The Scholar Who Got the Highest Teachings....

While I first met Robin when my wife and I were his next-door neighbors at the first year Vajradhatu Seminary was held at Bedford Springs PA, I didn't get to know him well until he moved to Milwaukee.

I had left the organization in the wake of the Regent debacle, and was studying (and continue to study) with Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. Robin and I bonded over our mutual interest in Dzogchen and our love for the teachings of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. We probably averaged close to a call per day for the last 8 years or so, ranging far and wide, and always at some point laughing our asses off. Robin's fierce loyalty to his teacher was beginning to manifest in concern that somehow the teachings he loved were being subtly displaced. When the Chronicles Project was begun I know that it was incredibly heartening for him.

Along with all that loyalty there was also a real desire to continue on the path and that meant Dzogchen, Maha Ati, the 9th Yana. One day I got a call from an old friend. Out of the blue, he said that there was a Lama in the US on a visit, and I should invite him to teach in Milwaukee. Later that day I talked to Robin and he said 'He called you? He called me and said the same thing!' We decided to collaborate, and invented the fictitous 'Ad Hoc Rime Committee' to host the event. That is how Robin met his Dzogchen teacher Wangdor Rinpoche, also known as Lama Wangdor, the retreat master at the caves of Padmasambhava at Tso Pema, Himchal Pradesh, India.

Most dharma events in this country are put on by organizations or in some cases sponsored by wealthy individuals. We certainly did not fall into either category. But we could scrape up airfare and groceries, and Rinpoche and his translator stayed in the flat above Robin's (Lama Chonam and Sangye Khandro were out of town). They had groundrules - anyone who showed up was allowed to attend the teachings, regardless of their level of experience, and we could not charge for the teachings! This is where Robin's network of friends really showed. He finagled the use of the Shambhala Center in Milwaukee (eternal thanks!) and many friends helped out. The place was packed, the teachings wonderful. People made offerings directly to Rinpoche and his translator Lama Lena, and we separately collected enough donations to defray our costs and give several hundred dollars to the center. Tom Sawyer's fence meets Maha Ati!

So we did it again and again. And our trust in karma grew, as well as our trust in the self-secret nature of the teachings themselves. Some of this was reflected in the article Robin wrote about the language of Dzogchen in Buddhadharma magazine a few years back. Wangdor Rinpoche last visited Milwaukee this June, and this time the Ad Hoc Rime Committee was joined by the Shambhala Center as co-sponsors of the event. Robin was too sick to attend the teachings at the center, but Rinpoche came to Robin's home and gave him and his translation group a short and incredibly direct Dzogchen teaching from his root guru Nyala Changchub Dorje. He had given it to a few of us privately on his previous visit - this time he went through it line by line, word by word. Robin was like the Robin of old, totally animated and engaged, smacking himself on the forehead and saying 'THAT'S what that means!!'. It was a joy for this non-translator to be a fly on the wall of that session....

Robin got one more teaching from Wangdor Rinpoche. Rinpoche called him late in the afternoon on Thursday July 26, and gave him instruction on practice in the Bardo, both the 'ideal' method and a 'backup' method - in case he was in the hospital and things were confusing. He also pointed out his mind yet again, and confirmed Robin's understanding. Robin then got a piano lesson (from all reports he played beautifully) and then got up and collapsed. He never regained consciousness.

Almost every student of Tibetan Buddhism tells stories about their teacher. It is not so common for a teacher to tell stories about their students. A few years ago Robin requested and received Thogal instructions from Wangdor Rinpoche, one - to - one. Rinpoche and Lama Lena were then taken to my home for a dinner. Robin never showed. Afterwards, I called, and it turned out he got lost 3 times on the way home! The next day, on the way to the airport, Rinpoche told me about 'The Scholar who came to get the highest teachings, and couldn't find his way home' and then laughed so hard he was crying... He told one more story about Robin, while teaching the 3 Words that Strike to the Essence in Marin County, when Robin was on a ventilator near death. He cited Robin as an example of a westerner who had truly achieved realization.

So long, old man!

Michael Sullivan