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Yönten Gyamtso
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Yönten's account of Trungpa Rinpoche's escape from Tibet, and arrival in India
Posted 9 March 2011
Yönten Gyamtso was one of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's attendants in Tibet, and he traveled with Rinpoche throughout the escape and during his initial time in India in the early 1960s. Although it has been known for many years that Yönten has a great deal to contribute towards our understanding of this crucial time in Rinpoche's life, this interview from Surmang Khenpo is, as far as we know, the first presentation of Yönten's recollection. Yönten is now 84 years old. At the time of the escape in 1959, he was 33; the Vidyadhara was 19.
Surmang Khenpo spoke with Yönten in Boudnath, India in November 2010, where he managed to recorded about 45 minutes of their conversation on his digital camera before its memory chip was full. Khenpo subsequently recorded a rough translation of this interview into English, which has been transcribed and edited into the text below by Lyndon Comstock. Thank you very much to Khenpo and Lyndon for providing this historic account.
TIBET
Yönten:
(In 1958, before the escape from Tibet), Trungpa Rinpoche gave the Rinchen Terzod abhisheka at Yag monastery. During that time, Sechen Kongtrul Rinpoche came to Yag monastery for a few days. Sechen Kongtrul Rinpoche’s plan at that time was to escape to India. He and Trungpa Rinpoche discussed how to escape and what route to take. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche had already left Kham, along with several other tulkus, and all of the other tulkus at the empowerment were making plans to leave. However, Trungpa Rinpoche had not yet decided to go to India; he thought he might instead go back to Surmang Dutsi Til.
While Trungpa Rinpoche was still giving the Rinchen Terzod (which is very lengthy), Sechen Kongtrul Rinpoche left for Lhasa.
After completing the Rinchen Terzod, Trungpa Rinpoche got very, very sick. Some people thought that he would die. Trungpa Rinpoche was staying at the Mahakala retreat center at Yag monastery at the time. The main beam in that retreat center snapped. Many people took that as a sign that Trungpa Rinpoche was going to pass away.
After the Rinchen Terzod abhisheka, Trungpa Rinpoche and others practiced a dharma medicine practice. A lot of herbal medicine was made and blessed; this medicine is also a good dharma medicine.
At that time the Chinese army was already in Chamdo. They were looking for some particular Tibetans, perhaps tulkus. So the people at Yag monastery were nervous. Trungpa Rinpoche discussed this with several tulkus at Yag monastery, who thought that Trungpa Rinpoche should hide from the Chinese army.
Near Tsawa monastery, there was a hidden valley called the Yo valley. Finally, eight people went with Trungpa Rinpoche to this hidden valley.
[Ed. note: Yönten uses the term Tsawa monastery to refer to Akong Rinpoche’s monastery. In Born in Tibet, Trungpa Rinpoche refers to it as Drolma Lhakang; it appears they are different names for the same place. The transliteration "Yo" for the Tibetan name of the hidden valley comes from Born in Tibet; I’ve used Born in Tibet’s transliterations for Tibetan place names in several places in this transcription.]
Trungpa Rinpoche left in secret from Yag monastery. He left his horses and luggage at Yag monastery so that it would seem like he was still there. Trungpa Rinpoche told the monks, if anyone asks to see me or asks for me to do a blessing for them, just tell them that I’m on retreat and no one can see me. If someone asks for a mo, then you say ok and then just come back and tell them an answer. If people leave gifts, pretend to come to tell me and then you go back and tell those people whatever you want to say.
Later, I needed to bring food to Trungpa Rinpoche at the Yo valley (since he had been there for a long time), and also one present for him from Tsawa monastery. One other man went with me. We had to cross a mountain along the way, which had a small amount of snow. When we got to this mountain, we saw the tracks of many horses. These horses had not traveled in the usual way, in single file. Instead, the horses had stepped all around. This was a bad sign; I thought, these were not Tibetans riding these horses, they were Chinese soldiers. Already there had been battles between the Chinese soldiers and Tibetans, so this was a bad sign. We headed for a valley across from a river. We looked up there and we could see a big camp of Chinese soldiers. I was right about Chinese soldiers riding the horses whose tracks we saw.
After we saw the Chinese camp, the other man who was with me said that we have to get away, before the soldiers arrest us. I knew that there was a village nearby and I said that we could go to that village.
The other man said, I can go there because I’m from this area, I speak the same dialect, I dress the same as they do, so maybe the Chinese won’t know I’m not from that village. But you, Yönten, speak differently and dress differently, so you can’t go there. Those village people are probably friendly to the Chinese. The Tibetans who aren’t friendly to the Chinese have already gone up into the mountains. The people who’ve stayed in the village, that means they will surrender to the Chinese. Therefore, you should cross the river on your horse and climb the mountain and get away.
I told him, I can’t do that because that would take me near the Chinese camp and they’re going to get me, they will shoot me. So you should go to the village and I’ll go to the river and go downstream along the river. As we started to split up, we saw about fifteen Chinese soldiers riding on horses toward the two of us.
My friend rode his horse toward the village and the Chinese didn’t follow him, they just followed me. I had a very good horse. The Chinese chased me for ten or fifteen kilometers but they couldn’t catch me. When the soldiers went fast, I went fast. When they went slowly, I went slowly. They could only get me if I tried to climb the mountain. Then they would be able to shoot me because I would have to go so slowly.
Finally, the Chinese soldiers stopped and got off their horses and sat on the ground. I went to the top of a hill and looked back at them. They stayed there all day so I stayed all day, watching them.
If they started chasing me again, I was going to go by the long way to Tsawa monastery, by Somda. I could also get to the Yo valley that way. But, if they didn’t chase me, I would go to the Yo valley by the shorter way, over the mountain.
Finally, when the sun had almost set, the Chinese soldiers started heading back toward their camp. So I followed them back and, when it was almost dark, I climbed the mountain. However, when I got higher up on the mountain, there was a lot of snow. Around midnight I got to a small village up the mountain.
When I got there, it was dark and very cold. Only about seven or eight families lived in this village. Lots of dogs were barking at me and people came out to ask who I was. I explained that I was bringing food for Trungpa Rinpoche, who was staying in the hidden Yo valley behind this snow covered mountain.
At first they didn’t trust me, they thought I was probably a spy for the Chinese. I explained to them about the Chinese soldiers and how they had chased me. I asked them, how can I cross this big mountain through the snow, when there’s no road?
At the beginning, the villagers wouldn’t tell me anything. Finally, one man said, ok, we can make a road. We have lots of yaks and the yaks are very strong. We will take them across the mountain and they’ll make a path through the snow. Those people knew about the Yo valley and they knew Trungpa Rinpoche. They knew that there was no house and no food in the Yo valley and that there was deep snow on the mountain.
So, afterwards, the people from that village led their yaks across the snow mountain and they brought Trungpa Rinpoche back to their village. He stayed in the village for just one day, with a family in the village.
Then Trungpa Rinpoche and I discussed what to do. Trungpa Rinpoche did the presena, a kind of divination where he looks into a mirror.
Trungpa Rinpoche said, we shouldn’t go back to Yag monastery. I said that he should go to Tsawa monastery, which is Akong Tulku’s monastery. Trungpa Rinpoche said that we should go together but I said that I have to go back to Yag monastery because all of his horses and practice materials and luggage were there and I needed to get them.
I said to Trungpa Rinpoche, don’t stay at Tsawa monastery long, we have to cross the Shabye bridge soon and go on to another place.
Trungpa Rinpoche and the other people with him rode horses to Tsawa monastery and I went back to Yag monastery. I was separated from Trungpa Rinpoche for eight days at that time.
At Yag monastery, many people had offered yaks and horses as gifts to Trungpa Rinpoche. We couldn’t take the yaks so I wrote notes to each family that they should keep the animals for now but we would be able to get them in the future. Even though Chinese soldiers had already come and taken away many horses, I collected about forty horses for Trungpa Rinpoche.
The Chinese soldiers had come to Yag monastery because there were two places where weapons were stored in that part of Kham. The smaller place, the Tibetan army had come and taken away all of the weapons. The larger one, the Chinese army came and took all of the weapons. The Chinese army was looking for all of the rest of the weapons, that’s why they were so active in that part of Kham.
With two other people and the horses and Trungpa Rinpoche’s luggage, I started across the mountains for Tsawa monastery. There were Chinese soldiers everywhere so I couldn’t take the main road and had to find another way. I also heard that Chinese soldiers had blocked the Shabye bridge that we would have to take (to escape from that region). So I needed information about how to go. I hid the horses and the two other people at one particular place while I went to try to get information.
I met a person at a village who asked me, where are you going? I said that I was going to Tsawa monastery because I’m an attendant at that monastery. He knew that I was lying; that I was not really from Tsawa monastery. He said, you should tell me the truth because you lied to me. Yesterday Chinese soldiers came to this village and they collected every weapon, even knives. Now I’m going to Riwoche with this weapon I have. If you tell me the truth, I will give you important news. He already knew I must be an attendant for Trungpa Rinpoche. So I talked to him and he told me that Trungpa Rinpoche had wanted to leave by the Shabye bridge that the Chinese had blocked. Since Trungpa Rinpoche couldn’t get through on the bridge, he went to a small monastery, the Kino monastery, in a valley near the bridge. He said Trungpa Rinpoche would be at that monastery that night. He told me, if you go there, I promise you that everything I’m telling you is true. I trusted him and went toward there.
I tried to get to the Kino monastery but I couldn’t get there that day because the Chinese soldiers were chasing me, trying to arrest me. The next morning I got there. There were lots of people going to that monastery, and I wondered what was going on here. People told me, oh, Trungpa Rinpoche is going to give an abhisheka, we’re going to go see him. Trungpa Rinpoche was very busy with dharma activity and the Chinese army was very busy, trying to catch Trungpa Rinpoche.
So, I met up with Trungpa Rinpoche again at Kino monastery near the Shabye bridge. He had been hiding in a small village near the bridge with seven or eight people. These people were Akong Tulku, Akong Tulku’s two brothers, two other monks, and one or two other people. Each person had a horse and they had one mule carrying practice materials. Akong Tulku, when he left Tsawa monastery had wanted to bring everything from the monastery with him.
I told Trungpa Rinpoche, you shouldn’t stay here. The Chinese already control this whole area. The Chinese were just here two days ago, we have to escape. We have to try to get over the bridge. But all day people came to get blessings from Trungpa Rinpoche.
The next day we went to the Shabye bridge and the Chinese weren’t there blocking it any more. So we were able to cross the bridge (over the Gyelmo Ngul-chu river). Crossing through that place, it was like crossing the bardo. I felt a small liberation when we got across the bridge, I felt relieved.
Surmang Khenpo:
[Ed. note: Yönten does not discuss the remainder of the escape from Tibet in the portion of the interview that was recorded. Surmang Khenpo recalled the following additional, unrecorded, comments that Yönten made to him about the escape.]
Yönten said that, after they had crossed the Shabye bridge, Trungpa Rinpoche had not yet definitely decided to try to leave Tibet. Instead, he just wanted to get away from the Chinese soldiers and the fighting by going to central Tibet.
During that early part of the escape, Akong Rinpoche wanted to return to his monastery, and wanted Trungpa Rinpoche to go with him, so that they would stay together. At first, Trungpa Rinpoche agreed to go back even though they had heard that there were many Chinese soldiers in the area of Tsawa monastery and it would be dangerous. But Yönten tried to stop Trungpa Rinpoche, saying it was too dangerous. At that time, Yag Rinpoche was with them so Trungpa Rinpoche asked Yag Rinpoche to do a mo for him. After that mo, Yag Rinpoche didn’t say anything. So then they asked Trungpa Rinpoche to do a mo with the mirror. Trungpa Rinpoche did the mo and said that they shouldn’t go back to Tsawa, it was too dangerous. Yag Rinpoche then spoke up and said that his mo said the same, it was too dangerous.
But Akong Rinpoche didn’t want to leave anyone or anything behind. So a huge group came from Tsawa monastery with hundreds of people and horses and yaks and all of the possessions of the monastery. At one point, early on, the Chinese chased some of this group and they lost twenty horses, which they were upset about. Yönten commented to Khenpo, oh, that was nothing. Later on in the escape, the people from Tsawa lost everything; they had to leave everything behind that they brought from Tsawa monastery, it was impossible to take it.
[Ed. note: Not only did they lose all of their and the monastery’s possessions but very few people from Tsawa made it out of Tibet with Trungpa and Akong Rinpoches.
Yönten also commented that when they crossed the Tsangpo River, the bullets from the Chinese soldiers were hitting all around them like rain. Yönten said that he thought that the reason no one was hit by the bullets was due to the blessings provided by the phurba worn by Trungpa Rinpoche (the one he found as terma at Kyere).
INDIA
Yönten:
When we first got to India, it was so hot. It was very difficult for us, we couldn’t do anything.
At that time, Trungpa Rinpoche and the other monks, everyone stayed together (at a refugee camp). There were Kagyu, Nyingma, and Sakya tulkus there. Trungpa Rinpoche wanted to go to Sikkim, to see the Karmapa who was already there. But the Indian government refused, and said that we couldn’t go to Sikkim.
As Tibetans in India, we had to register with either the army or with a special organization. They gave us a document, which we had to keep with us. If you didn’t have this document, you couldn’t travel anywhere.
The Indian government had us in a place, Buxa (Buxador). We had to stay there and couldn’t go anywhere. It was so hot. We were each wearing a Tibetan chuba. We soaked it in water to try to stay cool but, in a few hours, the chuba would be dry again and we had to soak it in water again, over and over.
The Indian government brought food from somewhere so we had enough to eat. But their food was different from Tibetan food and we didn’t know how to cook it. We all got sick after we ate it. Everyone had a bad stomach problem. It looked like when you go a nomad place and there is yak dung everywhere. The whole place.
We all decided that we had to escape from this refugee camp. Many tulkus decided to escape, but many of them were so sick. Yag Tulku was very, very sick. When he coughed, a terrible smell came out. He couldn’t walk and had to be carried. Trungpa Rinpoche had a number of friends among the tulkus at this camp. They wanted to escape with him but most of them were too sick. They tried taking medicine but the medicine didn’t work. Yag Tulku knew that he would die soon but he also wanted to leave because he hoped to see the Karmapa one more time before he died.
The refugee camp only had two gates and there were guards all the time at those gates. It wasn’t easy to escape.
There was a river that went through the camp. We would go to the river to wash our clothes. Our things that we brought with us from Tibet, our bags with things such as rupas, we took them over to the river as if they were laundry and we buried them by the river. Then, that night, we escaped in the dark, and none of the guards saw us escape (near the river).
We then went to a bus station and were able to get a bus to the train station. We took the train (west) all the way to Siliguri. Today there’s an airport at Siliguri and you can fly to Sikkim or New Delhi. The only place we knew then to go was to Darjeeling. Trungpa Rinpoche knew that Kalu Rinpoche had a monastery in Darjeeling. But no one in our group could speak Hindi or English. We tried to ask how to get to Darjeeling. Also, everyone was sick except Trungpa Rinpoche and me, and also Yag Tulku’s attendant. An old monk from Surmang named Sera, and another old monk from Surmang were very sick. Yag Tulku had to be carried everywhere.
At Siliguri, we got a taxi and asked it to take us to the monastery in Darjeeling. The taxi driver instead took us to a monastery in Siliguri, a Gelugpa monastery. When we got there, they asked us if we needed help. We didn’t know anyone at that monastery but they offered us food and a place to stay and everything. They carried our bags for us. They were very good to us; it was such a nice place.
The next morning, we asked them how to get to Darjeeling. They told us that it was far, and that we could take a bus but it would cost money. We didn’t have money to pay for the bus but they told us how to take the train to Darjeeling without paying.
So we took the train to Darjeeling. We saw a Tibetan nun after we got off the train. She helped us to get a taxi to get close to Kalu Rinpoche’s monastery. When the taxi dropped us off, we could see the monastery. We left Sera, the old monk from Surmang, with the bags until we could come back for him. I carried Yag Tulku; his lungs smelled terrible, a pus smell. He said to me, you’re so kind to me, I’m sorry I can’t benefit you in this life. I will pray for you and maybe sometime in the future I will be of benefit to you.
We stayed all together in one room there at that monastery in Darjeeling, we didn’t have separate rooms. We stayed there about ten days. Trungpa Rinpoche wanted to go to see the Karmapa in Sikkim. Everyone told him he wouldn’t be able to get through because of roadblocks. But, when I went with him on the road to Sikkim, there were no policemen at the roadblock, so we got through without any difficulty to Sikkim.
The Karmapa arranged for a room for Trungpa Rinpoche. He told Trungpa Rinpoche, "I’m building a new monastery here (Rumtek), I already have the land, I already have a donor. You should stay here with me, we will stay together."
Trungpa Rinpoche and I stayed with the Karmapa for fifteen days. After that, Trungpa Rinpoche didn’t want to keep staying there so he told the Karmapa that he needed to go to Kalimpong to give an abhisheka. He said that he would give the abhisheka, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche would give the lung, and Adzom Rinpoche would be the sponsor.
We then returned to Darjeeling. We learned, once we got back, that Yag Tulku had already passed away.
Afterward, we went to Kalimpong. Trungpa Rinpoche didn’t give an abhisheka but there was a Kagyu Ngag-dzo mantra treasure abhisheka of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great taking place there. Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche, who was close to Trungpa Rinpoche, was renting a house there. He invited Trungpa Rinpoche to stay with him. Also, sometimes Trungpa Rinpoche stayed with Adzom Rinpoche at his house. When the abhisheka was over, Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche went back to Gangtok and Trungpa Rinpoche continued staying in Kalimpong.
[Ed. note: Sangye Nyenpa IX Rinpoche of Benchen monastery was the older brother of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and the root guru of the present Tenga Rinpoche; he died in 1962.]
Trungpa Rinpoche began studying English with a foreign student of Khyentse Rinpoche in Kalimpong. This foreigner (John Driver) spoke very good Tibetan. In return, Trungpa Rinpoche taught Buddhism to him; they spent two or three months together.
Then, a woman started the tulku shedra, the young lamas school, in Dalhousie. She was the donor. Older monks who were not tulkus couldn’t go there. Trungpa Rinpoche was one of the leaders. Akong Tulku wasn’t there at first, he came later. Eventually, Akong Tulku and Chime Tulku and a number of other tulkus we knew went there; also some tulkus we didn’t know and some children from wealthy families who weren’t actually tulkus went there.
Trungpa Rinpoche wrote a letter to the Karmapa. He told the Karmapa that he didn’t have any place for me to stay with him at the young lamas school. He asked the Karmapa to let me and two other monks stay at Rumtek. Akong Tulku also told his attendants that they couldn’t come to the young lamas school.
I went to Rumtek. Later, the Karmapa asked me to be an attendant to Khyentse Rinpoche. I became very close to both the Karmapa and to Khyentse Rinpoche.
After several years the young lamas school stopped. Trungpa Rinpoche and Akong Tulku made plans to go to England but they didn’t want me or other monks to go as attendants for them.
Before they went to England, Akong Tulku’s older brother got sick. Akong Tulku went to see him but his brother refused to see him. He said to Akong Tulku that he and Trungpa Rinpoche didn’t treat their monks properly. He said that the monks saved your lives during the escape from Tibet and you didn’t treat them properly afterward. He was very angry about it. The brother passed away after that.
After a few years, Trungpa Rinpoche came back from England, to Paro Taktsang in Bhutan. I was an attendant for Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche at that time. Trungpa Rinpoche came with one Western attendant. Trungpa Rinpoche wasn’t wearing monk'srobes when he came to Bhutan. I bought some monk's robes and offered them to him. I was staying at Paro at that time but then I went with Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche to some other places. After a few weeks, Trungpa Rinpoche went to India before returning to England. He left the robes with Neten Choling Rinpoche in New Delhi and asked him to return the robes to me.
I went to America one time with Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and I saw Trungpa Rinpoche in America.
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What if they gave a party and everyone came?
Shambhala Ball 2012, a report from Colin Stubbert
A Living Space: A Chögyam Trungpa exhibit
at the Canadian Museum of Immigration
