Trey Ligon and his wife, Anne, with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Reno, Nevada, United States, August 2017. Photo by Lobsang Sherab.

Events that lead to the founding of FPMT centers, projects, and services can be as varied and inspirational as the benefit that they provide.

The Dharmakaya Center in Reno, Nevada, United States, has an origin story that the founder, Trey Ligon, recently shared in a letter of thanks to Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Just eight years ago, Trey went out into the woods to look for his cat, triggering a series of incredible events that would pass through personal crisis, but which would ultimately present the opportunity to spread the Dharma.

So inspiring was Trey’s letter that Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered a translation of a new Green Tara prayer. Rinpoche asked that Trey’s story be shared with the FPMT community.

Green Tara

Dear Precious Lama Zopa Rinpoche,

I want to thank you for everything you do for all sentient beings and for your kind and generous gifts to my wife Anne and me. It was such a blessing for both of us to be able to visit with you at the Light of the Path retreat. I wanted to offer you greater detail of the story that I had started to share with you about how Arya Tara pointed me towards you, my Guru.

In 2009, I was walking in the woods near my house and it was starting to get dark, so I began to hurry and suddenly caught my foot on a fallen log. I fell to the ground in significant pain and could not stand on one leg. I looked at my foot and discovered that I could not move it to any degree. I could not stand up or put any weight on it to walk. (Later, I found out that I had a compound fracture in my right ankle.) I yelled out for help, but no one answered. I tried yelling louder and louder, but no one answered back, so I started to crawl and drag my disconnected ankle with me. It was painful as I crawled along the ground slowly.

My knees and arms started to become cut-up from the rough ground and I felt I could not go on any longer, so I started to pray for help. Again, no one came to assist me. Then I started to cry out for help and at that moment, my savior, Arya Green Tara, appeared to me in the darkness. As she looked at me, her beautiful green light shined around her, so I could now see where I was crawling and once again had hope. When I stopped crawling to clean the rocks out of my bloody arms, Arya Green Tara would encourage me to keep going towards the house lights. She told me that I was so lucky to be born at this time as a human being because my past root guru was alive and well spoken in the Buddhadharma at this time. She told me that I should go seek him out to continue my practice. She told me to go look for the “Medicine Buddha Guru” and that my guru was always the “Ultimate Healer.” As I got closer to the house, I was found and rushed to the hospital.

One week later, I had a surgery to reattach my ankle bone with implants (metal rods, screws, and plates) and while recovering at home, I remembered Mother Tara’s words and decided to pick up my laptop to search for “Medicine Buddha Guru as the Ultimate Healer.” Your book, Ultimate Healing: The Power of Compassion came up in my search results. I ordered the book online and as I read each page, your teachings felt so comfortable and resonated with me. It was as if you were there in the room talking directly to me. The obvious next step was for me to go find my guru.

An x-ray showing the extent of the damage sustained on Trey’s ankle. Photo courtesy of Trey Ligon.

I discovered online that you were giving a lamrim teaching and a Medicine Buddha practice near me in San Francisco in 2011. I made arrangements to come see you for the first time. I immediately had a strong connection and could not get enough of your teachings and I knew what I had to do next.

I wrote you a letter asking you what you thought about starting a new Dharma center where I live in Reno, Nevada, near Lake Tahoe. You surprised me by writing back a lengthy, precious letter with more than enough confirmations for me to begin the process of organizing a new study group. With the help of some wonderful Buddhists, we opened a study group in an empty space in my medical business. It was always your letter to me that kept me going in the early days—so, thank you so much, Guru. You then gave us the name “Dharmakaya Study Group.” Wow!

After three years as a study group, I rejoice to share with you that in 2015 we became “Dharmakaya Center” and through your many examples and teachings, we will always strive to be most beneficial for all sentient beings.

With much love and devotion, Trey Ligon

Read Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s translation of the new Green Tara Prayer

Read more about the programs and study opportunities at the Dharmakaya Center in Reno, Nevada, United States.

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