Being a Monk
Below is a letter Rinpoche wrote to a monk living in Europe. The advice was written on four postcards, one of which had a picture of hundreds of sunflowers in South Dakota.
My very dear one,
I don’t know your holy monk name, sorry. I think you definitely should try to achieve shinä in this life and try to complete some dzogrim (not Dzogchen, the wife. That is too confusing). You have a very good opportunity as a monk. You can create vast amounts of merit, which makes achieving enlightenment quicker, and with less obstacles. By living in this condition, having vows, the merit you create with every practice you do increases so much. For you it is better to be a monk. Let go of the other life, the attachment. If you don’t achieve something in this life, there is no other time for it.
Otherwise, you will experience the suffering of samsara without end. Do you really like that or not? Also, you cannot do perfect work for others without being liberated yourself from samsara and from the subtle defilements. Maybe it might be good for you to do shinä retreat at a retreat center. I plan to buy 300 acres of land in New York. You could also do it in Lawudo or in Dharamsala.
All these sunflowers are happily waiting for you to achieve enlightenment.
With much love and prayer...