Between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM on the 15th day of the 3rd month
in the lunar calendar of 2019, a unique convergence occurred: my expression of
gratitude during a vote of thanks speech to the དེ་བ་ཅན་ཚོགས་པ། group was accompanied by the rumble of thunder. My
predecessor, upon hearing the thundering thrice followed by a brief shower,
interpreted it as an auspicious omen for the incoming coordinator.
The Samtse དེ་བ་ཅན་ཚོགས་པ། community
is dedicated to the teachings of Manjushri (the Lord of Wisdom), which were
revealed by Khenchen Jigme Phuntsho Jungney (1933-7 January 2004), the founder
of Lharung Serta Monastery in Tibet. These teachings are believed to hold
prophecies relevant to Bhutan. His Eminence Zheetrul Choni Rangshar Rinpoche
(widely known as Tang Rinpoche) arrived in Bhutan with the purpose of
fulfilling his root guru's prophecy, Khenchen Jigme Phuntsho Jungney, who was a
Terton.
In 2015, Tang Rinpoche's visit to Samtse College, at the
invitation of former President Dr. Dorji Thinley, former coordinator Lopen
Dorji Lhethro, and the college staff, led to the establishment of དེ་བ་ཅན་ཚོགས་པ།. This group, the
"Pure Land group," aspires to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of
Buddha Amitabha. The 15th day of each lunar month is considered a sacred day
for Buddha Amitabha, ideal for offering prayers and homage. Prior to the
pandemic, the group used to conduct one-day དེ་བ་ཅན་སྨོན་ལམ། activities on every 15th day of the lunar month.
Even though I hadn't been officially appointed as
coordinator at that time, on that particular day I felt a profound sense of
responsibility to guide the group's future. Following the Moelam session and as
the evening approached, I meticulously composed and delivered a heartfelt vote
of thanks to the sponsors in our WeChat group, infusing it with the teachings
of my gurus and the wisdom of འཇམ་དཔལ་ཛོགས་པ་ཆེན་པོ.
If the thundering truly carried an auspicious significance, then it's
plausible that the prophecy of Khenchen Jigme Phuntsho/Manjushri might find its
fulfillment here in Samtse Dzongkhag. Regardless, the དེ་བ་ཅན་ཚོགས་པ། group remains resolute
in pursuing these endeavors in the days and years ahead.
Nice story keep going
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