First Impressions

Earlier today someone sent me some pictures of Khenpo Chokhyab. As soon as you see a picture of him you get the impression, ‘Here is someone with renunciation.’ At least that is what comes to mind for me when I see his picture. There are many lamas of his generation like that.

A hardheaded cynic like myself does not get that feeling when looking at many lamas of the present day. When you see a picture of a lama in smart clothes, staying in a fancy looking room, surrounded by many followers, etc, you do not get the impression that there’s any renunciation there. I’m not talking about what the actual situation is with respect to any specific lama, I’m merely talking about the impression you get from the scene depicted in the photos.

Someone with renunciation has become disillusioned with the pleasures of the world. They see good clothes, tasty food, comfortable beds and the like to be futile and pointless. They renounce such things as causes of suffering. When you see a poor looking lama the thought that they probably have renunciation can come to mind, can’t it?

I also saw a photo of Khenpo Palga recently, and the same thought came to mind, ‘Wow he must really have renunciation.’ He doesn’t live so simply because he is a loser who cannot better his situation. He is a well known lama who many people have faith in. He could live very comfortably if he so wished but he has no need or wish for the seeming pleasant things of the world. There is a big difference between not having something because you are poor or not capable enough to get what you want and not having something because you have no wish for it.

Also, if you see a picture of a lama living luxuriously, it does not instil in you the thought that the lama must be very compassionate, does it? When we think how much poverty there is in the world, you would think that if you had strong compassion you could not bring yourself to spend money on yourself, on expensive clothes and food, when there are people nearby who could be relieved of their suffering to some degree if you were to direct a portion of the cost of the food, etc, to them. You’d think that someone with compassion wouldn’t be able to bear living so comfortably themselves when they think of others.

We can also look at it from the perspective of the Vajrayana. Someone with this level of view has seen through the duality of good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant. For them there is no difference between some delicacy and a lump of shit, so you wouldn’t expect them to necessarily be living super comfortably.

Again, I’m not talking about what the actual situation is, only first impressions and expectations.

A link to a biography of Khenpo Chokhyab:
https://treasuryoflives.org/zh/biographies/view/Choying-Khaybdel/9945

A note in Enlightened Vagabond about Khenpo Palga reads:
“Khenpo Palga, whose full name is Khenpo Palden Dorje (b. 1933), is one of the three known surviving students of Khenpo Thubga. For many years he has lived in semi-retreat in Gosa hermitage, about two hours’ drive from Shechen Monastery.”
Khenpo Palga was the lama with whom Drupon Khen Rinpoche became a monk at the age of fourteen.
Impermanence permitting, we will post more about Khenpo Palga and Khenpo Chokyab at some point in the not so distant future.