Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A dzo bolting into a river — saddle spinning sideways, robes scattered across the current — opens Khensur Rinpoche’s two-hour oral account of his 1959 escape from Tibet, delivered at Buddha House. In question-and-answer detail he traces the journey from Pemako, where students carried him across a river before a stranger’s horse helped finish the crossing, through the winter ascent of the snow-covered Yamda La pass on a borrowed mule, to a brief rest near Samye. Along the way he describes the Tibetan guerrilla resistance as poorly armed and no match for Chinese forces, the pressure on monks to join the fighting, a night battle near Tsetang, and the chaotic mass flight of soldiers and families heading south. The session closes with Rinpoche rejoining his own teacher, who had fled a teaching tour carrying almost nothing — a tea bowl, a prayer book, and three robes.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 31 RS 1988 10 27.mp3
UUID: 110d84a1-d832-4a90-9ae0-0419cbf2548b
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Rinpoche's Story (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1988-10-27
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 127.1 minutes
Words: ~6,213
Hearing Rinpoche’s flight from Lhasa. What side? Recording on the twenty seventh — the river was a bit very shallow. Yeah. And after some part of shallow water, there was a small sand island.
Small just very small island. So one another monk led the dzo from its nose with a rope, and this elder monk mounted on it, so he start crossing. So first part was a bit shallow, and then when he reached the island part, he started shouting to the other groups saying, oh, being on the is marvelous. But as soon as he as soon as he said that, the dzo start jumping up and down. Just yeah.
And then he fell down. The mom fell down. In the water? And after a while, the still start jumping, continued jumping. And then the monk who was leading the dzo, he somehow lost the rope.
And then the dzo start going everywhere, and somehow the saddle turned On the side? Down. Yeah. And then all the belongings, especially river, cross afterward, they put their ropes, some part of dry clothes on the zone. So everything just start falling all over the Some of the robes of the monks were in the river, some on the on the shore, on the route, and some still on the dzo.
And because the the rampaging dzo dragged all these robes, so most of them got torn. And so most of the robes, they came wet. And when they crossed the river, across the river, over the other side was the house, and they stayed there drying the robes on fire. And they stayed at night in that house. Oh, of course.
They’d have to, wouldn’t they? No. So they didn’t wear any clothes when they were crossing the river. They took them off to cross, and then they got all wet and torn. Just they still have something like an upper robe, but just outer robe.
Yeah. Outer rope. Yeah. Most of it on the dzo, and they are laid out late. But And then So at that time, Rinpoche had a lot of pain on his legs.
So two students, one carried him and another supported him, and carried him across the river up to that point on the sand island where the dzo started jumping. Then other And at that time, there were And at that time, there were some horsemen who came near the river, and they had to cross the river. And then so they crossed the river, and one of the students told one horsemen to kindly, after he finished, to send the horse so that this this sick teacher can mountain and go across. So that one horseman got across, and then he sent his horse. Then he reached the mountain on it and crossed the, like, a bigger part of the river.
On the horse? Yeah. That’s Oh. Horse. They had to cross choosing one smaller, like, more in general when it would split to more parts, yeah, from there.
What was wrong with Rinpoche’s legs? Just pain in the knee from when they escaped, there was one very high pass. And when they reached the top, after that, coming down on the slope, very steep slope, and from there, the pain started. So one afternoon, when she’s in the party camp near one family, and there was one older lady, she offered her very good Tibetan traditional boot, somber boot. Yeah.
It was very good. So far, Rinpoche had been wearing only Sera monks’ boots, you know, which is a bit too rough. And, yeah, that was very good. She she when on she after knowing what’s wrong with languages have, she became very concerned and then offered. So it’s it’s good good fortune in the bad.
Yeah. Very good old lady. She was Testing. One two three four five six seven eight nine ten. It’s Sunday, the twenty ninth of October nineteen eighty nine.
Well, there’s such interesting details. I wondered what happened after that because we didn’t he didn’t give all those details before, you see. So where did they go after Zangkok? How much longer to get to India? What it says here is well, things about worried for his holiness and then finding out that his holiness is alright.
His holiness left on the eighth. And then the it just says he arrived in India. You see it under under whatever it is. No. It doesn’t give any details about what happened No.
On the way. It’s very interesting to people if we could get some more And then, old lady, when she offered the shoes, that’s before crossing river in Pemako. After Pemako, she and the party camped somewhere, and they were drinking tea. And then the old lady saw Rinpoche was sick. Oh, so that was earlier.
Yeah. Earlier. So he had the shoes when he was crossing the river. My hair. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. If Rinpoche does not want to go into more details, but it’s very interesting if he felt like to tell exact details of the trip and people’s reactions in India. He’s just said the place he arrived in the monastery but there’s lots of details. I don’t see a word there.
If doesn’t feel like now, we can do something else. Question. Maybe better now. Better now Yeah. To do it.
Yeah. And future is not this. Afterward. Good. Yeah.
I’d like to so this is very interesting to Westerners. It’ll be very interesting to hear all these details. Crossed that river, on the other side was some sort of monastery. So Rinpoche says maybe we should call it a monastery. Then they stayed there one night because they didn’t have dry robes to wear.
They had to dry their robes. Yeah. Yeah. So that monastery is a big building, and is a monastery. And if the monastery is in the front, in background, just next to the monastery in the front, there’s the main road, which is the road for car, trucks, one way to Lhazar.
Oh, okay. That’s where Rinpoche and his party stayed. In that that building, there wasn’t any single person. Oh. They all no.
That’s how much. All have escaped. All gone away. Yeah. Not killed not killed.
No one in the the run. So that night, the party group, they slept in that building, and the elder or the elder three monks and some other monks had a sleep, and the younger ones went again. They went on the roof and just watched if the Chinese were coming or not. So those five with those guns? Yeah, that’s right.
Would you call them guns or rifles? What would be correct? Rifle soldier, is it? I think It’s called English rifle, and Tibetan word is called khabum. Rifle.
So they were, as Ramesh had told before, Tibetan government only bought from British. So I just imagine they’re long and you sort of they No. Ah. Then click and then Yeah. About that long.
Yeah. Yeah. About a hundred meters. A meter? No.
Yeah. Mhmm. You can only you can load one bullet at a time. Then the party had to go on that main road for quite a while, and after a while, they come to a very remote place called Gyama. Gyama?
Yeah. How will you spell that in English? G Y A M A, Gyama. Gyama, yeah. So when they arrived at Gyama, the party had a rest camp the night.
And then in the evening, five o’clock, because at that time, there were also other people, whole lot, so many people in skilings that route. And then about five o’clock in the evening, the Chinese start firing and then wish other people they could hear that song. The machine gun sound? The machine gun center, So, afterward, the group said the party inquired what happened. They heard the news, one monk belonging to Derge area, same as Rinpoche, was killed.
That night, they couldn’t continue their escape journey, so they had to stay in that place. Was killed by Chinese? Then, in the morning, the party left for their continued journey, where they heard the fire in the evening before, they went towards there, and there was a house of family. But when they passed there, there wasn’t anybody in the house. And in front of the house, near the doorways, there were a lot of bloods, and they couldn’t see any people hanging around.
And then the local party, the machinist party, they tried to make a look for people, and somehow they found some people in their neighborhood and asked what happened. They said, One monk had it. One monk. There was an argument and fight between a monk and the Tibetan guerrilla army. They killed that monk.
They were belonging to the army. They left towards the mountain. That monk afterward, Rinpoche Chembryu, was a student of that same teacher who did mo for Rinpoche. Really? In last year. But at that time, they couldn’t see his body.
It’s all taken somewhere. Being taken away? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Did he know what the argument was about? And join Maybe something to do with the guns rifle. I mean, each tried to rob the others’ rifles. No. And again, the party group continued going, escaping.
Rinpoche couldn’t walk very much, and also it was quite difficult to go across. There was a special pass, a high mountain pass. What was the name of that pass? The Lunding Karina. Like a map?
Ah. Lunding the Lunding Karina. Maybe it’s perhaps called Yamda La, Yamda La Pass because the area of village is called Yamda. So you go across and then there’s part of Yamda. Yeah.
And if you cross that Yamda La Pass or climb down the slope, then you come to area called Samye. Samye? Yeah. Uh-huh. So before they could pass because it was quite too much, so they had to stay overnight before crossing.
Have you been to Ganden monastery? I haven’t been to Ganden, no. But it sounds like a similar way that we came into Tibet, not far from Samye. Mhmm. We could up high, and then we could see Samye in the distance.
I’d be wrong. You’ve been to Sami? No. But we we saw the turn off Mhmm. And we couldn’t stop.
It was about ninety kilometers or something. We were very high up, you can see along. So that evening, when they camped for the night, two of Rinpoche’s, what’s called previous students, monastery monks, they came to see Rinpoche. So they were already in the area where Rinpoche now just arrived. Oh, they’d already left before.
Yeah. And they arrived. They have arrived there, and then they, what I call, Rinpoche asked them what happened, and they said, oh, we had what we call five monks. We all decided each of us should have a rifle because there wasn’t enough for everybody. Three of the men from that group, they went on horse, tried to rob some rifles from the guerrilla, Tibetan guerrilla army.
Ah. And the Tibetan guerrilla army were divided were stationed on two different places, somewhere down in the plains, somewhere in the mountain. So they went down and, tried to steal, just yeah, steal some rifles. And somehow, those guerrilla army on top of the mountain, they saw, and they start firing.
Yeah. And killed one injured one somewhere here, and third one, the other one quite badly injured, and third one injured on the back of neck. They lost their three horses. The two who were injured, they have to come back. At that time, when the other two, in the night time when they came to see Rinpoche, they were just trying to were just trying to walk or come and just look for their horses.
So, on the way, they happened to pass and saw Rinpoche and his group and then had a park. And they the two remaining one, were quite elderly monks, and they were saying well, they they advised the other not to go. They’re quite too risky. And now it became terribly bad, and they were almost crying. Oh, yeah.
Yeah. And were the other three months, were they very young months, or how old would they be? No need because what don’t injure that. The other two, one killed and one injured, who belonged to who was a student of that hostel. So they they too were about pain, especially near the knee part swollen.
It was swollen right up, was it? Yeah. Swollen. And then they said, oh, we got a mule. A mule.
Yeah. A mule. And we’re going to offer a mule. I mean, if you have. So remember Rinpoche rode on the mule after that? So there was still the two donkeys with the tsampa, sacks and everything.
Rinpoche was riding the mule. Is the mule. Sera mule. No. And the other one got the two donkeys still had some some person So that was the pass wherein Rinpoche previously was talking about sleeping on tsampa bags.
Oh. Because it was a mountain, the pass top, that’s the Yaman pass. Yaman. Yaman. On top is Sarawak-oh [the pass top].
The pass top was covered with snow. It was quite too cold. Was that the pass that was only a summer pass? Mhmm. He somewhere mentions that they came across the winter.
Mhmm. In winter, across the summer pass. Was that it? Oh, it’s it’s ex oh, like, what people say, oh, it’s difficult to pass during winter, but perhaps extremely difficult, but still maybe. It’s not impossible.
And then Rinpoche went to Samye. Yeah. Samye place. Oh. Rinpoche and the party.
So before they arrived at Samye, a lot of other groups also came to be passed. There were now fifty, sixty groups of monks. Is this a So all of them had, like, a lot of rifles and horses to ride on and also mules to put and load their things. You know, Rinpoche and the group, they happened to, you know, like, run into them and never they — They were meant to be fighting the Chinese. They they all had rifles.
Mostly, and particularly most of them, Oh, Rinpoche would have known them all quite well. So they had one meaning which they had brought from Parsons, that means somehow, one was called, had a pain in the forelegs and couldn’t go away fast. Also because Rinpoche was spotting, well, they were going on very slow speed, so they said, Oh, you can have this. So you’re just a little struggle along with the party. A mule.
It actually make an amusing drawing, wouldn’t it? And then Lumetiere’s party, only Lumetiere had a mule. Wouldn’t a photo been amazing? I think when the scientists didn’t draw it like a scattering drawing. We should do the picture I’m picturing in my mind, and we should have a drawing.
In Samye, the group stayed for about three days going around. Then, Oh, Yeah. Going and looking around the main temple. Were there were there monks there, Samye? Because in Samye, the monks had left because the guerrilla army called Chushi Gangdruk.
They were stationed in that area, nearby. And Samye being nearby, so things were more settled. It wasn’t too sort of serious. Worrying and serious. Province.
Pardon? Samye is like a province. Oh, the whole area? Yeah. The whole area.
I see. Yeah. And because when they arrived there, their party talked due to because they are, what I call, guerrilla army, so they don’t have to worry. So they felt a bit relaxed. Yeah.
Yeah. So they could rest and recover. Before the big party arrived in August, Rinpoche’s party and other people had a lot of expectation, thinking the guerrilla army must be perhaps powerful enough to, you know, not to worry. But when they arrived there, things went different because the guerrilla army is different. Some had rifles, some had mostly, they didn’t have So they’re just for men with no weapons.
So it’s just in perhaps not no match for Chinese. There’s a little. Yeah. That’s right. And also, there weren’t many people in real army.
There were. About how many Maybe in general, there must be about one or two thousands. But at that time, perhaps some of them went along to protect his holiness and and so on to the eastern part of Tibet to what I call fight. So that time, those who were there, mainly stationed headquarters. So so they they couldn’t see many.
So at that time, some of the guerrilla army leaders, they were telling the monks, Rinpoche and that group, telling them, You can’t go to India. You must become a guerrilla or fight a guerrilla army. Must become guerrilla army. And those monks who had rifles, they joined the army, guerrilla army. And even after that, the leader still insisted that the remaining And then from Sami, they had to cross one way big river.
And when they crossed that river after having crossed, there’s a place with a very special one called statue of Tārā, is called Tārā Dolma. It’s one of those statues which we normally call a speaking statue. Oh. And it’s considered very, very precious. And then the party went to see that.
Yeah. Yeah. It’s as so big, like, life size, and so we call it attractive, something powerful and it’s like the Jowo Rinpoche in Jokhang. And Rinpoche was in the monastery in Sera, Rinpoche had two students in his, what I call, quarter. And the one of what I call two students, their uncle, who at this time is one of the army Song Ji in that army, Korean army, was somewhere in that place.
He came with a horse and a mule. His name is called Tsering Yatta. Tsering Yatta, and the uncle came requesting Rinpoche to please come. Oh.
Oh. He came to fetch Rinpoche for him. To come away. That’s why I left. Uncle came is why I left.
So it’s just like a a friend, a related person. And one and one of the students has already left India, and one student was with Rinpoche. So this person was uncle of those two students. So he’s from Kantou? And that time, Rinpoche’s one called classmate Rinpoche’s friend called Moda, he was, at that time, the grocery or supply manager of Guerrilla Army.
He came to see Rinpoche and said, Oh, now it’s very difficult. I can’t hold on staying in this place. Things have become quite beyond control. And I’m going to escape tomorrow. And if you need any sambal, butter, anything you want, you can come and have it.
So it was very good because that time, the donkeys, what I call tampon donkey, they were after they’ve eaten and getting Very low. Very low. Then, we took from the person a pack of butter and half box of tea and some greens and some barbeys. This is after he visited Dutara, wasn’t it? Did this happen?
You have that wrong? No. So, Rinpoche left the remaining group when they have camped, and along with that student, he went to this his uncle’s place, which is a little bit far from where they have camped. And that night, about nine or ten o’clock, there was a lot of firing. Firing started.
I guess, you should say, a lot of, yeah, firing noises. It went for a very long. So at that time, this is like a general explanation. That time, normally, it is around that hill, or five years back, that hill. That hill, previously, Chinese have dug into the hill, and inside they have made it an arsenal.
Chinese. Yeah, Chinese, and grocery storehouse, and also quarters to what we call hide. That whole mount has been fortified. And how much ever the guerrilla army, Chushi Gangdruk, the Tibetan guerrilla army, how much ever they made or tried to fight against Chinese. They’re coming because Chinese are mainly hiding here.
In that night, it seemed that Chinese from the south had started coming to fight with the Tibetan guerrillas, and Chinese inside, they came out of the mound, they also came out. And so all these Chinese had a fight with Tibetans, Guerrilla Army, and also Tibetans who were there at that time and who had guns. Joined in? Yeah. Was Rinpoche?
Rinpoche, yeah, on this side. Just across the river and then in what’s called what’s that thing called where the power station is? Yeah. That’s a village? No.
That’s where Yeah. No. Where the Tārā stay here. Alright. Mhmm.
Mhmm. Tsetang, is that the name of the area or the village exactly? Right. House. That’s where he was staying.
Yeah. Yeah. And the Tsering Yatta. Is what? Group camped.
Which group was that? Rinpoche. Rinpoche. Just put Rinpoche. Rinpoche.
Rinpoche went there. She went there. Ah, right. Right. I see.
Yeah. So when Rinpoche was here with in uncle Yatta’s house Oh. And about eight, nine in the in the nighttime Mhmm. They heard what I call news about Chinese and, yeah, Chushi Gangdruk guerrilla army fighting around that area. Right.
That’s good. They were in that mountain. That’s where they had their was it? No. Is that the Chinese where he said they were?
Yep. Chinese and or here, you can say. Yeah. There is no the because Track. That’s what you’re saying.
Yeah. Right. So this that’s the track. Right. And then about four o’clock, Rumiji heard the news about eight, nine o’clock.
Then four o’clock in the dawn time, two of the about two students came from where they have camped. Rinpoche students? Yeah. Rinpoche. Yeah.
That group. Yeah. Two from the group came to see Rinpoche uncle’s place and said, oh, everybody is escaping. And Rinpoche, please, now let’s leave now. Oh.
Yeah. And they start leaving. So at that time, people escaping from house. Was escaping and all all that. More people coming from Lhasa, you mean?
Yeah. More people. Yeah. People from are escaping, and who has already escaped on on the way, they were escaping. And people of Hogar area, they were escaping.
And guerilla army soldiers, they were escaping. So, everybody escaping. It was so whole chain of, you know, escapes, like, you know, crowded. Refugee sort of things. And some common, what I call, lay people carrying babies on their back, and the kids crying.
And, yeah, everyone just in home rush of escape. And then guerrilla army, Chuji Gang, guerrilla army soldiers, they had a horse, very nice, fat horses. And they were riding the horses and escaping fast, like the song called go go go. Oh, the horse racing. Gullfing.
Yeah, gullfing. Then, the common people, they were saying to the soldiers, is that how you’re doing things? Is it the way you’ve gone treating us? So far, seem as ready or working for the people, and now you just leave leaving behind. I’m gonna call it.
I’m shouting all these things. Told Oh, shouting? Shouting. Yes. That was insertion.
I asked Rinpoche, in case if it’s come out in biography, the gurus this gurus army still has their continuous organization in India. They might send a sermon letter to Rinpoche. And Rinpoche is our good defense, is that it’s the people who are crying, oh, shouting. Yeah. It’s just recording.
And then the and the party went on escaping, and then they came to a place called Chumey, which is a very big monastery built by the fifth Dalai Lama. When they arrived there, there were different houses where families lived. In one of the houses, Rinpoche found his teacher, Gume Khensur Rinpoche Gyaltsen, who came here in Australia last year. And he was there. And how he was there was because each year, the elder teachers of the monasteries, they have to go on the country tour of teachings.
Teaching tour. Teaching tour. Yeah, teaching tour. Right? He happened to be on one of his teaching tour, and then the work with home and he thought it’s not safe to go back, so he continued.
He, when returning from his teaching tour, had escaped through Lhokha and was there. So far, he had been to that place, and then Rinpoche and the group went to see their teacher, Gume Khensur Rinpoche. Oh, that’s nice. And at that time, the teacher was about to about to continue escaping, about to leave the place. And somehow the group arrived there.
So it was a good time seeing each other. And then our teacher, Gume Khensur Rinpoche, didn’t have anything. Just just a wooden tea bowl, a prayer book, and three set of robes, which are normally required to carry. Only just only those two things. Really?
Yeah. Was he on his own? Yeah. When his teacher started from the point where he was on teaching tour Remember to his teacher when he started from the place started from the place where he is teaching tour, where he was on teaching tour, from that place in what I call he had brought some, what I call, assistants, but they weren’t they weren’t his students, just assistance, you know, attendance. And then they had a very quick tea together.
And then after tea, they immediately start travelling together together with the teacher. Had two mules, one mule which a bit of foreleg pain. Yes. Yes. Yeah.
That one. No. That one recovered and was quite good. Uh-huh. They offered that mule to Gume Khensur Rinpoche.
Ah, I was wondering who wrote the mule. Rinpoche. Yeah. And another one as before, Rinpoche. So the two now.
We got Actually, you could ask Rinpoche again. We were talking before about whether they were wearing robes or whether they were wearing tubers. Was Rinpoche wearing a robe and No. The music the on the the the Yeah. The other two elderly monks in there were three.
The other two were wearing robes. The rest are all the students in in robes in Cuba. Uh-huh. Yeah. Sorry.
Good. In Samiye, the group stayed for about three days going around. And the no. No. No.
Because in Samye, the monks have left because Tibetan guerrilla army called Chushi Gangdruk, they were stationed in that area, nearby. And some have been in nearby. So things were what called? It wasn’t too sort of Serious. Worrying and serious.
And also, when they It’s like a province. Oh. Oh, the whole area? Yeah. The whole area.
I see. And because when they arrived there, their party talked due to because they are, what I call, guerrilla army, so they don’t have to worry. So they felt a bit relaxed. Yeah. Yeah.
So they could rest and recover. People had a lot of, like, expectation thinking the guerrilla army must be perhaps powerful enough to, you know, not to worry. When they arrived there, things went different because the guerrilla army is different. Some had rifles, some had mostly, they didn’t have So they’re just for men with no weapons. So it’s just in perhaps not no match for Chinese.
Yeah. That’s right. Yeah. That’s right. Yeah.
And, also, there weren’t many people. There were. There were. About how many Maybe in general, there must be about one or two thousands. But at that time, perhaps some of them went along to protect his holiness.
Oh. Some toward the eastern part of Tibet too, what I call, fight. So that time, those who were there, mainly stationed headquarters. So so they they couldn’t see many. So at that time, some of the guerrilla army leaders, they were telling the monks, Rinpoche and that group, telling them, you can’t go to India.
You must become a guerrilla fighter. Must become soldiers for the guerrilla army. Those monks who had rifles, they joined the army, guerrilla army. And even after that, the leaders still insist that Rinpoche and others the remaining men, they must become they must join in. That is the completely refused and said, no.
We we can’t do that. We’re not doing that. We want to escape. And then from some end, they had to cross one way, big river. And when they crossed that river, after having crossed, there’s a place called Tsetang.
Special one called statue of Tārā, is called Tārā Dolma, Tārā. It’s one of those which we normally call a speaking statue. Wow. And it’s considered very very precious. And then when to see that.
Big, life size, and so what we call attractive, like a secret, something powerful. It’s like the Yeah. When Rinpoche was in the monastery in Sera, Rinpoche had two students here in his, what I call, quarter. One of the, what I call, two students, and their uncle, who at this time is one of the army soldier in the army, army, somewhere in that place. He came with a horse and a mule.
His name is called Tsering Yatta. Tsering Yatta, the uncle, remember? Tsering. So, Tsering Yatta, he came with a horse and a mule requesting Rinpoche to please come. So it’s just like a friend, related person. And one of the students has already left India, and one student was with Rinpoche.
So, this person was uncle of those two students. So he’s from? Mhmm. Khams too? They’re quite Kham one.
Really? Yeah. Yeah. And that time, Rinpoche’s one called classmate and Rinpoche’s friend called Moda, he was, at that time, the grocery or supply manager of Guerrilla Army. Then he came to see Rinpoche and said, Oh, now it’s very difficult.
I can’t hold on staying in this place. Things are becoming quite beyond control, and I’m going to escape tomorrow. And if you need any sambal, butter, anything you want, you can come and have it. So it was very good because that time, the donkeys, what I call, tampon donkey, they were, you know, after they’ve eaten and getting Very low. Very low.
And then, took from the person a pack of butter and half box of tea and some grains and some barley. This is after he visited the Tārā, wasn’t it? This happened? So left the remaining group where they have camped, and along with that student, he went to this his uncle’s place, his uncle’s place, which is a little bit far from where they have camped. That night, about nine or ten o’clock, there was a lot of firing.
Firing started, and I guess we should say you know, fire noises. It went for very long. So at that time, this is like a general explanation. That time, normally, it just around the in that area is just a place called. Yeah.
Yeah. And And he previously, Chinese have ducted his turtle, and inside they have made it arsenal. Chinese. Yeah. Chinese.
And grocery storehouse, and also quarters to what we call hide. And that whole mount has been done. And how much ever the guerrilla army, Chuji Kang, the Tibetan guerrilla army, how much ever they made our work or tried to fight against Chinese. They’re coming because Chinese are meant hiding here. In that night, it seemed that Chinese from Hussain started coming to fight with the Tibetan greener.
And Chinese inside, they work on the mound, they also came out. And so all these Chinese had a fight with Tibetans, guerrilla army, and also Tibetans who were hanging there at that time and who had guns. Joined in? Yeah. Where was Rimbashe?
Rubichy here on on this side. Just across the river and then. Oh. In what’s that thing called where the power station is? Yeah.
That’s a village, where Yeah. No. When the. Alright. Mhmm.
Mhmm. Taduk, is that the name of the area or the village exactly? Why? In the Yatta’s house. That’s where he was staying.
Yeah. Yeah. And the Ashyan Yatta. Is what? This one?
This one. No. Yeah. This one. Camped here.
Group camped. Which group was that? Rinpoche. Rinpoche. Just put Rinpoche.
Rinpoche. Rinpoche went there. Ah, right. Right. I see.
Yeah. So, when Rinpoche was here in uncle Yatta’s house, at about eight, nine in the in the nighttime Mhmm. They heard what I call news about Chinese and guerrilla, I mean, fighting around that area. Right. They were in that mountain.
That’s where they had their was it? No. Is that the Chinese where he said they Yep. Chinese had come on. I hear you.
Track. That’s you see. That’s the track. Right. And then about four o’clock, Rinpoche heard the news about eight, nine o’clock.
Then four o’clock in the dawn time, two of the about two students came from where they have camped. Rinpoche students? Yeah. Rinpoche. Yeah.
That group. Yeah. Two from the group came to see Rinpoche at uncle’s place and said, everybody is escaping. And Rinpoche, please, now let’s leave now. Oh.
Yeah. And they start leaving. So at that time, people escaping Yeah. People from Lhasa who are escaping and who has already escaped on the way, they were escaping. And people of Lhoka area, they were escaping.
Guerrilla army soldiers, they were escaping. So everybody escaping. It was so whole chain of, you know, escapes, like, you know, crowded. Refugee sort of things. There’s some common one called lay people carrying babies on their back, and the kids crying, And, yeah, everyone just in home rush of escape.
Did you go to No. And then the guerrilla army, Chushi Gangdruk, guerrilla army soldiers, they had a horse, very nice, fat horses. They were riding horses and escaping very fast, like the sound, like, go go go. Oh, the horse racing. Galloping.
Yeah, galloping. Then, common people, they were saying to the soldiers, Now, is that how you’re doing things? Is it the way you’ve been treating us? So far, seemed as ready or working for the people, and now you just leave, leave them behind. Told shouting?
Shouting. Yeah. That was insertion. I asked Rinpoche, in case if it’s come out in Rinpoche’s biography, the gurus this gurus army still has their continuous organization in India. They might send a sermon letter to Rinpoche.
And Rinpoche is our good defense is that it’s the people who are crying. Oh, sorry. Yeah. It’s just recording. And then the and party went on escaping, and then they came to a place called Samye, which is a very big monastery built by the fifth Dalai Lama.
When they arrived there, there were different houses where families lived. In one of the houses, Rinpoche found his teacher, Gume Khensur Rinpoche Gyaltsen, who came here in Australia last year. Oh. He was there. And, how he was there was because each year, the elder teachers of the monasteries, they have to go on the country tour of teachings.
Yeah. Teaching tour. Big teachings. Yeah. Teaching tour.
And He happened to be on one of his teaching tour, and then the news of the escaping, things came out, and he thought it’s not safe to go back, so continued. He when returning from his teaching tour, had to escape through Lhokha and was there. So far, he had been to that place, and then Rinpoche and the group went to see their teacher, Gume Khensur Rinpoche. Oh, And at that time, the teacher was about to about to continue escaping, about to leave the place. And somehow the group, Rinpoche’s group, arrived there.
So it was a good time seeing each other. And then their teacher didn’t have anything, just just a wooden tea bowl, prayer book, and three set of robes, which are normally required to carry. Only just those two things. Really? Yeah.
Was he on his own? When the teacher started from the point where he was on teaching tour. Rinpoche’s teacher, when he started from the place started from the place where he was teaching tour, where he was on teaching tour, from that place in what I call he had brought some, what I call, assistants, but they weren’t they weren’t his students, just assistants, attendance. And then they had a very quick tea together. And then after tea, immediately, they start travelling together together with the teacher. There were two mules. One mule which had which had a bit of foreleg pain. Yes. Yes, yeah, that one.
No, that one recovered and it was quite good. Uh-huh. They offered that mule to Gume Khensur Rinpoche. Ah, I was wondering who rode the mule. Uh-huh. I don’t if she yeah.
And Actually, you could ask Rinpoche again. We were talking before about whether they were wearing robes or whether they were wearing chubas. Was Rinpoche wearing a robe? No. In chuba. No. Oh, wearing robes.
And what about the other monks, the students? Yeah. The other two elderly monks in there were three. The other two were wearing robes. The rest are all the students in in robes in chuba.
Yeah. That’s alright. Good.