My First Buddhist Event

855
Cremation photo by Ray Ellis

I was dating a girl in western Massachusetts. She was a practicing Buddhist. She invited me to go to Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s funeral in Vermont. Being a person versed in alternative spirituality I accepted

This was quite an event. There were thousands of people there. We sat on the hill and watched the funeral. As I watched, I looked at the people there, and saw there focus was on attachment rather than the ceremony that was in progress.

When the cremation fire was near its peak, there was one point in the ceremony when the audience was asked not to take pictures. I started paying closer attention to the ceremony. At the climax of the ceremony Trungpa Rinpoche’s astral body exploded. This was a flash of white light, like the first flash of an atom bomb. Then this cloud of light slowly ascended upwards.

I was still in awe of this when people started talking about rainbows being seen on a blue sky day. As I breathed in the essence, literally as I smelled his burning body. I knew that I was blessed.

A year later I found myself in Madoc Canada receiving the Longchen Nyingthig empowerments from HH Pedma Norbu Rinpoche.

As Shakyamuni Buddha taught me,
Be at Love

Share