31 Jan 2012
10 min 3 sec
Video Overview
Creators:
Unknown
In an interview with Professor Jose Cabezon, Geshé Sopa describes how he moved to the United States at the request of the Dalai Lama.
- United States of America
- Wisconsin
- Jose Cabezon: So you were telling us about when you came to the United States.
- Geshe Sopa: Yeah, so after that, Monlam Festival, geshe degree down in India,
- Geshe Sopa: At that time, then I was Lharam Geshe.
- Geshe Sopa: And all, we have Sera, from Sera, Drepung, Ganden, we have those.
- Geshe Sopa: Tsultrim Gyatso is one.
- Geshe Sopa: So they were, I was the first rank,
- Geshe Sopa: Gepel Lharam angki dangpo, that given.
- Geshe Sopa: Sekor Rinpoche [??] was from government, sending down there,
- Geshe Sopa: and so just arrived checking, and giving like that.
- Geshe Sopa: After that degree finished, then I went to back to Dalhousie, staying there,
- Geshe Sopa: and suddenly one day then from Dharamsala, came to letter.
- Geshe Sopa: So there is Geshe Wangyel, asked, New Jersey,
- Geshe Sopa: he needs three young lamas he wants to bring,
- Geshe Sopa: to partly study English in his monastery,
- Geshe Sopa: mainly educated that time, of course
- Geshe Sopa: India young lamas have studying English, also studying religions, and also part of English
- Geshe Sopa: Mrs. [Freda] Bedi, is called, English woman, who is in New Delhi,
- Geshe Sopa: she collected these young lamas.
- Geshe Sopa: She established Young Lamas Home School,
- Geshe Sopa: so that time, many of these, Sharpa, [indecipherable] and all these things, they are...
- Geshe Sopa: and...so therefore, at that time, and then the Geshe Wangyel ask the young lama
- Geshe Sopa: some of the couple young lamas, maybe three young lamas,
- Geshe Sopa: come to U.S. and in his monastery studying for two years or something like that.
- Geshe Sopa: He got a grant, from [indecipherable] foundation or something some grant he got.
- Geshe Sopa: So based on that, he request to Dalai Lama to send three young lamas.
- Geshe Sopa: So then, that time, the, my student, they
- Geshe Sopa: Khamlung Tulku, and Sharpa Tulku, and Kunga Tulku,
- Geshe Sopa: that Kunga is now over there.
- Geshe Sopa: Those three, choose one.
- Geshe Sopa: Kunga is from Sakya, then these two of the one is Sera Me, Sera Jey.
- Geshe Sopa: So three lamas, chosen, and they should go to America, His Holiness suggested.
- Geshe Sopa: And then, with my student, Khamlung,
- Geshe Sopa: I was that time staying with Khamlung,
- Geshe Sopa: so then also, Dalai Lama asked me to go with them.
- Geshe Sopa: They are young lamas, and when they go far away outside, in America,
- Geshe Sopa: they need some kind of spiritual teacher or tutor.
- Geshe Sopa: They mainly stay in monastery, learning English, but also tutor, need.
- Geshe Sopa: So he asked me to go there.
- Geshe Sopa: So then, that also I really didn't want.
- Geshe Sopa: That time, oh, America, oh,
- Geshe Sopa: Tibetans could, America is far outside somewhere,
- Geshe Sopa: first from India there's a big ocean, then past the ocean,
- Geshe Sopa: how can there be, completely different.
- Geshe Sopa: So therefore, and I, at that time, quite, feeling of old,
- Geshe Sopa: now I escaped from Tibet, up to got there, still go somewhere, oh no no way.
- Geshe Sopa: So I said, I don't want to go.
- Geshe Sopa: Then I went to Dharamsala,
- Geshe Sopa: to see His Holiness, and, permission to not go,
- Geshe Sopa: somebody else please choose.
- Geshe Sopa: So then I went there, Dharamsala,
- Geshe Sopa: and that time Trijang Rinpoche was there.
- Geshe Sopa: And then first I saw Trijang Rinpoche.
- Geshe Sopa: And then want, I don't want to go, this is the situation.
- Geshe Sopa: And he said, Trijang Rinpoche [said],
- Geshe Sopa: "Oh these days, you should go,
- Geshe Sopa: and these days Dalai Lama asked you first time that you shouldn't refuse."
- Geshe Sopa: "Another way, these are monks, refugees in India.
- Geshe Sopa: Right now, rations, you know rations?
- Geshe Sopa: This ration is now, they heard, soon going to stop, or something, we heard.
- Geshe Sopa: And then you have nothing there, so...
- Geshe Sopa: Go America, and America is not distant like that,
- Geshe Sopa: but you get there today, tomorrow, you'll get there.
- Geshe Sopa: I didn't...I didn't believe.
- Geshe Sopa: And then he pulled out a map,
- Geshe Sopa: "You see, this is like this, then go by plane, airplane,
- Geshe Sopa: you get there, and this is New York, this is New Jersey."
- Geshe Sopa: He had a map also showing there.
- Geshe Sopa: "So this is no problem, you just go.
- Geshe Sopa: If you like it, then just stay there for some time.
- Geshe Sopa: If you don't like, then you can,
- Geshe Sopa: once you got there, then you don't like or, then you can, say, back.
- Geshe Sopa: But right now, don't refuse, better to go."
- Geshe Sopa: He suggested it.
- Geshe Sopa: So then, I didn't go to see the Dalai Lama.
- Geshe Sopa: Just quietly back to Dalhaousie, and ready to preparation to coming.
- Geshe Sopa: So then New Jersey, we have three lamas and teacher.
- Geshe Sopa: And the, so we went to Geshe Wangyel's place, New Jersey,
- Geshe Sopa: there's a Mongolian group and,
- Geshe Sopa: over there it's not too bad, not too bad.
- Geshe Sopa: We were, New Jersey area where we stayed was mostly Mongolians,
- Geshe Sopa: a small group, and they have religious, and they have always Tibetan ceremonies
- Geshe Sopa: and those Mongolians monks, they are older monks, they also,
- Geshe Sopa: prayer is like exactly Tibetans'.
- Geshe Sopa: And they read also Tibetan scriptures,
- Geshe Sopa: and two lines, one line is Mongolian, one line is Tibetan, they can read it also.
- Geshe Sopa: So therefore we stayed in our monastery,
- Geshe Sopa: and they have their own little monastery,
- Geshe Sopa: we often go back and forth there.
- Geshe Sopa: So that is the Mongolian,
- Geshe Sopa: so then, we stayed there two years, supposed to stay,
- Geshe Sopa: then should be run out but they again,
- Geshe Sopa: they got, Professor [Kenneth] Morgan, that time is one of the sponsor,
- Geshe Sopa: he, they got grant again, another two years,
- Geshe Sopa: so therefore we have four years there.
- Geshe Sopa: After four years, then they have to go.
- Geshe Sopa: So Khamlung and Sharpa, and they went back, two of them.
- Geshe Sopa: Then older, one older lama, Kunga and me,
- Geshe Sopa: Geshe Wangyel wants to keep for a little while,
- Geshe Sopa: because his monastery is new, and all monks left, and there is no way,
- Geshe Sopa: because he is separated from Mongolian monastery,
- Geshe Sopa: he is his own, another block,
- Geshe Sopa: oh so he has the, built there, house, this called monastery, [indecipherable] monastery,
- Geshe Sopa: That is nowadays lamaist Buddhist monastery, that is coming from there.
- Geshe Sopa: So then he asked me, and he requested to Dalai Lama also,
- Geshe Sopa: two of them sent, two of them to, wanting to keep here.
- Geshe Sopa: So then I accepted.
- Geshe Sopa: And then stayed there, and he reappointed me,
- Geshe Sopa: because at that time, kind of monasteries, president of monasteries,
- Geshe Sopa: but of course, namely, main thing is he himself.
- Geshe Sopa: He knows English, he knows everything.
- Geshe Sopa: I don't know English,
- Geshe Sopa: but namely, he want to change his position to give me president or something.
- Geshe Sopa: So then I stayed 1950...60...67
- Geshe Sopa: 1966-67, two years I be kind of like name of president,
- Geshe Sopa: and down there, little bit, Philadelphia little bit,
- Geshe Sopa: one time teaching with Jeffrey [Hopkins], translating, etc., little bit doing this.
Loading ... Collection:
Subcollection
- Religion in Tibet
- Monasteries
- Sera - Geshe Sopa Interview
- Sera Monastery
- Geshe Sopa Interview
Referenced Places
- United States of America
- Wisconsin
Recording Location
- Wisconsin
Language
- English
Interviewer:
Jose Cabezon
Contributing Interviewee:
Geshé Lhundub Sopa
Contributing Translator:
Eveline Yang
Publisher:
Tibetan and Himalayan Library
Data Entry:
Visibility:
Public (group default)
Shanti AV Id:
1415
thlib.org
1272
Versions:
Date Created:
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Encoding Scheme:
mpeg-4 visual
File Size:
41062 (KB)
Data Rate:
499 (kbps)
Frame Size:
360x272
Format Id:
Format Id:
1_u6prstr2
Format Id Source:
Kaltura.com
Annotation:
LANGUAGE INFO Speech Type: Interview Situation Method: interviews MASTER TAPE INFO Master Tape Label: NDRP Master 1 Recorded: 1969-01-01