Born in Tibet by Chogyam Trungpa

Author:Chogyam Trungpa
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, General
ISBN: 9781570627149
Publisher: Shambhala
Published: 2000-10-10T00:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

Must We Escape?

WAITING FOR THE twenty-third, I went down to the village where I stayed with several families in succession. Yak Tulku came to see me, which was a great pleasure as he had always been so helpful with his mature advice and had shown such understanding about my difficulties at the time when the bursar was so insistent that I should go back to Surmang. This time, however, his mind was taken up with the Chinese situation; he seemed to be more nervous than I was myself and could give me no clear guidance. I told him that I had fixed the date for my departure; it was to be on April 23. He wanted to come with me, but said that he would have to bring some of the senior monks with him and also a good deal of baggage. We discussed the route and I pointed out to him that we might have great difficulty in crossing the Gyemo Ngül-chu River, for there was only one bridge, and at other places it was crossed by ferry. Since the Communists were in control at Pashö, they would probably have put guards all along the river. We had no knowledge of the conditions at the bridge. I tried to explain to Yak Tulku that this would not be an easy journey like the tours we used to make, this time it was going to be a life-or-death escape. We would have to reduce our baggage to a minimum and make ourselves as inconspicuous as possible. He still wanted to come with me, but felt he must first consult his secretary. He thought that the baggage question could be solved if he came with us on horseback with a few monks only bringing whatever was required for the journey; a small additional number of mules would suffice to carry the most valuable possessions, leaving a second party to follow consisting of the other monks with yaks to transport the remainder of the baggage. However, he doubted whether he could make all these arrangements by the twenty-third. I emphasized that the party must be kept as small as possible, or there would be no chance for any of us. If many people wanted to try and escape, they must split up into smaller groups and travel separately. Whereupon Yak Tulku went back to his monastery to collect his party.

The monk horseman who had come to see me in my mountain retreat was now returning to Drölma Lhakhang. I gave him a letter to Akong Tulku telling him that I had decided to leave on the twenty-third and that, if he wanted to come with me, he must discuss the matter with his monks and come to an early and firm decision. I thought it unlikely that Drölma Lhakhang would be left in peace after what had happened in other parts of Tibet and particularly at Surmang. Should he come with me, I promised his monastery that I would do my best to look after him, but I realized that such a journey might be dangerous for both of us.

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