| Venerable Lama Karma Shedrup Chokyi Senge Kartung Very Briefly My Early Life in Tibet and India An Autobiography by Venerable Lama Karma Shedrup Chokyi Senge Kartung I was born in East Tibet in 1954, the 'Wood Horse year' at Kham Nang Chen, in a place called Cho Drak. It is a very special area mentioned in many Vajrayana texts as an important pilgrimage place. It's one of the important holy places of Padmasambhava, the great eighth century Indian Mahasiddha who was responsible for introducing Buddhism to Tibet. Also, many great enlightened beings achieved realisation there, so it is very well known in east Tibet. It has a Monastery, Nunnery and Retreat Centres. Dotted throughout the surrounding mountains, are many caves where practitioners live and practice. There are numerous miraculous self-forming images in rocks throughout this area. A number of hidden treasure teachings called 'terma', have also been found there. The monastery belongs to the Bah Rum Kagyu lineage, one of the Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. My family farmed land on the bank of the major tributary of the Za Cho (Mekong) river. Besides growing barley and a few other cash crops, we farmed sheep, horses, mules, goats and yaks. There were twelve members in my family and as was our custom, two, three or four brothers usually married the same wife. This was the case in my family so I had three fathers. My middle father was a great spiritual practitioner who had traveled throughout India on a pilgrimage of Buddhist holy places. My mother was also a great practitioner. I was later to learn from my father, that she was very well known in the Cho Drak area. Her father, Cho Drak La Karta, (Kagyu Karma Tashi) was a lineage holder and appears on the Bah Rum Kagyu Lineage. A few years ago, on my most recent return to Tibet, many elderly people knew of my mother and showed great respect for her. I had three sisters and four brothers and, like most other Tibetans, we loved nature and lived a very contented, joyful and deeply spiritual life. In 1959, our lives were sadly turned upside down when communist China overran our country killing 1.2 million Tibetans. The process of this brutal occupation had actually started much earlier in Kham than in the rest of Tibet. As a direct result of China's aggression, members of my family and friends were either killed by the communists or died of hunger, injuries or sickness. We experienced much suffering. The older people, who shouldered so much responsibility, had an especially hard time. They experienced tremendous suffering. The situation felt utterly hopeless. No one knew which direction to escape to and some scattered, following the river, others fled to the mountains. Eventually, the survivors in my family reached the border with India at a place called Bumdela where there was a refugee camp. At this time, we weren't allowed to cross into India and we were detained at Assam with many thousands of Tibetan refugees. We were now at a significantly lower altitude and the climate was different to what we were used to. The water was polluted, not at all like the water further up in the mountains, and food was scarce. Disease was rampant and hit everyone quite hard. I lost my middle father, mother, two sisters and two brothers at this time. This was a common experience for most Tibetans, along with spending time in the hospital recovering from various illnesses. Then we got caught up in the India / China war and again scattered in all directions, only this time, over the border into India. By now, I had only my younger father, one brother and one sister still alive. It was very hard for us and all the Tibetans as we did not know the language nor where we were going. People in general were extremely kind to us and I still remember their kindness. In Varanasi, we met up with another group from Kham, headed by my spiritual master, His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche who was brought out from Tibet by Mr Namkha Dorje. One year later, we met at a holy place called Tso Pema. When the king of Zahor tries to burn Guru Rinpoche alive, he transforms the fire into a lake, Tso Pema and establishes the Dharma in the land of Zahor and takes Mandarava as his consort. He is known as Guru Chime Pemajungne - Immortal Lotus Born Guru. My father was by now seriously ill with tuberculosis and my sister and I did our best to care for him, despite being so young. Eventually, I managed to get him to a hospital through Red Cross, but we were separated when he was transferred to a hospital in Simla. Before he left, my father requested His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche and Mr Namkha Dorje - who had been a governor in Kham - to look after us. They were both very kind. I entered a monastery and my sister attended a newly established school. I stayed under the guidance of His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche for the next two years. Like all the lamas and masters, we lived in a tent. We maintained our daily routine of traditional study and practice despite the poverty of our conditions. You often find where there is more suffering, there is more understanding. Tibetans, for many generations, have practiced dharma most strongly. At Tso Pema, we had teachings, pujas and ceremonies - all the things we would have had in a monastery in our homeland. This provided tremendous relief from our suffering and I felt very fortunate being a monk at this time. Around 1963, the Indian Government and the United Nations Committee for Refugees moved our camp to a place called Mainpat, located in central India. I continued my formal monastic studies there and the great spiritual master, Venerable Kalu Rinpoche, would often visit us and give guidance and teachings. This was in addition to the teachings we received from His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche and our abbot, Venerable Lama Dodhey. Not long after, my teacher established a traditional three year retreat centre at Tso Pema. Here I met His Holiness 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, Ranjung Rigpay Dorje, His Holiness Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso and many high lamas and I felt my life now had some purpose. As Buddhists, we believe when something ends there is a new beginning. I completed my studies and was eventually able to complete a three year traditional retreat. In Buddhism, it is important to be ready in ourselves before embarking on something as rigorous as a three year retreat. It is also important for the teacher to check the readiness of the students, their capacity and their wisdom. I had the great fortune to be accepted. I think this was about 1971 and I remember having a great time. Even now, looking back, I rejoice at the time I spent in retreat. It gave my life tremendous meaning. After I had completed my three year retreat, my prayers were answered when I had the opportunity to meet and take teachings from 12th Khenting Tai Situ Rinpoche. My family has for generations been associated with the Situ line of incarnations and I was overjoyed at this meeting. Later on, the other monks requested me, to take up the position of Administrator of our monastery. I managed the finances and basically ran the monastery for many years. I didn't want to do the job as I wanted to remain in retreat for many years but in the end I relented, after continually being requested by my teachers and all the monks of the community of Karma Tharjay Chokhorling Monastery. In 1979, His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche represented the head of our lineage, His Holiness 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, in a tour of Australasia and South East Asia. When he visited New Zealand, he was requested repeatedly to help find a resident teacher for an established Centre north of Auckland, Karma Kagyu Thigsum Chokhorling. His Eminence discussed this request with His Holiness on his return to India. From among the thousands of lamas in the Kagyu tradition in India at the time, His Holiness decided it was better to appoint two Lamas for New Zealand. His Holiness then chose Venerable Lama Samten and myself to become his official representatives and resident teachers. When we first heard this news, we were at a total loss. We had had no contact with the outside world and no experience with westerners. It almost felt as though we were going to another planet but despite feeling like total strangers, we had complete trust in His Holiness 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche. We regard them as fully enlightened beings who clearly see the past, present and future. Because of our trust, we had no doubt our posting was for a good reason and would be beneficial for sentient beings. We also understood that both Venerable Lama Samten and myself have a very special karmic link and connection with the South Pacific and its people. For this reason, we have come here as representatives of His Holiness. |
| Biography |