My dear friends Lama Pema Wangdak of New York Palden Sakya Centers, and Lama Kunga Dhondup, ritual master of Pema Ts’al School in Pokhara, Nepal, joined us in Dayton for an initiation and teaching in the spiritual practice of White Tara longevity meditation. SKH Quest Center instructors travelled from as far away as Florida, Colorado, and North Carolina to be a part of the illumination in Dayton.

Today is Losar Tibetan New Year, and I am living at the Sakya Pema Ts’al Monastic Institute at the foot of the wall of mountains that is the Himalayas, just outside Pokhara, Nepal, south of the forbidden Tibet border. I came here with three Black Belt friends from the SKH Quest Center Hombu Dojo in Dayton, Ohio, for further study of the Vajrakila tantra practices, a set of powerful mind transformation methods for transmuting conventional human weaknesses into enlightened powers. Traditions of Tibetan wizard monks and yogis developed these skills as a body of practice from the days of the early 800s.

Kathy Antoshi Joseph, Brian Denton, Lama Kunga Dhondup, Richard Watoshi Sears, Stephen K. Hayes, and Tenzin Dhakpa at the gate to Pema Tsal Monastery

Though Tibetan practitioners use a black 3-edged dagger spike as a symbol of the purifying power that immobilizes evil, this is primarily a mind and spirit training as opposed to mechanical use of a blade as a weapon. Having first begun my study of Vajrakila Dorje Phurba at an event with the Dalai Lama in 1996, I came here seeking ever-advancing training in how to help my friends develop more of the “heart like a blade” for which To-Shin Do was named.

Tenzin Dhakpa, An-shu Stephen K. Hayes, and Lama Tashi Wangyal at the foot of the Himalayas

My friend Tenzin Dhakpa has studied these practices at Pema Ts’al since he was a small child, and recently underwent an intensive 3 month retreat dedicated to spiritually coming face to face with Dorje Phurba as a power for removing obstacles to goodness and sanity in the world. Tenzin Dhakpa speaks excellent English, is highly skilled at translating arcane Tibetan texts into terms I can grasp, and was tireless in his determination to be sure that I got the most I could out of my weeks at the monastery. It was humbling in an amusing way to look over at him one day as we translated texts on the sunny terrace outside my room at the monastery and realize that this knowledgeable teacher in whom I put so much faith and trust was actually one-third my age in years.

Well, why not a young master for an old seeker?

“I believe in my teachers! I show respect to all who help me progress.“

An-shu Stephen K. Hayes introduces His Holiness the Dalai Lama, taking his teaching seat at right

CLICK HERE to watch a video of An-shu Stephen K. Hayes as he introduces His Holiness the Dalai Lama at a teaching session October 2007 (An-shu appears at minute 6 after cultural performers)
A full list of the teachings is found at the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center web site

Boulder Quest Center Dojo-Cho Kevin Keitoshi Casey Reflects on Days with An-Shu at His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s October 2007 Teaching

The trip was not easy – rather, quite arduous. Sixteen hour days with little sleep and odd food schedules. No particular reward was promised, but there is intrinsic value in spending such long days with An-Shu, so I called in a lot of favors to be there. Every minute with An-shu is a teaching. How does a ninja master move through the complications of an extreme schedule, high expectations, and heavy security in the presence of the god-king of Tibet and thousands of visitors and attendants?

Our lineage promises the power to move through life with skill, accomplishing what we want and need while leaving everyone better off because of it. This is a subtle and important way of living, and in the dojo it is generally a vision that stands behind our regular martial training. Out in the real world, in the service of my teacher, I witnessed and participated in this ninja way of moving through chaos leaving a trail of brightness. I clearly saw how it is done and how our martial training prepares a person if they are willing to listen to the stories, embrace the lessons, and then take the responsibility and the risk to show up.

I was well rewarded by the privilege of participation in this most elite training, and I would have gone home happy with that alone. On top of that, I along with hundreds of others received elegant teachings and an initiation from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, clarifying the path toward enlightenment and inspiring a deep sense of connection with our vast human lineage. The crown jewel of the trip, however, was impossible to guarantee and almost dangerous to dream. It did come to pass that An-shu was able to set it up for me to personally meet the Dalai Lama and receive his touch and blessing. That brief moment in time with a man considered a literal deity and king, nearly unachievable, is a testament to the magic that can happen when we unite our spirits wholeheartedly with the teachings and community of the To-Shin ninja lineage.

Today is my 57th birthday, and I am living at the Sakya Centre monastery in the wooded stretch between Dehradun and Rajpur, northern India, not far from the forbidden Tibet border. I came here to study a powerful mind transformation method for channeling what most of us would call typical human weaknesses into warrior powers for conquering obstructive forces that block individuals and communities from attaining inner and outer peace.

As a symbol of this kind of purifying power that immobilizes evil, these Tibetan practitioners use a black 3-edged dagger spike – sort of a 1,400 year old version of what many know as a WWII commando dagger. The imagery, language, and music (13-hour days of thunderous battle music – drums, horns, and cymbals to stimulate conqueror energy) are all stronger than strong as part of the “spiritual therapy” of building focused power for good.

An-shu and young Tibetan monk friends visit the 41st Headmaster of the Sakya lineage Khon family

This is primarily a mind and spirit training, as opposed to mechanical blade technique. I was not looking for mechanics – our To-Shin curriculums have knife fighting handled extremely well already. What I came here for was intensive training in how to help my friends develop more of the “heart like a blade” for which To-Shin Do was named.

Have you ever allowed inner conflict to keep you from getting what you need? I know some highly skilled martial artists who are masters on the mat, but who lead pretty pitiful and shattered lives outside the dojo. This failure in the lives of masters most often shows up as inner indecision, lack of discipline when it comes to doing what has to be done as opposed to what you like to do, temptation to blame others for your failings, rigid attachments to beliefs that really do not serve you or reflect the real truth, and a general disconnect from living up to all the possibilities of your potential in a kind of fear of success.

This kind of challenge has its manifestations in the reality of combat training as well as in the reality of creating a secure and fulfilling life for yourself and loved ones. If you have ever balked when you should have batted, even when you knew better, this kind of spirit training may be for you.

After beginning martial arts training in the 1960s, my motivation in the 1970s was to learn the most advanced and revolutionary approach to martial training possible, and I found and became part of the Togakure ninja tradition. In the 1980s, my motivation was to test out what I had learned, and I did my testing by taking the ninja art to the public. In the 1990s, I was motivated to adapt the ancient to the pressures of the modern in order to have the most honest combat system possible, and that is where To-Shin Do came from. Now in the 2000s, I am more committed than ever to finding and delivering the secrets of full invincibility I have been searching for since childhood. Stay with me on this as we move through the next few years ahead. I guarantee you a mind-bending ride if you are up for full warrior training. Let me be as pointed as possible here. In this current age of terror and confusion, I cannot understand at all why every martial master is not on a quest for such a blade as this.