Guru Rinpoche Arrives at TKL
After nearly a full year of dealing with various shipping issues, on Guru Rinpoche day, September 1, 2020 Guru Rinpoche auspiciously arrived at Trinlay Khachöd Ling.
Click to enlarge images below
Whenever we try to accomplish large projects which benefit others we can experience resistance to the changes we wish to influence.
As His Holiness Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje used to say: “Great benefit comes from great risk.”
The shipment logistics for Guru Rinpoche to come from China happened in one of the most difficult moments, exactly during the height of the COVID pandemic. Many businesses closed down, there were many negative sentiments about China where the statue was originating from, and many shipping companies were at a standstill.
Regardless, we had set a date for the arrival ceremony for the statue on a Guru Rinpoche day with many months leeway so we could be sure it would have arrived by the date of the welcome ceremony. Weeks turned into months and the shipping company had no idea where the shipment was, and eventually nobody at the shipping company was answering the phone either.
The day for the welcome ceremony was upon us. We had invited the entire community to celebrate the success but no sign of the statue. The day before the ceremony, a street sweeping machine came to clean our remote area street. We have never seen that in ten years, nor since then. Seeing this, Lama Rangbar turned to Khandro Sapana and said: “The dakinis have come to clear the path for Guru Rinpoche’s arrival. I’m sure it will arrive tomorrow.”
The next day, Guru Rinpoche day, the community gathered despite there being no contact with the shipping company nor confirmation of any kind. Exactly at the time of the invocation of Guru Rinpoche a big yellow truck rolled up carrying Guru Rinpoche within. Everyone felt that the statue was already self consecrated due to this auspicious display of interdependent origination.
The truck driver was also stunned seeing a crowd of colorful people with fancy red hats come to welcome his truck. By his expression, we could be sure that was a first for him.