Lama Nancy Burks
How to Really Make Rinpoche Happy …
In the late ’80’s I had the good fortune to be part of a group taking Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. We asked him where he wanted to go and what rides he wanted to try.
Rinpoche replied that he had been to Disneyland once before and it was not fun because the students who took him spent the whole day fighting about what to do, what to ride, and what to eat.
“I think he would enjoy It’s a Small World,” said one. “No, that’s a stupid ride. I’m sure he would prefer Space Mountain,” said another. As they argued about how best to make him happy, Rinpoche did not enjoy himself. So he told us “I don’t care what we do. I’ll just be happy if you all get along.” So we didn’t argue at all.
As everyone knows, Rinpoche always emphasized the importance of his students working together in harmony. He taught us that as Dharma brothers and sisters, we made our teachers happy when we got along, and hurt them when we squabbled.
By forming us into Karma Thegsum Chöling centers and Karma Kagyu Study Groups, Rinpoche gave us the best opportunity to see how our kleshas arose in our interactions with others, and how to use these experiences to tame our minds while we all practiced together.
