A letter from a friend

First letter from David

On Saturday, March 22, 2008, 1:31 pm, David I. Lynch wrote:

Greetings and a very warm hello, Venerable Thubten Chodron and all at Sravasti Abbey,

I wanted to just say thank you for the amazing website and all of the wonderful teachings provided on it.

I am currently confined to a wheelchair recovering from having my right leg amputated below the knee from a gang shooting in Detroit in 2000; seven surgeries and an amputation here I am.

I must admit this has been a very eye-opening experience as well as one that has opened my mind and heart up to a true understanding of the teachings of the Buddha and all Dharma. I have been “practicing” Buddhism since the late 1980s but never really practiced beyond going through the motions of some very light meditation and a small amount of true study. So it is better to say that I was exposed to Buddhism and professed it but was not really practicing or applying it in my life.

For the past year I have been in this wheelchair and have been alone and have devoted myself to a deeper understanding and practice that is truly meaningful. Your teachings and knowledge of the Dharma are so easy for me to understand and your writing style is again so accessible for me to grasp what I have struggled with.

I am anxiously awaiting getting my prosthetic leg and walking. Once I accomplish that, I would love to come and visit all of you at Sravasti Abbey and share the experience and deepen my practice and understanding. I have been struggling with no money but have managed to get through this and it truly has made me a better person and, as crazy as it sounds, if this is what it took to wake me up it was a fair exchange.

I wanted to say thank you for being such a wonderfully loving and compassionate human being, so giving of your time and understanding of the Dharma. As soon as I get back to work I will get your new book/CD set and implement it into my daily practice and start sending money to help assist you in your spreading of the Dharma.

Your website has been a beacon in the wilderness for me.

Many thanks,
David

May love, compassion and wisdom guide you

Second letter from David

On Wednesday, April 2, 2008, 4:39 pm, David I. Lynch wrote:

Hi Venerable Thubten Chodron and all,

I got an email back from you and I wanted to thank you for your kindness. I look forward to getting the Guided Meditation book and implementing it into my daily practice and I continue to listen to the teachings on your website. They are so inspiring and easy to listen to and follow. You have made my desire and passion for more explode.

I guess this is the right time for me to receive them. I have downloaded a bunch of them. I am going to Lexington, Kentucky next week to be fitted with a prosthetic leg and then to a rehab facility to learn how to walk again.

I feel like I have been reborn and now with the Three Jewels and all of these wonderful teachings and a new leg, I have. This “accident” has changed my life in such a positive way.

I knew that my career choice was wrong for me. I lied and cheated to keep drug dealers on the street and I was good at it but at what cost?

I am so excited that in the 1980s I had the privilege to have met and been taught by Gelek Rimpoche at Jewel Heart in Ann Arbor, Michigan and get introduced to Tibetan Buddhism and I studied and meditated and practiced and professed being a Buddhist and yet I lived such an immoral lifestyle with my career and the people I associated with.

So getting shot by a client and losing my leg certainly are understandable results and consequences to my lifestyle. I have been able to take this lesson as my wake-up call and to right my upside-down life.

I moved to eastern Kentucky in the mountains and have changed my lifestyle. My diet and my life is much better and with my time I have been able to really get serious about a true and real practice for my enlightenment for the enlightenment of all sentient beings.

I simply want to thank you for your kindness, compassion and awesome website and the instruction you provide. I can truthfully say I will never be the same again.

I am currently listening to your teachings on the lamrim teachings and the outline provided on your web page. I have studied it for many years and have never truly understood it. I feel like I am getting it for the first time.

Your explanations and meditations and teaching have opened the path for me. Again I want to say thank you for making this available and accessible for anyone who wants to learn.

I am very thankful for everything that you have done and continue to do. I look forward to visiting Sravasti Abbey once I am walking and able. I look forward to that day with delight.

I remain very truly yours,
David Lynch
Prestonsburg, KY 41653