Journey to Dirang

I fly to Guwahati

on the banks of the Brahmaputra

then drive to Arunachal Pradesh

to meet our administrators

Jesus has blessed the area

as has Tibet

elders are pious

the young are chic

It’s a simple place

basics

His Holiness has visited

bestowing the Kalachakra initiation in 1983

I visit the home of my young student

And then we meet our donors

before the official

to receive a gift

Stamped!

Our escort leads us

to a hill top

where we celebrate

and then descend

taking all our things

to visit the temple we have been given

its altar

all have been kind

though firm

and then we say goodby

Bodhgaya

In the Indian state of Bihar

lies Bodhgaya

where the Buddha attained enlightenment

There are many Buddhas in Bodhgaya

and many people too

This is the tree the Buddha sat and meditated under

He then taught

We must study

and contemplate

to then meditate

we each practice in our own way

Some make offerings

others spin their MANI wheels

Someone must cook

and sweep

so we can make our way along our path

So many have hard times

a smile helps

however we must each work to cut through our ignorance

and arrive at enlightenment

so we can help those who cannot help themselves

Happy New Year

A Thumbs Up for 2023!!!

Ps Rinpoche’s biography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is in Tibetan. There will eventually be an English translation.

This morning in Bodhgaya

This morning, in the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment, in the presence of over 10,000 monks and many lay people, I present to His Holiness His “Secret Biography” written by Khyongla Rinpoche. We then distributed copies to all present.

Photographs by Tenzin Choejor