Thursday, August 10, 2006

Auspicious Transit to Delhi

Surely this trip is in the hands of the Guru; obstacles cleared to make it to Dharamsala to hear the booming wisdom voice of Dalai Lama, to humbly assist the Tulane students in India, to visit some bomb ass holy sites.

As I was waiting in line to check in at the Jet Airways counter in the KDU airport, I heard a female voice yell, "Rechungpa!" (which is the spiritual name that my teacher Phakchok Rinpoche uses for me). I turned around to see Norbu, a Tibetan student of Rinpoche's with a very beautiful Tibetan woman of indeterminable age. Norbu seemed very excited to see me, and asked where I was going. "Delhi," I replied, and she ran over to request that I check one of their many bags for them. This I happily did, and she slipped me 1000 nepali rupees to cover the excess charge.

I met back up with the Tibetan women at the baggage claim in Delhi after an uneventful hour flight west, and helped them with their collection of heavy duffle bags. Norbu whispered to me that the woman with her was her older sister, Tenzin Choyang, who is the wife of the Neten Chokling Rinpoche and therefore the mother of the great Dzogchen yogi Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche's reincarnation (who is my root teacher Phakchok Rinpoche's root teacher/ grandfather). They explained that the Neten Chokling has made a movie about the life of the famous yogi/poet Jetsun Milarepa (just writing his name fills my chest with veneration), and their extra baggage was filled with about 40 amazing hand gold painted images of the great master Milarepa, gifts for sponsors to the movie project. They were worried that they would not be able to carry all their bags on board, and needed to find someone to help them. I am named Rechungpa after Milarepa's famous disciple, Rechungpa, and in their pure wisdom perception they saw a humble disciple delivered by Milarepa for the sake of transporting the thankas (paintings) cheaply and safely to Delhi. Oh how fortunate I am to be in the right place at the right time to help these amazing people!

After some casual inquiry and conversation she invited me to come visit her in Bir, which is close to Dharamsala, where I am going with Daniel on Saturday night. Hopefully a future post will discuss a trip to Bir to visit the holy child.

I walked them out to meet their driver and after some haggling with taxi drivers Yumchen (Great Mother) Choyang offered to drive me part of the way to Majnu Ka Tilla where I was to meet up with Neil and the LHA (Louisiana Himalayan Association)/Tulane Social Work group, with whom I am now. We managed to cram everything in the little car and their nice Tibetan driver took us to an area of South Delhi where they lived, an old Buddhist area. They invited me in for some tea, I consented and spent some time relaxing with Choyang and Norbu and their two sisters, Lobsang and Tashi, all four very excited beautiful Tibetan young women; while their driver arranged a car to bring me the rest of the way to my hotel.

I felt unbelievably blessed at that time to have such a nice transit to Delhi, all obstacles cleared immediately, unveiling natural realization of the truth of interdependent origination and the effect of actions. Perhaps some slight connection to this lineage from the past, or one developed in the last few years, has led me to such undeniably good circumstance!

I rejoice in the merit thus created, may all beings be happy, may their suffering be gone and may I experience it for their sake, and finally may all experience the final happiness of realizing their inherent goodness as their own mind nature!

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