The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa: Volume One (34 page)

The author’s escape route
.

It Must Be India

T
HESE EARLY WEEKS
were really enjoyable; it was spring and the flowers were beginning to bloom in the good weather. We were all feeling much more cheerful and looking forward to visiting Lhasa; we talked of the time when the Resistance army would defeat the Chinese. The one thing that puzzled us was that we never met anyone on the road returning from Lhasa, all travelers were going toward it. When we made enquiries in villages we passed on the way, some told us that the Resistance was in command at Lhasa, though most people agreed that the Dalai Lama had gone to India for safety, but they thought he would soon return. We were still wearing civilian clothes, and no one knew who we were. Some of the villagers took us for Resistance officials.

Now that we were no longer on the main road the way became more mountainous; however, we were not the only party to choose this less direct route, other groups of refugees from East Tibet were also traveling by the same way. Among them there were some people who had escaped from Nangchen, including the secretary of Ramjor Monastery in company with a few monks and eight or nine village families. The secretary asked us if we knew what had happened to Trungpa Tulku and said how sad it was that none of the lamas from the Surmang district had been able to get away: When he was told that I was Trungpa, he was overwhelmed. He gave us details of what had occurred at his own monastery, telling how the Communists had invaded it when the monks were holding a special service in the assembly hall. They had closed the entrance and had immediately shot a few monks, after which they arrested the others accusing them of hiding arms. The abbot came forward and tried to explain that he had always done his best to preach nonviolence to his followers, but even while he was insisting that there were no arms in the monastery he was shot in the forehead by the officer in command. The monks, including the secretary, were forced to bring down their library to be destroyed, being also made to hammer to pieces the images with their own hands. Many people in the surrounding villages were also arrested and taken to Nangchen with the monk prisoners. However, an order came from the Communist headquarters that most of the troops were to proceed elsewhere, so that only a few soldiers were left to guard the prisoners some of whom were able to escape, the secretary being among them. He added that any villagers who had been left in their homes were now also trying to escape.

As we were going over another pass we met Tulku Chi-me of Benchen Monastery whom I already knew; we were thankful to find him alive. I asked him if he had any news of the supreme abbot of Benchen, Sanggye Nyenpa Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse’s brother, who had looked after the young tulkus on their return from meeting the Dalai Lama at Derge Gönchen. He had heard nothing about him, except that he had left their monastery the year before and had reached Central Tibet, where he was staying with Gyalwa Karmapa. Benchen Monastery, which was near Jyekundo, had been attacked and all its treasures had been looted by the Communists; and since it was so near the airport half the building had been used to house members of the Chinese staff, while the assembly hall had been turned into a storehouse. The monks had scattered in all directions; he himself had gone to his family in the Nangchen area and they had all escaped together; most of them were now living in a large refugee camp. Such stories made my monks realize that we had no alternative but to escape.

By May 21 we reached a place near Pembar Monastery. Here it was necessary to get into contact with Pu Dündül, the commander in the Resistance who was in charge of all that area. Kino Tulku said he would go to this officer since he was personally known to him, with Yönten to accompany him. Pu Dündül gave them a passport for our party. He said that although no definite news had been received from Central Tibet, he was confident that the Resistance army was doing well and he was shortly expecting Andrup Gönpo Tashi to arrive with his troops. When he discovered that the young abbot of Sephu was with us, he said that no one from his district could be allowed to leave; everyone must remain in the area to fight. The following day the abbot’s tutor went to see him and begged him to allow the boy to escape, but he would not hear of it, so we had to leave the unfortunate young abbot and his companions behind.

Dorje Tsering, district official
.

Yönten, a Surmang monk
.

The king of Derge’s cabinet
.

A Resistance Khampa
.

PHOTO: PAUL POPPER, LTD.

Yaks loaded with barley and firewood
.

PHOTO: PAUL POPPER, LTD.

It was now necessary for us to regain the high road, as there was no other pass across the mountains, and we arrived at a place called Ugyen Tamda. There was a small temple in this village which was famous because it held an image of Ugyen Rinpoche otherwise known as Guru Padmasambhava, the apostle of Tibet; we held a special service there as it was the tenth day of the month according to the Tibetan calendar, which is the particular day for these devotions. We were also shown Tsongpön Norbu Sangpo’s saddle and a Tibetan version of the Chinese
Book of Changes
(
I Ching
) which had belonged to him. He was a merchant who lived in the seventh century and his name was still honored, for he was a very spiritual man, besides having compiled the first written record of Tibet’s trade with other countries.

Ahead of us lay the very high pass of Sharkong La; it was extremely steep and the weather was very stormy, so when we had got about halfway up we camped for the night. Several Resistance soldiers who were guarding the pass came down to us to beg for food and transport. We gave them some food but said we had no animals to spare. They seemed to be very keen on guarding the pass and were strong young men, but only equipped with old-fashioned muskets.

The next morning we returned to the climb; the weather was still bad, with a strong wind blowing in our faces which made progress difficult. The baggage kept falling off the mules and we all had to help in getting the loads settled again and this caused delays. Three young men came down from the pass whom we discovered to be deserters from the Resistance army on their way home. They said that the Chinese were very strong in Central Tibet and Lhasa itself might be under their control, but they had no firsthand information. They could tell us little about conditions on our route, for they had traveled mostly by night, following mountain tracks. As there were only three of them, they had managed to escape detection; they said they thought that concealment would be more difficult for a large party like ours.

When we reached the top of the pass I, Kino Tulku, and Akong Tulku dismounted to give the traditional traveler’s shout of victory, after which we duly added a flag to the cairn. Meanwhile, the rest of the party had gone ahead. The track on the further slope was very steep and covered with fine slate dust which made it extremely slippery, so we dismounted and this greatly delayed our reaching the next camp. When we got there tea was ready and our tents were pitched; it was pleasant to chat over a warming cup of tea. Some of our party thought that since the three soldiers had deserted, they might be feeling a little guilty and thus have been led to exaggerate about the hopelessness of the situation. They had been so vague about everything, it appeared that they really knew very little. We came to no decision about our plans, but felt a little uneasy because of the fact that no one was traveling toward Lhasa on this main road.

It began to rain heavily, so we decided to remain encamped during the next day; early in the morning, while we were sitting in camp, some men on horseback were seen coming toward us. They were wearing dark clothes and some of them were carrying rifles. Great was our surprise when they turned out to be Yak Tulku with his devotee Dorje Tsering, the head of the district around Yak, whose wife, brother, and two attendants had also accompanied him. As we drank tea Yak Tulku told us that his baggage was following on some sixty mules; he and his party had hastened on ahead to ask us to wait for it to arrive. He gave us the serious news that Pashö had been completely overrun and that conditions at Chamdo were extremely bad. He said that nothing had happened as yet at either Drölma Lhakhang or Yak. There was a strong Resistance force in the Trayap district who had cut the road when the Communists were taking lorries full of loot from Pashö to Chamdo and thus they had succeeded in recovering much of the stuff.

I was delighted to see Yak Tulku again, but realized that his arrival could only mean further difficulties for us all since he had not followed my request to travel lightly; to add to my anxiety, he told me that yet another party was on its way with more baggage loaded on yaks which go very slowly. The exit from Yak had been so public that all the villagers around that place and Drölma Lhakhang had begun to panic. They thought that if all their spiritual directors were leaving there was nothing left for them but to follow; a large party had started and was now also on its way. Yak Tulku sent a message to tell those of his monks who were in charge of the baggage mules where they could find us and again he asked me to wait for their arrival. This obliged us to stay in the same camp for several days, during which time some of the local villagers came to see us thinking that we were Resistance troops. They brought food as an offering to the soldiers and were surprised when we offered to pay for it. Knowing the surrounding country they were able to tell us where we could find grazing for our many animals.