On May 13, 2015, a day after the second earthquake, Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche spoke to his monks in the courtyard of the Shedra, one of the few Shechen buildings not damaged by the earthquakes.

“Buddhism emphasizes the importance of extending kindness and compassion to all beings and helping others, and now is the time that these teachings are being put into direct action.

“Many people have come to me praising your work. I have seen and heard how caring you have been and it makes me very happy and proud of all of you.

“Even though some of you have family members in homes and villages that have been destroyed, you have been impartial as to where and how you offered to help. You have worked in the areas where help was needed most. None of the monks on the relief teams were asked to do this: you all volunteered yourselves to be part of the rescue and relief operations.

“In this era, most people are fixated on luxuries, large houses, and other material things, but this earthquake has left everyone, no matter what their material situation maybe, outside camping in tents, fearing for their lives. We hear many teachings about impermanence. Just before the earthquake struck I was thinking about the thangkas and paintings in the temple, and then, afterwards, I realized this was a real experience of impermanence. Our temple is now badly damaged.

“Yesterday, one of our relief teams met with a very dangerous and terrifying situation while they were in Sindupalchowk, [a region devastated by the earthquakes], when the second earthquake struck. They are fortunate to have made it back to the monastery alive and uninjured. As much as I commend you all for your spirit of compassion and determination, I am concerned about the safety of our monks.

“Our friend Chris Wilvert, Captain of a fire department in Canada who had previously trained our monks in earthquake preparedness, took time off from his work to come to Nepal and help. Disaster relief response was something he studied and trained for. He said to me that he was very humbled by the experience of going out with our relief team to help.

“When he went to the village Nuwakot and saw how efficiently our monks were working as a team, and how they were comforting and talking with the villagers, listening carefully, and involving them as much as they could, he was very moved and impressed. He said that they are working in the field like people with a number of years of experience, not just a few weeks training. He said that the way our monks work so well as a team is absolutely crucial to the success of this kind of relief work.

“I have to leave for Bhutan for a while to resume my long-standing responsibilities and duties there. I can do that because I have a lot of confidence in your ability to deal with this going forward. The monks doing relief work should continue going out in groups because their teamwork is excellent.

“We will have to adjust things a bit when the new term of studies begins, as you have to return to your studies and perform other duties that are needed by the community. At that time, you might see that there are some after-effects of the experience, such as anxiety and over-sensitivity to noises and movement. This seems to be a normal reaction to what we have all gone through.

“Please know how happy I am with your work and great hearted attitude at this difficult time. Thank you all for your spontaneous and compassionate actions for our monastery, community, and the people of Nepal.”

(Roughly translated into English by Lopon Tenzin Oser, transcribed by Charlotte Davis)