22 January 2016

H.H the XIV Dalai lama was 21 years old when he first met Khunu lama briefly in 1956, on the 2500th anniversary of Buddha Jayanti in India. Khunu lama was already 62 years old. The meeting was brief but it set the precursor for the more intimate meetings that took place years later. Rime Scholar at the Buddhist inter-school meeting After the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959, Tibetan Buddhism and culture suddenly came under threat. H.H the XIV Dalai Lama organized a Buddhist inter-school meeting in Mussoorie to deliberate on measures to preserve the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in exile. It was a unprecedented meeting of so many prestigious Buddhist lamas coming together. Khunu Rinpoche went to Mussoorie at the Dalai Lama’s request to instruct the Tibetan refugees in grammar and poetry, remaining there for nearly a year. Khunu rinpoche happened to be there at the meeting although he is not known to have taken part formally. Yet he left a lasting impression on many participants because of the depth and range of his knowledge. Surprise Visit After witnessing the depth of Khunu lama’s wisdom, H.H the XIV Dalai lama visited Bodhgaya with just his personal security. Khunu lama was recovering from a serious illness that affected his sight and rendered him weak. He was unable to see properly. When he was informed by the private secretary about who the visitor was, he objected and claimed not to be able to receive Dalai lama as he wore no appropriate clothing and had no chair for His Holiness to sit on. As the Dalai Lama insisted on speaking with him, they both remained standing and had a talk. Transmission of  Bodhicaryavatara His Holiness the Dalai lama visited Bodhgaya again and requested Khunu Lama to give him a transmission of  Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara, also known as A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life. During this transmission, His Holiness was so overwhelmed by Khunu Lama’s knowledge of the text, level of compassion and purity of mind that His Holiness asked for a commentary to be provided with the text. Following the transmission, in the presence of a crowd of people, H.H the Dalai lama prostrated to Khunu Lama in the middle of a road. This public display of immense respect immediately brought him to the attention of many and changed Khunu Lama’s life from one of quiet asceticism to highly revered figure in the Buddhist world. Reference to Shantideva The core teachings Dalai lama received from Khunu rinpoche were the concept of […]

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