By Fiona O’Shaughnessy

I first went to Lawudo two years ago, in December 2004, to do a three week retreat. The silence, breathtaking beauty of the place itself, and the favourable environment led me back there again to do retreat in December 2006.

Lawudo is not the birthplace of Lama Zopa Rinpoche but the place where he spent the last 20 years of his previous life in intense retreat. When he was born in Thame, about one hour’s walk from Lawudo, he was quickly recognised as the reincarnation of the Lawudo Lama. However, the family of the previous Lawudo Lama did not recognise him until almost thirty years later. They donated the farm and all the Lawudo Lama’s belongings to Lama Zopa Rinpoche. This is when his mother and his sister, Ani Ngawang Samten, moved there to live. There were joined by a local Sherpa monk, Ven Tsultrim Norbu, about 25 years ago. 

Lawudo the hermitage

Lawudo is not an easy place to get to; from Kathmandu one gets a small plane to Lukla, which is the small airport carved into the mountain in the Everest region of Solu Khumbu.

Then, one has to walk for three days up rather steep mountains. There are no other homes on that part of the mountain apart from the gompa. There is a hamlet called Mende at the foot of Lawudo, where there is a new lodge built exclusively for wealthy trekkers. It takes a fit person an hour to climb from Mende to the gompa. There are no shops nearby so if you run out of rice or flour, you have to walk to Namche Bazaar – a three hour trek!

This is great if you are on retreat and don’t want any distractions but it makes for a tough living environment. Lawudo frequently gets snowed in in wintertime; I experienced what I thought was a heavy snow storm when I was there. Apparently it was a “light shower.” Sherpas are hardy people and they are used to the harsh conditions but no matter how hardy one is, the body eventually gets old and decrepit and one can no longer perform all the tasks one used to do with ease.

The history of Lawudo and its lamas pervades the place. The Lawudo Lama’s relics stupa is kept in the cave. The purkhang (cremation stupa) is a ten minute walk from the cave. Inside the cave itself there is a whole collection of items belonging to the Lawudo Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche including a statue of Guru Rinpoche Padmasambvha, and a statue of the Lawudo Lama himself. One gets a great sense of the compassionate bodhisattva at work, returning life after lifetime to help living beings escape their suffering.

In this life, Rinpoche did several retreats in the cave and he often refers to his time there as a very special experience. His book, The Door To Satisfaction, was conceptualised while he was in Lawudo to oversee the building of the gompa. His plan was to build a monastery where Sherpa boys could get a traditional monastic education. However, this plan changed when it became clear that it was untenable to ferry large groups of young monks between Kopan and Lawudo. So now it is simply a hermitage for those who want to live in isolation but enjoy the great care offered by Rinpoche’s family.

Lawudo is not just a beautiful place surrounded by stunning scenery. It is the place where our guru achieved states of consciousness we cannot comprehend. The place is steeped in history and Sherpa culture. Most importantly though, is the atmosphere in Lawudo; it feels as if it steeped in blessings. Sitting in the cave and just being in the moment, without reciting, without prostrating, doing nothing but just being in the presence, this is my abiding memory of Lawudo.