June 19: Surmang

The following message to the Shambhala Community was transmitted directly by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche in a phone conversation by satellite phone from the roof of Surmang Dutsi-til at 9:20 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (9:30 p.m. of the same day in Tibet).

Good Morning, everyone. First, I would like to say that when I am meeting people--the relatives of the first Mipham Rinpoche, the Trungpa Tulku, the other lamas at Surmang, the members of my family and all the people here--I am not meeting them myself alone but together with many thousands of you, who are travelling here together with us on a heart level. Please feel that you are a part of this journey, which is a very meaningful journey, and I really hope and trust that you can feel that.

It has been a very arduous trip. The roads are hellacious as you know, but it’s been incredibly beautiful too, of course. Prior to the trip, we thought we might be bringing too many people in the party, but now we find that everybody has been incredibly valuable. There is lots to do. The level of activity has been intense. People just keep coming in droves. It's endless.

My uncle Damchu Thenpel Rinpoche, the brother of the Vidyadhara has just arrived here tonight. He lives in a place that requires a different visa, so we sent two jeeps to pick him up. He’s 54 years old and he’s not in very good health. He needs two monks to hold him up as he walks. He’s one of my closest relatives and I was very, very much looking forward to meeting him. So, tonight we met. He’s very, very dark, from the sun, but he looks amazingly like the Vidyadhara and we obviously had a very good connection. He is very big and strong. He brought his son and some other relatives and we all met. It was quite a wonderful moment. Then, my other relatives who were already here joined in, my mother’s two brothers and other relatives who had travelled with them from Lhasa. We were all in the room together. It was about 20 or 25 people altogether. They all want visas and I told them they could come over and they could stay with a certain Mr. & Mrs. Boyce, who would have plenty of room and it would be no problem.

Meeting with Damchu Rinpoche has been very moving. We will be spending the next few days together, and Dr. Rabold is going to give him a full physical to see what kind of medical treatment he needs.

Tomorrow, we’re going by horseback up to Dorje Khyung Dzong (where the Vidyadhara spent much time in study and retreat, 1500 feet straight up behind Surmang Dudsi-til) and I’m doing a night and a day retreat there. In a few days, we're also going to Dechen Chöling, which is another retreat center around here where the Vidyadhara did his ngöndro. So, when we've been there, we'll update you about what happened.

Until next time, this is Radio Surmang. Mangalam.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche,
Surmang