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Attending to the Lama:
Thoughts upon the Passing of Ribur Rinpoche
 Lama Kyabje Ribur Rinpoche For many years, Fabrizio Pallotti traveled all over the world with Ribur Rinpoche as his translator ad attendant. He recalls the passing of his perfect teacher who inspired many Western students with his teachings, most especially due to the outpouring of unbelievable love and compassion that emanated from his whole being. The last time I saw Rinpoche in Washington, D.C., where he had been undergoing cancer treatment, he said to me, “Look, do you want me to be here in a body like this, or do you prefer that a young body comes back?” At the time, I couldn’t answer; I would choke up with tears. Now I realize that because Rinpoche had initiated so many incredible actions to develop world peace, to spread the Dharma, and to benefit sentient beings, he just wanted to take off and come back with a strong, young body to finish those actions. I have a few friends who went to visit Rinpoche a few days before he passed away, and they said that Rinpoche was totally strong, in an incredibly good mood, giving teachings, totally unconcerned for himself…. When he passed away, it was during the full moon of the Kalachakra, which is very auspicious. The monastery was nearly empty at that time, with everyone at the Kalachakra initiation. It seems as if he wanted to be alone, as if he didn’t want anybody to be around taking care of him. Two days after Rinpoche’s passing, I arrived at Sera Me… I went to Rinpoche’s house, and even though his breath had stopped, he was still meditating, sitting up in front of his Lama Tsongkhapa statue, his holy body leaning slightly to the right and his head slightly to the left. After five or six days, Geshe Losang Choepel, the attendant of the late Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, was called upon because of his great knowledge of ritual and how to handle the passing away of a high lama. He determined that Rinpoche was no longer meditating, and many preparations were done to anoint the holy body in the perfect way. An ablution of saffron water was offered to the holy body; we wrapped Rinpoche in new robes and deity ornaments and left him in the same sitting position for one day while we made preparations for the cremation. Though it was quite hot, there was no decomposing, no smell, and no rigor mortis. His body was amazingly supple. Throughout this time, many lamas, geshes, and young monks visited Rinpoche, and many self-initiations were performed on a daily basis: Heruka, Vajrayogini, Yamantaka, and many other practices. We were able to build the stupa crematorium very quickly, and since it is the main disciple who should offer the fire puja, the ritual was performed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. During the puja, the mood among the disciples was of total desperation. We all felt like our one holy father had just left us for good. After less than one hour, not even halfway through the puja, one of the highest lamas at Sera Me, Oser Rinpoche, looked inside the crematorium and said that the body wasn’t there anymore. I looked inside and Rinpoche’s holy body had vanished…. [One week later] Oser Rinpoche called to me and said, “Fabrizio, look at this, look, look!” I looked inside and I could see a bunch of white, pearl-like pebbles: There were thousands of them. For me, and I think for most of us there, it was as if this was all happening in a dream. For the Western world what goes on at the monasteries, what the Tibetan lamas do, is almost like science fiction. Upon finding these holy relics, a ceremony was immediately done to purify and bless them, after which we did Lama Chopa, the offering puja to the guru… Rinpoche was among the last of his kind. He was in Tibet before the coming of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and experienced the golden age of Tibet. During the Cultural Revolution, he was able to do some of the most amazing actions for the benefit of the teachings and all sentient beings. He discovered the lost statue of Jowo Ramoche, one of three images made at the time of the Buddha and blessed by him; as well, Rinpoche reestablished the great reliquary of Ganden and the stupa of Je Rinpoche, along with countless other holy images that had disappeared from Tibet when the monasteries were looted. Incredibly holy images would cross Rinpoche’s path with seemingly no effort. For instance, in Drepung Monastery a conch shell is preserved that was given to Lord Buddha by a child. It is said that the Buddha prophesized the child would be the future Je Rinpoche, a second Buddha to propagate the teachings. Monghallana, one of Lord Buddha’s students, then flew to Tibet and buried the conch in the mountains where Tsongkhapa later unearthed it. On that spot he established Ganden monastery. Centuries later, this conch was stolen and was nowhere to be found for several years. Then one day when Rinpoche was in Dharamsala, an old Tibetan man knocked at Rinpoche’s door and handed him the very conch that had been missing… This article can be read in its entirety in Mandala
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