Issue15 - April 2011       Back to newsletter | to TOS website
 

Passport for Service

Pedro Oliveira

Samdhong RinpocheWhen the 9th World Congress of the Theosophical Society was held in Sydney, in January 2001, one of the guest speakers was Ven. Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche. He had at that time retired from his position as Director of the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, India. His gentle and self-effacing presence was appreciated by many participants.

The TS in Sydney has a group of devoted Vietnamese members, some of whom came to Australia as ‘boat people’ in the aftermath of the Vietnam war. The Society used to have a strong presence in that country. One of the members attending the Congress was Huynh Huu-Duc. He was called Duc by everyone. During one of the meals at the Congress Duc came to me and said, “I need to take Samdhong Rinpoche to the Indian Consulate. I need you to come with me.” He then explained that his English was not good enough for communicating with Rinpocheji, and added, “I drive, you talk.” I naturally agreed, but suggested that we should leave soon after breakfast to avoid being caught in the morning rush hour.

Next morning we left for the city, as planned, just after breakfast. When we arrived at the Consulate building, shortly before 9 o’clock in the morning, I realised that it would only open at 10:00 am. I thought to myself: “Well, we have an entire hour with a Rinpoche!” Duc immediately decided to buy tea and coffee for us and we sat in the main lounge on the ground floor.

We talked about a number of things, including the concept of Kali-yuga. Rinpocheji said that according to the Tibetan tradition, during Kali-yuga there is collective darkness and individual clarity, but that in Satya-yuga, the future age, there will be collective clarity but individual darkness, “because these two opposites must always be together”. I also told him that in the west nowadays there are a number of groups and individuals claiming to be in contact with Maitreya-Buddha. What was his view of Maitreya-Buddha’s coming? “Maitreya-Buddha will come a million years from now,” he said, calmly. Not the kind of statement that would generate media interest.

The conversation then took on a more personal dimension. I asked him, “You have been living in India since 1959. Are you not an Indian citizen?” “No”, he replied. “The Indian government issues identity cards for Tibetans living in India. And the permit to reside in India needs to be renewed regularly.” I then asked, “But what is your citizenship then?” He replied, “I am classed as a stateless person.” First lump in the throat. A bigger one was to come. I was standing next to a man who was the embodiment of gentleness, quietude and warmth, and who had been robbed of his citizenship and of his country.

When we reached the Indian Consulate the person at the counter seemed to recognise him. He was then told that he had to pay the necessary fees. As he was reaching for his pocket – yes, Tibetan lamas do have a pocket in their robes – Duc was quicker than him and gave the lady at the counter the necessary amount. While Rinpocheji smiled, Duc said to me, in an excited voice, “Good karma! Good karma!” Rinpocheji was then told that his identity card would be ready for collection the next day, which I volunteered to do. He asked me to make sure that they had given him the correct residence extension permit because he had a number of international travels ahead.

The next day I went to the Consulate and collected his identity card. I opened it and verified that the correct residence extension permit had been given. I then looked at the personal information pages and they contained interesting revelations. They stated his date of birth, his place of birth in Tibet, his parents’ names, but when it came to the item “profession” it stated “service”. Further down, on the item “occupation” it also stated “service”. I had to pause a little as I did not want to leave the reception hall of the Consulate in an emotional state, but it was not possible. There and then I was overcome by the staggering truth of that experience. One of the most respected persons in the world, an acclaimed scholar, a reincarnated Lama and a teacher in his own right, sees his profession and occupation just as service to the suffering humanity.

The Rinpoche, which in Tibetan means ‘precious one’, whom Duc and I had the honour to help in Sydney in January 2001, became the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile. His life continues to be one of unreserved service to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to the Tibetan people and to humanity. In the end, Duc was right: “Good karma! Good karma!” Not necessarily for us who helped him, but for humanity. His constant and unwavering service makes humanity better, uplifts it and gives it hope. Humanity is profoundly changed in him. Duc and I had indeed precious moments together with someone who does not live for himself. Such moments cannot be forgotten.

 

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