The Gyalwang Drukpa

 At the age of four, I was taken to Darjeeling, where my main monastery is, as a reincarnation of the 11th Gyalwang Drukpa. It was said that I could recognise some of the servants who had served the 11th Drukpa as soon as they came to visit me. I do not remember these things any more. However, I remember saying to my parents two days before the late Thuksey Rinpoche came to see us that "a white bearded man will come soon to pick me up". I really do not know why, but I also remember that I was very happy to be taken as a reincarnation with the late Thuksey Rinpoche. Some say jokingly that it was because I had been the biological father of the late Thuksey Rinpoche, and therefore I was obviously happy to be back with my son, meaning that Thuksey Rinpoche was the only son of the 10th Gyalwang Drukpa. Whatever the reason, I felt very much at home when I was with Thuksey Rinpoche, who was my first and profound spiritual master and emotional support. I do not really care about whatever it was that made me feel that way. It is past and the thing that I need to be considering is the future and the present time, whether or not to be able to practice as this master wished me to do. Nonetheless, I still believe that it would have been much easier for my parents and especially for me as a small boy to grow up in an ordinary way.

However, I was put through the learning process of all the traditional rituals as well as the memorization of volumes of Buddhist spiritual teachings, among others, from the early age of six. Most of my traditional study and memorization was completed by the age of 13. My most difficult period of life is over. I had a very difficult upbringing between the ages of  5 and 13. The traditional way of educating a child is not an easy thing at all. It is indeed a difficult pipe to squeeze oneself through but I am glad that I have made it, and I found out that it gave me a tremendously long-lasting impact and security so as to appreciate the rest of the time in my life quite contentedly. It is unlike many of those modern children who are raised in a princely or princess-like style and who spend the rest of their lives as beggars who beg for comfort and happiness, those who suffer immensely from dissatisfaction every day and night. What I memorized and learned in that period of time does not count much to me but the experience of the hard time I went through is a great help for me now. I really feel that it was a treatment that was badly needed. No wonder my parents ignored my request to help me by asking those teachers to treat me softly. I always felt that I had nobody out there to cry to for support, not even my own parents, which I lately realized gave me a tremendous confidence in the development of self-strength.