The Gyalwang Drukpa

A few days ago, on the holy 15th day of 5th Tibetan month, I did the pooja of transporting the spirit of Swayambhunath from Stupa to a mirror, as the preparation for repairing the stupa, at the request of the local Buddhist communities. This repair or restoration project will be sponsored by Tarthang Rinpoche who is a very old friend of my father. As you all may know, Tarthang Rinpoche is a very generous person. In fact, he was the key person who started Monlam Chenmo or the Great Aspiration Prayers Ceremony for all the schools in Bodhgaya. The Monlam Chenmo used to be organised by only the Gelugpa school, but Tarthang Rinpoche, due to his generosity and great aspiration, many years ago, decided to help all other schools, from Nyingma, to Karma Kamtsang, to Drikung and even Sakya, to organise their own versions of Monlam Chenmo in Bodhgaya. I admire Tarthang Rinpoche's ability to offer such generous help to everyone.

I am very happy to be able to conduct the pooja at Swayambhunath because historically, 7th Gyalwang Drukpa Thrinley Shingta was involved in a big repair job for the same stupa at the request of the local people and the king then. So it was kind of nice feeling for me to be able to do this pooja in preparation for the restoration work. Would you say this is "history repeating itself"? Maybe some of you were there in the crowd when I was doing this pooja and you might have received a few pages of the translated history in Tibetan and English from Nepali about the history of this particular deed of 7th Gyalwang Drukpa, which was engraved on a stone pillar at a Drukpa Lineage monastery up on Swayambhunath.

Also, that day was a very special day. It was the day when Guru Padmasambhava performed a very grand smoke pooja to get rid of all the obstacles so that the Samye monastery would be successfully completed for the sake of all sentient beings. This is a very well-known date for the practitioners. Therefore I am very happy to be able to to do this.

In conjunction with this, on the same day, I initiated a few preparation for the forthcoming clinic on Druk Amitabha Mountain, because this clinic will be benefiting so many people, from the local community to the strangers from other places. Therefore I took the opportunity to register the Board of Governors and Working Committee, so that the clinic will be functioning very nicely, harmoniously, and efficiently as a part of our Live to Love projects and as a part of the Drukpa Lineage's wish to benefit others.

As you know, many people think and feel we Buddhists are not very much into the practice of helping others on the ground and doing humanitarian activities. Buddhists are only interested in practising meditation and developing inner strength. Although this is true, Buddha Shakyamuni  also said that one has to practise practical mind of Enlightenment, which is also a path of Bodhisattva. This means that we as a practising Buddhists must also be involved in active humanitarian activities, besides developing our wisdom and inner strength. So I am very happy to be able to start the clinic, the tree planting, helping burned children and all other small projects all over the world with the help of my students and friends in the name of Live to Love. Live to Love is not only my precious little baby, it is a baby for all of you, my friends and students, who are supporting the Drukpa Lineage, a practical lineage for yogis of the past and today. I am thinking of starting all these projects and activities in a small way and slowly let them grow so that they will benefit many beings.

Besides Marie-José de Quevedo and her team in Switzerland who have been helping with the construction of the clinic, so many of my students are friends are very enthusiastic to help to continue and realise the dreams of the clinic. Many of them are qualified professionals and many others are actively fundraising for the clinic equipments, as advised by my trusted panel of doctors and professionals. I am very appreciative about this.

For the sake of the sick beings, in the name of Live to Love for the spreading of the Dragon Lineage, I shall now name this clinic "Druk Pema Karpo Clinic" in Tibetan and "Druk White Lotus Clinic" in English, whichever way you call it, it's okay. This clinic is a part of Druk Amitabha Mountain, therefore the name and the activities must also be somehow join together. I have also asked one of my students who is now staying here in Druk Amitabha Mountain to start a website on the clinic, directly under my supervision. Thanks to everyone who cares about me, about Live to Love, about benefiting others, now finally the clinic will come to materialisation soon.