The Impetus
23 Jun
I was with Rinpoche just 2 nights ago and he was talking about a lot of things including the pressures that he was facing. He was in tears talking about it and as he talked, he turned to face his computer and played a song on YouTube. A wave of nostalgia swept through him as he reminisced about his childhood.
“Look, there’s John Lennon and Yoko walking…”
He said this song inspired him to runaway from home. It was this song that infused him with new hope that things could be different. At that time, he was facing a lot of abuse at home because his mother was beating him up for the smallest reasons and there seemed to be no end to the terror. She was Schizophrenic but they didn’t know about such things back then. On the other hand, his father was cold, distant and was only concerned with ‘enjoyments’ outside that led to his mother’s psychological breakdown. His days were filled with tears, beatings and a lot of pain.
While he was struggling with depression, John Lennon had just passed away. His songs were being played everywhere – on the radio and on TV. It didn’t really matter to him but his songs were everywhere and so he listened. And he liked it. He hitched-hiked to the nearest mall to purchase the album with the little money he saved. That was it. He played this song over and over again. It was this song that inspired a fresh new dream and a journey out of pain…
原动力 (译文）
仅两晚前我和仁波切在一起的时候，仁波切谈论了很多事情，
“你看，*约翰•列侬 (John Lennon) 和小野洋子(Yoko Ono) 正走着……”
仁波切说，这首歌是他从家里离家出走的灵感。
当仁波切正在抑郁症中挣扎时，约翰•列侬刚刚去世。
注：
1. *英国著名摇滚乐队“披头士”成员，摇滚史上最伟大的音乐家之一 ，诗人，社会活动家，反战者。
2. 这首歌是”Imagine”.
Morgan Robinson
Luqman Michel
Reza Pramudya
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CASEY KAM
I always thought enlightened beings like our Guru will not be touched by hurt, pain and abuse. They are just as human as we are and their senses are even more acutely felt than us. May Tsem Rinpoche’s dream come true for him in this and other lives. May he continue to benefit others.
David, I like your blog! The Colour the pictures and the design. Very nice and pleasant. Thank you for sharing about Rinpoche. My hear break when u read about it. Rinpoche is the kindest person that I ever met.
Its sad that Rinpochehad go thru such sufferings and yet we have not made the worth ofmhis sufferings by creating a grand place to attract more students to be benefitted by him and his teachings. It is really time to make his wishes come true without any delay. KFR and then KWPC must happen now and lets all work towards that with one heart.
I feel sad that rinpoche feels this way. I will work hard to get out of my comfort zone.
We all need dreams and hopes to carry on, and we must fight so that our goals can be reached especially if the goal is dharma based. For big projects people have to spend more time making it happen!
Dear David,
Very inspiring story of our great Guru. If he didn’t make that big step, we will all still be rolling in our ignorant, samsaric world.
And most of all, we wouldn’t get to meet our holy Guru.
Great insight to Rinpoche Childhood life.
I am just so amazed by Rinpoche. After having to endure so much hardship… he still pull though and became such a wondering and caring guru that always put pthers infront of himself.
Thank you for sharing this story David. If I can add to it, Rinpoche has also spoken about the excitement, trepidation and freedom he felt when he finally ran away, and he stood at the end of his road, just next to the highway waiting for a ride. Can you imagine a 16 year old boy, standing at the corner and knowing that it is the beginning of the rest of his life and that from that moment on, the second a car pulls up and he gets in, everything will be different forever? Such a monumental decision to make that so few of us are able to do, there is inspiration to be found in every moment of Rinpoche’s life.
I believe it must be a heart tearing pain to leave the family, and the uncertainty of the future must had brought a lot of fear to Rinpoche at that period. But with much courage and faith to Dharma, Rinpoche went through the hardest period in his life and still standing strong to guide many to go through the dark.
Thank you Rinpoche for telling us by your action, that by having strong faith, we can go through all difficulties.
The song really gives a wonderful imagine space for people to believe that the world could be better if you let it.
When I contemplated what Rinpoche had to go through so much suffering in the earlier days of his life, I most certain that a great Being like him only orchestrated his every lives in Samsara in order to bring tremendous benefit to all beings. Need we have to say much about his attainments as a Buddhist master in our time? It is so apparent.
Dear David, thank you for this sharing. It shows the side of Rinpoche that many will not have the opportunity to see. We always take for granted that our Guru will not feel any pain as he is already attained and is one with Buddhas. The fact is, our Guru takes this human form due to his great compassion to help us.
Since Guru is in this human form that comes with all the 5 “skandhas” (Aggregates of existence), there are still feelings and pains. These pains though hurtful to him, it is not the kind of sensational and ignorant-bound suffering that we have. Guru’s mind is pure and will not sway. He takes all the pain to show us the ways to accept it and eventually to overcome it.
Rinpoche in pain then and Rinpoche in pain now , thirty years later. Only now, it’s the students who are causing him pain. We, with our selfish minds and strong attachment to our comfort zones, cannot accept what our Guru, in all his wisdom and compassion, is giving to us and letting us experience, for our own benefit.
At the same time, Rinpoche’s resilience has always made him quickly come out of his pain and refocus on his one and only purpose in life – to serve and benefit others directly and through the Dharma.
Thank you, David, for this beautiful sharing.
I can say something for sure, just like John Lennon ignited my idealistic mind decades ago, Rinponche has rekindled it after it being dormant for decades. It’s good to be young and idealistic once again! No ifs, no buts. Imagine…
Hi May Ong,
I believe that what differentiates a bodhisattvas and the rest is not because they are cannot be touched by hurt, pain and abuse but instead they transform all those sufferings into something better and beautiful.