Lama Feels Spirit of City While Testing His Soles
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
The New York Times, November 7, 2005
Among the runners gathered to meet their supporters at the corner of
69th Street and Central Park West after the New York City Marathon
yesterday was an internationally renowned Tibetan lama.
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is the spiritual director of Shambhala, a
global
network of Buddhist meditation centers.
He travels the world teaching meditation while trying to raise money to
rebuild a monastic college in Surmang Dudtsi-til in Tibet. His father,
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who was largely credited with spreading
Buddhism in the West, was once the monastery's abbot.
In his first appearance in the event, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and his
running team of three finished in 3 hours 26 minutes - a solid time for
amateur marathoners.
He said he meditated while running.
"I concentrated on my breathing and feeling the feet hitting the
ground,
for a sense of rhythm," he said. "There is so much intensity of people
wanting you to do well."
Rinpoche, 42, embraced running during his travels. He said he was
spending so much time teaching and meditating that he wanted to add a
physical component to his routine. He also saw running as a way to
experience the outdoors on his visits.
Rinpoche enjoyed running so much that he began entering marathons and
seeking donations from sponsors.
He raised $200,000 in his previous four marathons and said he hoped to
raise $100,000 in this one.
He said he needed $250,000 to rebuild the monastic college, which was
destroyed in 1959 when China invaded Tibet.
Rinpoche said that the New York City Marathon was about enjoying the
atmosphere and finishing the race, not the competition.
"At the beginning, the runners wanted to go faster, but we felt like we
better be safe," he said, referring to the money his sponsors would
have
held back if they had not finished.
Afterward, Rinpoche beamed as he was swarmed by Buddhists with whom he
had spent last week meditating.
He is on a nine-city North American tour promoting his second book,
"Ruling Your World."
"It was more a group festival than a competition," Rinpoche said as he
talked about the energy from the crowd and the bands who played as they
ran.
The team of runners that travels with Rinpoche agreed that it was one
of
the most enjoyable marathons they had run. Nick Trautz, a native of
Vermont who travels and runs with Rinpoche, said he was caught up in
the
atmosphere.
"Running through the ethnic neighborhoods was like running through
different countries," he said. "It was a joyful experience throughout.
At times, I had to remind myself I was actually running. Everything was
so elevated and exciting."