Khenpo
Tsultrim Gyamtso Shines with Wisdom
 Khenpo
Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche showered teachings and blessings
on Gampo Abbey during his visit from September 28 to October
2, 2003. Teaching from his recent book The Sun of
Wisdom, his teachings combined "The Twenty
Emptinesses" from Chandrakirti's Entering the Middle
Way; the Heart of Wisdom Sutra; An Authentic Portrait of
the Middle Way, a vajra song of realization of the Lord
of Yogis Milarepa; and selected root verses from Nagarjuna's
The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way.
The
Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way is a commentary
on the middle turning of the wheel of dharma. The main topic,
is emptiness.
Rinpoche
explained that gaining certainty in the profound view of
emptiness is an important step on the path leading to direct
realization of the true nature of reality, which is inconceivable
to conventional mind. We heard, many times each day, that
all phenomena are like dreams and illusions, mere appearance,
emptiness.
An
unparalleled scholar, Khenpo Rinpoche often cited the positions
of the different philosophical schools concerning particular
points, depending on which of the stages of analysis a particular
school used.
Rinpoche
was assisted by translators Ari Goldfield and Elizabeth
Callahan. Adding to the richness and variety of his teachings,
Rinpoche brought with him copies of a new songbook which
combines songs of Milarepa with the stories of the events
giving rise to those songs. Ari Goldfield led us in these
songs with his strong, resonant voice. Translating songs
for Rinpoche, Ari confidently sang solo, often enthusiastically
performing the actions of the lyrics as he sang.
Rinpoche
described Chapter 18, "An Examination of Self and Phenomena,"
as the heart or essence of The Sun of Wisdom because
it teaches the two selflessnesses. Rinpoche taught:
"There
is no self in the individual
And phenomena have no inherent nature either,
So if you know that phenomena do not truly exist and then
meditate,
You will be free."
During
his visit, Rinpoche compassionately and generously gave
of himself. In addition to presenting the formal teachings,
he met with shamatha students as a group and also with vajrayana
students as a group.
Alexandra
Kalinine, who was traveling with Rinpoche's party, graciously
offered guided instruction and an explanation of lujong
to interested students.
The
overall effect of Rinpoche's visit as expressed by community
members was a feeling of blessings, as seeing the possibilities
of how life could be, and as a sense of warmth and cheerfulness.
Many of us discovered that we were singing and humming the
Milarepa songs spontaneously.
We
are delighted that Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche has
agreed to return to Gampo Abbey in the not too distant future.
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