by Wes Guo
Since Chögyal Namkhai Norbu assigned house No. 6 at Dzamling Gar to Samtenling China in early 2014, in the spirit corresponding with Rinpoche’s emphasis on the importance of Tibetan culture, the Dzogchen Community in China started to prepare for the creation of a Tibet Room in the house, which is now the house of Samtengar, the Gar of Asia.
Tracy Ni, with the help of Bingxue Lingdong, a Vajra sister who is a professional home designer, ordered a lot of Tibetan style furniture from Chengdu, a city in West China which is famous for Tibetan-Chinese culture. Samtengar’s work team, including the secretary Xiaolan, shop manager Kongxingzhe, and Wes Guo, spent a lot of time and energy in providing all kinds of items related to Tibetan culture and the teachings of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu.
When Tracy Ni and Wes Guo arrived at Dzamling Gar on December 13th 2016, the Tibetan Room was still a mess, all the decoration materials were all over the room and nothing was in place. In addition all the 5 apartments in the Samtengar house were less than half furnished and equipped.
Jaromi Fatina from the Czech Republic discussed the situation with Tracy and they started to sort everything out very quickly and efficiently. At the same time Tracy and Wes worked over ten hours a day to buy furniture and household items and put them in the right places for all the 5 apartments at the Samtengar house because practitioners from China would arrive from December 21st. At night Tracy also spent many hours finishing the translation of the 9th volume of Longsal Teachings because it is the main text related to the coming Yangtig retreat.
It was a lot of work, but we made it. Especially after the arrival of many Chinese practitioners around Christmas time, the finishing of Tibetan Room and the whole house were accelerated. More than 20 people came to help on the last 2 days to finish. From the beginning to the end, Rosemary Friend and Thuy Nguyen from Australia did fantastic coordination, providing information, and physically helping. Without them, the wonderful manifestation of the Tibetan Room and the Samtengar House would not have manifested in time.
On the last day of 2016, Rinpoche and Rosa came to visit the Tibetan Room. Rinpoche empowered all the items and the whole Room. They had lunch with some 15 people. After lunch over 100 people came, most of whom were Chinese. Rinpoche told stories and his dreams related to China, and sang Chinese songs together with us all. A famous Chinese rock star, Zheng Jun, sang a few songs, which Rinpoche enjoyed. People were very happy as well as touched, and there were some quite emotional moments.
Now the Tibetan Room has already become a place for meetings, practice, and workshops. A 1st level Santi Maha Sangha course with Elio Guarisco took place after the Yangtig retreat.
We want to say thank you to Rinpoche for giving us the privilege to stay at the Gar and to enjoy some unforgettable moments with him during the most special Yangtig retreat.
