A Pity

Here is a letter that made the rounds last month:

October 23, 2009

Dear Palyul Students and Friends:

The Great Vidyadharas – all of the Palyul Throne Holders of the past up to our present root teacher, the late His Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpoche, the Eleventh Throne Holder – have purely upheld the authentic teachings of the Palyul Lineage.

His Holiness Penor Rinpoche has enthroned me as the Twelfth Throne Holder of the Palyul Lineage, and following his advice and enlightened intention, along with the assistance of his two heart sons, I have accepted the responsibility for upholding the Buddha Dharma, as well as overseeing and serving the Palyul mother monastery, and all of its branch monasteries and dharma centers worldwide. I have full-heartedly taken on this responsibility, and I am doing my very best.

Therefore, I advise all of our Palyul students and friends to not become entangled in any unnecessary confusion and worries but rather to devote yourselves to learning and practicing the dharma, and to continue your support of the Palyul dharma centers. At this time, for the sake of peace and harmony for all, it is my fervent request that you mingle your mindstream with the dharma and earnestly practice the teachings.

With blessings,

/s/

Paltrul Karma Kuchen

It is such a great pity when such a simple, earnest message gets lost on the very people for whom it was intended, don't you think?

For those of us who regularly find time to do everything but actually practice, here are the jig rten chos brgyad:

• hope for happiness and fear of suffering,
• hope for fame and fear of insignificance,
• hope for praise and fear of blame,
• hope for gain and fear of loss.

They say all roads lead to Rome, and I suppose that could be true, but some of them traverse a substantially longer distance than others, even though they might begin at the same point. Think that is what he meant by the line "entangled in any unnecessary confusion?"

Well... some people enjoy flying back and forth, I guess.