Rinpoche's Last Advice
Rinpoche’s sleeping room at Lake Constance, photograph by Michael & Eva Gohl
It was on Saturday, October 18, 2003, the second last day of a two-week Dharma course given by Namgyal Rinpoche at our family's cottage situated at Lake Constance at the northern border of Switzerland looking toward Germany. Rinpoche regularly came to teach in this beautiful place after 1981; that’s when we first met him and started to study under his guidance. Over the years, this place—thanks to the generous support of Michael’s parents—became something like a hidden Swiss Dharma Centre, at least in the off-seasons of the year. More and more, the Swiss Namgyal Group started to also invite other Dharma Teachers in the Namgyal lineage like Tarchin Hearn, Lama Sonam Gyatso, Sensei Doug Duncan and Lama Mark to teach in this place. In 2016, Ontul Rinpoche and Ratna Rinpoche, during their first visit to Switzerland, spent a couple of nights here. They left with the aspiration to be able to do a retreat here someday.
With six sleeping rooms in two bungalows, all of the rooms face toward a central courtyard, and a separate living room big enough for nearly 25 people sitting on the floor. This summer cottage has the quality to turn easily into a sort of mini monastery after the summer guests left. A nice challenge for the retreat cooks was the fact that the simple kitchen is part of the teaching room. Rinpoche just loved to teach and live here.
In October 2003 Rinpoche came to teach The Three Words that Strike the Vital Point by Garab Dorje in the verses of Patrul Rinpoche. He had taught from this text at the DCC and in England, and despite his fragile health, Rinpoche decided to give this transmission in Switzerland a third time. It turned out to be the last teaching of this great enlightened being.
The course was planned to finish on Sunday. But after the Saturday morning teaching, Rinpoche came out of his room and announced to the few students still there that there will be no further teaching the next day. His final words were: “I have taught you everything. There is nothing more that I could teach you. Don’t let it dissipate!”
Later in the day, he spread the word that there will be a festive meal in the evening. A joyous energy arose in the group. All afternoon, the greatly meritorious Terry skillfully managed to cook dozens of original Tibetan momos with many supplements in the small simple kitchen, and everybody would add their help. When the buffet was ready, the teaching room was bathed in the golden light of the October evening sun shining across the lake. Rinpoche joined us for a short time. Looking back at this tsog, we love to see it in the light of a “Last Supper.”
Four days later, the wonderous and immeasurably compassionate Karma Tensing Dorje Namgyal Rinpoche passed on in unchanging awakeness. The following morning, the world around the house was covered with a fine layer of peaceful fresh snow. Later in the day, the heavens opened their watergates and flooded northern Switzerland.
May the powerful blessings of Namgyal Rinpoche never end to strengthen beings in their unfoldment to liberation for the sake of all life.
by Michael & Eva Gohl