Many of you know my story of having a spiritual awakening in 1981 and being hospitalized a number of times over the next year and misdiagnosed as having gone insane. It was a very difficult and traumatic time for me. After getting out of the last hospital, I became personally acquainted with an incredible Tibetan lama named Lama Rinchen, who was the head of a Tibetan Buddhist Nyingma Center in Greenwich Village, New York. If I hadn't connected with Lama Rinchen I wouldn't be in the position I am today of being a teacher and healer. While the psychiatrists were pathologizing me as having a  mental illness, Lama Rinchen showed me incredible love, compassion and kindness and gave me very powerful practices to do, which helped to heal me. He was available to meet with me whenever I needed; I will never be able to repay the kindness he has shown me.

For three weeks starting in mid-May Lama Rinchen will be visiting Portland from his home in Kathmandu, Nepal. A lineage holder of an ancient, unbroken, living wisdom tradition, Lama Rinchen will be giving sacred teachings that have been passed down in Tibet from Master to disciple for centuries. This is an incredible opportunity to have close personal contact with a genuine spiritual adept. He speaks nearly fluent English. At the time of this article, we don't have any more details about Lama Rinchen’s visit. Please call Paul Levy at (503) 234-6480 for further details.

Paul Levy is a long-time Tibetan Buddhist practitioner and is the coordinator of the Portland PadmaSambhava Buddhist Center.