Voice of Clear Light

Volume 15, Number 4 / August 2015

Rob Patzig Named President of Ligmincha International

Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche Makes Change During Summer Retreat

Rob Patzig accepted the position of President of Ligmincha International, at the request of Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, during the first week of this year’s Summer Retreat at Serenity Ridge. (Rob also will remain as chair of the Ligmincha International Board, a position he has held for the past year.) Tenzin Rinpoche has been president of Ligmincha since the organization began. He continues to hold the title of Spiritual Director and is a member of the Board of Directors. Rinpoche spoke on June 24 about what the change means to the organization and to him personally.

Rob Patzig

It has been one year since the Ligmincha International Board came together. I asked Rob Patzig to accept the position of chair of the board, and he already has served in this capacity for one year. Rob came in and helped so much on the International Board. Rob has engaged with the work of guiding our international organization with great skill and enthusiasm. I know that he spends much time each week on the many issues that arise, as he and I speak frequently about these things. He has made my life much, much easier. I now have more time for other projects, such as to write poems.

At this time I would like to ask Rob to be the President of Ligmincha International. We all have beautiful experiences being together and working with him, and we trust his guidance of this organization. Please join me in warmly welcoming Rob into this new role.

I want to say a few words about what this means for our organization. Until now I have had the title of the President. I am happy to let go of that. What does that mean overall? This does not mean that I am going away or retreating from the sangha or the students or from different countries. It means that I will have more time. I was in Austria and I asked a Tibetan friend, “Did you read my poem?” He said, “Yes, but there were too many of them! How did you find the time to do that?” First of all I love to do that. I wake up in the middle of the night with lines and I write. When inspired, every moment is there to do it. Definitely I find a lot more time now to do that, posting a lot in We Chat and Facebook. Some translations I have shared. I also have more time for everybody, for my family, to see my teacher. As you know, we have done the Soul Retrieval webcast for the whole year. I have more time to do those things. And now I can be available for more things.

If you think it is good I am no longer president, that is fine. If you are worried, don’t be. I am still there to support and help. We have a wonderful organization, with so many people helping in so many ways all over the world. I feel very happy with how things are going, and it is because of this that I feel confidence in making this change now.

I want to thank all of you who collaborate in these positions. Every single person in the sangha, each one of us, some are umdzes, some are teachers, some have specific skills and roles. Whatever they are, I see them all as opportunities to serve. These roles help us to serve more in an expanded way. I served two years as a president of the nonsectarian [Buddhist] community. That role gave me the authority to do certain things I would not otherwise have done. There is so much you can do in each of your countries, and some have done a lot. Each of us has so much opportunity to serve others. At the end of the day it is service, doing something in action and making concrete changes on a smaller and bigger scale, and I hope we all see that and work that way. My prayers of support are with all of you, and particularly those who are serving.

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Serenity Ridge Summer Retreat
June 24, 2015