I went with Chime on the first trip to Wangapeka to inspect the land and decide on the report to the Sphere group as to whether to buy the land or not – needless to say we were agreed that it should be bought! Having fought our way through the gorse up to the spring we sat and looked out over the land and visualized our grandchildren playing in the forests that would be planted – and a road that we wouldn’t have to race up there to save or fix every time the weather forecast called for heavy rains! Now there are grandchildren and forest… as I recall, we had to race back and raise $5000 within the allotted 24 hours – a challenge because of the eight hour drive – but the meeting was called, the money raised and the land bought.
All is possible – if you do your best and if it doesn’t happen – c’est la vie!
With the passing of Rinpoche further away in relativity his mandala appears to be dispersing more – and the Kali Yuga is not really making things easier either. More effort is required they say but they also say that the merit is that much greater for the effort made.
The key is with the young folks, as Rinpoche mentioned to us several times and on his return from his last trip to Australasia. Us elders might perhaps be getting a bit jaded about the blessing of having the retreat centres available, having made the use of them that we needed to when we were younger?
Also, there are many others around the world who love Wangapeka and would like it to be taken care of – and future generations of lovers yet to come. I would like to make a pilgrimage to all of Namgyal Rinpoche’s centres some time and it would be fine to get to see Wangapeka again before I’m too old to make it up there!
Yours, in service to the Dharma of Service,
For Angela and ‘my non-self’,
Wesley…
Visit Wesley’s website: http://www.namgyal.ca/ for teachings from Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche. There are also audio recordings of Rinpoche’s teachings.
NAMGYAL ON SERVICE
“Just while we’re waiting, I would like to thank the people in the background who arrange food, and arrange accommodation… It’s not too often said, so I should just like to put that in. I would also like to emphasise that there is a tradition in the Teaching about doing service for the lama. But, I think that the people who do this service are, in fact, equally the lama because they make it possible, and they share in the merit of it, and they are an integral part of the Teaching. I hope that sinks in. It’s very important because you know, so much in the Teaching is focussed on THE being, the big ‘Pooh Bah’ up there, and the people who are in the background that make it possible are somehow, just there or something.
But I think that is a wrong view and I think that anyone who makes the teaching possible is in fact a Teacher, even if they don’t open their mouth. And so I’d just like to put that in. Thank you.” – Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche.