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Lawudo
Lama
The previous incarnation of Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche
Here is a short life story of the
Lawudo Lama Kunzang Yeshe, whose present incarnation is the holy and
venerable Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. The text is based on a biography
called "Garland of Devotion" written by Lawudo Lama's attendant Nyowang
Chopel at the request of Lama Thubten Yeshe.
The Khumbu valley
is about 10 days walk north east of Kathmandu, and it's main village is
Namche Bazaar. The country is divided into two main valleys. Lawudo is
situated in the Thami valley, which runs north west towards Tibet, and was
the home of Lama Kunzang Yeshe, also known as the Lawudo Lama. He was a
ngagpa Lama, a layman, having a wife, a son and a daughter. His son was
also married, but his daughter Karzang became a nun and took care of
him.
The Lawudo Lama had taken many initiations and teachings from
the great Lamas of the region. In order to look after his family he would
travel on foot to Tibet as many as thirteen times per year to buy
provisions which he would trade for food in Karikola village to the south
of Namche. The Lawudo Lama had many obstacles to his Dharma practice, but
he would always say that these were a help in accomplishing that
practice
In Khumbu there are three old monasteries. One of them,
situated above Thami is called Dechen Khorlo, and it was below this
monastery that Lawudo Lama decided to build his retreat house after
returning from a pilgrimage to Bodhgaya. He put together all the necessary
provisions and wished to stay in that place for many years in order to
follow the advice given to him by his precious Lamas, and to perform the
different retreats. After completing the dwelling, however, he looked up
to the mountain and saw a large rock that the locals called Horse Body.
"If there is a landslide, this rock will fall and hit my retreat house" he
thought, so he went up the hill and built a wall to stabilize the rock. As
soon as this was finished, however, he became very sick due to the
powerful spirit landlord who dwelt in that place, and decided it was
better to move elsewhere.
Nearby, on the other side of the river,
there was a greatly blessed place of holy beings called the Magnificent
Cave of Attainments, which was a stomach-shaped cave known to the local
people as Lawudo. The Lawudo Lama went to this place and dug out the earth
to find a beautifully shaped cave with various auspicious signs. Therefore
he declared that it was a self-created cave given to him by Padmasambhava
himself. Such a cave was mentioned in a very secret terma (text) of
Padmasambhava. Leaving his wife and family in his old home near Thami, he
then moved to the Lawudo cave.
There, the residues of his previous
illness returned very strongly. He couldn't move his body or articulate
speech and for six months he needed the help of his daughter Karzang to go
outside. Eventually, the main sickness was pacified, although he could not
walk without experiencing great pain in his feet. Thus he was to spend
thirteen years on one seat, without going anywhere, meditating day and
night with great energy. He also gave transmissions, commentaries and
long-life initiations to his disciples from Khumbu. The Lawudo Lama
believed it was his protector that had made him sick so that he had the
opportunity to do many Dharma practices.
On the twelfth day of the
first month of the Wood-Bird year (March 1945), the Lawudo Lama commented
to his attendant Ngowang Chopel that he may have caught a cold. That day
there was a landslide and the nearby water spring dried up, along with the
tree of the local protector deity.
On the thirteenth day at
midnight, Nyowang Chopel heard the sound of many girls crying in front of
the Lama's cave. He thought the Lama was scolding his daughter and went to
see, but there was no-one there and everything was very quiet. Thus the
Buddhist deities of the 'white direction' were showing various signs of
sorrow.
On the fourteenth day, the Lama's daughter summoned Nyowang
Chopel and he saw that although the Lama was not ill, he was showing the
aspect of being tired and would not eat the food offered by his daughter.
When offered the food by Nyowang Chopel, however the Lawudo Lama said "I
do not need any food, but for the sake of your livelihood to be
successful, I shall eat", and he took a bowl of meat soup from the
attendant.
Then, asking the date, the Lawudo Lama told Nyowang
Chopel, "Good, Jetsun Mila went to the pureland of the Dakinis on the
fourteenth, now go out and look at the sky". Nyowang did so and reported
that the sky was clear. "And the moon?", asked the Lama. "There is a
rainbow around the moon" replied Nyowang Chopel. "Can you hear a sound
'uhr-uhr' like an earthquake?" and Nyowang Chopel listened and reported
that he could hear such a sound.
Lawudo Lama then instructed his
attendant Nyowang Chopel to close the door of the cave and not let anybody
in, not even his own daughter. Getting up suddenly he sat alternately in
the three postures of the three Kayas and said many heartfelt prayers. He
then said "Our teacher, Shakyamuni, when adopting this posture passed into
the sorrowless state" and he lay down in the lion's posture, recited the
syllable 'Ah' three times and passed away.
On the fifth day after
his passing, a cremation house was built. The sun was shining brightly at
the time of offering his holy body to fire, but some snowflakes in the
shape of flowers fell. From the southwest, came a white cloud above the
mountain tops, and gradually various clouds of rainbow colours gathered
there. The sound of thousands of different musics were heard by all
present, causing great amazement in their minds and they made prostrations
and shed many tears.
Before his death, the ignorant people of
Khumbu did not recognize Lawudo Lama as a realized being. He never went to
perform rituals in people's homes, but always stayed in his cave
meditating. He wore no external signs of a Dharma practitioner, but always
wore an old white animal skin coat, long hair and big, round earrings. He
used to be always on his seat, and if visitors should come by, he would
open his hands in a warm giving attitude and invite them in. He could not
write or speak well, but spent all his time meditating. Sometimes people
laughed at him, saying "what kind of Lama are you?"
Thus the
ignorant people had doubts, but after his death, when they saw and heard
the signs with their own eyes and ears, their minds changed and Lawudo
Lama became a great object of devotion.
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