Embedded Files
This is a site to hold photos of the events mentioned in this months newsletter:
Lama Shenpen's written account of the events
Lama Shenpen's written account of the events
If you have more photos of the event that you would like adding to this site please email Mebar.
Lama Shenpen's written account of the events
Lama Shenpen's written account of the events
Dear All,
I miss sending out an email each month. It means I don’t know what everyone knows and so end up telling everyone everything when I see them…but there are many people I never meet these days.
Anyway I want to give various bits of news about how things have been for me and in my world over the course of the year.
Of course the big event for me was a trip to see Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso while he was alive – for his 90th birthday. It was such a powerful experience to be able to be in his living presence and as it turns out the last time I would do so in this lifetime. I am so glad I made the effort to be there and so good to meet others of his students from all over the world.
I think you all got the news about that trip because Tara was passing on my comments each day.
Over the summer I managed a number of week long retreats at Ty Pren overlooking Bardsey Island. Later in the year Eli, Nick and I spent a day on Bardsey, which I haven’t done for years!
Most importantly over that period a lot of work was being done at Tyn y Gors to prepare it for Rigdzin Shikpo’s stupa consecration in September. The double glazing eventually was done but not finished off, there was a week retreat of Longchen Foundation and Awakened Heart Sangha students that completed an amazing amount of work on the grounds, dismantling old shed and caravan, bridge by the lake, tidying away logs, finishing off the conservatory, repairing the well, water supply and plumbing. So much thanks is due to everyone who worked so well over the summer, including Mike Stubbs who was also working on levelling off the island and building the base for the pagoda – Sudhana held the thing together by being resident there in his yurt and helping everyone – especially Mike. Llion who has been employed to keep an eye on Tyn y Gors for years cleared the island of trees and, sponsored by Lama Tara, built a decent path around the island and the house (did that cost £4000 or £6000? Ask sudhana) I won’t list any more names or I will end up making this letter too long – but special thanks to Emyr who regularly joined in to help Sudhana and Mike running back and forth across the plank to the island with wheelbarrows full of stones and cement!
Towards the end of July the message came through that Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche had passed away and for seven weeks all of his students on the Marpa Network met every night to practice together, sometimes the Sadhana of Mahamudra by Khenpo Rinpoche, sometimes yogic songs and sharing memories. The Hermitage hosted the online event each Monday when we could. His Holiness the Karmapa Urgyan Thinley came on line one time and talked to us about Khenpo Rinpoche’s final testimony. He would send out many emanations but none of them would be recognised as his tulku. He wanted just his main Yidam, Tara, at his cremation – not different ones at the different directions of the mandala (which is the usual custom with important Lamas). This was the first time H.H. Karmapa has ever addressed us on-line which made it an extra special occasion. He seemed amazed to see us all and how many we were from all over the world! Ponlop Rinpoche was also online.
After the seven weeks we wondered when the cremation would be. It might have been months but suddenly it was announced that it would be at the end of August – Lama Dashon, Jonathan, Norbu and Gendun made rapid plans to accompany me to Nepal.
As well as attending the cremation this gave us the opportunity to meet up with Lama Phuntsok at Lekshay ling. This time Khenpo Namgyal was able to translate for us and help us get clarity about various details and practicalities in regard to the rituals for RSs stupa. It was agreed that the mantra rolls would be prepared in Nepal to make sure they were done correctly. Khenpo Namgyal reminded me that a few years ago he had met up with Rigdzin Shikpo in Oxford and Rigdzin Shikpo had asked him over and over again about how the rituals for a Lama such as himself should be done. How many Lamas or monks would be needed, what instruments would be needed and so on in quite some detail. There must be a recording of that conversation somewhere. Khenpo Namgyal therefore expected to be asked to do these rituals for Rigdzin Shikpo when he passed away. I had forgotten all this until he reminded me. Perhaps Mandala Mother remembers more than I do.
I found the actual consecration of Khenpo Rinpoche at Pullahari monastery very moving and it affected me deeply. It was presided over by Ponlop Rinpoche and Mingyur Rinpoche who sat on high thrones opposite each other at the centre of the assembly in front of the furnace. The furnace looked like a stupa – a white dome shape on a platform – open at the top of course for the smoke to billow forth. The whole thing was in a white tent like structure draped in the five colours in the middle of the large circular pavement just outside the main temple. There are three temples one above the other. Practices had been happening in all three temples for weeks and especially the last three days. The international students were reciting songs of realisation and the monks below were reciting the Gur Tsok – the songs of realisation of the Kagyu lineage translated into English as the Rain of Wisdom.
I fell and badly bruised my hip the day we arrived in Nepal and so was not able to get around at all until the day of the actual cremation. I was able to wave goodbye to Rinpoche’s body as it left the nunnery in Bouddha – they say there was a rainbow round the sun at that moment but I didn’t see it. I was indoors on crutches.
I didn’t see the body being processed up the slope to the temple at Pullahari but saw the pictures and films people took – that was very moving. Pullahari is about 20 minutes taxi ride outside Boudha on a wooded hill overlooking the Kathmandu Valley. It is a beautiful spot for Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche’s monastery and monastery. Pati and Eli both studied there with Drubpon Khenpo. You can see more of the photos and videos on Tekchokling's facebook page
It was even more moving to prostrate to Rinpoche’s body it in the lower temple at Pullahari before breakfast on the cremation day. It was in aa special box draped with kataks and with offerings on every side. Prostrating, offering a katak, circumambulating it and then meditating near it felt worth the whole trip just in itself. However, things just got better and better. I was sitting outside the temple with Chryssoula, Jim Scott and Birgit which gave me a great view of the proceedings and lots of opportunities to greet friends old and new.
The chanting for the Tara sadhana was not too fast and the PA system was good enough for me to be able to follow the proceedings pretty well – it felt wonderful to be able to more or less join in with it all as it happened, It’s given me a whole new sense of Tara as Khenpo Rinpoche’s Yidam. We have started to talk about Tara more this year in the AHS – especially with Lama Tara and Lama Agnes. The tendrel felt really good.
After a week we were homeward bound with the consecration here in Wales only two or three weeks away!
It didn’t help that I was still hobbling around on crutches and Dashon, Jonathan and I all had a viral infection that took a while to shake off.
Fortunately we were all sufficiently recovered in time to receive our honoured guests from Nepal on Friday 6th September. Choje Lama Phuntsok Rinpoche, Khenpo Darjay, Khenpo Kunsang and Acharya Pasang, the teaching staff from Lekshay Ling on their two week autumn break!
Lama Tulku Sherdor made a special trip from his home in New York state to help with translation and rituals. Lama Tashi Mannox came from Hay- on- Wye with his Tibetan musical instruments – also to help with rituals. The Longchen Foundation’s Mandala Mother (Sally Sheldrake) soon came to join us at the Hermitage together with various other people including Daphne Tucker who had our sister stupa built by Lama Phuntsok in Brilley South Wales just before he built ours at the Hermitage. David Lascelles (Eighth Earl of Harewood) joined us and showed his film of the building of a stupa on his estate just north of Leeds twenty years ago………….just before the stupa at Samye Ling was built. Over the four days of the consecration event about 70 people gathered at Tyn y Gors, which had to be transformed in order to host such a large number of people.
A dining marquee was set up between the kitchen and the garage/shed. The shrineroom sideroom was opened up to make extra space. Everything everywhere had to be rearranged to host the event. It was amazing how well the team worked together with the volunteers from both sanghas of Rigdzin Shikpo’s students. The main team was Jonathan Shaw, Pat MacDonald, Sudhana (Adrian Finter), Dan Raymond, and Tobi Jeakle. They worked miracles!
Rigdzin Shikpo’s ashes arrived with Dan on the Friday afternoon, just an hour before the Lamas wanted to start work at Tyn y Gors, getting a feel for what the project was going to involve. The ashes were taken to the Hermitage and the next day Lama Phuntsok and his monks performed the ritual for purifying the ashes and making tsa tsa (ru drub and tsa drub) in front of the stupa. I had imagined these rituals would be long and elaborate but they turned out to be relatively short (no more than an hour or so). I need to find our more about them in fact. I noticed that the ritual involved an abhisheka that was performed in the customary fashion of pouring the consecration water from a Kailasha (Vase) over a mirror image of the ashes. This was done at the consecration of the stupa at the Hermitage. I don’t recall it being done for Rigdzin Shikpo's stupas but maybe that was because it had been was done over the ashes themselves before they were divided in order to go into two stupas.
Each ritual that was done over that and following days seemed to involve the repeated process of invoking the power of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas first into the ashes and then the stupas. Consecration means literally that – the power of the Divinity (in our case the Guru as Buddha as essence and union of all the Buddhas) is transmitted via a living lineage of Vajracharyas using rituals empowered by the holders of that lineage. There is a lot to explore here about the essence, symbolism and power of rituals that makes them effective – like the science of magic – procedures and ritual objects have to be correct and rituals carried out by the right people with conviction. Realised masters such as Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso or Rigdzin Shikpo favoured short rituals made up on the spot. That requires a realised master to preside and even then most realised masters keep to standard rituals they have received from their lineage Gurus – who possibly received them through visions or dreams. The advantage of the latter approach is that their disciples can learn the same rituals which gives them confidence that they are performing them properly. Here we are talking about very special kinds of mandala connections that obey rules but not those of western scientific materialism.
The rudrub and tsadrub required the ashes to be crushed a bit and put into two copper pots – a smaller one for the stupa going to Beechey Avenue and a larger one for the stupa at Tyn y Gors. A handful of the ashes were crushed to dust in a food mixer and that was then mixed with clay to make the tsa tsa. Lama Phuntsok had selected which kind of clay he thought most suitable from the samples Jonathan had obtained for him – the kind that made the best tsa tsa and was likely to last the longest over decades if not centuries to come. He used this to make tsa tsa using a small mould with the imprint of eight stupas arranged inside it. I suppose these are the eight kinds of stupa of which the Hermitage one and the two stupas of Rigdzin Shikpo's ashes are Enlightenment stupas. Stupas commemorating the Enlightenment of the Buddha are good tendrel connecting us and all beings to Enlightenment. I am sure Rigdzin Shikpo would approve of that. Other stupas are for drawing Buddhas into the world, maintaining harmony in the sangha, spreading the teachings, displaying miraculous powers and commemorating the Buddha’s birth and passing into Parinirvana and so on. Each stupa is associated with a different event in the life of the Buddha and the place in which it happened. An Enlightenment stupa is obviously especially associated with Bodhgaya.
Dan and Lama Dashon joined the monks in making 12 tsa tsa for the bigger stupa and one for the smaller one. It didn’t seem to matter who did the actual moulding. The tsa tsa needed to be left to dry for the rest of the day and then painted white with a red base. I was puzzled at various points in the procedure but it was all happening too quickly for me to formulate my questions sufficiently clearly. I just had to trust it was all happening as it should. Lama Phuntsok seemed very sure about what he was doing and the decisions he was making, even if he didn’t seem to have a definite plan in advance about the details of what he would do – he seemed more to be going along with the tendrel of the moment in the way it was all playing out spontaneously.
As they unpacked the bones from the box they came in, I wondered if they would find any special relics but it seems not. During his life Rigdzin Shikpo had such strange experiences in his body associated with the yogic process he was going through that I thought maybe his body would display something like ringsel. Maybe that depends on the rituals done at the time of death or something like that. They always say the body should be left undisturbed for anything like that to happen but of course the medics were trying to rescuscitate Rigdzin Shikpo at the time of his death. Anyway whatever they look like the bones are the most tangible connection we still have with his body and are precious for that reason alone.
Lama Phuntsok decided to take a day of rest before filling the stupas – so we took them all to Caernarfon to explore the castle and have a meal out. This seemed to more than satisfy their wish to see the surrounding area having briefly visited the sea at Criccieth the first evening they were here.
The next day we drove over to Tyn y Gors in the afternoon to fill the stupas and make the torma offerings for the pujas over the following three days. Here are the things that went into the stupas. Each had a life post (so shing) made from Juniper from near Milarepa’s cave in Yolmo in Nepal. It was painted red with gold lettering like ours at the Hermitage. They had OM AH HUM SVA HA at the appropriate places and other writing (I will try to find out what was written on them. I should have noticed since we had them at Tyn y Gors for some months). Each is neatly wound about with cotton thread of the five colours for the different chakras of the body. The central post represents both the inner axis of the body as well as that of the cosmos. It is also the equivalent of a Kila – Snodgrass’s Symbolism of the Stupa gives a lot of fascinating detail about the symbolism of the central life post as well as the rest of the different elements making up the stupa.
I am particularly impressed by Rigdzin Shikpo stupa at Tyn y Gors having eight Faces of Glory facing in the eight cardinal directions beautifully hammered out in intricate detail covering the copper dome. They are also called Kala makaras. Kala means time and the makara is a mythical sea creature that Rigdzin Shikpo mentioned from time to time. (Snodgrass briefly describes the myth associated with them on p.307 of Symbolism of the Stupa). They are commonly placed over door entrances to buildings, looking quite threatening but actually the story goes that because of the makara’s voracious appetite, desire and greed it swallowed up its own body right up to the lower jaw. It looked terrible but apparently Shiva was delighted to see what had happened – saying it now looked like him – the great creator and destroyer of the universe. So a Kalamakara is also called a Face of Glory. I sense that Rigdzin Shikpo would love to have known his stupa was adorned with eight Faces of Glory! For some reason I find this symbolism wonderful - I am not sure why exactly.
Excert from 'The Symbolism of the Stupa' by Adrian Snodgrass on the symbolism of the Kalamakara which the stupa has 8, positioned to face all 8 directions.
The dual nature of the Face of Glory is conveyed in the myth that descibes its origin. It tells how Jalandhara, a mighty asura who had conquered all the worlds, in the pride of his power Rahu, the Demon Siva opened his third eye and flashed forth a tremendous burst of power, which assumed the form of an horrendous demon, possessed of an insatiable and raging hunger. Seeing Rahu, the montrous apparition rushed toward hime with jaws agape ready to devour him. Rahu, terrifie, flew for refuge towards Siva, who commanded the monster to let hime be. Deprived of its prey, the fiendish vision was still tortured by his immense hunger, so the lord bade it to feed upon the flesh of its own feet and hands. So great was the demon's voracity that having consumed its own extremities it did not cease its meal but continued to eat until only its face remained. Siva watched this bloodcurdling banquet with ecstatic bliss, delighted with this projected image of his own world-annihilating power, and declared, " You will be known henceforth as 'Face of Glory, and I ordain that you shall abide forever at my door. Whoever neglects to worship you shall never win my grace".
The tsa tsa were put at the base of each stupa and then overlaid with a katak with the eight auspicious symbols printed on them. These are the auspicious symbols that auger the advent of a Buddha – vase, parasol, banner of victory, flower, knot of eternity, two fishes, Dharma wheel and conch. Then many rolls of mantra wound about with ribbons of the five colours like the so shing were laid around and above the tsa tsa. The mantras were the standard ones put in all stupas of our tradition. I need to check but I think they are the mantras of the Five Classes of Tantric Deity. I am not sure if one of them is Kilaya. The mantras had been rolled for us by the monks at Lekshay ling over the previous weeks and brought to UK in the monk’s hand luggage. It is was almost all they brought with them!
I asked if it was good to include a small solid silver image of the Buddha that I had been given years ago. Lama Phuntsok took it and fixed it to the soshing of the bigger stupa and another even smaller solid gold image of the Buddha to the soshing of the smaller one. I think of them as symbolising the moon of compassion and sun of wisdom – two complementary stupas!
I also had a very small image of Ganesh in a clam shell and I had noticed Lama Phuntsok had asked for a Ganesh image for our stupa at the Hermitage. I wondered if he would put one in the Rigdzin Shikpo stupa and he did. He put it near the base of the soshing of the larger stupa. This is for ensuring wealth and protection. One can’t get too much of that!
Rigdzin Shikpo had once asked his students to place a small picture of Saraha on the island in the lake. We found it in a glass jar under a tree on the island. We explained to Lama Phuntsok that Rigdzin Shikpo wanted an image of Saraha on the island in the lake, so he took the picture and carefully wrapped it around the middle of the soshing.
The copper pots with Rigdzin Shikpo's ashes in it were each sealed with a big lump of clay and then covered with cloths of the five colours. The soshings were then stood on top of the copper pots.
Kataks of the five colours were used to divide the different layers of mantra rolls to help pack them tight. We had intended to have a small text of Longchenpa’s Choying Dzo made to wrap around the soshing but somehow or other it didn’t get finished. Dan handed Lama Phuntsok a copy of the English translation by Baron. Lama Phuntsok was not sure that it was good to have the English translation – the original text in Tibetan is definitely Longchenpa’s word but can such a sacred and special text ever be translated? He looked dubiously at the cover and blurb at the front but then suddenly decided the tendrel meant it should go in and he slipped it down the side alongside the mantra rolls. Just to have such a text on site is thought to be a blessing beyond compare, so it makes sense that its power cannot be much affected by a sincere attempt at an English translation!
I think there was sang incense sprinkled among the mantra rolls. Then the various sections of the larger stupa were fixed together and the stupa turned upright. The gaus at the front of each of the stupas were very small and I had difficulty finding a Guru Rinpoche image small enough to fit into even the bigger one let alone the smaller one despite the fact I have some very small ones. In the end the only image I could find that would fit was of Amitayus – the Buddha of limitless life - a form of Amitabha. I had suggested we put the gold Buddha in the gau instead of on the soshing but Lama Phuntsok was quite decided that it should be Amitayus in the gau. Maybe one day we can get it gilded. On the front of the gau above the head of the Guru Rinpoche is a magnificent garuda holding a naga in its mouth. This is very important figure in the Kilaya mandala. It seems some nagas are problematic and need to be defeated and others love the Dharma and will help and protect it. There are other animals such as elephants and horses either side of the gau and of course the whole thing is standing on a lion throne, lotus, sun and moon. Lots of symbolism there waiting to be explored.
Incidentally we had had a lot of discussions with various people about how water tight the larger stupa would be. To protect everything inside from water it was all put in polythene bags. When the stupa had arrived a few months previously it had been a bit damaged in passage. Also there were hundreds of little sockets for inserting jewels and we needed someone to fit them for us. Junko, a Japanese artist lady who lives down the Peninsular was very happy to mend the stupas in her work shop and get us jewels and insert them. It took a lot of trouble and skill to get it all done correctly and in time for the consecration. I asked for black, gold and purple semi precious stones which she chose for us very carefully as Amber, Amethyst and Onyx. You have to look quite closely at the detail of the copper work to appreciate what she has done (that all cost another £1,700 but feels well worth it in order to honour our precious Guru).
Once they were upright and in place by the shrine Lama Phuntsok draped them with kataks of the five colours and somehow I suddenly felt they exuded presence! I felt moved as if Rigdzin Shikpo himself were really sitting there even though on the material level one could say it was only his ashes. He looked so dignified and honoured and as I say present………..as if in positioning him properly we had already caused his adhistana to augment and affect us - like placing a wish fulfilling jewel in its proper place on the top of a pillar. While it is not in its proper place it can’t function properly.
I missed a lot of what was happening at Tyn y Gors over those days because I needed to take care of my guests and Lama Phuntsok left quite early each evening once he had done what he had come for. We did join on line from the Hermitage to watch David’s film of building his stupa at Harewood House but all the rest I missed. Someone else will have to write all about that! I know work started on building a palanquin for carrying the stupas aloft in procession around the lake to the island on the Friday. I wrote a piece explaining what the pujas would be over the coming days and read it as an introductory talk on the Wednesday. We made sure people who missed my talk on Wednesday got a copy of it as they arrived. Also everyone had a copy of the words of some of the prayers we would be able to join in with in English such as the Rangjung Dorje Mahamudra Prayer and the Samantabhadracharyapranidhana.
I felt it was very appropriate that Lama Phuntsok decided that the first day would be Amitabha, the second Milarepa and the last Konchok Chindu – Guru Rinpoche. It was Guru Rinpoche day in fact and Lama Phuntsok decided that this should be the day of final consecration when we were in Nepal - when looking for the most auspicious day for it.
His choice of pujas was perfect for the Mahayana Mahamudra and Maha-Ati lineage that Rigdzin Shikpo exemplified and transmitted - notably when he transmitted Trungpa Rinpoche’s Sadhana of Mahamudra to his LCF and AHS students several years ago. This lineage is known as Chagdzog Zungjug (Mahamudra and Dzogchen both at once).
For the pujas Lama Phuntsok presided as Vajracharya and also played the symbols and acted as Omze (multi-tasking). He also gave a couple of talks – one on the centrality of Dharma as happiness and the other on the centrality of love. I always find I remember the central message of the talks he gives – very heartfelt and to the point. Tulku Sherdor translated for him and held vajra and bell at all the appropriate places. He and Lama Tashi spent many hours each day working out what had to be done when and marking their texts accordingly. Two of the monks played the Jalings. They have to be played as a pair to complete the melodies. The third monk played the drum. Lama Tashi was the chopon the shrine attendant. So everyone was working together skilfully and harmoniously. They had all been trained in the same tradition which is important since every tradition has its own style and customs. Because they were not chanting super fast I found I could follow what was going on and in some cases read along with them – but my eyes were not good enough really.
The chanting and the instruments brought a powerful atmosphere into the room. They say that the local spirits of a place like the sound of the instruments and chanting and it pacifies them. I could believe that.
The pujas lasted for about an hour or so and ended with a token ganachakra. Lunch was served to the Lamas in the old house sitting room. It is surprising how nine people can sit at table in there! Everyone else was served in the dining tent. The weather was quite cold and I was worried the tent would be too draughty for Lama Phuntsok. He was clearly relieved at not having to stay outside for too long! The food each day was excellent. I cant imagine how Pat managed to pull that off in the tiny kitchen in the new house. The Friday meal was brought in by a professional caterer, our Indanesian friend Mai. It was lavish and delicious and I believe lasted till the next day.
On the Friday after the Guru Rinpoche ganachakra the stupas were lifted onto a palanquin by four strong male students – Tobi, Dan, Mike Stafferton and Jonathan Shaw. Lama Tashi led the procession waving a bunch of incense and a white katak. Mandala Mother followed with Sarah as her assistant and I followed carrying a multicoloured parasol/umbrella for auspiciousness. Then came the monks playing the jalings, drum and/cymbals. Then came Lama Phuntsok leading the palanquin. Behind them came all the students reciting the Guru Rinpoche mantra and/or the Seven Line Prayer. I wanted to just stop and watch the whole thing but being in the front I couldn’t really see what was happening behind me. The most moving moment of all was seeing the palanquin being carried along the reinforced steel plank that acted as a bridge to the island. It was a moment I had been worried about for months. Would it all work ok. Lama Phuntsok and the monks had no doubt it would work fine right from the beginning but I wasn’t convinced. Jonathan led a number of trial runs and was very confident it would be fine. And indeed it was. I nearly cried as the stupa finally reached the island and was put in place on the plinth. The posts of the pavilion were already in place but not the proper roof. That was a finishing touch that had to be added later. It felt so wonderful to follow the Lamas and Mandala Mother onto the island and see the offerings all beautifully arranged as we did the final blessing and pranidhanas. We called out to the rest of the students on the bank to sing the Milarepa pranidhana we sing each evening here at the Hermitage.
‘May we live long and be free of illness,
Enjoy freedom great resources and happiness,
Next life may we all meet in the Pure Lands.
May we always practise Dharma and benefit beings’.
That was a particularly powerful moment for me – us all singing together from the island and the lake edge. The Lamas and Mandala Mother and I then left the island and after that everyone made their way across one by one to offer a katak at the stupa. We then all gathered on the house side of the lake where we customarily offer smoke/fire pujas and performed the LCF Smoke Offering that Rigdzin Shikpo composed in the 80s when we were looking for a place to buy within the area that HH Khyentse Rinpoche had indicated. We sang it to Tara’s melody and the smoke blew everywhere somehow completing the sense of blessings pervading the whole area – especially Tre’i ceiri – rising majestically above us from the other side of the River Erch. What an amazing spot for Dharma practice!
On Saturday morning about 40 people turned up at the Hermitage to bless the land for our new Dharma Hall for which we have just received building permission. Lama Phuntsok set up a shrine to the Thousand Armed Avalokitesvara and did the appropriate rituals including walking in procession around the perimeter of the proposed site. He had brought a special treasure vase that had already been blessed with the appropriate rituals (which he said were long and complicated) and told us to bury it in the foundations of the new building when we got to that stage.
It felt particularly auspicious that both AHS and LCF students were there to bless the land as we hope both sanghas will make use of the hall once it is up and running. HH Khyentse Rinpoche told RS and myself to build a purpose built temple and/or stupa here in NW Wales and so it feels like his wishes will soon be fulfilled! Let’s hope he will indeed be right that the Dharma will flourish here for hundreds of years!
Later that morning Lama Phuntsok and his party, Tulku Sherdor, Lama Dashon, Pati and I set off for Harewood Estate in Yorkshire to visit David’s stupa. David and his wife Diana were super hospitable and the whole trip was quite special in its own right.
Before leaving I had joined about 20 of Rigdzin Shikpo students circumambulating our stupa here at the Hermitage seven times. Then they set off for Tyn y Gors on pilgrimage. I was sorry to miss that great adventure but I would only have lasted an hour and the whole thing took four and a half hours. I heard all about it in the following days – it sounded so great. On arriving back at Tyn y Gors they had another celebratory ganachakra presided over by Mandala Mother and then a lot of clearing up. By the time I got there on the following Tuesday it all looked immaculate!
I feel the power of the presence of Rigdzin Shikpo stupa radiating throughout the whole area. I wish I could visit it more often – there is such an atmosphere of peace there – but more than that. I find it so conducive to practice almost like sitting listening to Rigdzin Shikpo himself giving a Dharma talk. I never imagined it would be so powerful. I feel so grateful and glad that we have pulled this whole thing off. Thank you everyone who contributed and was with us in spirit!
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