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Dear Good People of the Chögyam Trungpa Institute Community,
Recently I was listening to a morning show on CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Company) Radio. The Current had several guests talking about upcoming ceremonies for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. As you may know, this iconic building was severely damaged by a fire in 2019. French President Emanuel Macron pledged to rebuild the Cathedral within four years. Five years later, his pledge has been accomplished, and the cathedral has now been feted and has formally reopened.
I found the discussion of Notre Dame and the rebuilding of the Cathedral inspirational and relevant to what we are doing with the Chögyam Trungpa Digital Library. The first guest on the radio show was a commentator who has intimately followed and reported on the damage and the rebuilding. So important to France, Notre Dame is where you are directed if you simply put “Paris” into your GPS from outside the city. Notre Dame, Our Lady, is called “She,” because she is so revered by all Parisians and all of France, and indeed by much of the world. Beloved by people of all political and spiritual persuasions, even during the French Revolution, she was one of the only churches left intact because of her meaning to all.
Following the fire, she was rebuilt with traditional methods and materials, out of respect for what Notre Dame represents to the French people and their traditions. The next guest was a blacksmith, who was called out of retirement to work on the reconstruction. His role was to forge axes that were then used to hew the wood to rebuild the church in the traditional way with the traditional tool he created – so that in every detail the “new” Notre Dame would resemble the old. Magnifique!
Notre Dame is the timeless embodiment of the history and spirit of France. Throughout the world, many cultural institutions and properties are similarly the living embodiment of the spirit of a country, a people, a culture. They are not just a piece of the past; they embody the seamless connections between past with the present and the future.
Transfixed by these interviews, and as mentioned above, I found myself making connections between Notre Dame’s re-emergence and the importance of our work on the Digital Library.
Sacre Bleu! I do not mean to sound arrogant or pompous about our endeavors. However, I feel that the teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche are also a timeless reservoir of wisdom and sanity. Indeed, what we are gathering together in the Digital Library can be an inspiration and a beacon for future generations. Bien sûr!
As Albie Sachs wrote: “Hope rises like a phoenix from the ashes of shattered dreams.” Literally, this is the tale of the rebuilding of Notre Dame. It can inspire all of us as we work to rise above the profound difficulties in our lives and in our world. Notre Dame, She, is thus like the Star of Bethlehem – itself such a universal symbol that even Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche called upon this image of hope. We offer his words as our year-end gift to you all in the clip above.
Let us celebrate our traditions, and work to keep alive the spirit and the substance of the dharma presented by the Vidyadhara, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. In that spirit, we ask you to join us! We deeply thank you for all your expressions of support, of many kinds, and we wish you a peaceful and cheerful new year.
The future presents huge challenges for all of us. Working together, may all our efforts contribute to a peaceful and sustainable world.
Yours in the Stars in the Vast Sky of Dharma,
Carolyn Gimian
For all of us at the Chögyam Trungpa Institute