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Help send us to Tashi
Please help us capture Tashi's story in its full depth and colour. This trip could be made soon at a cost of just under $1,000, less if you can donate a points travel ticket for the airfare. Please help us act quickly.
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Tashi's story
The Chronicles has recently learned of a Tibetan gentleman, living in the United States, who was a member of Trungpa Rinpoche’s escape party. Tashi (not his real name) wishes to remain anonymous, but he has agreed to let us visit him and record his story in depth. His English is quite good, and he seems to have a very detailed memory of the escape. Here is a brief outline of his story.
Tashi and his family were nomads in the Lha-thok region of Kham. They were very devoted to Khamtrul Rinpoche, whose monastery was about one-day journey by horse. In 1959, as the presence of Chinese troops became increasingly ominous, Tashi’s father talked with Khamtrul Rinpoche about what they should do. Khamtrul Rinpoche told him that they should find their way to India. The large extended family, along with yaks and other animals, began the journey, and at some point, joined Trungpa Rinpoche’s growing escape party.
During the months of traveling with Rinpoche, Tashi, who was about 13 at the time, and Yunton, Trungpa Rinpoche’s attendant, became friends. Each day Tashi carried a very special teapot for Trungpa Rinpoche and returned it to Yunton in the evening.
Along the way, Tashi witnessed Trungpa Rinpoche performing the presena, a divination practice in which one invokes an image on the surface of a mirror. Tashi often saw Rinpoche doing the divination quickly by licking his thumbnail and looking into the shiny surface. He said that no one but Trungpa Rinpoche could see what was there, but Rinpoche saw many things that helped to guide them all on their journey.
At the Bramaputra River, as Chinese troops closed in, only a small contingent of the group made it to the other side. Many of the others were captured. Tashi and his father, and a few other members of their family were among the lucky ones who made it across the river.
Once in India, they settled near Khamtrul Rinpoche, and Tashi was ordained as a monk in Khamtrul Rinpoche’s monastery. Later he moved to a Karma Kagyu monastery in Nepal. In 1988, no longer a monk, Tashi settled in North America where he now lives with his wife and children.
This discovery of someone who was actually there with Rinpoche 50 years ago is very exciting. We look forward to posting updates about Tashi and what he remembers about the escape.
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