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| Kathmandu, Friday June 13, 2003 Jestha 30, 2060. |
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Grief-striken monks receive
Rimpochhe’s body with heavy heart
By Sudha Shrestha
KATHMANDU, June 12 : With sadness writ large on
their faces, over three thousand people including monks from 41 monasteries thronged the
premises of Tribhuvan International Airport this afternoon to receive the dead body of
their revered Buddhist monk, Sheychokuso Rimpochhe. There was also the presence of
distinguished guests like mother of Bhutanese King and some members of the Raj Parishad
Standing Committee.
At around 1:00, late Rimpochhe’s body was
flown in today from Thailand where he had undergone medical treatment at Bumrung Hospital
in Bangkok. The 86-year-old religious leader had long been ailing from asthma and heart
problems.
As soon as the pick-up van decorated with
flowers, which carried his mortal body, slowly proceeded from the airport, a procession
comprising about 400 vehicles followed. The cavalcade proceeded via Ring Road to the
Sangechholing monastery of Kimdole in Swayambhu. The late Buddhist leader had been living
in the Sangechholing monastery as its head.
His body will be placed in the monastery for
three days where Buddhist rites will be performed, according to Ang Chhiring Lama,
president of All Nepal Himalayan Buddhist Association.
However, there is an under current of
uncertainty as to where the final rites should be conducted. Though his followers hope it
will be conducted in Nepal, members of the Bhutanese royal family wish to conduct it in
Bhutan. The late Buddhist leader was born in Bhutan and is related to the present
Bhutanese king through marriage.
"His Buddhist followers in Nepal are
arguing that his funeral service should take place in Nepal where he spent five decades
serving the country although he was born in Bhutan," said Ang Chhiring Lama.
According to him, the Nepali Buddhist followers
wanted to take his body to Bhutan for a brief stopover but not for the last funeral
service.
As a religious leader and social worker, late
Rimpochhe was highly revered in the Buddhist communities in Nepal.
"For us, he was everything. We would go for
his blessings from birth to death," said Dorje Gurung, a Buddhist devotee.
Recalling his contributions, Hemanta Kharel,
secretary of Remote Area Development Committee said, "Late Rimpochhe actively worked
with the committee for the preservation of monasteries in the Himalayan region as well as
upliftment of Buddhist communities to bring them into the mainstream of Nepali society.
Similarly, his role as mediator in resolving the
Khampa crisis in 2028 BS is equally notable.
Involved with 25 different Buddhist
organisations, he had worked in different capacities including chairman of the Monastery
Development Committee for many years. He also built a monastery in Bagam, established a
"Buddhist Academy", school in Jorpati where over 500 children are receiving free
education.
Late King Mahendra and King Birendra conferred
late Rimpochhe with honours such as Gorkha Dakshin Bahu.
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