home
history
project
pictures
school
video
contribute
updates
|
Updates
UPDATE 2007 The high point of my 3½ week trip to Tibet in September of 2006, was the week I spent at Wenchen. (One of the first things I learned was that the nunnery I have been calling Weyching all these years is actually pronounced phonetically as Wenchen.) And there have been a lot of changes. A TYPICAL DAY The afternoon session begins around 2:30, and when Karma Senge is there, this is his teaching session. It begins with each nun doing three full prostrations to him. On the center of the shrine in the front of the room, is a framed photo of Choygam Trungpa on horseback, and Rinpoche teaches from a simple throne with the Sakyong's picture on its high back. It feels very much like home to me. All the nuns sit on the wood floor in front of him, with full attention directed at what he has to say. Unfortunately, I do not have a translator so I do not understand his words, but watching the nuns is a feast to my senses, and gives me a chance to practice in their presence. There is usually a short break, before afternoon chants begin. Cymbals, four types of horns, and many drums accompany these chants which are closed with 9 repetitions of emptying the tea offering and blowing the conch just outside the shrine room. After the conch is blown, the umdze (or chant leader), holds it front of each nun who blows on it, and the ritual begins again. It is a lovely way to end this afternoon session. Following dinner of noodle soup, chanting and drumming is again heard all over Wenchen, as the nuns finish the day with their evening practice. Even though I was without a translator and could not hear their stories, I did make strong nonverbal connections with most of the nuns just by being with them every day for a week, and it was great to meet again the familiar faces from my 1996 trip. As you would expect, they are all lovely and full of warmth and enthusiasm. CELEBRATION and DANCING On Friday, September 22, a celebration honoring Pabmasambhava coincided with the fall equinox. Decorations for the shrine were made from tsampa the night before while thunder and lightening passed overhead. Some were quite elaborate and many were colored with a bright red dye ground from local plants and rock. (See picture page) On Friday, the 22nd, butter lamps burned all day and the more senior nuns chanted continuously, while the rest of the nuns, along with a couple of monks from Kyere, worked on the building project that was underway. There was thunder and lightening again that night and we could see nuns busily tamping roofs to be ready for the downpour. RETREAT CENTER Karma Senge or Karseng Rinpoche and his younger brother, Sonam Wangdu made their second trip to North America in late May of 2005. They were here for almost one month, at the invitation of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and with the sponsorship of the Nalanda Translation Committee and Konchok Foundation. Their visit to the Bay area was short, with only one public talk at the Berkeley Shambhala Center where Karseng Rinpoche spoke about the buried treasure or terma that Choygam Trungpa Rinpoche discovered before he left Tibet. Though most of the time we spent together was without a translator, I did learn that the 60 nuns in residence are now working on making 10,000 statues of Milarepa, 10,000 of Lord Buddha, and 10,000 of Mahakala. This is in addition to their regular studies and finishing the interior of the buildings at Weyching Gompa. Karma Senge Rinpoche will be in Halifax for the month of June 2006 to teach and attend the marriage celebration of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and Semo Tseysang Palmo. Karseng Rinpoche's main priority for this year is building the medical facility he talked about in 2003. A centrally located site in a large meadow has been acquired and plans for the facility are now under way. "The Dutsitil clinic is more than one day away by horseback and since people do not have cars, many cannot reach a doctor and they die. There are 2,000 to 3,000 people living in this area that would greatly benefit from this clinic", and Karma Senge has formally asked me to begin to collect funds for it. An interview of Karma Senge Rinpoche by Walter Fordham appears on his interesting website, at www.chronicleproject.com. My husband and I will be traveling to Tibet in Sept of 2006, so any donations received before then, can be delivered directly to Karma Senge Rinpoche for this year's projects. Thank you. This was an amazing year! Karma Senge Rinpoche and Damcho Tenphel Rinpoche, abbot of Kyerre Monastery and brother to beloved Choygam Trungpa Rinpoche, and their two attendants obtained passports and visas to travel to the United States. http://www.shambhala.org./ntc/projects/collectedwritings.htm (To give some appreciation of this extraordinary visit, I should tell you that these four Tibetans had never been to Beijing nor had they ever seen an airplane.) As part of their historic first visit, they came to the San Francisco Bay Area, July 17 - 22, 2003. Their time here was filled with sightseeing, blessings and exceptional teaching events. The day before they left for Nova Scotia, Canada, I hosted a benefit with them for Weyching Gompa Nunnery. Karma Senge Rinpoche gave a talk on how one should practice the dharma under difficult circumstances and he spoke for a time about the nunnery. $3,000 was raised for Weyching Gompa and presented to Rinpoche for assistance in building housing for the 65 nuns now in residence. This, in addition to the $1000 that was raised before they came, is a considerable amount of money in this area, and will go a long way in the establishment of this much-needed nunnery! Rinpoche told the gathering in San Francisco that the nunnery is being built on the site of an old nunnery that was destroyed by the Chinese in 1959. The 17th Karmapa, who oversees the spiritual welfare of Weyching Gompa, blessed the nunnery with a new name when he visited in 2001. In English this name means "Place of Clear Lotus Light". Rinpoche also described what the nuns are being taught. He said that the first thing the nuns must learn is to read and write Tibetan. Most have learned to do this. Then they meditate on the 'Four Reminders' for four months. (These are the preciousness of human life; the reality of death and impermanence; the entrapment of karma; and the truth of suffering for all sentient beings.) Rinpoche tests them after this four-month period of meditation, to see if they are ready to enter the 3-year retreat. In retreat, their day begins at 5am with 3 hours of study, debate and discussion, followed by 3 hours of meditation. After a lunch break, they study again for 3 hours, and end the day at 11pm after another 2 hours of meditation. During this 3-year retreat, they will complete their nondro practice, which consists of 400,000 prostrations: 400,000 repetitions of the refuge formula; 400,000 bodhichitta offerings: 400,000 mandala offerings; 400,000 vajrasattva sessions; and 400,000 guru yoga sessions. There are a number of nuns that have completed this. Their next phase of study will be the mahayana teachings. He says they are all exceptionally diligent students. Next year, construction of a medical facility will begin. Rinpoche tells me that there is a monk close by who is well respected for his knowledge of Tibetan medicine and that he is willing to practice medicine at the nunnery. One of the Weyching nuns has already had some training in medicine and there are others who are interested in learning. Rinpoche feels that Chinese medicine is a good complement to Tibetan medicine, but at this time western medicine is too expensive for this area. The clinic will be a wonderful way to provide ongoing income to the nunnery as well as supplying much needed medical care to this area. And of course it is a great opportunity for the nuns. Though wonderful progress has been made, there is still need for ongoing support. Some of the nuns who come to Weyching Gompa to study have no parents or come from poor families who can give them no support. A donation of $90 will support one nun for 1 year. Donations are also needed for young nuns. Right now the 65 nuns in residence are all ordained nuns with varying degrees of practice behind them. As word spreads, requests for ordaining new nuns is growing. Donations are needed for the widow and orphan fund that has been started to help people in the area. The goal is for this nunnery to become self-supporting, but we are not there yet. A little money can make a huge difference in this part of the world. Thank you for your help. This summer, from June 16 to Aug 16, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to again travel to Tibet. My intention of traveling by jeep from Lhasa to Weyching Gompa did not quite succeed, though I did finally arrive at Dutsitil Monastery, after a wondrous and exciting trip. Though I missed traveling to Weyching Gompa because I had committed to a teaching assignment in Qinghai Province, I was able to spend three days with Karma Senge Rinpoche. He told me of the progress at Weyching and I was able to transfer in person, this year's record donations of $3,000. He said that the building of the nunnery was going well and that these donations would allow him to purchase and transport the wood, nails, windows and door frames, food and other material needed for a summer of building at this elevation of 16,000 feet. The plan is to build 50 dwellings around a central 9 pillar Lhakang. (In Tibet, monasteries and nunneries consist of a central Lhakang, or temple, surrounded by simple residences that house from two to four students each. The number of pillars indicates the size of the building.) He said all the nuns are studying hard and supplying most of the labor for building. In addition, monks from nearby Kyere Monastery, local carpenters and nuns from far away are attracted to come and help. This past summer marked the first time since 1959 that the Trungpa lineage holders were reunited. The Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche (Choygam Trungpa's oldest son), the Sakyong's mother, Lady Kunchok, and several members from Shambhala International made a visit to the Surmang Monasteries. This historic reunion of the western and eastern families and students of Choygam Trungpa Rinpoche brought a wonderful cultural exchange and increased awareness of the need for Western support of the area. (See the Shambhala International web site for more detail about the Sakyong's trip. The last four years has verified the secure transfer of $2,970 as well as of its use and value to the nuns of Weyching Gompa. So far, the money sent to Weyching Gompa has been used to support nuns who would otherwise be unable to practice or participate in meditation retreats. The cost of living in this area is very low- $90 will support one nun over the nine month winter, which is when support is most critically needed. There are not many places where $90 can go so far! With the retreat center now actively housing retreat candidates (thanks to donations so far), Karma Senge Rinpoche has begun to build a fully functioning and self-supporting nunnery a short distance away to accommodate the increasing number of nuns that have been asking to study there. Rinpoche is committed to giving the nuns the same traditional Tibetan education that the monks receive, including the very important practice of debating. Until recently, it was not possible for nuns to have the same education opportunities as monks in monasteries, but now the Dalai Lama and others are encouraging nunneries to offer a complete education. So far this education, which includes Tibetan language, mathematics, philosophy, meditation, debate, traditional rituals, chanting and art, is only being offered in a few nunneries, most of which are outside Tibet. Karma Senge Rinpoche is unusual in wanting this kind of education for the nuns of Weyching Gompa. He is optimistic that he can establish this important and much needed nunnery on the border of Tibet and Qinghai Province for as little as $10,000. The nunnery building will be constructed with rock, mud, and brush, in the same way that buildings have been built in this area for hundreds of years. Kyere Monastery, where Chogyam Trungpa's younger brother is still abbot, is 15 miles away and the monks there are ready to lend a hand. This remote area is a perfect location for a nunnery. Away from traffic routes so it does not call attention to itself, this site is becoming more and more popular with the nuns of this area. Karma Senge's dream of offering literacy and a modern Buddhist education to these nuns becomes more and more possible with each donation. Thank you for your help. |