An Invitation to Dharamsala

I received an email from a friend this morning with an invitation to join the Shambhala Delegation in Dharamsala for the birthday celebration of His Holiness the Karmapa Lama (see photo, center), as the delegation interpreter. Needless to say, I am tremendously honoured and excited.

I will travel to Delhi at the end of the month to join the delegation, and from there we will travel together to McLeod Ganj, the Tibetan settlement above Dharamsala. Dharamsala is quite an extraordinary place. It is the seat of the Tibetan Exile Government, and home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It is located in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, one of the northernmost states in India. It was a British hill station during the time of the Raj, a place where the British colonials would spend the rainy months out of the heat of the plains. Kipling spent time there, and wrote stories about it. The land was then given to the Tibetans by Nehru in 1959, during the Communist Invasion of Tibet. Tens of thousands of Tibetans followed the Dalai Lama into exile, and many moved to Dharamsala to be close to His Holiness.

I met Gyalwang Karmapa in February of 2000, upon my arrival in Dharamsala. At the age of fifteen, he made his dangerous escape out of Tsurphu Monastery in Tibet, where he was a virtual prisoner, and arrived in India only two weeks before I did. By some twist of fate, I was part of the first group of foreigners to receive an audience with him. Here is the link to his own description of his escape: http://www.kagyuoffice.org/karmapa.india.escape.html It is quite a story, if you are interested ...

That first audience with HH Karmapa, six and a half years ago in northern India, was the first moment that I knew in my heart that I would become a Buddhist and a Tibetan translator. Only a few months later, I returned to the US and became affiliated with the Shambhala Buddhist community at Karme Choling. The Shambhala connection was made for me when I learned that the founder of the Shambhala lineage was closely connected with the Karmapa's predecessor. Only one year ago, my teacher, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche (www.mipham.org) met for the first time with HH Karmapa, reinitiating the historic bond between our communities.

Returning to Dharamsala as an interpreter and a representative of the Shambhala community continues a journey begun years ago, and under quite different circumstances. I am again reminded why I do what I do: for these moments precisely.