VENERABLE KHENCHEN NAMDROL
PALYUL TIMES NOVEMBER 2013
PT: Khen Rinpoche, as you spent many years with H.H., can you briefly highlight us about extraordi nary qualities of H.H. from your point of view?
KRNT: As you all have said, most probably I might be the person who had the most intimate relationship with H.H. in this monastery, because as I have already mentioned above I was brought up under his guid- ance from the age of thirteen. In fact, the enlightened activities and qualities of H.H. are not something which can be understood by a person like me. Al- though earlier I didn't see anything extraordinary in the way H.H. performed his activities, now when I really examine them, they are all transcendental, far beyond our perceptions. Such activities are certainly the enlightened activities of a highly realized being. To mention a few examples: In 1959, when Tibetans
fled to India due to the Chinese intrusion, H.H. also fled to India facing all the difficulties almost empty handed. H.H. lived for some months at the beginning in a place called Balingpur in Assam. A large group of refugees was assembled there and it was at that partic- ular place where I and my family members met H.H. for the first time. During that period, at least three or four Tibetans were dying daily due to the intense heat in India as they had descended from a very high al- titude. H.H. was the main lama who performed the rituals like transference of consciousness, and so forth for all the deceased. Though most Tibetans had a very difficult time earning a livelihood, H.H. continuously went out to perform local rituals day and night with- out any rest. Sometimes, when there was a seriously ill patient, H.H. would go and help them even at mid- night. On those occasions I accompanied His Holi- ness as his assistant several times. When performing the ritual of transferring the consciousness, H.H. left none without the signs of transference mentioned in the tantra texts. As it was a very difficult time, people had little to offer for his great service. Even if they did make offerings, he would not accept them and simply put them below the table in front of his seat. This is what I personally noticed while serving H.H. as an attendant.
Gradually, H.H. moved to South India. He arrived in Bylakuppe in 1960. During those days, H.H. lived at First Camp in a bamboo hut allotted by the Indian Government along with other Tibetan refugees. Dur- ing that period, H.H. began to conduct the 100 mil- lion recitation accomplishment, which is performed annually in our monastery today. It was conducted in a huge bamboo hut by his entourage and other monks. At His Holiness' behest, people were also given a teaching on the Conduct of Bodhisattvas by a Sakya Khenpo who was residing in the region.
In 1963, H.H.Penor Rinpoche laid the foundation stone of Namdrol- ing monastery. If we think of the condition of the livelihood of that period, it was almost impossible for anyone to have a thought of establishing a monastery. He had nothing more than the clothes he was wear- ing. It was in such a difficult time that H.H. began to establish our monastery. During those days, every- body relied solely on agriculture for their livelihood. H.H. used to perform rituals for rain whenever the rain failed to come on time. Sometimes, when there was severe drought and he could not bring the rain by rituals performed in the monastery he would go to the Betapur hill top and perform the ritual for several days until the rain fell. After H.H. went out and per- formed the rituals for sure the rain would fall. This is something I have noticed personally, for I went with him as attendant several times. He also accomplished treasure vases and distributed them free of cost among the people, for the wellbeing of the place and the peo- ple.
However, out of religious partiality, some people blindly said that distributing treasure vases was merely a mode of deceiving common people; and the rain falls when the season comes, so the rituals for bringing rain are useless. Hearing this, H.H. was greatly disheart- ened and stopped performing these services for almost a year. Consequently, the common people suffered a lot. They didn't have enough agricultural products as there was a severe drought for nearly the entire year.
