We were in a taxi coming back from some event, and I shyly asked him if my taking his photo made him uncomfortable. He replied that all he wants is to focus on the practice, and when people ask for photos he has to stop and smile for the camera, to which I said (now very shyly) I prefer candid photos, and please don’t feel the need to look at me, ever. He was about 15 years old then, and his incredibly mature answer has stuck with me to this day. Fast forward to now, sitting in the shrine room in Dhagpo Möhra I am anything but shy in my work, and Rinpoche is so magnetic and confident he beams in every direction like the sun. While I no longer hide from his gaze, and welcome his shining face and glorious smile like fresh air in a murky room, his presence is so massive, his teachings so profound and rather startling in their depth, I am reminded of how much I still enjoy candid shots! He’s still young, but he may as well be 3000 years old if we base it on wisdom, or experience. What an incredible being he is.
I’ve now known Rinpoche for over a decade, and he always surprises me. For one, his English is now phenomenal! He taught, in depth, over two full days with only very occasional need for translation, and then usually only one or two words. Second, his humor is outrageous - he is so funny! Not jokes funny, but the deep rich humor of someone who shares from his experience, and in that experience he finds great joy in simple stories and lessons. One in particular was a story about two monks on summer holiday who were asked to perform prayers for someone who had just passed away. They weren't good students, hadn’t memorized their prayers, and didn’t know what rituals or chanting to do. They decided to try and do the 8th Karmapa sadhana, but soon found that neither of them actually knew how to do it. So after a few false starts, they began doing mantras of Karmapa Chenno instead.
Rinpoche is getting more excited as the story goes on, we all feel some sort of climactic peak fast approaching. He’s beginning to giggle more and more, the words are starting to come out with bits of laughter around the edges like he can’t contain himself much longer. And so, finally while doing the mantras, one of the monks seemingly trying to do something impressive but totally out of context, let out a very loud PHET! like from Phowa practice. Rinpoche, arm up in the air as if to mime the phet with great fervor, completely lost it and the whole room erupted in torrential laughter that took a good 10 minutes to really settle down. I have never seen him laugh like this, and to capture this moment, and the proceeding few thereafter is a treasure for a photographer, we might wait our whole lives for such a genuine show of joy and humor from a master such as he.
But the story wasn't over. Somehow, to the surprise of both monks the body had the Phowa sign on its head, an unexplainable mark. And later, when the monks returned to their monastery and met Karmapa he looked at them slyly and said, "Don't you remember me? I was there"! Rinpoche explained that this meant Karmapa had heard them calling for him, and came to help, doing the Phowa they weren't capable of. That when we say Karmapa Chenno, Karmapa really hears you. This is what makes Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche so exceptional, this insane level of joy and humour, within a story of deep devotion and lineage connection.
The coolest person on the planet sounds about right.
Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche Dhagpo Möhra
