The men I love always seem to die at 19h00.
The common cold had turned into pnuemonia and my beloved grandfather lay dying. I was in university at the time. But my time was devoted to my grandfather. Not my classes. I was getting ready to go to the hospital. It was 19h00. The telephone rings. My grandfather has just died. And I hadn’t gone to visit him that day….
Today is Sunday, April 04, 2010. But I am remembering when it was April 04, 1987,
It’s 19h00. We are meditating in the shrine room.
The telephone rings. We have been dreading this call from Halifax, Nova Scotia. It means that our beloved spiritual guide Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, crazy wisdom master, has died.
I was inconsolable. I could not stop crying.
It didn’t take long for the rest of the world to pay tribute to this great mahasidda (teacher who has great spiritual abilities.)
Here’s an example from one of Canada’s major newspapers, The Globe and Mail, April 06, 1987:
Buddhist founded group
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the international leader of a Buddhist sect, has died in a Halifax hospital after several months of ill health. He was 47.
The Rinpoche died Saturday night of respiratory failure after a cardiac arrest.
The Rinpoche arrived in Halifax last year to establish a new international headquarters for his group, which was previously based in Boulder, Colo. He was the founder of Vajradhatu, an international association of about 100 Buddhist meditation and study centres in the United States, Canada and Europe.
The Rinpoche is one of about 100,000 Tibetan Buddhists who fled their homeland in 1959 with their exiled god-king, the Dalai Lama, after an unsuccessful rebellion against Communist Chinese rule.
He had been in and out of hospital since last fall because of heart and respiratory problems.
Rinpoche is an honorific title that means “precious one.” He also held the title Vidyadhara, a Sanskrit word meaning holder of great insight.
His church consists of 5,000 followers, of whom 700 live in Canada.
This media article deals with dry facts.
Now here’s an exquisite description of the man himself, written and delivered by Alan Sloan, a senior Shambhala Training director and a Buddhist teacher, in March, 2006, Halifax.
I would like to propose a toast to what I personally feel is the essential Chogyam Trungpa. If I close my eyes and think of Rinpoche, the very first impression, the first thought is of his incredible warmth, his tenderness and amazing sensitity to what it means to be human. The Vidyadhara {Sanksrit: awareness holder} was the most human being I ever met. He made us feel that being human was precious, that having a human body, heart and mind was the greatest treasure. He clearly loved his life and communicated that love to us. In his presence, every detail of perception, every emotion, thought, word, the most ordinary activities, all seemed potent and filled with meaning.
His tenderness was pervasive and penetrating. Whatever rock hard opinions his students held were illuminated and then melted, like glaciers, by [his] heat and brilliance. He loved us so passionately. His love encouraged us to be truly human, to feel everything, no matter how painful or pleasurable, exactly as it is — to respect our own experiences no matter what.
I would like to raise a toast to the ultimate human drala {blessing energy that arises when we go beyond aggression}, to the Father and Grandfather Guru, to the kindest and most generous spiritual friend, who continues to inspire us all to be truly human and truly liberated….”
This passionate, loving description is a hard act to follow. However, here’s my post script to this toast to Trungpa — thank you for your wonderful son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. I can hardly believe that I should have two such magnificient spiritual friends in one lifetime!
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