The following letter is from Lama Tashi, Mingyur Rinpoche’s close friend and attendant, and describes how he accidently met Rinpoche in Boudhanath and arranged to later meet up with Rinpoche in the mountains.

Dear kind and loving lord of refuge Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Mayum [Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Mingyur Rinpoche’s mother],
I hope you are both well and that your efforts to benefit the Buddha’s teachings and beings are effortlessly and perfectly accomplished just as you intend. With respect, I would now like to relate to you the following:

On June 12th, I visited [Boudhanath] stupa on some errands. Between three and four o’clock in the afternoon, I was walking around the stupa and I saw a yogi walking along, carrying two big bags. “The way that person carries himself seems familiar to me,” I thought to myself, but I wasn’t sure who it was so I didn’t give it much thought.

Not long after that, I again saw him near a store next to the stupa. He was a thin, bearded man. I felt that I had seen him before, so I glanced back, as he was walking five or ten steps behind me, and then he quickened his pace. Upon seeing him, I experienced an indescribable feeling, at which point I felt that I had to pay close attention

As I followed him, I thought to myself, “I wonder who this is?” The way he carried himself made me feel that I had some connection with him. I hurried after him, thinking that I would ask who he was, and it was then that I realized it was Mingyur Rinpoche. I continued to chase after him, but then he got into a taxi, so I quickly caught a taxi as well. He eventually stopped near a bus stop in Balaju and entered a shoddy place called the Bedro Hotel. That is where I finally met him.

We expressed our amazement at meeting one another and had a leisurely conversation. I told him everything that had happened in his absence, inside and out, as best I could recall, and answered his questions. Rinpoche then told me a bit about his own situation. He had just finished a period of strict retreat in Yolmo and was on his way to Dolpo. He had stopped at the stupa to get some tsampa, butter, cheese, and other provisions for the journey. He then asked what I had been up to. I then begged him again and again to let me accompany him. In response, he said, “This time, you may not come to Dolpo with me, but you may join me at a later date in Sharuk.” He then ordered me to keep this news secret. The next morning, he left for Dolpo. [It appears that the rest of the letter is missing]

Ref: Tergar Learning Community Website (Dated 1-17-14)
Photos taken by Lama Tashi in September 2013