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Dear Dharma Sisters and Brothers: Greetings and best wishes in the Dharma. I am extremely sorry to learn from our dear Dharma sister Celilie Kwiat of the recent passing away of the Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche. On behalf of myself personally as well as President of the International Buddhist Friends Association, I would like to convey our heartfelt condolences to all concerned. The Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche was a great teacher and leader in the Dharma in Canada and also internationally. He had many students everywhere around the world, and even though he has passed away in this present lifetime, his teachings will remain a precious treasure and will continue to flourish for the benefit of all sentient beings. Personally, I was honoured to know him as a friend and colleague and I will always keep his memory alive in my mind. The Venerable Sayadaw U Thila Wunta (Mon) and associates from Myamma send their heartfelt sympathy and blessings. During this important transition period, while Venerable Namgyal is in the bardo dimension, we must righteously and faithfully send him our prayers and compassion for his enlightenment and continuation of his vital teachings. I hope we can all join together in this vitally important Dharma endeavor. Thank you and may you all be blessed with peace, harmony and good health in commemoration of our dearly beloved Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche who we will surely miss each and every moment of our lives. But we know that he is in a special, excellent place. Sincerely Yours, with Mettã Steven KH Aung, MD, FAAFP President, International Buddhist Friends Association
Given how much I was inspired and moved by Namgyal Rinpoche in the very brief time I was so fortunate to have been exposed to him, I can only imagine the strength of emotions at the Dharma Centre at this time.
Dearest Friends, In the wake of the latest email from Terry, I wanted to express our heart-felt love and deep, deep appreciation for our dear teacher, and for each other. Rinpoche passed on as he lived, teaching, manifesting compassion, tirelessly working for the benefit of beings... Last night we met in Ottawa, as we will continue to do and as others are doing around the world, to pray for Rinpoche's speedy reincarnation for the sake of all beings. Rinpoche's teaching had a truly "unique flavour" and his students have not failed to incorporate that.... Our meditation and shared reminiscence resembled something of a cross between a Tibetan offering ceremony and an Irish wake (minus the whisky!)... (: Although we are shaken by the news, what we each recognized is how immeasurably precious our opportunity has been. How wondrous the gifts we have continuously received from the Lama. How his life has been a continuous outpouring of compassion and wisdom that flowed outward in all directions, affecting all manifestation. Thank you all so much for being there, for the prayers, for the determination to practice, as David said, to incorporate and manifest the teachings, as they were freely and tirelessly given to us, for the sake of all. Love and light, Karen
Dear Friends During these days I find my mind spreading out to embrace an extraordinary number of beings who have shared in the mandala of our Venerable Rinpoche. I would like to greet you all individually, to express how much I value your unique contribution to the world. However, space and time are limiting in this task, so this e-mail will have to indicate what my mind has already done. I offer to each of you a white silk scarf, billowing with the blessings of our wondrous lama, a scarf of pure aspiration, a scarf of strong determination, a scarf of warm friendship. I offer to each of you a great deep hug, hearts touching hearts, breathing together in this profound mystery, loss that is no loss, grief which is also a beautiful opening, a shattering moment that throws open the doors of appreciation and loosens the strings of memory. I offer to each of you all that I am and all that I seem to have, knowing that every atom of my being has been touched by the beginningless endless Dharma we have come to refer to as Namgyal Rinpoche. I know that every atom of your being has been equally touched. Rinpoche, I am resting, easeful, spacious and alert, just outside your house here in Guatemala. The sun is streaming through the forest canopy. The butterflies are flitting back and forth with the songs of the birds and the rustle of the wind in the trees. I see your form in my mind's eye and feel your presence dancing in the very bones of my being; dancing as Dorje Sempa, dancing as Vajrayogini, dancing as Guru Rinpoche; dancing the song of awakening - the symphony of everfresh awareness and spontaneous compassion. Your activities reverberate in the lives of countless beings; beings of the past, beings of the present and beings yet to come. You point out the wondrousness of this multidimensional universe and call all beings to awaken through the power of love. My gratitude for all that you are is beyond measure. May the warm blessing of the Namgyals continue to travel on, in innumerable forms and circumstances, appearing wherever there is need, constantly exploring and finding new ways to open the hearts of beings to the vast mystery of the universe that we already are. Rinpoche, tears of gratitude are flooding from my eyes, a stream of crystal thankyous! - moisture from the sea, hydrogen and oxygen from the distant stars. May we continue to meet again and again throughout innumerable different lives! The night after hearing the news of Rinpoche's death, I lay wide awake, having only tiny moments of sleep. The mind was clear and quite serene and the words of Dudjom Rinpoche played again and again through my mind with ever deepening understanding. They link us all, Rinpoche, myself and you. In a nutshell they express the essence of what I am learning from our blessed lama. I would like to share them with you here. Since pure awareness of nowness is the real Buddha, In openness and contentment I find the Lama in my heart. When we realize this unending natural mind is the very nature of the Lama, Then there is no need for attached grasping, or weeping prayers or artificial complaints, By simply relaxing in this uncontrived, open and natural state, We obtain the blessing of aimless self-liberation of whatever arises. May this joyous and creative, practice and teaching of Dharma, this Namgyal Heart/Mind, continue to flower in myriad forms and expressions for the benefit of all beings. with love and warm greetings Tarchin
Thanks, Tarchin, for the beautiful images and kind support.
David,
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