Let’s start with some magical things.
When I first met Getse Rinpoche at Bodhgaya in 2007, honestly there was nothing magical. But later I had a dream of him. For me, dreams are no big deal. But since it was a dream that happened in a holy place, I did give special attention to it. In that dream, I saw Getse Rinpoche, but in my perception, I felt I dreamt Vajrapani. Anyway, I left this dream together with doubts for some time.
Not long after that, I saw a photo of a thangka in which all incarnations of Getse were drawn altogether. But the photo was small, so each of them looked really small. Particularly, the main deity on the very top looked really tiny. So I asked Rinpoche, “ Which deity is that? The blue one on the very top....” He said, “That is Vajrapani.” I was a bit shocked and asked further, “Does Vajrapani have any significance in your previous incarnations?” He said, “Yes, Vajrapani is the source of all emanations of Getse.”
Therefore I told him about that dream I had. And then he told me his dream in return. When he was In Bhutan, he had a dream: He was flying in sky, and his skin was blue. “And the lower part of my body was covered with tiger’s skin...so maybe I have some connection with Vajrapani.” He was talking so calmly, as if he was talking about someone else.
So that was the Vajrapani thing. And we shall talk about dragon now. Chinese and Bhutanese say they are offsprings of dragon. But none of them have seen any dragon. Getse Rinpoche, however, saw a dragon with his own eyes when he was a teenage cowherd. He led some goats or yaks to a lake. All of sudden, he saw a dark colored dragon coming up from the lake, stepping on clouds and then flew into sky with thunder-like sound.
When I was with Rinpoche in America, the most helpless thing was to translate the dragon thing. He tried to convince people to believe that dragons do exist and that some things do actually exist even though science couldn’t prove it yet. But most of time, people just listened, wore a face of doubt, and kept drinking their tea.
After the dragon thing, let’s go back to the cowherd. That was the era when freedom of religion was strictly forbidden. He didn’t get chance to know about dharma extensively. Actually he hasn’t even seen a monastic robe until he was 15 yrs old. And of course, no body would know that this nobody would later be recognized as a great reincarnated master. He was forced to destroy Stupa and kill bugs in the field several times. But he firmly refused to do so. So he was punished with severe beating. They tortured him so much that he lost consciousness. Such things happened a couple of times...this was the price he paid when he refused to destroy stupas and harm living beings even at cost of his own life. Rinpoche once said, “I have no qualities of a Tulku. So I doubt if I am the reincarnation of the previous Getse. However, I didn’t learn much about dharma, yet I was not willing to destroy dharma and harm other beings even at cost of being beaten to nearly death....this kind of habitual tendency could be a sign of me as a Tulku.”
At that time, the enlightened mind of the 16th Karmapa, Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, and Adzom Gyasey were the same on the matter of recognizing the reincarnation of the precious Getse Rinpoche. This recognition letter was then passed into H.H. Moktsa Tulku through some wondrous interdependence. However, due to the turmoil caused by the invasion of cruel armies, the letter was lost. H.H. Moktsa Tulku was very sad about this huge loss. Some time later, a sheet of paper flew down to the area where Moktsa Tulku’s office was located. He picked it up and surprisingly found out that was exactly the lost letter. This is the best “lost and found” story I ever heard. In my life. In this recognition letter, Getse Rinpoche’s birth place, his parents’ names, and his unique physical marks were cleared mentioned. And so, that cowherd boy who saw a flying dragon ar lakeside, was later recognized as one of the five “Golden Throne Holders” in Kathok lineage.
Earlier in this year of 2018, Getse Rinpoche was enthroned as the 7th lineage holder for Nyinma sect. When ordinary people have acquired some power, position, fame, or fancy title, they will “make good use of it” and then ambitiously expand their territory and profits to the fullest. In April, Getse Rinpoche went to Malaysia to bestow some dharma teachings. He has only one dharma center in the world. And that is the Malaysia center. One day, he asked the center’s secretary to come to his room. Well, with a big title like that, it was indeed a great opportunity to have some great plans for the center isn’t it? However, Rinpoche told the secretary, “I don’t have a house that I can call mine. I don’t have any family left. And I don’t have a car of mine either. Now the only thing of mine, is this “my center”. So I am going to make that disappear too.” Then he gave instructions of offering this center to the mother monastery. From my perspective, not being moved by the worldly concerns is the most magical thing about Getse Rinpoche.
So that was the magical part, now let’s talk about my favorite part: the simpleness.
An old and devoted student of Rinpoche told me that Rinpoche told him that he didn’t want to live long. He just wanted to live up to 55-56 yrs old. And he said to him, “I just want to keep practicing in mountainside. I am not interested in giving dharma teachings in the markets when I still have no realization and quality.” The master of so many magical stories just wanted to practice in the most simplest way. I have served Rinpoche on several occasions. I was impressed by how he was so committed to his daily practice. He had a thick and old chanting book, and he had to complete everything every single day no matter he was in his remote retreat in Nepal, or a fancy room in a five star hotel in a foreign country. And for several times I heard him saying this to himself when I turned off his room light while he was going to sleep, he murmured, “Alas, I haven’t achieved anything in dharma...”
When I heard that “55-56 yrs old” thing mentioned above, I suddenly recall around the year of 2010, I accompanied Rinpoche to Iron Knot Ranch, a dharma center in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico, USA. It was burning hot in the daytime, above 100F, and it was still like an micro oven at night. Rinpoche spent hours and hours to give teachings to around two dozens of students, every single day, for more than one month. When he was not teaching, he was either receiving private audience, or practicing quietly in bed. On the last day of the event, the center made the thanksgiving mandala offerings. This kind of moment is kind of “dreams come true” moment for nowadays so-called dharma teachers. Even from a worldly perspective, it is quite reasonable to accept some salary after one month hard work. But Getse Rinpoche returned the money, intact. And most of all, in that trip, he told the head of that center, “After I died, build my Stupa here.” He was talking in a serious manner, no joke. And yes, he was 56 yrs old.
Two days ago, when I heard of the news of his Parinirvana, I was definitely shocked. But when I recalled those words that he spoke about so many years ago, I realized when we said his passing was so sudden, it was just our grasping at permanence speaking. Many people may ask, “Then why now? Why this timing?” Well, we hardly know what we are doing, let alone fathoming the depth of the mind of someone “who is blue and wears tiger skin”. Some people may have remorse about not getting more chance to do more for him, but let’s not forget he may have extended his original plan in order to do more for us. Some people may wish he can remain longer to perform greater and grander so-called enlightened activities, but let’s think about how much he has done for Buddha dharma and sentient beings in the last couple of decades already.
Most of all, let’s remember what he was trying to teach us.
Tenzin Weigyal
Full Moon Day
At Tsopema
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