Rencontre Avec Sakyong Mipham Rinpoché. - 1/2 - . sagesses bouddhistes

L'UNION BOUDDHISTE DE FRANCE presents SAGESSES BUDDHISTE (Buddhist Wisdom) Hello everyone. Hello everyone. We are very happy to have you join us here, this Sunday morning, on program Sagesses Buddhist for the first broadcast that we spend together, and it is a great pleasure, with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. He is holder of the Shambhala lineage, leader of meditation centers and retreat centers. He is also the son of a great Tibetan teacher Chögyam Trungpa, who played a leading role in the world establishing Buddhism in the West. What education did this young master receive? How he took on the spiritual the heritage of his father? And finally how does he engage in this now? We ask, without any more delay, all these questions to our guest. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, good day. Good day You are the spiritual leader of lineage of Shambhala. You are also the descendent of the warrior King of Tibet, Gesar of Ling. And you are one of the holders of the lineages Kagyu and Nyingma of Tibetan Buddhism. Thank you very much for being with us today Rinpoche. But before getting to know our guest, I offer this detail on his life. The Sakyong, Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche, is one of Tibet's highest and most respected incarnate lamas. He is unique in that he bridges two worlds: Asia and the West, because he grew up in both cultures. Son and spiritual heir of the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. He is the incarnation of Mipham the Great, who is revered in Tibet as an emanation of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom. Because he is a member of the Mukpo family, the Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche descends from the Tibetan warrior-king Gesar of Ling. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche was born in 1962 in Bodhagaya, India. After receiving a Buddhist education in his early years, he joined his father in the West, where he continued his study of Buddhist philosophy and ritual. Amongst his teachers, he has studied with His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who is also a teacher of the His Holiness the Dalai Lama, -and also with His Holiness Penor Rinpoche. He has also studied Kyudo, the Way of the Bow, with the master bowman of the Emperor of Japan, Kanjuro Shibata Sensei and calligraphy with the Japanese master Kobun Chino Roshi. Temporal and spiritual head of meditation and retreat centers around the world, the Sakyong -literally, "earth protector"- is the holder of the Shambhala lineage; a tradition that emphasizes confidence in the Basic Goodness of all beings and teaches how to live with bravery, based on wisdom and compassion. He also holds the Kagyü and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. He is married to Princess Tseyang Palmo, daughter of His Eminence Namkha Drimed Rabjam Rinpoche, head of the Ripa lineage. On 11th August 2010 the little princess Drukmo Yeshe Mukpo was born in Halifax in Nova Scotia. (Produced by Tessa Racine) Rinpoche we have just seen in that short review, that you received an education that was both Eastern and Western. What has each of those trainings given to you? Thank you, it is wonderful to be here. I think part of my education was trying to balance both the spiritual side but also family and temporal side. I have tried to balance those with how one can be in the world and live and (indistinct), I was trying to balance that. So I had the opportunity to have both a western education and also an eastern education. I would like to come back for a minute to that word "Sakyong", your title. What does that term mean Rinpoche? It is sort of an unusual title. It combines both the notion of spiritual heritage and also the notion of secular responsibility. So I was raised in the sense of (indistinct) trying to be a monastic and I come from a family lineage. So I had to learn how to actually apply these teachings in every day. And the notion of Sakyong is... you could say... both has a temporal responsibility in terms of living in a house and living in the world, and at the same time how you manage to maintain spiritual integrity. So Sakyong is a Tibetan word, I think it has similar qualities and complexities but the balance I think is true. You were prepared from a very young age for your role of sovereign, of Sakyong, particularly with the disciplines of kyudo, the calligraphy, as we saw in the video. Could you review a bit that very unusual training? I think part of the education was to develop the senses and develop appreciation of different cultures, and artistic aspects. So I was developing the mind and body, so the mind and body are in harmony. I think a lot of times if we are just meditating, it is very deep spiritual; at the same time how do you take that clarity and strength and mindfulness and apply it to life? So I did, and it was interesting to, study calligraphy and physical training. I have always enjoyed doing things physically, so it was a good combination. One of your teachers was Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche. What are your memories of him? What did he transmit to you? He was very big, he was enormous. He was very close to my father, very close to myself. He was very much a grandfather figure. The most important memory for myself was when my father passed away. Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche really helped in terms of my training and my education and continued to help in that way when my father passed away. You are an incarnation Mipham the Great, also of the Manjusri. Can you remind us of who they were Rinpoche? Mipham Rinpoche was a very highly regarded figure in Tibet, especially in the Kagyu and Nyingme traditions. He wrote a lot and was a prolific writer and was known as a pandita. He studied all the sciences, tantra and philosophy. One of his main compositions was clarifying the view of meditation. And a lot of what then in philosophy... a lot of what the monastic colleges nowadays study what he wrote. He was very brilliant; so they considered him to be a direct emanation or manifestation of the buddha of wisdom. So sometimes in images he holds a sword, representing clarity... (indistinct) representing the nature of reality. So he was a very pivotal figure and highly regarded and also his teachings continue today. You are also the son of a very great master Tibetan, Chögyam Trungpa, who played a very important role in the west. Was that spiritual heritage too hard for you take on? How have you dealt with that? For me it was a blessing. He was my teacher, my father, we were very close. He was one of the pivotal people in bringing Buddhism, especially from the Tibetan tradition, to the West. He set up, in America, the first Buddhist university, and taught a lot of people who are still ... other Tibetan lamas as well as Westerners. I think a lot of what buddhism is in the West today is because of his efforts. So I think of him as being very courageous and very daring, and also very loving and kind. Because taking a culture and trying to transform it, and having it available and understandable, in a completely different environment is very difficult and he was unique. I think he would be happy to know that this is continuing. And on a more personal level what is the strongest memory you have of him? I think very... to some degree very ordinary. He taught me things in very ordinary ways, not the traditional study and practice as it is in Tibet. I think he was incredibly warm, very human. And day to day we would have small conversations all the time. It was more his attention to detail. He had an appreciation just for life and being in the world. I think one of the things he taught me was to appreciate being in the world and participating in the world. As opposed to just retracting spiritually from the world. That was something he himself did, and it was something that was important for him. And I feel like he thought it was important for the continuity of the spiritual tradition, that it actually... happens every day, You also are offering that fusion of Occidental and Oriental teachings. What would you like to help with Rinpoche? What do you think is the most important to continue to transmit? I think the most important aspect is how we as human beings feel about ourselves, and in the Shambhala tradition there is the teaching of Basic Goodness. And the notion of basic goodness is very much how we as ... not just buddhists, but humanity, everyone of us, how we feel about our own nature, that we are fundamentally good and we have strength. I think that is really the most important thing to stress, because I think East and West are coming closer and closer together. I think it is more about how we live and manifest and experience it. That is what will keep things going. There are a lot of traditions. Some of the traditions will survive; but some will just fade away. So for me it is how to transmit this wisdom that, for me personally, that my father brought from his culture in Tibet to the modern world. What is it they saved and created? What is it they produced? Is there something very deep and strong? And that is what I feel like needs to be transmitted, especially now. And to finish this broadcast, I would like if you could say a word about your numerous charity works. What are the ones you hold most dear? My charity started out mainly with rebuilding some educational institutes in Tibet. So I entered a few marathons and took the donations from that for this education; which I felt was mainly trying to get normal Tibetans in Tibet to appreciate their culture, before they were sort of seduced by materialism, and to appeciate their spiritual tradition that is buddhist, starting with that. And then also trying to move it into how to have organizations where we teach children to believe in themselves and believe in their own goodness and strength, and to lead life from that perspective. So that is something that is important to me... Thank you very much Rinpoche for being with us today, and we will see you again next week. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. If you wish to know more here are some works that we suggests. First of all by our guest Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche: 'Régnez sur votre monde' (Ruling Your World) published by La Table Ronde (in French). "Le Monde sacré de Shambhala. Practique de la voie de querrier dans la vie quotidienne" by Jeremy Hayward (Sacred World: The Shambhala Way to Gentleness, Bravery, and Power). Published by Editions du Seuil (in French). And finally Dharma et Créativité by Chogyam Trungpa (True Perception: The Path of Dharma Art) Also published (in French) by Seuil, in the Collection "Points sagesse". The author explains how dharma art can help us to appreciate the nature of reality. It is the end of our broadcast. You can see it again all next week on the internet on France 2. Look under the heading Programs and Les Chemins de la Foi. Thank you for watching and I wish you a very, very beautiful week. Buddhist Wisdom. An interview with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, his personality, his life, his spiritual heritage. A broadcast prepared by L'Union Bouddhiste de France. Presented by Aurélie Godefroy Prepared by: Liliane Chatel, Chriss Gallot, Aurélie Godefroy Translation by Shastri Catherine Eveillard. Subject: Cedric Esteve, Petros Drossos. Archives: Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Christophe Schöenherr, Johanna Lunn, Ethan Neville, Manu Faure, Gesar Mukpo, Buddha Channel Production Studios: Blaise Baudry-Roussel, Sophie Leromain, Malika Ait-Ouakli Head of Production: Veronique Balloni-Coste. Studio AB. France Televisions Music: Francois Roulin, Fredd Alie, Kluzo. Décor: Guy Lelong, Viviane Delieuvin, Jean-Yves Wissing Special effects: Sanh Tran. Sound Engineer: Nicholas Bordet-Chauveau. Lighting: Jean_Paul Jacquet called Legendre Post Production: Michel Beaudreux. Assistant Director: Norbert Bensoussar Script: Veronique Cader, Marilyne Dubreuil: Directed by Michel Baulez. All rights reserved Information: L'Union Bouddhiste de France, Grande Pagode, Route de la Ceinture du Lac Daumesnil, 75012 Paris.info@buddhisme-france.org www.france2.fr