The Crazy Wisdom Community Journal • September - December 2016 • Page 60
At the Heart of Everything is Dharma ~ Getting to Know Tsochen Khandro and Traktung Rinpoche of Tsogyelgar Dharma Center and White Lotus Farms
The Tsogyelgar Dharma Center is a singularly dynamic and vibrant Buddhist community set on farmland just a few miles west of downtown. Now in its 26th year of existence, the community may be best known for spawning White Lotus Farms and its delicious baked goods and dairy products. Founded and guided by an American-born couple, Katie and Stuart Kirkpatrick (who have been known by their Buddhist names for decades now), Tsogyelgar includes its own self-built Stupa, magnificent self-generated Buddhist works of art (thangkas), poetry nights, CDs of beautiful and spiritual music, and dozens of local and nationwide followers dedicated to living in a conscious and compassionate way. Tsogyelgar is a living example of the fruits of creative and iconoclastic and hands-on spiritual-based activity and effort. And it is certainly one of the best examples in this region of mindfulness in action within the context of a community of spiritual seekers. What follows is a profile by our leading feature writer, Rachel Urist, of the exceptional Tsogyelgar sangha (community of Buddhists) and its inspired founders. Eighteen years ago, we interviewed Traktung Rinpoche (here is the link: bit.ly/crazywisdomInterview1998), the male member of the husband-and-wife team. In this profile, we mostly focus on his wife, Tsochen Khandro, who is at the heart of the community, and whose contribution is largely unsung in the wider Ann Arbor region. (Together, they have two daughters, Lily and Ryan, and two grandchildren.)
By Rachel Urist Photos by Linda Lawson and by Tsogyelgar
The Farm
Driving west, Liberty Street became an unpaved country road as I watched for a sign to White Lotus Farms. Barns began appearing on either side. Suddenly, on the south side of the road, there it was, seven miles from downtown Ann Arbor. I turned left into the driveway, which became a cul-de-sac, which serves as a dirt lot. What was once farmland is now is now an intentionally planned Buddhist community. I was met by a community member who escorted me to a clapboard house. Katie Kirkpatrick awaited me there. On White Lotus Farms, she is known as Tsochen Khandro, her Tibetan name. Her husband, né Stuart Kirkpatrick, is Traktung Rinpoche [RIN-po-SHAY]. In 1990, they founded this Buddhist community, the Tsogyelgar [So-Yel-Gar] Dharma Center. Dharma is the collection of the Buddha’s teachings, and it is the path to awakening. To study Dharma is to focus intensely on the values promoted by this tradition, in order to understand them and integrate them into one’s daily life. The Kirkpatricks bought the property in 1992 and named it the Crazy Cloud Hermitage. They bought and renovated this house, but the one they call home is four miles south of the farm. Tsochen Khandro was introduced to me by her American name, but answers mainly to Tsochen Khandro, which is what she has asked to be called here. This space is warm and cozy and offers meeting space, a library, study and rest area. The bedrooms upstairs serve as living quarters for three community members. The house is surrounded by gardens, which Traktung Rinpoche carefully nurtures. It is a stone’s throw from the structural mainstays of the community. Tsochen Khandro and her husband pooled their collective inheritance to buy this and the other properties
they own. Their parents, now gone, bequeathed them a comfortable inheritance. Tsochen Khandro was in her early twenties when she lost both her parents to cancer. Now 55, she has long been accustomed to making her own way in the world.
Members of the community, some who grew up on the property, process the farm’s bounty. She gave me a tour of the grounds. The farm spans fifteen acres, with hoop-houses, barns, sheds for goats, chickens, and ducks, gardens, a pond, stone statuary, planted acreage, and buildings of varying size. Members of the community, some who grew up on the property, process the farm’s bounty. A bakery produces rustic breads, along with delicate croissants and pastries. A creamery produces an array of artisanal cheeses, many of them made with goats’ milk. The farm has produced sweets, including cajeta, a Mexican caramel-type confection made of goats’ milk. And, of course, there is organic produce galore. The farm’s business owners (creamery, bakery, farm) keep their proceeds, because the farm does not operate as a commune. The financial arrangements follow a modified capitalist system. Those who work in the businesses make salaries; they’re paid employees. Any profits above and beyond salaries belong to the whole. Several of the employees also work as the Buddhist equivalent of Catholic lay brothers and sisters, but live a vow of poverty, so the community pays for them — room and board, health insurance. “Community” refers to the Tsogyelgar Dharma Center. Everyone associated with the farm is a student of Buddhism. Some of the community members have purchased their own homes, bordering the farm or nearby. Tsochen Khandro led me to a penned-in area and introduced me to the goats and this year’s kids. The animals nuzzled against us, asking to be petted. Chickens