Akong Rinpoche

The monastery had previously not followed the tradition of having a reincarnate lama at its helm, but was ordered to find the 2nd Akong tulku by the second Kongtrul, Karse Rinpoche, the lineage master whose life he had saved when it had looked as though death was imminent.Starving and having unanimously decided not to kill animals to support themselves, they eventually had to boil leather shoes and bags to make soup to survive.[16] Akong Rinpoche's activity was on an international scale and unusually diverse, but it can be summarised as Dharma, healing (including Tibetan Medicine and psychotherapy), and charity.Akong himself was reluctant to teach, instead preferring to invite Tibetan Buddhism's greatest teachers and lineage masters to Samye Ling[17] and its many satellite centres in Europe and Africa.He also became a key figure in the collection, preservation and printing of rare Buddhist and medical texts, many of which had been on the point of disappearing completely at the time of the Cultural Revolution.[2] In 1992, he was tasked with finding the latest Karmapa incarnation Urgyen Drodul Trinley Dorje relying upon the prediction letter that had been discovered by Kentin Tai Situ Rinpoche."[29] Akong Rinpoche was a pioneer in bringing Traditional Tibetan Medicine (TTM) to the West, and also in developing a new form of psychotherapy or mind-training, known as Tara Rokpa Therapy.[32] Akong Rinpoche produced a book with his students Clive Holmes and Edie Irwin entitled Taming the Tiger: Tibetan Teachings for Improving Daily Life,[33] which describes many of the exercises practiced in Tara Rokpa Therapy.He further created a programme to preserve the herbs used in Tibetan medicine that new demand was driving close to extinction, even going so far as to bring three young doctors to the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh to study horticulture and biodynamics[40][41] In 2009, Akong gave a presentation on Tibetan medical treatments using mantras and prayers at the Seventh International Congress on Traditional Asian Medicine held in Bhutan.[49] In Zimbabwe and South Africa ROKPA worked to provide food, vocational training, therapy, and economic opportunity from 1994 onwards, especially to help those whose lives had been devastated by the HIV Aids crisis and political turmoil.[50][51] In August 2011 Akong Rinpoche was among the guests in Lhasa at the invitation of the Communist Chinese during the 60th Anniversary of the "Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" functions, together with other "Patriotic Tibetans".While it ignited heated controversy in the Tibetan community in exile, his students felt it was another example of how much he was prepared to sacrifice personally in order to carry out his aspirations to help others.In 2011, Akong Tulku Rinpoche was chosen as a recipient of the "60 years, 6 people" accolade, in which the British Home Secretary honoured former refugees who have made an inspiring and meaningful contribution to Britain.[56][57] Before leaving for the last time, Akong Rinpoche set all his affairs in order and requested the help of all those who would play a leading part in Samye Ling's future.In a letter before his death, Akong Rinpoche entrusted the recognition of his next incarnation solely to the Gyalwang Karmapa Urgyen Trinley Dorje, who has duly promised to identify him on several occasions since then.