The Story Behind A Remarkable Life
From an early age Akong was training to become the Abbot of Dolma Lhakang, a remote monastery in Eastern Tibet; the path of his life appeared to be clearly set out. However, political turmoil changed everything and reluctantly he had to leave the world he knew as he embarked on a dangerous 10 month journey across the Himalayas to India. Out of an escape party of 300 only 13 survived the arduous journey. Close to death from starvation in a cave in the Himalayas, Akong made a promise that if he survived, he would devote his life to helping others.
After he arrived in India, Akong met Freda Bedi, an Englishwoman who had established a refugee camp to help exiled Tibetans. Freda arranged for him to travel to the UK along with his friend Trungpa Rinpoche. In 1967 they co-founded Samye Ling in Scotland, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the West. After Trungpa left for America, Akong was responsible for the growth of Samye Ling in rural Dumfriesshire and a network of Buddhist Meditation Centres throughout Europe and Africa that have emanated from it. In 1992 he was chosen as a member of the search party seeking the rebirth of the His Holiness, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, the Tibetan Buddhist leader second in importance only to the Dalai Lama.
Akong did not forget the promise that he had made when he almost died from hunger. He established an international charitable organisation called “ROKPA” with projects in Tibet, Nepal, UK, Europe, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Alongside his spiritual mission, his humanitarian activity also flourished providing food, orphanages, education and medical facilities; fulfilling Akong’s commitment to offer “help where help is needed”.
In October 2013 Akong Rinpoche was about to embark on the latest of many journeys to bring humanitarian aid to the people of Tibet. He was murdered in Chengdu, China, along with his nephew and an attendant. Despite this shocking and tragic end to a remarkable life, the film concludes with a message of hope and possibility.
Throughout his life, Akong Rinpoche was never daunted by adversity; if anything, he seemed to seek out challenges and thrive on difficulties. Chico and everyone involved with the film found inspiration in one of Akong’s favourite sayings: “only the impossible is worth doing.” By taking on a project that seemed impossible, we all needed to work for a greater purpose; to grow beyond our self-imposed limitations. The film brought so many people together and gave us all the opportunity to test our understanding of what Akong had taught us through his words and example.
The Hart Knowe Trust offered to help Chico and his company Awareness Media Production to complete Akong – a Remarkable Life because we are so grateful to Akong Rinpoche for the impact he had on our lives. By sharing Akong’s life story in this way, we hope to remind ourselves and others that compassion is the true foundation of effective action.
Akong Rinpoche inspired tremendous loyalty in anyone who knew him. The film took on a life of its own and, whenever we asked for advice, sponsorship, interviews or help of any kind, everyone offered their time and resources asking nothing in return: they were all just happy to be able to give something back to someone who had spent his life serving others.
