I then approached one of the many carved Buddhas and gently touched the Buddha with the shell.  The connection was confirmed.  I felt it flow through my hands and down my whole being.  It was as though I could sense the statue smiling at me in approval. Suddenly I heard a calling from another statue.  As I looked to my side, another Buddha was also smiling at me.  I reached out and touched the coconut shell to this Buddha as well.  I could feel the energy being transmitted from the Buddha to the shell, as though it was being charged.  One by one, and unbelievable but true, this process was repeated with 108 of these precious statues.  Looking back, I think someone could get in trouble for even touching these ancient artifacts. At the moment, I did not care.  I was as though I was in a trance connecting the talisman from one Buddha to the next.

In the end, no doubt remained.  It was clear that this coconut shell was the talisman that embodied not only the grand vision of meticulously carving all these Buddhas, but also the dedication and veneration that it took to turn this vision into a concrete (pun intended) reality.  My dream is that everyone who comes into contact with this talisman be equally inspired and guided by its power.  And as you hold it in your hands, even perhaps strike it against the concrete ground, that it helps inspire a clear vision of what is truly important in your life and gives you the dedication and perseverance to carve it into a concrete reality.