the lineage of directors of Root Institute

 1 The story of RI began when Kabir Saxena who was living in England received a phone call from Lama Yeshe’s secretary Jackie Keely in 1983 expressing Lama’s wish for Ven. Kabir to return to India. It was Lama’s wish that a Dharma Center be established in Bodhgaya, where Buddha Shakyamuni showed the holy deed of enlightenment about 2500 years ago. In his letter to Kabir, Lama said: “My only wish is Indian people so kind to Tibetan people generation to generation and I want to return kindness to historic Indian people. This is probably your wish too.” KABIR SAXENA (Feb. 1983 – Dec. 1991) The next few years brought a series of false starts and dashed hopes for Kabir who was based mainly at Tushita Center in Delhi as he repeatedly commuted to Bodhgaya in search of land for Root Institute. On Dec. 12th 1986 an agreement was signed between Kabir and five members of a Hindu family and on May 27th, 1987 the last document was signed giving Root Institute legal possession of its current land with many thanks to Greg Hills and Max Redlich who with his mother were the major sponsors of the land. In February of 1987, Lama Tenzin Osel Rinpoche, the young reincarnation of Lama Yeshe, came to Bodhgaya for a month with his father to inspect the RI land. 1988 heralded the start of a wave of development at RI. Nick Dawson in particular assisted with much of the laborious 2 work and remained a core member and constant visitor to RI for the next pivotal years as well as donated a significant number of books to the new library. Onju Roy, a budding architect from Berkely, provided a full facilities plan for RI and along with Kabir, Nick and an Italian monk called Pino started construction on a small scale. The first buildings were made of brick, wood, tiles and mainly mud and were called “turds.” Kabir among other things will always be appreciated for planting so many trees at RI. In February of 1989, our very kind and precious Guru, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche came to Bodhgaya to give his first teaching at RI. Kabir recounts that “The first time Rinpoche came to the land he said it was like the beach, so relaxing, except no water and that people came with different motivation. I offered Rinpoche a conch shell as He stepped on the land and Rinpoche blew for so long and melodiously the sound still reverberates at Root, so rich and full has been our offering of the Dharma since then.” Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche came every year after that and conducted the first Lam Rim meditation in less than half an hour by a haystack, before there were any buildings. In April of 1989, RI constructed the windmill, a landmark that would become synonymous with RI for years to come. The windmill was inaugurated by H.H.D.L later that year on November 17th. Kabir and Onju received a private audience with H.H.D.L later that day, during which H.H.D.L spoke of the importance of community projects and expressed his pleasure in the community work of RI, which he felt was very important. 3 In winter of 1989/1990 Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche and Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche both taught at RI. In winter of 1989 Rahul Guha joined RI as the newly appointed co-­‐director. Together with Kabir they organized a work camp on socially engaged Buddhism, which included manual labor such as tree planting as well as talks, discussions and meditation on Buddhist topics. Kirti Tenshab Rinpoche planted 3 Bodhi trees at RI during this time, which still stands entwined together today in front of the dining hall. Community social welfare projects were initiated in 1988 such as the tailoring project for young women and in 1991 the afforestation aspect began during which over 2000 fruit trees were planted. The name Kabir Saxena became so popular in the community during this time that Root Institute got nicknamed “Saxena Institute” and even today some locals still refer to Root by that name. 4 Gabriel replaced Rahul in mid 1990 as the co-­‐director. Kabir’s first words to Gabriel were ‘Help at last, my prayers to Tara have been answered!’ GABRIEL FORRER (Jan 1992 – Nov. 1994). Merry Colony arrived to assist Gabriel shortly after he took over. She narrated, “I was not officially Gabriel’s co-­‐director, though in effect I worked as one. Rinpoche had sent me down in Jan 1992 to help however was needed and from the moment I arrived until I ultimately left in fall of 95 I tried to do just that. All I had to do was look in any direction and there was work to be done.” She continued, “Gabriel had recently been appointed as Director and he was madly building mud huts for accommodation. By the end of that winter he had built something like 10 individual huts as well as two blocks of about 5 rooms each. They were utterly basic! It seemed like practically every night Gabriel and I would have to get up in the middle of the night when a rickshaw arrived from the Gaya station with a traveller who had heard about Root (“Kabir’s place” had a very good reputation despite having so little). One way or other we always managed to accommodate who showed up. There was barely a piece of cement in the whole place (maybe in the big building Kabir had built), everything was just mud, straw, and bamboo and the place was hopping.” Under Gabriel’s direction and supervision the next phase of construction began. First the building called Maitreya, followed by the ground floor of the Chenrezig building which was initially built to house the year round volunteers. In addition the mud retreat huts, which were dismantled during the monsoon and rebuilt for winter, took on a more solid and permanent nature to keep them mosquito free and to provide some basic comforts. Following that was the major construction of a large guest housing block, the ground floor of Tara building. 5 Holly Ansett arrived shortly thereafter to assist. We had a deer and several cats as well as some dogs. It was a time period rich with Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche, Rilbur Rinpoche, Ling Rinpoche, Khamtrul Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Rongtha Rinpoche teachings; Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh planted a banyan tree on the land, now towering south of the clinic. Over the years at Rinpoche’s request animals would be also be rescued from under the butcher’s knife literally! This was a time period that was also filled with many community development projects and a windmill and no boundary wall. Merry explained, “Gabriel got the water pumps and 5 schools in the local villages started. Perhaps some had already started in Kabir’s 6 time, I’m not sure. Gabriel was passionate about helping the villagers. The three of us: Gabriel, Kabir and I all met with His Holiness in Dharmsala to talk about the community projects and to get His Holiness' advice.” “The Destitute home was also added to the community project repertoire We had about four residents that Gabriel would find at the Gaya station, the first a man whose leg was half missing and infested with maggots. We didn’t have any live in help at the Home. We had two great robberies (one with guns to Gabriel’s head in his room on the downstairs of Maitreya) and one at the Destitute Home with a knife to Ani Barbara. On one (festival day) Holi a van of men drove up with machine guns and told us they were going to shoot the place apart. Gabriel placated them. We had no wall, no guards, and a half blind and lame night watchman! From Nov-­‐Feb there was not an empty mattress and come March the place would be completely empty. In those 4 months we would rarely even make it to the stupa. The gompa was a tent that would have to be completely emptied when it rained as it leaked. The rain always seemed to come at night and Gabe and I would have to get up (often in the dark without electricity) and take down the throne, altar, all the cushions etc. That happened many times. There were no air conditioners and usually no power all summer. It was boiling. I remember once Gabriel reading 52C on our thermometer, which could not have been right though it felt like it! 7 The Maitreya building, as well another proper accommodation block, had been built by then. At least we had windows to keep the mosquitoes out and we had a cement shower room that had solar heated water in summer. That was joy!!” In March of 1992 during Saka Dawa Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche asked the team at Root to make 100,000 light offerings at the Mahabodhi temple during Losar. Merry Colony recalls “It was a huge ordeal, had never been done by us or anyone else. I’m sure Gabriel could write a whole book on that one story. That winter we also did the first ever 100,000 offerings to Maitreya. Rinpoche dictated the text to me. The next day we had to pull it off with 100,000 bowls, water, flowers, incense, and light and food offerings! This too had never been done; we had to get the Mahabodhi committee to accept and basically rallied every Westerner at the stupa to help with set up. I led that first puja with lama Zopa, Kirti Tsenshab and Rilbur Rinpoche (if I remember correctly) all in attendance. The Tibetans doing korwa stopped and stared.” The light offerings were initially attempted with candles, which did not last long in the wind. Little electric lights that were typically used during marriage ceremonies were used with more successful effort and transformed the temple grounds creating the illusion of walking among stars. Following this it was decided to repeat the venture again during the other holy times of the year and offer people the opportunity to sponsor light offerings in Bodhgaya to eliminate obstacles and to generate positive potential to help bring to fruition all of the guru’s dharma activities. 8 Thus FLAM (Festival of Lights and Merits) was born and continues to this day during the four holy days of the Buddha. In conclusion Merry stated that “Gabe had loads of dedicated workers; building, shopping, cooking, driving. There were constant problems and dramas, but they all loved Gabriel and because of it he was able to pull off an enormous amount in his time!” Gabriel’s final comment was: “Without their (RI staff’s) support and dedication there would never have been a Root Institute!” TONY SIMMONS & DEBBIE RAYFIELD (Dec. 1994 – Jan. 1999) Rinpoche came to teach at RI in winter of 1994/1995 with Tony Simmons and Debbie Rayfield in tow and left them behind after he departed. When ill health prevented Gabriel from returning from a sabbatical Tony and Debbie took over as Directors,
Debbie also took over as Director of the Destitute Clinic now renamed Shakyamuni Buddha Community Health Care Clinic (SBCHCC) and added a homeopathic clinic. She started working with polio-­‐afflicted children assisted by Dr. Sanjay Mishra our current clinic director. Tony and Debbie also started the school at the center, which then reincarnated as the Maitreya Project Universal Education School. They also completed the second floor of Tara building that Gabriel had started, complete with new quarters for KLZR. The second floor of Chenrezig was also added and the Sera guest block. The gate to Root Institute was constructed in 1997 followed by a boundary wall and police post in 1998 after a dacoity incident threatened to force the Institute to shut down. As Debbie and Tony recalled “The year of bandits came and went. After being shot at a 9 few times, as were most of the monasteries and villages in the area, we decided to build the compound wall. This took six weeks and we had over 100 workers mixing cement and laying bricks. We recall coming to the building site one day with an axe, for Tony to chop up some wooden framework that had been wrongly erected. The laborers must have thought he was coming to chop up some staff as they all scattered through the fields like ants from a broken anthill! It took the contractor the rest of the day to round them up again! Luckily Bodhgaya settled down after that period and banditry is no longer a problem.” One of the high points of their time period was also the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Root, over three days, for an interfaith conference with Christian meditator, Father Lawrence. Debbie had arranged for the school children to sing a song for His Holiness. It was an upbeat Hare Krishna hymn and Lama Zopa Rinpoche commented later that he wasn’t sure about the “Hindi pop music” but chanting “Om shanti was good! His Holiness also kindly visited the clinic, escorted by Debbie.
Besides various accommodation and new office blocks, their legacy includes our current glass walled Gompa and the Maitreya Buddha statue in front of it. They also initiated the stupa programme. Dozens of holy objects now adorn the gardens at RI. In addition Statues of Manjushri, Medicine Buddha, Tara, Maitreya Buddha and four armed Chenrezig, plus the two or three large thankas that still graces our Gompa today, were commissioned by Tony in Delhi. 10 Debbie and Tony stated, “There are certain defining points in one’s experience. Everyone has them. They can either be a moment that changed the course of a life or a period of time which molded one fresh…Somehow being there (RI), in that special place, gave our lives purpose and meaning, to the point that no matter what happens now we’ll never regret for a wasted life. Being able to help people in a hands-­‐on way through the school and clinic and, in a more abstract way, through building the gompa and holy objects is probably the most precious experience of our lives.” TRISHA DONNELLY (Feb. 1999 – Dec. 2003). Since meeting Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Bodhgaya in 1978, Trisha Donnelly spent most of her time working for FPMT projects in India and Nepal, including Tushita Delhi and the Maitreya Project in Nepal. In 1998 Rinpoche asked her to take over as director of RI as Tony and Debbie had recently resigned. At the very outset she was instructed to do 3 things by Lama Osel Rinpoche: “Pull down that building (referring to the old gompa/kitchen built by Ven. Kabir and Onju, which had 11 developed dangerous cracks.); make a proper walkway across the lawn to Rinpoche’s apartment; and erect a Root Institute signboard on the roadside!” Under her reign she dutifully followed through on those instructions. She also renovated the kitchen in 2000 and built a dining area, which is what is currently being used today. Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche requested that four statues of Kadampa Lamas be made for the gompa during this time period. He selected Lama Drontompa, Lama Chekawa, Langri Tanpa and Geshe Potawa. They were made in Nepal and then consecrated by the abbots and lamas staying at RI Trisha also built a spacious new dwelling for our kind guru (KLZR) in 2002, which also included a second small gompa on the ground floor and a new office-­‐cum-­‐director residence on the site of Kabir’s original mud hut! During her time, the clinic work also flourished, as did the Dharma program. 12 Trisha in conclusion said that she “received the hair-­‐cutting, name and robes ceremony from Rinpoche at the end of my first tenure, on December 31st 2003, and I left the next day!”
FRANK BROCK (Jan. 2004 – Feb. 2006) Frank arrived at RI in November of 2003 to take Trisha’s place as Director. He had been ordained as a monk for 10 years prior to becoming the director. In fact, he had been the first resident sangha member at RI and the first driver for RI 13 years earlier often driving Kabir to the never-­‐ending saga of court cases in Gaya. Frank also commissioned two Nepali painters to do some artwork at RI, including the painting of the Maitreya Buddha and other statues. Several high lamas visited during this time period. 13 Towards the end of 2004 a visiting Lama from Malaysia and his students presented an offering of life size Lama Tsong Khapa and his two disciples statues, complete with finely brocaded robes for the main gompa. Frank was also very well respected by the Indian staff and participated in the festival celebrations at Root including India’s Independence Day. 14 He moved on in 2006 after setting in motion Rinpoche’s instructions for a huge prayer wheel at Root, and passing it on to the next director, Sally Dudgeon. SALLY DUDGEON (March 2006 – March 2007): The former National Coordinator of FPMT Australia, Sally then took over. Frank greeted her at Gaya station with the words “Thank God you’ve come I thought you were going to cancel.” She was responsible for researching and buying the large generator that is still being used at RI today. Several high lamas visited during this year including Dagri Rinpoche, Khongla Rato Rinpoche, His Holiness the Karmapa and our precious Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Another very positive outcome of Sally’s tenure was the construction of the beautiful red prayer wheel house, which she 15 designed and oversaw with her architectural skills. VEN. TRISHA LABDRON (March 2007 – June 15, 2015): The first and only second-­‐term director returned as a nun to remain at RI for the next 8 years! Her major contribution during this time was starting the Tara Children’s Project, the only orphanage for HIV children and adolescents in the state of Bihar. 16 She also continued to rescue and house at RI several animals as part of the animal liberation project (a project that was initiated during Kabir’s time). The Maitreya Project School for Universal Education started by Tony and Debbie closed down in 2010. Ven. Trisha in 2012 reopened the school as the Maitreya School for Universal Education, which is what it is still called today. It educates impoverished children in the area. Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche during one of his visits gifted to RI the statue of Shakyamuni Buddha in the starving aspect as a reminder that “one cannot attain enlightenment without bearing hardships.” Ven. Labdron also constructed the magnificent Nagarjuna statue, which currently stands next to the prayer wheel with the help of 17 sponsorship from Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s students to remove obstacles to His health and for His long, stable life and for the success of all His activities. In addition she bought another piece of land close to RI and started the construction of a 17-­‐foot Kadampa Stupa surrounded by 8 smaller stupas. This ongoing project is currently referred to as the Garden of Stupas Project and plans to be an ideal retreat location complete with a kitchen and bathroom facilities for individuals and/or groups planning on doing short or long-­‐term retreats. 18 Finally she began the daily light offerings at RI that folks could sponsor in return for having their names and dedications read out. The entire Root family attended her farewell tea party in June of 2015. Ven. Trisha stated in conclusion, “The 13 years I spent as a Director of RI were amongst the happiest days of my life. I am often surprised on recollection as to how happy I felt. Some of the greatest blessings that I received were during that time in Bodhgaya from H.H.D.L, Kyabje Zopa Lama Rinpoche and from all the Buddha’s and bodhisattvas.” After Ven. Trisha Labdron stepped down Ven. Tenzin Paldron took over as director on June 15, 2015 on the advice of our most precious holy Guru, Kyabje Zopa Lama Rinpoche. She is the current director at RI. Thus RI has been nurtured by what Gyalwa Karmapa referred to during one of his visits as “the incredible blessings of the lineage present at RI.” =========