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.

White Lotus or Pema Karpo is the name of the 4th Gyalwang Drukpa, the greatest Gyalwang Drukpa of all. He had hundreds' thousands of disciples who attained enlightenment within one lifetime, from him, many branch lineages appeared. Every time, I read his biography, I aspire to be like him, so that our lineage will be strong in order to benefit many people, many beings. Not a single moment, I am not concerned about the development of our lineage and the spirituality generally. Deep in my heart, I think Buddhism, in particular the teachings and blessings of our 800 over years of legacy must be able to communicate and benefit the people of today. White Lotus gives not only the sense of purity, but also the feeling of strength, the strength of a lotus which is able to grow in dirty mud, get the nourishment from the mud like samsara, and grow to be a beautiful lotus that symbolises Enlightenment and the strength and energy of activities that benefit others. Perfect Enlightenment is something that can only be achieved by being involved with devotional understanding of the activities in samsara, without a slight tinge of ego and self.

Many of my friends and colleagues have problems with helpers and sponsors who often want to control them and their projects in the name of helping or in the name of benefiting, and they tend to lose their direction and grip of their own projects that they have started originally to benefit others, then the projects become a power play and a ego show. But I am very happy so far none of my friends and students who have been so helpful for me and my projects have even thought of controlling my projects or controlling my activities or even controlling my followers in the name of helping or supporting. This is why Druk Amitabha Mountain and the activities up here are inspiring many people, because none of the activities are contaminated by individual ego, I would say. I hope this kind of wonderful spirit and attitude which are badly needed for a genuine spiritual community will last forever, at least for my organisations. Helping and benefiting others, if done selflessly and openly, happily and harmoniously, will bring not only tremendous positive impact to others, but also countless merits for oneself.

DRUK PEMA KARPO CLINIC / DRUK WHITE LOTUS CLINIC

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

1. Twelfth Drukpa (myself)
2. Bairo Rinpoche
3. Khamtrul Rinpoche Jigme Pema Nyinjadh
4. Drubpon Ngawang
5. Pemba Tsering
6. Lama Surya Das
7. Marie-José de Quevedo
8. Felix Lim
9. Dr. Jeffrey Lee
10. Michael Kern

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

DRUK PEMA KARPO ASSEMBLY HALL

When this idea of having an assembly hall came to my mind, not only for the forthcoming Annual Drukpa Council, but also for many other activities that will be happening on Druk Amitabha Mountain, Alice Tsang, my student kindly offered to sponsor the entire hall, but it turned out that my idea of a hall for 2000 people without pillars will cost 7 times more than what she has given. I felt a little too much for her to give more than what she has done, since she is also involved in two of my other biggest fundraising projects. When I was just about to forget about this, Jigme Zangmo offered to sponsor a huge part of the hall, now that we are almost 60% covered with the cost and Zangmo's son came up with such a nice design, I have started the construction almost right away. In the very near future, when the 300 new nuns come, the hall will also be ready for their practice and other activities for many of you who should be coming from time to time, visiting us and joining us in our activities.

I am also happy that Philip Jigme Senge, my number 2 lay disciple, will be coming soon to manage the construction for me. Germans are known to be very prompt and steady for many things, I really appreciate his help. My people here will be able to learn so much from him.

Well, I actually have more things to talk about, but again, I have to go now. I will write again in a few hours.