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~Song of Fulfillment~

Founded by His Eminence KALU RINPOCHE

Directed by Venerable LAMA LODU RINPOCHE

Home to San Francisco


(This is 27th in a series of reminisces by Lama Lodu Rinpoche)


At the conclusion of the 49-day ceremonies for the great departed Buddha, Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche, I prepared to leave Sonada and return to my duties at KDK San Francisco. I did not feel confident about how I would be able to cope with the challenges of running a center now that I had lost my beloved advisor and teacher. Even though there were many eminent teachers in the Kagyu lineage, my ordinary mind was used to seeing Kalu Rinpoche as more authentic and trustworthy than any other human being on earth.

Before I left Sonada, however, His Eminence Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche asked me to come see him and he gave me some very much needed advice on how to carry on. He said he shared my grief and felt the same loss and that he was deeply concerned that I should continue the dharma activities that Kalu Rinpoche had given to me, difficult as they may be. He said he would try to come to San Francisco from time to time to see me. He told me not to worry, as the activity I was involved in was not ordinary worldly activity and that I was sure to receive extraordinary help.

His Eminence also told me that he was now the sole manifestation of a pair of spiritual emanations that had been cooperating and collaborating for generations. In Tibet it is believed that the two teachers, Kalu Rinpoche and Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, work together and take over for each other when necessary. Kalu Rinpoche had worked closely with the second Jamgon Kongtrul and took over his activities as retreat master at Tsadrak Rinchen center after his parinirvana. The third Jamgon Kongtrul was not able to go to Tsadrak Rinchen because he was recognized by the 16th Karmapa just before they had to flee Tibet from the Chinese invasion. However, he did return to this traditional seat late in his life, when Tibet was finally re-opened, and with the help of Kalu Rinpoche, he rebuilt and reestablished Tsadrak Rinchen retreat center.

He told me that because their relationship had been so close in their last lives, he considered it his duty now to take over Kalu Rinpoche’s activities and responsibilities. This gave me confidence that I had a trustworthy advisor and spiritual friend.

Back in San Francisco the KDK board, whose president at that time was Phyllis Norris, were looking very hard for land so we coule establish a traditional three-year retreat center. They knew I would be returning with a great sadness and to help me cope with my loss, they put out tremendous effort to find the right land at the right price. Their success in this was a wonderful homecoming surprise for me.

When I first saw the 160 acres in Mendocino County I was a little overwhelmed--it was so big and undeveloped. There was no electricity and no water, just raw land with one dilapidated house that had been built by the hippie settlers who had previously lived there. But I could see countless possibilities and, even if it was not to be in my lifetime, I felt this land could be made into a haven that could support retreatants and practitioners for many generations to come. So we bought it!

  • 1. Lama Lodu Recalls His Childhood
  • 2. Memories of Adolescence and Coming to the Dharma
  • 3. Early Dharma Studies and Ngondro
  • 4. Leaving Gangtok
  • 5. On the Road to Bhutan
  • 6. The Journey to Chang Chub Ling
  • 7. In Retreat at Chang Chub Ling
  • 8. After the Retreat
  • 9. Journey to Penang
  • 10. At the Penang Caves
  • 11. With My Teachers Again
  • 12. Lonely In Copenhagen
  • 13. His Holiness Intervenes
  • 14. The Dharma Bus
  • 15. Stockholm Days
  • 16. The Western Paradise
  • 17. KDK San Francisco Grows Up
  • 18. Double Miracle
  • 19. A Teaching Without Words
  • 20. The Kalachakra In America
  • 21. Closing the Gates
  • 22. Perfect Mind
  • 23. Kalu Rinpoche's Last Days
  • 24. The Forty-Nine Days
  • 25. An Unknown Witness
  • 26. An Unexpected Gift
  • 27. Homecoming to San Francisco
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