Lion of the Mountains
Chatral Rinpoche was always full of surprises. During the monsoon months in the mountains of Nepal, the weather was often misty, damp, and cold. It could be depressing day after day. If Rinpoche felt the general mood among our little camp needed lifting, he would order a picnic, right then, on the spur of the …
Bhutanese Meditator
When I first came to Das Mile Gompa in the year 2000, I stayed in a small four-person retreat center which Chatral Rinpoche had built for his students right next to the old temple. This simple construction was a very basic arrangement of four rooms, each with an adjoining tiny area for cooking with a …
He Who Dances in the Heart
During the years spent near my Masters, I was able to observe many things about the way they lived their lives. The opportunity to observe them was in itself one of the most profound teachings. The atmosphere of truth, in which a Master lives, moves, and has his/her being, radiates outwardly like the delicate fragrance of an exquisite flower. …
Taking Refuge with the Master
After first seeing Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche in Bodh-Gaya in the winter of 1984/5, I felt that I had to take refuge with him. However, there were so many people in Bodh-Gaya that year that I decided to follow him to Nepal to his Monastery in Boudhanath in order to make my request. Taking refuge with …
Becoming the Protectors of Life
“The destruction of nature and wildlife populations is a result of ignorance,greed and lack of respect for the earth’s living things. Our actions affect others. We human beings are the only species with the power to destroy the natural world as we know it. Yet, if we have such a capacity for destruction, so, too, do we have the capacity …
For Kindness Sake
“When in doubt,It is better to err on the side of kindness…” The immediate reaction of many upon seeing the cartoon above might be, ‘oh, here we go again, another moralistic lecture…’Potent images in the press and media of violence and hatred flood cyberspace. In a world where the senses are overwhelmed by ‘bad news’ …