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A
RECENT LETTER FROM DRUBWANG TSOKNYI RINPOCHE TO HIS STUDENTS
Sent
from Nangchen on 18th August 2007
ABOUT
H.E. TRULSHIK ADEU RINPOCHE
Drubwang
Tsoknyi Rinpoche and his beloved guru, H.E. Trulshik Adeu Rinpoche
I
want to write to tell you a little bit about this time at Tshechu
Monastery. My guru, H.E. Trulshik Adeu Rinpoche, passed away on
27th July, 2007, at 11:00 a.m. It is a special time and I would
like you to feel some connection.
The atmosphere in this quiet, spacious valley is marked, day and
night, by the poignant song of monks and nuns chanting ‘Calling
the Guru From Afar,’ while mingling their minds with the wisdom
mind of Adeu Rinpoche. When Tashi Lama and I were at Lerab Ling,
France, we heard the news of Adeu Rinpoche's stroke. We traveled
more than 60 hours by plane and car to reach Tshechu Monastery. By
the time we arrived, Adeu Rinpoche had already passed.
It is a very powerful and emotional time for everyone here to see
Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Adeu Rinpoche's Kundun (body), together. I
personally feel the deep loss of my last living teacher with whom
I have such a strong connection and also the deep sadness of all
the monks and nuns and thousands of lay people who feel this great
loss in their lives. With time, we are accepting his passing and
working together to take care of the many responsibilities that
Adeu Rinpoche carried in so many different ways for so many.
With the sudden passing of Adeu Rinpoche, the Buddha's profound
teachings on impermanence have become very vivid and clear. We are
all subject to impermanence, and reflecting on this reality in the
presence of Rinpoche's Kundun is very powerful.
It
is Tibetan custom that when a great lama passes away, to perform
virtuous actions to fulfill his wishes. Thousands of people, near
and far, have come to honor Adeu Rinpoche. Many, many have taken
vows in his presence to perform positive and meritorious actions
for the benefit of all sentient beings. For example, approximately
500 people vowed to give up eating meat and become vegetarian for
a year or more (very difficult for Tibetans). Those who kill
animals have promised to stop doing this. Many have vowed to quit
smoking and to stop drinking alcohol. Lamas, monks and nuns have
promised to go into long retreat. Monks at Tshechu are becoming
vegetarians for at least one year. Adeu Rinpoche's death, as well
as his life, have had a profound effect on all the people of this
region. I invite all of you to join to with us to make a vow to
change specific negative behaviors and to dedicate positive
actions with good motivation. Commitment is the main point here.
With Rinpoche's passing, the monks of Tshechu Monastery have
requested me to take care of the monastery. I cannot refuse this
responsibility. To accomplish this in the most effective way, I am
creating an administrative structure that will best serve the
monastery. Although it is not remotely possible for us to do all
that Adeu Rinpoche was capable of doing, we are organizing a
responsible committee to oversee the day-to-day functions for
the140 monks.
I have asked Satrul Rinpoche, Adeu Rinpoche's nephew who has lived
with him for many years, to head up this committee and continue
the rebuilding work that is only partially finished. I will
continue to offer financial support with the aim of creating
self-sufficiency through wise investment and allocation of funds
in the local area. Although I was asked to come two times every
year, I have committed to only coming one time per year in
coordination with my visit to the Tsoknyi Nangchen Nuns.
One thing that I am particularly sad about is that we were
helpless to save Adeu Rinpoche. Precious wisdom beings like
Rinpoche are extremely rare and benefit us all in untold ways. If
there had been a good hospital nearby, perhaps four to six hours
away, doctors have told me that he could have survived the stroke.
Unfortunately, the only hospital was 18 hours away in Xining. We
tried to find a helicopter from the next region, but it wasn't
possible. We just really had no good choices. We decided to take
him to Yushu, which has only basic medical care, but the only
option available. Just before arriving there, he passed away in
the car, so they simply turned the car around and returned to
Tshechu Monastery with the Kundun of Adeu Rinpoche.
Because of this, one of my
really strong wishes is to build a modern western-style hospital
in the Nangchen region within two to three hours of most of the
major monasteries and populated areas that have no real medical
care. I realize this is a huge undertaking, especially in a remote
region like this, but feel it is necessary to keep the Dharma
alive and help so many people in desperate situations who suffer
needlessly due to lack of most basic care. It is hard for people
in the West to fully grasp how many women die from giving
childbirth here, or from ulcers, or kidney stones. So many things
conspire to take this precious human life away unnecessarily.
Therefore, I have this long-term wish to dedicate to Adeu Rinpoche
a good hospital that can serve the nunneries of the Tsoknyi
Lineage, many lamas, monks, and their families and thousands of
villagers. I know this is a project much too big for Pundarika
Foundation to do, but perhaps we can find a foundation or
organization that would be interested in helping so many lives. It
is clear that this is not just an individual’s work, but also a
big foundation’s work. I will begin to talk and look for who
could do this, and I ask you to please join me in helping to find
this special foundation that will be of such benefit.
Source:
www.pundarika.org;
reproduced with permission.
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