First Visit: After the Earthquake
The highest mountains in the world, the majestic Himalayas, emerged as a result of the collision of the Eurasian and Indian continental plates approximately twenty-five million years ago. Being among the youngest mountain ranges on earth, they are still in the process of growing and, therefore, prone to earthquakes, particularly in the area of Nepal.
However, the latest devastating earthquake in April 2015—7.9 magnitude on the Richter Scale—and its subsequent severe aftershocks took all of Nepal by surprise. Shocking news from Kathmandu and its remote surrounding mountain areas quickly traveled around the world. As a consequence of this disaster, thousands of people lost their lives or their families and thousands were left homeless, without any means or prospect of rebuilding their existence. Architectural and artistic treasures of Nepalese historical heritage fell to pieces and whole villages in the mountains were buried under earth.
Our Buddhist friends in the West were deeply moved by the news of the earthquake. It was in Kathmandu that Lama Ole and his late wife Hannah met their first Buddhist teacher, Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche, in 1969 and later, at the Swayambhu Stupa, the great 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje.
After the earthquake, Lama Ole immediately decided to fly to Nepal to offer support and much-needed financial aid to the brave people of Nepal, our rinpoches, lamas, and his many friends who live there. He did this on his own behalf and on behalf of his students from around the world.
On May 25, as soon as his busy schedule allowed, he landed in Kathmandu, accompanied by his wife Alexandra and Tomek Lehnert. The earth was still shaking a few times per day and, throughout the Kathmandu Valley, people, fearing another major earthquake, were living in tents on the streets.
Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche received Lama Ole, Alexandra, and Tomek at the airport. On the way to his house, the whole group stopped near Swayambhu Stupa to visit the Manangi Gompa. What was once a beautifully decorated, two-story gompa, that over the years had witnessed thousands of practitioners accumulating billions of mani mantras (OM MANI PEME HUNG), had totally collapsed. As we arrived there, a few Manangi people were viewing the ruins with deep sorrow. They approached Lama Ole, who listened to their account of what had happened and lifted up their spirits.
During the next four days, Lama Ole visited some of the most affected sites, including the Boudha Stupa, Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche’s Dhagpo Sheydrub Ling Monastery, and the historical city of Bhaktapur. He met with the people of the valley, held meetings with rinpoches, lamas, and courageous friends from the Karma Kagyü lineage, who were directly responsible for the organization of relief to the earthquake victims.
One of the most touching moments was the visit of Lama Ole to Swayambhu. Like many other power places of the area, the magnificent Swayambhu Stupa and most of the buildings around it were damaged. The Karma Kagyü Monastery—Karma Raja Maha Vihar—and the Drukpa Kagyü Monastery, along with many houses on top of the hill, were so completely destroyed that they had to be demolished.
Among the ruins of the monasteries and in front of the cracked Swayambhu Stupa, our young rinpoches from the Karma Kagyü School presided over by Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche, and together with Lama Ole, Alexandra, Tomek, representatives of the Karma Kagyü Swayambhu Restoration Committee, the Karmapa Shamarnag Relief Committee and many more, gathered to make very strong wishes for all the victims of the earthquake and for Nepal’s swift recovery.
Lama Ole also visited Shar Minub, the institute founded by the late 14th Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche, and the adjacent Nera Jana compound, where he held a meeting with the lamas who had remained for years in closed retreat.
The visit to Sertshang Home especially touched Alexandra’s heart. Sertshang, also damaged in the earthquake, is an orphanage founded by the dynamic Chogyal Rinpoche. It is a shelter for over sixty children. In spite of the traumatic events of their past weeks, upon hearing about the arrival of special guests, the children prepared a full afternoon of joyful dancing, singing, and acrobatics in honor of Lama Ole and Alexandra. Afterward, there was still time for the inauguration of the Diamond Way gompa in Alexey Gavinskiy’s guest house.
During his short stay in Nepal, Lama Ole showed sincere concern about the present difficult situation to everyone he visited and a deep trust in finding the right solutions for a better tomorrow.
Immediately after Kathmandu, on May 29 to 31, Lama Ole, Alexandra, and Tomek attended the first anniversary of the 14th Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche’s Paranirvana. The ceremony was shifted to the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute in New Delhi, India, due to the extremely unpredictable situation in Kathmandu. During the event, presided over by the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje and with the participation of our noble Karma Kagyu rinpoches and lamas, Lama Ole was invited to sit next to the honorable Professor Sempa Dorje. The professor is considered the greatest scholar and one of the highest authorities in Buddhism and Hinduism worldwide. He has been a private tutor to Gyalwa Karmapa for many years.
Second Visit: Inauguration of Dhagpo Sheydrub Ling Monastery
Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche made an enormous effort to promptly repair all the damage caused by the earthquake in his beautiful, recently built monastery in Nala in the Kathmandu Valley in order to inaugurate it in 2015. According to Tibetan astrology, the coming Year of the Fire Monkey was not to be the most auspicious for undertaking new important projects.
The inauguration and consecration of Dhagpo Sheydrub Ling Monastery took place November 2nd to 5th, with the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje as the guest of honor. Many prominent rinpoches, lamas, and guests from Nepal and all over the world participated.
Lama Ole, Alexandra, and Tomek were again dearly welcomed by Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche. He presented Lama Ole and Alexandra with exquisite traditional Tibetan dresses to wear during the days of celebration. On the day of official inauguration, the beautifully decorated main lhakhang, with its exceptional wall paintings and statues, looked very solemn. The ceremony was conducted by Gyalwa Karmapa, accompanied by the entourage of all present Karma Kagyü rinpoches, khenpos, lamas, and young tulkus, and with special guests from other lineages such as Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche, and K.J. Tsultrim Losang Rinpoche. The afternoon was filled with spectacular lama dances.
The consecration of the monastery occurred the next day, followed by an initiation to the Buddha of Limitless Light, given by Gyalwa Karmapa with the participation of seventy-five hundred local devotees. The festivities were concluded with a dharma talk and a truly magnificent mandala offering presented by Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche to Gyalwa Karmapa.
Each day was filled with blessings, deep meaning, joy, and a display of sounds and colors. Everything happened in a natural and smooth way, without any obstacles. How Rinpoche managed to organize such a perfect celebration in those challenging times for Nepal remains unknown. May the activity of this new gompa benefit many in the future!
Third Visit: Maratika Caves
In one of his journeys to Nepal, the great Indian master Guru Rinpoche, together with his consort Mandharava, visited the caves of Maratika, which are located approximately 180 kilometers southwest of Mount Everest. After having received the Long Life Initiation directly from the Buddha of Limitless Life (Skt. Amitayus; Tib.Tsepame), they practiced it until reaching its full realization. Since then, the Maratika Caves have become known for their powerful blessing of long life.
During the inauguration of the Dhagpo Sheydrub Ling Monastery, Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche had invited Lama Ole to travel with him to the Maratika Caves in order to confer on him the same long life initiation that Guru Rinpoche received over twelve hundred years ago. On a chilly December morning, two jeeps departed from Kathmandu toward Maratika carrying Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche, Ani Tenzin, Khamsum (attendant to Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche), Lama Ole, Alexandra, Tomek, Dirk and Carola Hannemann, Alexey, and myself.
The ten-hour drive through the Himalayan mountain region was breathtaking. We were enchanted by pristine nature, including wide valleys with turquoise rivers and stunning waterfalls. The remote Maratika area comprises three hills: the Chenrezig Hill, the Chana Dorje Hill, and the Manjushri Hill—where two huge Guru Rinpoche caves and one Jambeyang cave are located.
Over the following days, Rinpoche made all the necessary preparations for the empowerment, starting with a fire puja, followed by a recitation of the “Union of all Jewels” sadhana (spiritual practice) of Guru Rinpoche and a ganachakra (feast offering). Everything was ready for this special long-life initiation for Lama Ole—a powerful initiation that belongs to a hidden treasure (Tib. terma) of Guru Rinpoche contained in the Rinchen Terdzo (Treasury of Precious Termas) compiled by Jamgon Kongtrul the Great. We were all aware that this was a once-in-a-lifetime moment—sitting together with Lama Ole and receiving this incomparable blessing from Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche in the distant Guru Rinpoche cave of Maratika.
After having received this precious gift from Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche, Lama Ole continued his journey back to Europe to spend Christmas and New Year’s Eve with his students.
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