Dealing with Dön Season
“In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, there is a period before the Tibetan New Year in the late winter/early spring when accumulated karma comes to fruition and societal obstacles arise. […] This time of obstacles is known as Dön Season.”
The obstacles Russell writes about, above, are envisioned in the form of Mamos and Döns, which are particularly active during the ten days leading up to Tibetan New Year or Shambhala Day.
Mamos are spirits made furious and frantic by people losing touch with their own intelligence, while Döns arise from the environment around us, provoking us to do things that are self-destructive.
Basically, Döns “just happen” – they are the freezing rain that causes the LRT to break down (again), the days of heavy snowfall that make it take twice as long to get anywhere, the common cold that has you feeling run down. Döns stir up our frustration and impatience, provoking us to snap and snarl, finger-point and blame. When we’re in this state, we’re more likely to rush, make bad decisions, and be mean to each other.
Those less-than-ideal human behaviours agitate the Mamos, who are in the unenviable position of both picking up on our contagious Bad Vibes and magnifying them by orders of magnitude. In their turmoil, the Mamos cause large-scale problems like civil discord, environmental destruction, and plague.
You can help to calm the turmoil of the Mamos by calming yourself: Practicing mindfulness meditation will help you let your frustrations and impatience go, and generally keep the Döns from getting to you.
Other things you can do to get through Dön Season and make it to Shambhala Day and the beginning of the Year of the Water Rabbit:
- Slow down: Mistakes happen when we rush through things, but at this time of year in particular, it’s best to give yourself time and consider all the facts, before making any big decisions.
- Activate the Protector Principle: Join us for one, or both, of our Mamo Chant sessions – happening online, on February 12 and February 19 – and invoke protection and self-awareness for all
- Invoke Drala: Clean your house and, particularly, your shrine on Neutral Day (February 20th – the day before Losar). Give everything a good vacuum, dust, and wipe-down, then ring a bell, or strike a gong or singing bowl to help clear out any remaining stagnancy and emotional “grime”.
The year of the Water Tiger is drawing to a close. How will you get through Dön Season?
