Open letter from Mick Brown to Shamar Rinpoche
IIIIIIIII
Date: 19.07.2005
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HH
Shamar Rinpoche Dear Shamar Rinpoche: Thank you for your letter of March 16. My apologies for not replying to you sooner. Unfortunately, your letter had been addressed incorrectly and therefore took some time to actually reach me. On the question of the donation, I spoke to a number of people on both sides of the controversy and also to disinterested parties, who wished, for their own reasons, to remain anonymous. As I am sure you will appreciate, I am duty-bound to honor the assurances I gave them. I feel I have addressed the matters of the Rumtek court case and Topga Rinpoche in my earlier correspondence. Receipt of your letters has turned me to the Karmapa-issue web-site where I find another posting concerning my book from Lama Thubten Gyaltsen. Perhaps I could address this matter now. Lama Thubten is incorrect in assuming that I drew my information on the Black Crown from any of the people he suggests. I did not discuss the history of the Black Crown with Tai Situ Rinpoche, Akong Rinpoche or Tenzin Namgyal. All my information about the history of the Crown, the existence of a replica and the uncertainty over which Crown had been brought from Tsurphu was drawn from previously published material. If, as Lama Thubten maintains, it is the original Black Crown that was brought from Tsurphu then I will happily ensure that the line over the “uncertainty” is removed from subsequent printings of my book. I am sure too that confirmation that it is the original Crown will be welcome news to many of the devotees I spoke to—some of whom are quoted in the book—who witnessed His Holiness the 16th Karmapa perform the Vajra Crown ceremony. Perusing your web-site further, I see that you have chosen once again to publish the July 2004 letter to me from Neeraj K.C. I replied to Neeraj KC in full at the time, pointing out the numerous inaccuracies in his account, and I regret that you have not seen fit to extend me the courtesy of publishing my reply on your site. Perhaps my reply went missing. In the event that is the case, I have enclosed a copy of my original letter. Yours sincerely, Mick Brown -------------------------------------------------------
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