Two people who attended the reading transmissions and empowerments in Nepal share their experiences.

ABOUT THE TRANSMISSIONS IN NEPAL

By Mark Sobralske 

From April 12th through April 29th, Kyabje Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche gave the oral transmissions of the collected written works of Rigzin Jigme Linga and Dza Patrul Rinpoche, as well as all the empowerments of the Longchen Nyingthik root volumes to thousands of students from around the world. Khenchen Pema Sherab had requested the lung (reading transmission) of the Sung bum of Jigme Lingpa, and the monks from Shechen requested the Patrul Sungbum.

On the first day of the oral transmissions, Rinpoche spoke briefly and mentioned that he spent many years with the late Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and received all the teachings he gave during that time. Rinpoche recounted that Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche gave the oral transmissions of Jigme Lingpa only three times – twice in Bhutan and once in India. Saying this, Rinpoche set the tone and hinted at how rare an opportunity and special occasion this really was.

There was an estimated average count of 12,000 people receiving the empowerments and lungs daily. Among those in attendance were many other Rinpoches and tulkus who filled the monastery’s main temple. It is wild to consider that under just one roof was Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, Dzongzar Khyentse Rinpoche, Dudjom Yangsi Rinpoche, Tulku Urgyen Yangsi Rinoche,Trulshik Rinpoche Yangsi, and many others of all lineages. Just being on the grounds of the monastery, in the sphere of all of these great Lama’s presence for nearly three weeks was significant on it’s own.

It was fitting that, in line with the non-sectarian style of the late Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism were represented by the Rinpoches and tulkus who came from near and far for the transmissions. To me, it felt as if the whole Buddhist world was there.

 Rinpoche began the oral transmissions at 7:30am, and finished around 6pm, breaking only for lunch and two short breaks, for a total of 8 hours of oral transmissions per day. He read quickly but precisely ended the text exactly at the correct page for the noon break.

Thousands of Himalayan people filled the center section of the monastery courtyard under one very large tent. Western people and people from non-Himalayan Asian countries such as Taiwan filled two long tents parallel to the main tent in the courtyard. Nowhere on the grounds of the monastery was there an empty seat.

So that everyone in attendance could see and hear the transmission, each tented area of the monastery courtyard had a projection screen set up where a live video feed of Rinpoche was projected. 

As Rinpoche gave the Longchen Nyingthik empowerments, simultaneously, his words were translated into English and Chinese via FM radio for foreigners. Tthe English translation by Lama Sean Price was so good and offered so much depth in explaining what was to be done on the part of the practitioner while receiving each of the empowerments, that a number of people who are fluent in Tibetan were also listening to the English translation to extract as much understanding as possible.

 Everyone who sat together in the same area day after day, got to know each other quite well. Having travelled alone from Chicago, I really appreciated how warm and friendly everyone was to me: A diverse community of practitioners- Taiwanese, Croatian, German and so on.

Naturally, sitting for 18 days, 8 hours a day, a body becomes uncomfortable. However, enduring all of these things are a small price to pay for the treasures received and any discomfort was only temporary while the benefit surely lingers long after.

I hope that if it is your wish to attend a similar upcoming event with Rabjam Rinpoche, you seize the opportunity as there’s no time to waste to receive these kinds of oral transmissions and teachings. Now is your chance to travel and do it, especially since it seems to be the case that Rinpoche is accepting some requests for larger events such as this.

It was announced at the event that Rabjam Rinpoche will give all the empowerments of the 19th century master, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo in Silguri, India, January 10th through January 20th, 2020.

 See you there?

See the photos https://shechen.org/2019/06/transmissions-in-nepal/

CELEBRATION

By Juanita Evans 

As a Buddhist living and practicing in the west, the transmissions given by Rabjam Rinpoche in Nepal in April were the largest “event” that I’ve ever attended– perhaps aside from a rock concert or sporting event in my younger days. I was beyond impressed with how well planned everything was. The entire Shechen community of monks was fully engaged with a multitude of roles — working 12 hours a day, for three weeks — beautifully manifesting the results of their training and discipline.

 Of course, there was the magnificence of Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche sitting on the throne day after day, conferring the Jigme Lingpa and Patrul Rinpoche lungs (reading transmissions) followed by the Longchen Nyingtik empowerments. Rinpoche even continued to give the lungs while the blessed substances from the empowerments were offered to all of the participants. Some days it took more than two hours for the tulkus, khenpos and lopons to take the substances around to everyone!

Despite the crowds and the crazy weather — sun, rain, hail, wind — the whole atmosphere was infused with joy and a sense of celebration. It was hard not to be moved and inspired by the manifestation of devotion so clearly present as Rabjam Rinpoche read aloud the volumes of texts and bestowed the empowerments.

More than 900 tulkus, khenpos, and lopons from different traditions filled the main temple. The nuns were in the Tara temple, and the entire space surrounding the outside of the temple was completely full with more than 10,000 monastic and lay practitioners from surrounding areas and countries across the world.

 The Shechen monks managed the huge crowd with kindness and efficiency, maneuvering through very tight spaces with grace and patience. Their hospitality even extended to providing us all with a delicious, freshly cooked lunch.

Particularly touching was the group of former monks, distinguishable by their aqua blue t-shirts with “De-Dam Group” (devotion and samaya) written across the back. Their dedication was palpable, exhibiting the discipline resulting from their years of training mixed with a kind of sophistication that seemed to be connected with having navigated life outside the monastery’s protected walls. They provided security, assisted with crowd management, food service, and organization.The Shechen Eco-Group oversaw clean-up, collecting the trash, recycling, and the lost and found area.

Each day the young children from Shechen Mahaboudha Vidyalaya school made us smile as they cheerfully moved through crowds carrying signs reminding us to turn off our cell phones, keep silent, keep the area clean, and to say “NO” to plastic. Twice daily, the older monks from the school carried around the heavy cauldrons of hot tea to serve us all and distributed a variety of breads. Rinpoche had asked that each day we all were offered a medicinal tea to help boost our immune system. It seemed to work as I didn’t hear much of the usual cold symptoms that proliferate in these large gatherings. 

I felt tremendous appreciation for all the donors who so generously contributed toward the purchase of the sound system several years ago. It was initially installed just before the earthquake. After the earthquake, the parts were hastily gathered and stored until they could be pieced back together and re-installed once the walls had been reconstructed post-earthquake. It allowed all of us in the courtyard and surrounding areas able to hear Rabjam Rinpoche’s speech with crystal clarity. At first I thought I’d feel excluded by sitting outside, but the jumbo video screens and sound quality made it feel as though we were all inside the temple.

 This was the first time that I’d seen the reconstruction with my own eyes. I’ve spent lots of time looking at photos, and helping to edit articles about it for our newsletter, etc., but to see the amount of work that has been done, and continues to be done, made me feel so happy to be able to be a part of it. The pillars and ceiling have been painted and now repainting the frescos is beginning. Thank you to everyone for supporting this effort.

 And thank you from all of us to Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, for his limitless generosity, and for being such an inspiring example for us all. Thank you to all the Shechen tulkus, khenpos, lopons, monks, ex-monks, office staff, and to Cho Nam, our wonderful photographer, for creating this precious container, for sharing the space with us, and for providing the basis for Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche to confer these lungs and empowerments. Their activity lays the foundation for our teachers to carry these teachings back to their respective communities, ensuring their survival far into the future.

See the photos https://shechen.org/2019/06/transmissions-in-nepal/