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Tushita Meditation Centre, Dharamsala, India – April 1, 2010
From Ven. Roger Kunsang:
5:30 a.m. …. We’re scrambling to get the White Tara long life puja ready, preparation begins at 6 a.m.
Suddenly, Dagri Rinpoche arrives with Namgyal Monastery’s umze who will lead the puja for Rinpoche! Sangpo and a few others are rushing to get breakfast. Kunsang, flies off with his audio equipment and zen dragging along the ground, half asleep.
Quite a large tribe of monkeys appear at the door blocking the entrance.
With breakfast finished, preparation for puja starts. The long life initiation starts at 8 a.m. when Rinpoche arrives. It has to finish by 10 a.m. because the Hayagriva retreat group has an appointment with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Rinpoche hasn’t done White Tara long life puja before, but it goes quite smoothly with the help of the Tibetans and with lots of help from Tushita staff and volunteers in the background – they have done an excellent job. After the long life puja, everybody immediately rushes to get ready to walk down to His Holiness’ temple for the audience.
10:30 a.m. …. I’m in Rinpoche’s room and of course it is a little crazy trying to organize all the specialty, amazingly designed gifts: a large crystal swan full of gems (crystals, pearl beads, different colored quartzes, zircons) appearing like it’s dripping with wealth; another big crystal vase filled with pearls, beads, zircons and different colored crystals; a 4-foot x 3-foot,
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with His Holiness, March 2010
beautifully framed picture of the Potala in 3D; Lama Tsongkhapa statues and his two main disciples (from Ven.Pemba) and much more….
We manage to load everything into the jeep and balance all the gifts as we rush down the hill. With us in the jeep is the young, 4-year-old reincarnation of Ribur Rinpoche, his father and Oser Rinpoche.
We arrive at His Holiness’ Private Office and meanwhile there are 120 Hayagriva retreatants going through the slow but detailed security process. We get through that and we are inside the temple grounds waiting for our appointment.
Haircutting ceremony with His Holiness and Ribur Rinpoche's reincarnation
We arrange three different group photos with His Holiness because the group is too big. Then, His Holiness says he would like to speak to the group in his audience room. While the retreatants are going to the audience room, His Holiness meets with Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Ribur Rinpoche’s incarnation and conducts the haircutting ceremony for Ribur Rinpoche’s incarnation.
His Holiness moves very quickly through several other rooms that have different groups of people waiting in them. These groups briefly meet His Holiness and photos are taken all in a matter of minutes. Then His Holiness comes into our audience room and gives a very, very nice talk to the retreatants for about 30 minutes. His Holiness departs, giving Rinpoche a friendly slap on the back.
Rinpoche with His Holiness and some of the retreatants from the Hayagriva retreat
As they leave, the retreatants are given blessed pills and a poster of the 17 Nalanda pundits. Everybody is very, very happy.
Rinpoche rushes back to attend a benefactor’s dinner and then is interviewed about FPMT on video. This was set up by the Tibetan information minister.