Transmissions without words. coolest deal.

So, last Sunday I had an authentic experience. My friend Fran invited me to come with her to a Buddhist monastery on the south side of Mount Ashland. Going there is always fantastic because of the views of holy Mt. Shasta and the absolute peace and beauty of the place. I had once been in the Temple, but I had never attended a ceremonial practice there.

This was a two hour meditation- recitation of ancient scripture. The Rinpoche arrived to do this praying with us. He is old, about 90, and is not always in attendance. He lit up the room. No other way to describe him. It was a lovely and for me powerful healing ceremony.

After,  we went outside to depart. Our departure was arrested because the Rinpoche was looking at a fountain that was being built. A younger Lama held an umbrella over his head to shield him from the bright sunlight. We all stopped in our footsteps, respectably awaiting his next move. He returned to the path. I was standing near a corner of the Temple trying to be inconspicuous (huh!) and managing to be awkward. He came toward the corner and I didn't know what path he would take, thus not knowing how to get out of his way. He stopped and looked at me, made a few humorous remarks to people around and kept looking at me and I stood still.

I soon realized that everyone was silent except for the birds and the slight movement of the deer who were among us. The Venerable teacher was talking to me without talking. I was flooded with love and lightness of being and felt like we had had a most profound conversation. I hadn't said anything and he didn't directly speak to me. My thoughts were "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Before I could speak, he had moved on.

After, as we walked to the car, Frannie said, "Well, now you have met Gyatrul Rinpoche." Yes, I had. Words are way over rated.
 

Tashi Choling Center for Buddhist Studies

Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche~ Spiritual Director

© photo by Diana Church

Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche was born in 1924 in China near the Tibetan border. At the age of 7 he was recognized to be a tulku, or consciously reincarnated teacher, by the great meditation masters Chokyi Lodro and Tulku Natsog Rangdrol. Rinpoche was trained at Payul Dhomang Monastery in eastern Tibet by such adepts as Sangye Gon, Tulku Natsok Rangdrol, Payul Chogtrul Rinpoche, and Apkong Khenpo. Rinpoche spent many years in solitary retreat with his root guru Tulku Natsog, moving from one isolated location to another. In 1959, with the Communist invasion of Tibet, Rinpoche fled to India, where he lived for 12 years. Then, H.H. the Dalai Lama and H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche requested Gyatrul Rinpoche to move to the West to teach the Dharma. In 1976, Rinpoche was appointed as H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche’s spiritual representative in America.
Traveling to many countries over the past 30 years, Rinpoche has touched the hearts of thousands of people and founded many Buddhist centers. These include Tashi Choling, Orgyen Dorje Den in the San Francisco Bay area, Norbu Ling in Austin, Texas, Namdroling in Bozeman, Montana, and a center in Ensenada, Mexico.