Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 56-minute session, Khensur Rinpoche narrates the rebuilding of Tibetan monastic life in South India after 1959, dictating and correcting a written account of his own story. He covers the founding of Sera monastery in Bylakuppe and Ganden and Drepung in Mundgod, the early years of hard physical labour — monks growing corn and working the fields — and communal arrangements for food and shelter. He recounts receiving the oral transmission of the Kangyur, the canonical collection of the Buddha’s teachings, sponsored by the Tibetan government in Tibet. He also explains the monthly Sojong purification ceremony, describes how debate classes at Sera were structured, and recalls founding the monastery school, including its costs and staffing. A candid oral history suited to those interested in modern Tibetan Buddhist institutions.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 61RS 1991 10 07.mp3
UUID: 19bb333a-2aaf-4928-a039-83556eb04f8e
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Rinpoche's Story (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1991-10-07
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 56.0 minutes
Words: ~5,897
Yeah. That’s right. Good. Right. Thank you.
Continuing, Wednesday, the the seventh of October nineteen ninety two, talks with Rinpoche. There are no new monks becoming a monk because in that time, now people arriving from Tibet are almost stopped. There’s nothing happening after that. And plus, around where the banks are, around that area or, you know, they have no Tibetan at all. Only those monks.
Now why were people not arriving from Tibet? Was it now winter? Think it’s now so like people And it’s just, you know, it’s just, just, it’s just, just, it’s know, Tibetan at all other than monks. Uh-huh. Wow.
That’s it. And they want with Tibetan people that don’t come monks because they don’t have people, actually. Yeah. Presented in Buxa, I went to Dharmasala, and they have three big monasteries, Sera Drepung Ganden. There were Sakya Nyingma Kagyu, and another other three saints.
Sakya Nyingma Kagyu, There were two settlements already settled in South India, one is Bylakuppe, one is Mundgod, They were trying more where the monastery should be, which monastery should be, near there. Comes up Drepung and Ganden Monastery in Mundgod, Sera in Bylakuppe. Mhmm. Yeah. And, yes, and Jin says here, came up to Sera in Akagua.
Yeah. That’s right. Sera Je and they too settle in Bylakuppe. And Ganden and Drepung and Sakya and Nyingma, they settle in Mundgod. Uh-huh.
Wow. Yep. I think it’s Mundgod. Mundgod. Mundgod.
U n d. Somewhere. M I’m not sure if there. N d. Yeah.
Mundgod, g o d. G something like that. Is that that’s an Indian word, is it? Yeah. Not a Tibet.
No. No. That should be should be able to find it on the map. What part of India? South India.
South India. Yeah. Towards the which coast? Towards Madras? Madras?
Near no. No. No. Near Hubli. Alright.
Good. Oh, okay. Six fifty or sixty. I can’t remember exactly. Yeah.
This was the Indian government. Indian government, yeah. Jao Shunroa. They don’t know whether Indians are giving, but Indians are taking responsibility. They’re giving hand.
The Indian government. Yeah, but money where they come from Not quite. But it comes from Indians. Indian government. Now on to page seven, and Sera, when they were building houses, the Indian government gave us stone from a nearby quarry.
Jen wants to check that again. Wasn’t it quarry? You know, a place in the hill where you dig stones? Yeah. And was it the Indian government?
It was the Indian government. Yeah. Indian government. Right. Right.
Now I I The kitchen. Fireplace. Fireplace means it’s not a fireplace where we have here. Right. It’s just fireplacement, the kitchen where they have to fire and make food.
Oh, right. Right. I see. Good. Good.
And we’ve got that. That’s repeated. Other monasteries reestablished at Mundgod or wherever. You got that, you said that before. You check that.
Right. It’s not comes in. Yeah, group is not necessary comes in. That group is actually some they come together from Tibet, and someone, they just want where they want to feel, like, involved. Right.
Which is a group which they wish to share or share together food and together to do things. There’s not necessarily a comes in. It’s the people who, where they wish, want to involve. They want involve a group. And this happens.
And when they’re in group, and they bring together food and they share together those things. So was this happening more spontaneously? Yeah, just with the person they want to. There was no real organizing principle. Right.
Good. Roundabout thirty, thirty five, and same as the other group. They have some of the twenty, some of the thirty, some you know? Good. Top of page eight, it is the same allowance.
Yeah. And it is would be the Yeah. Yeah. Each group, they have allowed to stay two people to cooking. Mhmm.
And in the roommates group, mostly his student, and his student doesn’t want him to go in the field. Therefore, he was included in true people to cooking, but he didn’t have to cook. But one person is cooking, and when all the students come back, they will cook. Was because of their respect for him? Yeah, yeah, their respect.
It doesn’t mean he’s cooking. He was that true part of person. That two person allowed to stay. Because of their seniority? No.
The only two person allowed to stay home to cooking, then other monks all have to go in the field to do work. And they suggest Rinpoche is one of the cooking person, but he don’t have to cook. Right. You know, he was so like that person, two person. Yeah.
And the one person he cooks and tells him he just stay home. And, yeah, he gets he gets allowance. Yeah. If you don’t want to go field, then either you have to, you know, kitchen work or, you know, things like that. But, anyhow, this student, they sold out.
He said, you know, they try to make him not let him fail. Was this because he was not very well? No, no. He’s out of respect to his students. Because of his importance as a teacher.
Also, doesn’t have to cook. Just one to two person. So one of the Good. Yeah. That’s me.
And he just yeah. Practice and That’s the meditation. Very good. Yeah. They have to do that in their own room.
Right. And sometimes they must they have puja. Yeah. All monks together. Right.
But okay. Not all the time? Not all of the Right. About formal class. Right.
Alright. And some of the rest, some of the do practice while they have commitments. Yeah. Right. Because it’s very hard and very hard work.
Uh-huh. Right. So that time And there was no there was no teaching Yeah. In the evenings or lessons or debates at that time? They do their own study.
So, like, practice and some of their rest, some of their practice, are committing to that. Yeah. Okay. Same. Is that a repetition?
Yes. Same. Same. Same. Right.
There’s a paper patient. Right. Indian Western medicine. Indian Western medicine. Alright.
Not ayurvedic. Was it Ayurvedic? Think it’s traditional Indian medicine. No. Don’t think so.
No. And not Tibetan medicine? No. No. Not during that time.
Do they have a dispensary, you know, a small hospital? Actually, they have two hospitals in that Tibetan Bylakuppe Tibetan camp. They have two Indian hospitals. And most of Tibetan go there. Is that very far from Sera?
Not far from Sera. So those two settlements, they were fairly close to Yes. Yeah. Yeah. How how many days away?
No. No. It’s not. No. No.
You mean Mundgod? Yeah. Oh, one night. Sure. One night’s travel.
So they were both pretty close together. Yeah. Right. Oh, Jen wants to know, what are the main illnesses and health problems today in the monastery? They’re much better.
Fever, and sore. Tropical illness or something. These days, tuberculosis is a little bit less than in the previous. And other illnesses are much, much better Uh-huh. And more approving.
And and also, have a dispenser in a within in the monastery. Uh-huh. And also we have a healthcare organisation. That’s all. The dispensary was put in much later than that?
Oh, yes. Yeah. Are relations about spiritually, they are very on great relationship with the Tibetan and Tibetan laypeople. Mhmm. And anytime they need anything to prayer and also, you know, they want to come in the monastery and, you know, see the listen and teaching Mhmm.
And see the monks and what they study, things like that. They have great relationship. Right. Those settlements, they were not far from the monastery. No.
No. No. No. Yes. They were very close.
And how much food do they provide the monks? What they meant? Sometimes laypeople, they come to sponsor for food sometimes, and it’s not much hap very So from the early description, the monks were growing their own food. Oh, yeah. Monks, they they have to work out themselves.
Yeah. Right. But and lay people, who they wish to their children become monks. Yeah. People bring that monk their children in monastery and Right.
Become a monk. Right. And those children have to look after all this monk and all the food and everything needs things on shoulders. Yeah. They also respect and come to, you know, faith for the monks and come in to do prayer themselves.
And, yeah, there’s a great relation. Alright. Good. Good. Maybe that covers it.
How do they make a living? What’s that? The lay people, they’re living on their farm. Uh-huh. And they also have lay people in their business, selling sodas, and also some they Selling what?
Selling jamba. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And some of them are different business, maybe set up restaurants, things like that, all sorts of things. These Tibetan settlements, they did not include Indians?
No, no. This is only entirely Tibetan. And also, lay people, they do help sometimes when they’re ready to we have to plant crops, you know. Right. They can’t help and that sort of thing.
What crops did they plant now? Corn. Corn. Corn? Yeah.
They wouldn’t have been able to plant barley, would they? No. No. We did once, and it wasn’t that success. And then the start of corn is much better.
What about rice? Yeah. Lay people, they rice and millet Mhmm. And also pumpkin. But in a monastery, it’s only different.
They only plant a corn. Oh, really? Yeah. But lay people, each family, probably they might have different fields. Sometimes they plant corn and rice and millet.
So this means the diet changed quite a lot when they moved into Oh, yes. Yeah. Mhmm. And pumpkin, and sometimes they just plant for beans, which is Oh, wow. They can give for any of their animal.
Yeah. Why do the monks only plant corn? I didn’t mean, wouldn’t wouldn’t they not have eaten barley as well? No. No.
They do eat barley, but barley is impossible to grow there. Ah. Alright. Right. And did did they have to get the barley imported?
But we don’t buy barley. Oh, oh. No. Most of wheat. Uh-huh.
In South India. Oh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right.
Children’s village and orphanage, they’re both the same thing. Children’s village, we normally call it TCV, Tibetan children’s village. Right. This one they use in Dharmasala. Yes.
But they they use another one, SOS in South India, which is I don’t know if this is one of the organizations. What is SOS study? I don’t know, it’s a European organization or something. Some they provide a sponsor or something like that. Anyhow, they’re orphanage children, the same as Tibetan village, and Tibetan children’s village.
Would that be right to say there are over a thousand children today? Probably there’s only that orphanage children, maybe, but I don’t know exactly. Right. More than that, or less than that. Originally there were three hundred monks, etc.
And now there are about sixteen hundred. Yes, more than that, eighteen hundred now. Now. It’s growing. Continue.
Right. Good. You see those reasons. Was it probably it’s poor, therefore Poor importance. Yeah.
I don’t think so Right. Much. But desire to have one son per family among this is called caught too. Right. And desire to keep the traditional life, yeah, that’s also caught too.
I want to say something He’s extremely faithful for dharma. Therefore, when the Dwighten family, if they have children, they want to become monk because in a monastery, they get a good education and good they will get good, spiritually, very highly educated. They get educated. And therefore and when the their child become very high lama or, you know, if they don’t study well Yes. It benefits all many other sentient beings.
Therefore, among families, they have extremely to To Marriage of the family? Family, meaningful life, and Right. Also is child be very use child become very useful helpful for other beings. Right. I see.
Good. Good. This is top of page eleven. Appear at the top of page eleven at the section teaching the Kangyur in Dharmasala. Wednesday fourteenth of October nineteen ninety two.
And what’s that referring to? I think it seems like is Rinpoche when he received Kangyur. This not nineteen fifty nine. Fifty three. When Rinpoche gave Kangyur, Dharmasala is nineteen seventy two ‘seventy three.
Probably he’s receiving Kangyur. At this time? Yeah, I think. And that would have been nineteen fifty three, would it? I’m not sure.
If it’s death death is This heading probably should be received. Sorry. Could you say that again? Is one of the sutras’ tantal name. Right.
Good. Card. I’m not sure exactly. Oh, his his business card. Yeah.
Right. Good. Sorry. Kangyur. Who?
Yes. Who was If you say must attend oral transmission of the Kangyur by given by Jebji Pali Dorje Chang. Could you spell that out for me? I think d a g r r R. R r and Dorje Chang, d o e One word or two?
No, two word d? D o j e Dorje Chang, c h a n g. Right. Harry Dojing Chang. And he was the Rinpoche who gave the Dragun.
Given by. Alright. Good. Alright. Jen’s question, was this the time Rinpoche gave it?
That would be wrong. That would be the time he received. Yeah. And this the patron, The same man you gave me here. Chum Chum.
Chum. Right. We’ll change we’ll change that. Right. And and Lauangla.
No, that’s the right one. Correct way to spell Well, I might as well just say the Prussian Parameda class and so not even use that spelling. Yeah. Think it’s a it’s better. So is it better to put pareja under parameter?
Yeah. Oh, yes. Instead of Yeah. You can put both. If it’s pachen, that’s the short way of saying it.
Pachen, probably the parajana part means that people will more understand. Because there’s a text anyway. And there’s a standard way of spelling Prashant para. Yeah, I think it’s No, Jay, Prashant, no. Para That’s the way I’m using it, but you’re pronouncing it para jana.
Yeah, no, it doesn’t matter my renunciation, so maybe See, that’s the standard way you see it spelled in most of the books, but a lot of the books I’m used to are Zen books, where Prajñāpāramitā is mentioned. We have a Sanskrit book. Probably Jen got that Buddhist dictionary? Yeah. Yes.
Yes. Had. Yeah. Monastery. One of the Gongmon monasteries.
This monk, Mawala. Oh. So oh. It was a monk called How do you spell? Gudume, g u d m e.
Gudume, kinsu. Oh, gudume kinsu. Yeah. Oh, name is Jume Kinsu, now one is different from Kinsu. Different one.
Kinsu, now one. N G A W N G Right. And he was a monk? Yeah. He was a request.
Right. And and he supported? Yeah. He supported. Yeah.
And was this by paying money? No. No. No. It’s only support.
It’s when they have a teaching, he have to probably spend the money on to tea and things like that. Right. It’s nothing. To earn money? No.
But he’s supported by providing food. Food for the people who they attended. Ah, yeah, well that’s good. Now, top of page twelve. The patron is the man previously mentioned.
I think it’s a big mistake here. This Ganju this pattern in our life is when Rumu was giving a teaching, Ganju, because he was a sponsor. Ganju? Yeah. Ganju came to the lower level?
No, no, When Rinpoche that person, that Patron Ngaon, when Rinpoche was giving teaching in Dharmasala, that had been nineteen thirty He was the sponsor. When he received Kangyur from Tibet, that was sponsored by the Tibetan government. Oh, alright. And when he received it in Tibet, he received it from? Tathag Dorje Chang.
Tathag Dorje Chang. And it’s sponsored by the Tibetan government. Right. I see. Okay.
Well, that’s right. Actually, it occurs to me that maybe They give at the same time three monasteries, and each monastery starts at the same time, Kangyur. Sera and Started at the same time. Sera was one of the Tathag Dorje Chang was giving, and he’s involved in the tower company. And therefore, tower company is they got their own hold, and the hold that he was giving in there.
Maybe part of this section should go back to an earlier part of the story. You know, the part that belongs to No, I think only what we have to take. You have to take this one out Yes. And put it in the government here and, you know, and what I’m saying there. Right.
This room, she said, yes. Good. Right. That’s out. We know we’ve come to the bottom of that.
Yes, it is right that the lung is the oral transmission. Is a and this is a repetition. That paragraph is really repeating what was on there. This is Rinpoche receiving, isn’t it? It’s not his giving.
It’s that he attended the Kangyur in Tibet as he was receiving. Now this is talking about what he was giving. Top of page thirteen, this is just what Rinpoche and Tien Tsin have said. The reason the government is asking Tathag Dorje Chang, which he got the lineage of that Kangyur, therefore, you know, you’re saying? Because government looking, someone has lineage of that teaching.
At that time, Tathag Dorje Chang was holding that lineage, and they asked him to give, and therefore, he was giving it, but while he’s holding it. That’s his personal? Yeah. That’s right. Yes.
And so he’s hurling hurling a tower comes in hall. Just built his in board. Tower comes in there for his giving his home. So it comes in? Yeah.
Tower comes in. So how do you spell? In here somewhere. Uh-huh. Yeah.
Oh, it’s t s a w a. Sawa Compton. Yeah. Right. Right.
Not not really. Yeah. Inauspicious, but it’s obstacle. An obstacle. Yeah.
But three general, all the Tibetan months, they have three spacious day. One is eighth of the month day of the month, and one is the fifteenth day of the month. One is the end of the twenty ninth to thirty day of the month. There’s three every month, they have a suspicious day. But that sixth of fifteen is special.
It is a special day, but also it is more special for it’s a Buddha was born. Uh-huh. Yeah. Alright. Birthday.
Good. I’ll just switch the tape to the other side. Okay. Side b. Bottom of page thirteen, it’s Monlam.
It’s a typing error there. I’m I’m sorry. Monlam, the jury was. Yeah. Monlam is the same, but same.
But following Monlam, his volunteer was giving teaching. This takes longer. Right. And then they let me check on my break. What was the cause of the interruption?
I don’t think so. The one that’s the interruption, really. Interruption? Interruption meant someone interrupt. Yeah.
I don’t think so. There was none. So that’s that’s misunderstanding. Yeah. It’s a break, you know.
A break? Yeah. A long break. What? During the New Year and and following is always giving teaching.
Yeah. This will take long time, almost nearly a month. Right. Therefore, probably she might be saying interruption. Yeah.
But that’s not the same thing. No. It sounds like a transcription translation error because okay. A break is different from an interruption. Is that purification talking or teaching?
Mhmm. Where what he give I think Jin was going to put some which is teaching. Oh, you mean some of that is already down in the section Jen’s working on? The teaching. For the teachings in in Lhasa.
Oh, no. Where were he? Oh, the teachings. It’s written to say teachings, which will come at the end of the book. Right.
So that’s already been got? I don’t know. No. Oh, I see. Sorry?
He’s talking. Why the ceremony? Why the ceremony is held? And why they’re doing the prayer ceremony? Because that two weeks, every year, beginning of the Tibetan month, when Buddha was debating with non-Buddhist non-Buddhist religion.
That festival in honor of that, yes. Nothing to do with bimonthly? No, I don’t think so. Nothing to do at all, right? Therefore they held prayer ceremony during their debating.
And that’s called the purification ceremony, isn’t it? We call it the Monlam, which is prayer. Not purification? No. Is there a purification ceremony at Samaritan?
Oh yes, a purification practice we have here. I don’t think so. Not the time that John gives So that’s really still Monlam. Yeah. Right.
Right. So It’s not too weak. Every two weeks every two weeks, the monks attend ceremony. It doesn’t mean every day they start purification for two weeks. No, isn’t it?
Well, they attended the ceremony. It means the ceremony was held every two weeks. Every two weeks. Once every two weeks. Is that what it means?
Yeah. Is that correct? Yeah. That’s correct. And it’s not confused with this thing happening every two months, is it?
No. And it’s not a minimum. Sorry. Right. What is it then?
It’s a purification for every month. Ah, right. Does it have a special name? Yeah. Does it have a special name?
Yes. So How do you spell that? S o g o n g. Oh, Sojo. Okay.
For your negativities and accumulate on your progress, your. So, like, So did you love? Two barrels. Yeah. It’s a purification of whatever you you have negativities and all to reheal your vows or reheal your all the Reheal?
Yeah. Reheal. You know, healing? Heal again. Yeah.
Heal. Your vows. Yeah. If you With the promises you’ve made. Yeah.
And you can reheal. So that’s Uh-huh. These heal. I shouldn’t say reheal, but heal. Are these these vows that you weren’t able to keep?
Or No. No. No. No. If you have something wrong, you can purify what you’ve done and you can heal that again.
So, like, probably promise again more. Right. I see. Anyhow, don’t don’t worry. You don’t have to put that to what I said.
It’s a purification. Purification. No. That that’s a bit more description, so it’s useful to put it in. It would only be one sentence anyway.
Yeah. Alright. Lasted two hours. Right? And it also Just reading continuously He was?
Sutras. He was relaxing. He didn’t have to give that day. Okay. So that he wasn’t really reading.
Was just relaxing. Probably he might be reading just another text. I see. Yeah. General text.
Yeah. So but but it’s it’s it’s true then that that this ceremony gave Rinpoche a chance to relax. Oh, gave a break. Yeah. Yeah.
Alright. One week break. One week break. Celebrate. It’s a holiday.
Mhmm. So there’s the end of the range retreat was not marked by any special celebration or puja or anything like that. Yeah. We have. It’s all the same as Sojong, which is the same purification.
Sojong. Yeah. And That’s the word there. Right? Kampala.
That’s a a puja. Yeah. Sojong. Not the same as a puja. It’s different.
Different. Different Persian. How is it different from I have to different everybody was that the yellow. Mhmm. And certain time, people who has who hasn’t fully vowed, they’re not allowed to go in and some that sort of things.
Uh-huh. Right. Okay. They’re allowed to go certain times, not when they start. Right.
If they feel they don’t have fully full bow Right. Full onet. I see. If you have full onet, then you start until end of the ceremony, you can go there. This is a ceremony that marks the end of the range retreat.
Mhmm. There’s Normally, actually, purification ceremony, we do this. At that time? Yeah. Same.
Actually, other purification is same. You know, if you don’t have a vow, you’re not allowed to go at a certain time. Right. And if you have vow, then you can go. Mhmm.
But, yeah, it’s purification service. What sort of vows would a person make? Oh, they have full ordination and and so, like, half ordination. So so at least at least the bowel and The bowel has to do with ordination. Alright.
Right. Okay. Yeah. Yes. It did it was every day of the week.
Yeah. And how long did it last? Oral transmission. Have we have we got that in the number of weeks that it took? I don’t know.
Probably not a week, probably they must have a month. A month for the oral trans transmission? About six months. There’s He’s joking. He’s joking.
But as all of that is said, that is still correct, is it? And it does take a long time, and did people really he did in a loud ring, yeah. Nothing was dropped off? No. You see Rumice was joking.
We won’t have that dropping off to sleep a bit, will we? So what part will I cut out of that? I don’t know. Have to cut off. Does it say what?
So he’s really joking when he says very few people will read. That’s true. Few people will read and few people are willing to listen. That’s true. And then others But the rest will cut out.
Alright? Good. Rotalama and Langdulama are the same person. What was Rinpoche saying just before Longulama. When he picked up my name Longul?
When I said Longulama say he. What did he say to you just Many people, but at the end, there were only Five and eight. And this is still part of the joke. But It’s a true story long time ago about this Rinpoche, long door lama. And these people, they they achieved Realization.
Enlightenment. Yeah. The ones that lasted That thing is the kind of that realization. They had a realization of emptiness. Yes.
After sitting through it all throughout. Good five years ago. When the Rumbika was goofy, I was more than that. I’ve been already five I was become Hmong when they arrived in South India. I see.
So how old how old did you nineteen seventy. So how old was that maiden? What do you mean? How long did you have been there? Twelve?
Or I don’t know. I can’t remember. Oh, what year were you born? What? What what year were you born in?
Sixty five. Tenzin doesn’t want to give you any details. Right. I prefer that that mention of the beating not included. Right.
Okay. Good. He became a monk at that time. Mhmm. And that meant a different I was the that time, that new monk, brand new monk, that time.
And he was five years old at time myself and no. This You were not five? He five years old. You were older? No.
I was older than that. Right. But I would say Rinpoche is joking a bit there too. Yeah. Yeah.
Teaching programs. Did have a boxer teaching programs. Right. So it’s just not quite right thing to say. I was the one who started the teaching program which had lapsed since our arrival in South India.
Yeah. South India. That’s true. Oh, it’s been taught at Buxa, but when I arrived in South India Yeah. Yeah.
It had lapsed. Right. Right. I understand. Good.
Program. Buxa had the same Mhmm. Last year. Yeah. They have programs in Buxa.
And this. Oh, this. Is that That’s what Yeah. This is I’m trying to say. Okay.
Telling again the detail about Buxa Right. We’ve got that already. This. What we got now there. Right.
It must be somewhere. Yeah. The. Teaching program. In India.
South India. Right. Gekok have to look after discipline, and Gegen is have to teach for teach all the things. Right. And Rinpoche was both?
Gugu. Is like Gugu. Yeah. That’s the same. Yeah.
Right. Monastery. There’s a vocabulary material in Maison. Actually, it’s in a Sera. Being being our class in Sera.
Sera, not in Maison? Not in Maison. Not in Maison. Thought that. Yeah.
So t s o G. S o G. G. No. No.
No. Toglong, t s o g. Oh, t s o g. Yeah. L a m.
L L a m. M. Not bad. Yeah. And that is the name for debate.
Yeah. This is page seventeen. Sorry? Roundabout nineteen seventy four. So that’s better to say about nineteen seventy four instead of Yeah.
Here. Right? Okay. That’s how you did it. Right?
Sorry. When you start when you start debating class, what we have to do is debate the first time when we arrive there in the monastery, in the temple. What we do, we debate just one to one. Everybody does that. You pair up into two people.
Yeah. People. Just do every got it. They have to pair. Right.
And after maybe half an hour, they have to together their own class. Right. And one person stands up, one person sit down, and have to debate. And front of everyone else? In front of not everybody.
Only your classmates. Classmates. Yeah. How many would that be? Oh, it’s depending.
Sometimes twenty, sometimes fifteen, sometimes ten, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty. Right. Right. Then when you finish that, then we have all together and doing some prayers and reciting Heart Sutras and all sort of things. Understood.
Then we finish that, then we have then again, two pair debating everybody. It’s not class. It’s just only two person that study themselves. It’s you and me. Right.
It goes to bed. You want to stay, want to question or you want to answer. Mhmm. And that’s up to you. So one person takes the role of being the questioner, and the other gets the answer.
Yeah, it still changes every time. Sometimes maybe if we have one hour, maybe you’re doing half hour, then I do half hour, the exchange. Right. And does that then marks the end of the debate period? No, no, it’s not marked there.
I mean, when they do that, that last bit, does that period end then? Oh yeah, sometimes if debate goes well, can do it as much as you like. It’s not necessary. We don’t have certain time to live. But when the discipline goes and people can live, before he’s still there, you’re not allowed to live.
But if you want to, you can ask him to permission to leave. Right. This one. This is nineteen seventy four. Mhmm.
Right. To say, but I think it must be maybe later because they might have how do he start together all the school having build a house and Uh-huh. Having eat. Yes. I think I remember that comes later.
Yeah. Yeah. Monk school. Right. Yeah.
Okay. Sorry? Reading, writing, and and English and also math. At the same time, you’re starting to make an alphabet, so there was a lot else. Okay.
Yeah. Older student Rinpoche, was giving teaching, and young student, Gishitoshibong, he was giving teaching. Right. And what sort of things did Rinpoche teach? Kadala words.
Giving teaching philosophy. Mhmm. Right. Okay. Two three people.
One is teaching Tibetan writing reading. There are two of them. And one is he’s teaching English. Right. His name is Jambe Singi.
Mhmm. Jambe Singi. How do you spell j? J a m p a. Singi, s I n g e y.
E y. Right. What about the others? Others, not. Losang.
Losang. Losang. D. D h a r g y e. Right.
Yes. He was he’s Teaching to very old friend, isn’t he? No. No. No.
This is not old friend. This is younger than. Alright. And another one. Yeah.
English teacher. Where did he come from? I don’t know. He’s actually studying somewhere in Darjeeling. I’m not sure.
Oh, yes. But he was from Nepal. Okay. Sorry? As a request.
Yeah. But but the shopkeepers and Oh, I don’t know. The business. Business. Right.
Popular school then. Different time. Yeah. So after after he became the abbot, we built some new buildings and made a full time school. Yeah.
So before that, they built a main large building. Yeah. Two smaller buildings and a small house with teachers. Mhmm. And later on, they built some new buildings.
Is this the same is this a repetition? Or No. It’s I think it’s a different Right. Different story there. How much later on then?
Nineteen in Kimugui Gallana. Nineteen eighty two when these new buildings were checked. Right. Sometimes six, sometimes five thirty. Right.
Right. The school, there’s only Rumatant, Gishitashipu. Right. They decide to start school. And Right.
Because we’re living in another country, and we have to we learning Dharma teaching, but also we have to learn some of the outside world study. And this then started. So this was started by then. It wasn’t something that came changing difference. Wasn’t a policy also of the Tibetan government in exile?
No, no, no, no, it’s only nothing much to do with them. So this was a change for Ripeshet and Kashi boat. Yes, it started beginning of school, but now school, they’re giving food and people staying there. There’s another change here. Right.
That’s very good. Difference between all the month. Not much difference. Right. So uh-huh.
Any idea how you would spell Luka Krum? Not sure. No. No. He was a monk, and he found was he he a monk Yeah.
As well. So he’s a westerner who became a monk. Right. So they planned eight hundred thousand rupee, but it cost twelve hundred thousand rupee. So what did they do?
They found they planned. Yeah. Planned school. They planned the school Yeah. For Eight thousand.
Eight Eight hundred thousand. Hundred thousand. But they cost more than they said they cost twelve hundred thousand. Yeah. And we can find out by knowing the the exchange rate, which is nineteen point day is different.
Today. On those days, it would have been round about eight eight rupee. Would have. Yeah. Eight rupee of the Australian dollar.
Australian dollar. Yeah. So it’s it’s increased a lot now. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
It’s correct that the Yeah. But it would be around the And then he was talking about the sizes. And No. It’s just all the mixture, all the what the situation in a and at the time Yes. And now, and the previous, and when they have plan Mhmm.
All the time is different. Right. Yes. It seems like all the mixture. Oh, this this section of the book?
Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Probably some pieces can go a little earlier and some later. Yeah.
Okay. Well, that’s a good point to stop anyway. Was alright. Sometimes looks like a bit of mix. So we’ll give you copy of the Yeah.
Or the transcribe. Yeah. Good. And I can read and sometimes I feel like when look and read, some of the, you know, very mixed. Well, this section, these sections right at the end do need some tidying up.
That’s why Jen hasn’t given me the last bit. She’s busy tidying it up.