The-Tibetan-Book-of-Living-and-Dying

272 THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYING
I shall always remember the death of my own beloved
master, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, in the summer of
1959. During the last part of his life, he would try and leave
his monastery as little as possible. Masters of all traditions
would flock to him for teachings, and holders of all lineages
would look to him for instructions, as he was the source of
their transmission. The monastery where he lived, Dzongsar,
became one of the most vibrant centers of spiritual activity in
Tibet as all the great Lamas came and went. His word in the
region was law; he was such a great master that almost everybody
was his disciple, so much so that he had the power to
stop civil wars by threatening to withdraw his spiritual protection
from the fighters of both sides.
Unfortunately, as the grip of the Chinese invaders tightened,
conditions in Kham deteriorated rapidly, and even as a
young boy I could sense the impending menace of what was
to come. In 1955 my master had certain signs that showed he
should leave Tibet. First he went on a pilgrimage to the sacred
sites of central and southern Tibet; and then, to fulfill a deep
wish of his master, he made a pilgrimage to the holy places of
India, and I went with him. We all hoped that the situation in
the east might improve while we were away. It turned out, I
was to realize later, that my master's decision to leave had
been taken as a sign by many other Lamas and ordinary
people that Tibet was doomed, and it allowed them to escape
in good time.
My master had a longstanding invitation to visit Sikkim, a
small country in the Himalayas and one of the sacred lands of
Padmasambhava. Jamyang Khyentse was the incarnation of
Sikkim's holiest saint, and the King of Sikkim had requested
him to teach there and bless the land with his presence. Once
they heard he had gone there, many masters came from Tibet
to receive his teachings, and brought with them rare texts and
scriptures that might not otherwise have survived. Jamyang
Khyentse was a master of masters, and the Palace Temple
where he lived became once again a great spiritual center. As
the conditions in Tibet became more and more disastrous,
more and more Lamas gathered around him.
Sometimes great masters who teach a lot, it is said, do not
live very long; it is almost as if they attract toward them any
obstacles there are to the spiritual teachings. There were
prophecies that if my master had put aside teaching and traveled
as an unknown hermit to remote corners of the country,
he would have lived for many more years. In fact, he tried to