September 1999
In This Issue
THE
FOUR PILLARS OF BUDDHISM -
<PART I>
<PART II>
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
TIBETAN
LAMA TAKES CANNES BY STORM -
Phorpa / The Cup
DZONGSAR
KHYENTSE RINPOCHE'S ACTIVITIES IN BHUTAN
LAMA SONAM ZANGPO AND HIS TULKU
DJK's Dharma - DATELESS AND DESPERATE
DZONGSAR KHYENTSE RINPOCHE'S ACTIVITIES IN BHUTAN
In this issue of the Gentle Voice we are featuring Rinpoche's institutes for Buddhist philosophy and practice in Bhutan. These include Chokyi Gyatso Institute, situated in south-eastern Bhutan, a school of philosophy offering the nine-year Acharya degree, and three gomchen (or meditator) communities, two at Kurtoe and one at Bartsam.
In
1970 Lama Sonam Zangpo, one of the greatest yoga masters of Bhutan (Dzongsar
Khyentse Rinpoche's grandfather), was directing the construction of a
small temple in a village in south-eastern Bhutan. The temple overlooks
Dewathang village, in the low Himalayan foothills of Bhutan, and its view
stretches down into the great plains of Assam in India. Ugyen Wangchuk,
the manager of Chokyi Gyatso Institute, was only a child then, but he
still remembers the elders saying, "Lama Sonam Zangpo says that some day
in the future a shedra will be built here and monks from all over will
come to study Buddhism here."
In
December 1990 Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche began to establish a shedra (or
institute for Buddhist studies) in Dewathang. Under Rinpoche's direction,
with Khenpo Sonam Tashi as the abbot and 35 monk students, Chokyi Gyatso
Institute was established and the wheel of Buddhadharma was turned in
Dewathang as Lama Sonam Zangpo had predicted. Initially, a group of well-wishers
and sponsors from Bhutan built a hostel and staff quarters for the new
shedra. Since the institute has been established, full-time academic courses
in Vajrayana Buddhism have been conducted in line with its objectives
of supporting Buddhist culture and values, facilitating the teaching and
practice of the Buddhadharma and promoting world peace through Buddhism.
The
institute offers a nine-year Acharya degree, which includes extensive
study of Buddhist philosophy, including commentaries of Madhyamaka, Prajnaparamita,
Abhidharmakosha, Vinaya, etc., from the point of view of all Buddhist
schools. Logic and dialectics (or debate) are an important part of the
monks' training as well. They rise around 5 a.m. and study and attend
classes each day between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. There is a lot of memorisation
of texts to do and there are revisions of classes in between class and
study periods. Sunday is their only day off and they often go to people's
homes on Sunday to do prayers for deceased or unwell family members. 
Bhutanese
monks (and all monks for that matter!) are very robust, energetic and
quite often very sharp-minded (as you would expect of persons involved
in such an intellectual environment), though they have a cheerful disposition
and can often be quite mischievous.
As
with Chokyi Gyatso Institute, Rinpoche's grandfather, Lama Sonam Zangpo,
was instrumental in the establishment of many gompas and gomchen communities
in Bhutan
.
While Lama Sonam Zangpo was alive, he intimated to Rinpoche that he would
like him to "take care" of Kurtoe, his main monastic seat in northern
Bhutan and its community of gomchens. Rinpoche said that Lama Sonam Zangpo
"invited and entrusted him to take over this place". Also, in Kurtoe,
Lama Rinzin Samdrup, under Rinpoche's guidance, has been renovating Sershong
Lhakang and Goesh Pang Lhakang, where 20 young children are studying to
become gomchens. Rinpoche was further requested to help with the Bartsam
gomchen community in 1986, when Lama Nakalung "offered" Chador Lhakang
to Rinpoche and told all his gomchens to accept Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
as their guiding teacher. Since then Rinpoche has been a kind of director
for the Bartsam community, which is made up of about 70 gomchens.
A
gomchen village is made up of self-supporting households. Kurtoe village
was initially on a major trading route. However, it now faces difficulties
as the trading route through Tibet has been cut off since Chinese occupation
and the welfare of the community it relies on is weakened. 
Bartsam
is in a busier, more prosperous area and is largely government-supported,
although Rinpoche says that "without Lama Nyingkula it would probably
not survive." There is also one gomchen retreat centre at Khata, not far
from the capital Thimpu, which is government-supported and which Rinpoche
also helps fund. This centre offers meditators three-year retreats, practising
the Six Yogas of Naropa, according to the Karma Kagyu tradition. It's
largely populated by Bartsam gomchens. It's common for meditators to stay
in retreat for more than one three-year retreat at Khata, and there are
many meditators in Bhutan in retreat for life.
Dewathang Institute is currently fund-raising for major reconstruction in order to improve the facilities and accommodate an increase in the number of monks studying at the institute. So any assistance through direct sponsorship or fund-raising will be greatly appreciated. All drafts can be made payable to Chokyi Gyatso Institute, Bhutan. Funds can be telegraphically transferred (or TT'd) to the Thimpu Branch of the Bhutan National Bank. Please address foreign drafts (no personal cheques) to the care of Ugyen Wangchuk, Post Office, Dewathang, Samdrup Jongkhar, East Bhutan, or phone (04) 71555.
Glenn
Fawcett 