By Heydi Carter
In January 2015, Princess Ashi Kesang Choden T Wangchuck, granddaughter of Her Royal Majesty 3rd Queen of Bhutan, and her daughter came to spend a couple months in the US. They spent much of their time in the Seattle-Bellevue area where Ashi Kesang was training and working on fundraising efforts for monastic conservation projects in Bhutan.
On the evening of Guru Rinpoche Tsok they had their first visit to Sakya Monastery of Seattle, where Ashi Kesang payed her respects to H.H. Dagchen Rinpoche, H.E. Dagmo Kusho and the Sakya family. We are grateful to Tulku Yeshi Rinpoche for introducing Ashi Kesang to the Sakya family and Sangha in Seattle. Princess Ashi Kesang’s family was especially happy to hear of her meetings with H.H. Dagchen Rinpoche and the Sakya Family. H.E. Dagmo Kusho is her grandmother, the Queen’s, long-time friend. After the Tsok ceremony, Ashi Kesang expressed how happy she was to finally see a stupa – it was the first stupa she had seen since she left Bhutan! Her 10 year old daughter, Tashi, was especially impressed to see an American woman at the Tsok who had all of her prayers memorized in Tibetan language!
Sakya Monastery’s VEI program kindly welcomed Princess Ashi Kesang to be a part of their Guest Lecture Series in February. Ashi Kesang presented historical accounts and heart-warming narratives of Bhutan’s ancient sacred sites and artworks, as well as their current-day preservation efforts. The accompanying slideshow contained breath-taking imagery, including photos of statues and sacred sites of Guru Rinpoche which are not usually available for public viewing (in fact the only other place they could be seen is in her editorial publication, Zangdok Palri: Lotus Light Palace of Guru Rinpoche).
The Sakya Monastery is very grateful to Princess Ashi Kesang for gracing us with her presence and providing us with a unique opportunity to see a glimpse of the rare and sacred images in Bhutan. We are very grateful to Dagmo Kusho and Tulku Yeshi Rinpoche for gracing this presentation with their attendance, to the Sakya Monastery and VEI program for providing this unique platform, and to all the Sangha members who energized the evening with their wonderful enthusiasm!
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Photos courtesy Lincoln Potter