Wednesday, July 18, 2012

"People can do this, but nobody does it."


She has never known a moment without pain. At eight, her leg was crushed in an avalanche and had to be crudely amputated in the field. At twenty-two, she was disowned by her family. When she was five months pregnant with her daughter, the baby's father left for good, never to be seen again.

But somehow.

Somehow.

Somehow, she made her way to America. Somehow, she found a minimum-wage job as a home health caregiver.

The years passed. To save money, she slept in the same bed with her 25 year old daughter, who has a minimum wage job cleaning out city buses.

The pair saved every penny they could earn. All they asked for was an honest wage for honest work.

Somehow, this past Sunday, Mrs. Dayangji Sherpa, from a one bedroom walk-up apartment in Woodside, Queens, New York, took USD $50,000. --- her entire life's savings -- and commissioned the full reading of the Kangyur, dedicating it to the welfare of all sentient beings. According to the New York Times, "For nearly 40 days, ending last week, about a dozen monks called from around the region read eight hours a day, aloud and simultaneously, seated cross-legged in a converted brick church in Elmhurst."

I pray that the name of Dayangji Sherpa, and that of her daughter Nima, be remembered forever in this land of America. 

One remark she made, in particular, sticks in my mind: "People can do this, but nobody does it."

May It Be Auspicious!



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3 reader comments:

Anonymous said...

Now that is inspiring!!!

KataKhan said...

Om Mani Padme Hung!!!
So Wonderful!
She is my Heroine.
May she have bliss and bless us all.

Drums of Dharma said...

This is truly amazing. I hope many people will come to hear of her meritorious deed and may they be inspired by her devotion to the Buddhadharma.

I think this call to action, to uphold the Dharma for all sentient beings, is a peculiar interest for certain people. Its a madness of devotion. Its an old, classic kindness. These people cannot help themselves and they delight in scrambling to find offerings for when the monks come by. It a love of preservation and tradition that has a unique grace all its own. Its a love of something that they feel is genuine and authentic. Something that they know is 'real' and therefore, with their Love, full of spirit and joy. (Just look at the shining bliss on her face!)

Thank you, Dayangji Sherpa, on behalf of all sentient beings. Thank you. :)

May those words of the Buddhadharma recited continue to echo and reverberate many times across the Earth and the triple world, for many, many eons to come.

Om Mani Padme Hum Hrih!