The Gyalwang Drukpa

In just a few hours, I will be hopping onto a plane with my entourage and leaving for Europe, for a 2 to 3 weeks so-called teaching tour. I don't know how you feel about it whenever you read about my life in this web. I sometimes do feel helplessly tired and bored. People don't seem to be improving. One time, monks from Bairo Ling came to request me to do something to encourage my father to live long, I remember telling them that poojas after poojas will help to a very limited extent, but their moral conduct and their improvement in spiritual life are the key points in encouraging my father to live long. There are many places where the presence of genuine masters is deeply appreciated, the human realm on this earth is only a very small member of this entire universe.

Lately, I came to realise that there are just a handful of people who are genuinely interested in spirituality, otherwise most are going after teachers and their teachings for different reasons, unfortunately most are for egoistic reasons. Either in the obvious or in the hidden sense, people are running after teachers based on external reasons which sometimes have nothing to do with their spiritual qualities. This is how weak spirituality is, this is also the reasons why many physical and moral disasters are happening everywhere in this world.

Talking about respect for teachers and especially lineage masters, some monks were commenting that some of us, my colleagues and myself, are very easy to deal with, because I don't demand the so-called protocols that are supposed to be matching with our spiritual identities. When I told one of my monk representatives that Drukpa Vietnam did a superb job in instilling devotion through many skillful methods that resulted in great respect for the lineage masters and the Drukpa Lineage, he was trying to avoid the subject because many of our monk representatives are stuck in the traditional way of doing things which will eventually degenerate the lineage, if this is not changed right away. I hope to see some improvements in Europe and the West, this time when I arrive. As I said, everyone including the entire Drukpa Europe Sangha should learn from Drukpa Vietnam. I was happy that the Drukpa Asia Sangha got the point and tried their best to make a lot of improvement, despite being last minute and unprepared. If this kind of improvement is not there, there is no point for myself or any of my eminent colleagues to visit any part of the world, it's better to stay where we are, where we can benefit a lot more people and many more beings.

Taking spiritual teachers for granted means taking the spiritual lineage for granted, which actually means you don't aspire to be enlightened. This is the point I am trying to tell you.

Jigme Zangmo and her younger son were here working so hard to complete the Assembly Hall for ADC and for our future activities. I was so moved that a young man could dedicate his energy for all of us. They will be joining us in the retreat at Drukpa Plouray. I am sure our European Sangha will welcome them with open arms and warm heart . There are some recent photos of the Assembly Hall and other projects on Druk Amitabha Mountain to show all of you.