OSSIAN

FROM PHANTOMLY ORICULA notes by Hetty MacLise

About a month later, Ahbo was having a house warming party and Sabchu Rinpoche was coming for lunch I was at the monastary helping to get the place in ship-shape and suddenly someone came in. It was Ahbo and he came rushing in saying "You've got a letter from Karmapa!", it was in a blue envelope with a big crest on it. it was addressed to Angus and me in out Tibetan names (they'd asked if we'd taken refuge.) Karma Kalzang Doundrup and Karma Samtin Drolma. It said that Karmapa had meditated on our son and there was very good reason to suppose that he was an incarnate tulku lama. I got that far and I said "Good God!" Ahbo said "What's wrong?" "Well, I don't know. He says that Karma Tsultrim's a tulku. That he thinks there is good reason to suppose, but it is not definate." We went on reading and it said "You and Angus must sign this paper. It is very dangerous for these tulkus to be wandering about and he won't recognize him or give the name unless we sign the paper saying you will never take him from the sangha." So we did this. We figured we couldn't ruin the kid's destiny and anyway, nothing may come of it. Sabchu Rinpoche was very excited when he heard that. He jumped on his bed, lept to his feet, sprung off the bed, seized his zen in both hands and danced around the room. He snatched my hand and the hand of his niece who was also sitting there, we all joined hands and there we were, the three of us dancing in a circle, round and round, it was great. I thought " I don't care if the kid's a tulku or not, I just danced in a circle with Sabchu Rinpoche and I feel fantastic."

Then Sabchu Rinpoche went down for lunch and they said Ossian should come for lunch also. He was around the stupa somewhere, playing marbles. The only toys those children have are reject butter lamps, empty clay ones, and they made everything out of them. That and marbles. They had no toys at all. He was found by someone and brought to the monestary door, where everyone had lined up. He heard some of them say "There he is!" And he got this awful look like "What have I done now. Everyone's lined up, it must be something really bad." All the monks bowed their heads down, and I didn't, so I saw over their heads and I really did see a look of relief pass over his face for a second. It was like he'd dropped a weight.

I asked him after the whole thing was signed, sealed and settled if he knew, and he was much more forthcoming when he was little than he is now, so he said "yes." I said "Well, why didn't you say anything?" He said "If I say something, and not Karmapa, then they say I'm a naughty boy." Anyway, there's this look of relief and all the heads are bowed and without any hesitation he just started going along blessing them on their heads with his hand. Then he had lunch with Sabchu Rinpoche and it was all feasting and fun. After that they wouldn't permit him to sit on the floor with the other boys, he had to sit on the bed. And they started calling me Mayum and at first I thought "What's that? Sounds like a pudding."

Take a break, have a laugh, here we go ...



May i add, for your benefit, that this odeous song, was repeated nightly by the BBC, so that every evacuated child in the British Isles, would be guarenteed a storm of tears, before they managed to get to sleep, charming. I have never understood it.

They insisted the mother of a tulku is called Mayum and I said "Now come on, hold your horses. This isn't for real yet. Karmapa said there's only good reason to suppose."
Arrangements were made for Karmapa to visit Swayambhu. He came on St. Valentines day. All the animals went right off the moment he arrived, all the monkeys turned golden-russet, the way the trees turn in Autumn; all the birds started flying round and round the Gompa.
We went up to the Gompa the morning after he arrived, with Sister Palmo. She was great, she had amde these tulku offerings, something wrapped up in a beautiful white kata with embroidered edges. Ossian had to make the offering himself. We tromped up the little spiral staircase, past all these people, Sister Palmo going right ahead and then Ossian and then me. We walked forward towards Karmapa. Ossian was by this time standing in front of him like a lemon, holding the scarf offering, he was rather small and the ends were going down and he was trying not to drag them on the floor. Karmapa leaned forward and looked at him and all he said was "Rey", which in Tibetan means yes. He put his hands out towards him and Osssian went "Oh!" and almost dropped the kata, and they sort of rushed to each other. It was like the meeting of two old mates who hadn't seen each other for a long time.

Then, Sister Palmo said "Remember the kata", and Karmapa went on smiling and looking at Ossian, he looked so happy. He received the offering and told him to sit down. I thought this was a bit bewildering for the kid, was he just going to sit down in front of Karmapa? No, he didn't do that. There were all these thrones, about ten of them, on different levels. Ossian went around and I thought he was going to sit next to Karmapa, but no, he stood there and bowed. They told me after that he then went on to sit in exactly the right place, 6 seats away. I thought, what a funny thing to do, he's sitting miles over there, maybe he's shy or something.

Then tea was brought and Karmapa asked him "Who's Gagen?" which means the teacher you live with. Ossian said "Udze Giggdor" and Karmapa told me to get him. So I had to get Udze Gigdor out of Mahakala puka!!! All the boys who were playing the radongs kept asking me "Is Karma Tsultim a tulku?" I told Gigdor "Karmapa wants to see you." Oh, my god, he got off that bench so fast, he fairly lept over it and they were all grinning (they all seemed to now what was happening.) We went back upstairs and darling Gigdor went all pink, if a Tibetan can blush. Ossian had been with him since he was 4 and I'd never had a word or a disagreement with him, in 11 years there's been perfect harmony in the bringing up of the kid. Karmapa asked Gigdor if Ossian was a good boy and dear, loyal Gigdor said "The best", and blushed.

I vaguely remember going with Sister Palmo into the next room, where I met Jamgon Kontrul, Gyalstap and Shamar Rinpoches. All the boysm the Regents, they must have all been there, except Tai Situpa. Sister Palmo had some confab with the boys. There ewas a showing of the map, which was drawn as the birthplace of the tulku. It didn't give any name of it and they asked if it meant anything to me. Yeah, god damn it did, it was exactly the area around Great Barrington Hospital. The Husitonic River, the bridge right there, the surrounding fields. Karmapa drew the map and Sister Palmo put in the English words. Whether he copied it from a map that the previous Sang gyes Nienpa made, or whether he did it himself, I don't know.

[out of the blue I thought to look in the wayback machine to see if Hetty’s blog had been copied. The last half has vanished, the part about her son being recognized. Here it is]