Toronto, May 26’79 – Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche arrives to visit his students and hold a five-day public seminar

Halifax, Canada. Saturday, March 04, 2006. 19h00 AST…… Evening reception for participants of a five-day programme. Alan Sloan proposes a toast to Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the Dorje Dradul. It is one of the best I’ve heard in 40 years. Alan has kindly given permission to quote his remarks.

I would like to propose a toast to what I personally feel is the essential Chogyam Trungpa. If I close my eyes and think of Rinpoche, the very first impression, the first thought is of his incredible warmth, his tenderness and amazing sensitivity to what it means to be a human being. The Vidyadhara was the most human human being I ever met.

He made us feel that being human was precious, that having a human body, heart and mind was the greatest treasure. He clearly loved his life and communicated that love to us. In his presence, every detail of perception, every emotion, thought, word, the most ordinary activities, all seemed potent and filled with meaning.

His tenderness was pervasive and penetrating. Whatever rock hard opinions his students held were illuminated and then melted, like glaciers, by the Dorje Dradul’s heat and brilliance. He loved us so passionately. His love encouraged us to be truly human, to feel everything, no matter how painful or pleasurable, exactly as it is — to respect our own experiences no matter what.

I would like to raise a toast to the ultimate human drala, to the Father and Grandfather Guru, to the kindest and most generous spiritual friend, who continues to inspire us all to be truly human and truly liberated.

To the Dorje Dradul.

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