What's new?

The Gradual Path of Raising Buddhist Children:
A Conversation with Thinley Norbu Rinpoche From the Vajradhatu Sun, 1992

Inner Chronicles:
Face-to-face
in Halifax

Work Sex Money: Seminar Three,
Talk Three: Klesha activity
[Audio 46:28]

Ocean of Dharma: A Shambhala Sun feature on Chögyam Trungpa by Barry Boyce

Tribute to Arbie Thalacker

Chronicles Highlights 2011

Chronicles Holiday Sampler

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse on the passing of his father, Thinley Norbu Rinpoche

SMR joins Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Rabjam Rinpoche [Video 11:35]
Vintage Chronicles from 2009

Tribute to Thinley Norbu Rinpoche

Work Sex Money: Seminar Three,
Talk Two: Practice
[Audio 59:27]

Qualities
by Tom Pinson
Vintage Chronicles from 2004

The Open Way:
This is the talk CTR gave at Zen Center,
May 27, 1971 [Audio 1:48:46]

Rinpoche and Roshi, told by Henry Schaeffer,
WITH TRANSCRIPT

Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche on Distinguishing Ordinary Consciousness from Wisdom

At the
Redneck Bar
Vintage Chronicles from 2004

Tribute to Fabrice Champion

Work Sex Money: Seminar Three,
Talk One: Materialism
[Audio 1:11:46]

Crazy Wisdom, a review by Victress Hitchcock

Tribute to Michal Friedman

Work Sex Money, Seminar One,
Talk 3: Money [Audio 1:31:20]

Radio interview with Chogyam Trungpa in 1971;
featuring 17 year-old Jason Gavras calling in with a question
[Audio 1:08:18] Vintage Chronicles Radio from 2008

Mingyur Rinpoche: The essence of meditation

Work Sex Money, Seminar One,
Talk 2: Work [Audio 1:30:40]

Julia Sagebien talks with Thrangu Rinpoche about fulfilling the aspirations of the Vidyadhara
[Audio 13:11]

Gold Lake Oil, by Tom Bell
Vintage Chronicles from 2006

Work Sex Money, Seminar One,
Talk 1: Sex
[Audio 1:35:51]

THE BIG NO
Vintage Chronicles from 2009

Thrangu Rinpoche talks about Trungpa Rinpoche and his students [Audio 48:54]

In appreciation of the Very Venerable 9th Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

Teaching Stories: Never Give Up, told by Jim Lowrey
[Audio 30:16]

Memorial to Mary Smith, by Lee Weingrad

Conversation with Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel: Part Three

Khyentse Foundation: Ten Years of Giving

What Made Him Tick: a Review of Crazy Wisdom by Suzanne Duarte

Teaching Stories:
No Man's Land by Robert Merchasin
[Audio 18:56]

Tribute to Mary Smith

Teaching Stories:
Burn Self Deception
[Audio 8:42]

What are the Chronicles of CTR?

	The vision
	The results
	How you can help
	A request for your financial support
	The year ahead
	Attention major donors

THE VISION:
AN ORAL HISTORY LIBRARY

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's courage, brilliance, and tireless proclamation of dharma, through formal teachings and by his life example, changed our lives, affected our culture and language, and set the course for the transmission of buddhadharma and the flowering of Shambhala culture in the modern world. How will he be remembered? Will his life inspire future generations as we have been inspired by the lives of Tilo, Naro, Marpa, Mila, and all the rest? Cultures with strong oral traditions passed these lineage stories down to us. Lacking an oral tradition of our own, how will we pass on our understanding of the life, aspirations, and teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche? For the moment, most of the people who knew him are still alive. Together we can tell the story of how he lived and what he created.

A few years ago, I began work on a biography, The Life of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the North American Years. In the process, I found myself gathering a wide variety of information—more than was needed for the book project alone. I have collected stories that can only be shared with vajrayana students, and details that may never be of interest to the general public but will be invaluable to his students (present and future) and the development of dharma in the West. In the course of this research, I began to realize that the raw material itself—the sound of our many voices—is the most valuable aspect of what I’m doing.

With the notable exception of Born in Tibet and the lectures in which Rinpoche talked about his past, there is little material that documents his life. His archived schedules, logs, and personal correspondence shed light on the general timeline of events and offer occasional (and precious) glimpses of Rinpoche at work, but for the most part, any serious examination of his life will rely on the first-hand accounts of those who knew him.

The Chronicles of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche are an evolving oral history library of these stories—a growing storehouse of CTR lore and knowledge.

On one hand, each first-hand account is limited. After all, how well did any of us understand who he was and what was taking place? But taken as a whole, these stories and interviews form a wonderfully rich tapestry of conflicting and complementary views and perspectives. The Chronicles of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche are an evolving oral history library of these stories—a growing storehouse of CTR lore and knowledge. From this treasury of raw material will come all kinds of things: biographies and books about his life and teachings, plays, films, and who knows what else—a cornucopia of views and perspectives in myriad artistic and scholarly formats.

How many views of his life will emerge over time? How long will his life and teachings be studied? Several biographies and memoirs are currently in the works. It is not hard to imagine that his story will be told and retold for generations to come. Each of these tellings, now and in the future, will take a point of view, address an audience, and interpret events and teachings. That’s what writers do, some more intelligently and honestly than others. By contrast, oral history has no single point of view. It is a collage of perspectives—4,000 blind men and women describing the Buddha.

As a digital library, The Chronicles of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche will include the unedited transcripts of each interview, photographs, and the recordings of our diverse and passionate voices. It will be searchable by date, event, location, name, and topic. Paper copies of the transcribed interviews and indices will be stored on archival paper—a hedge against the vicissitudes of the electronic world.

THE RESULTS

The Chronicles will be published as a series of books about Rinpoche’s life and teachings.

While the most important work is to collect and secure our oral history, we also have an obligation to present this material to the world. The Chronicles will be published as a series of books about Rinpoche’s life and teachings. Initial ideas include a book about his life as a child and young man in Tibet, a book about his years in India and Great Britain, followed by a series of books on the North America years. Alternatively, these books could focus on specific topics such as visual dharma, the kasung, the seminaries, the Court, etc. Each book will include essays by various writers, a detailed timeline, selected interviews, and photographs.

An ongoing sampling of the Chronicles can be found here on our website. This site hosts a small but growing collection of short stories, travel logs, photographs, audio clips, and edited transcripts. Over the past two years, it has magnetized a community of people moved to connect more deeply with CTR’s life and teachings. Over 3,000 people receive the site’s update service and about 1,000 people visit the site within 24 hours of each new posting.

How you can help

The Chronicles need your help. We need qualified interviewers, transcribers, editors, computer programmers/web designers, someone to manage our mailing lists (email and postal addresses), and a bookkeeper. But most of all, we need your stories. To send us your stories and/or to volunteer, please contact chronicles@chronicleproject.com.

A request for your financial support

The year ahead will take the Chronicles on the road to Tibet and Nepal....

The year ahead will take the Chronicles on the road to Tibet and Nepal where we will have the opportunity to interview many important witnesses who knew CTR in his early life and are now quite advanced in age. At the same time, we will continue to interview Rinpoche's western students and research his early years in North America. Our budget for this twelve-month period is C$80,000 (about US$66,000 at current exchange rates). These funds will cover travel expenses, new recording equipment, and our ongoing expenses, including salaries.

We regard the donations we receive as the sacred energy of windhorse; we want our patrons to know that their generosity is appreciated and used appropriately. To that end, we are in the process of forming a board of directors that will help guide the vision and implementation of the project and provide financial oversight. We are also recruiting a volunteer CPA who will implement proper accounting procedures and ensure financial transparency. Once again, please join us in celebrating the life and teachings of Trungpa Rinpoche. Become a member. All donations are tax deductible.

Yours in the vision of the Great Eastern Sun,

Walter Fordham
Director,
The Chronicles of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Become a member!

Attention major donors

If you are interested in supporting the Chronicles with matching funds or major donations in general, please contact me at wfordham@chronicleproject.com, and we can discuss how we can work together.

With much appreciation,
Walter Fordham

Our new name, The Chronicles of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, was chosen in consultation with Lady Diana Mukpo. To employ the Vidyadhara’s name is an honor and a responsibility. We offer our heart-felt gratitude to Lady Diana for her permission, blessings, and trust.

Our 2005 funding drive will be over on Thursday, February 24th--the day of the first full moon following Shambhala Day, or Losar, the Tibetan New Year. At that point we will return to our usual homepage. Thank you for your participation.