Zopa Rinpoche and Tubten Lama Yeshe. Born in Western Australia in 1956, Roger Munro realised from a young age that his views of the world were “different” from others in his culture. One of his earliest memories of an unusual “realisation” happened at a playground around the age of 9. A friend had asked him if it was possible to teach colour to a blind man. To his surprise, Roger began to postulate an answer to this question; and through a series of thought processes and analysis, Roger came to the conclusion that colours derived meaning and value from what our own minds projected on it. Without our mind projections, the colour red has no real meaning. It was these little philosophical discoveries within his own mind that led him to seek greater understanding of the true meaning of his life. In later years, he would come to realise that these moments were memories left behind by strong imprints planted in previous lives! For many years since that playground moment, Roger
searched but could not meet anyone in his own culture with whom he could relate spiritually or philosophically. He felt very lost and began to give up hope on his society. By the age of 18, after living his teenage years in a wild and aimless way, Roger made a decision to end his life.
the mind, then logically you’ ll believe that if you end your brain, the mind and all its troubles will end.
“If you believe in the scientific view that the brain is what creates
Unfortunately, this isn’t true as I was about to find out!”
He began to explore ways to end his life. Ten one
night, Roger was shown a “glimpse” of what his afterlife would look like should he go through with his plan. It came to him in a lucid dream where the entire experience of death and “what happens after death” was revealed to him. Roger describes how real it felt, and to this day he remembers it in vivid detail.
DREAMING OF DEATH / BEING REBORN First, he saw himself jumping off a building and dying. What followed immediately was a “judgement scene”, where he found himself standing before a high court presided by five judges wearing wigs and capes. He was accused of taking his own life, and was about to be sentenced to Reviving Hell for millions of years. He saw himself being reborn in hell, where he was repeatedly tortured to death, then revived and put to death and revived again and again. Te suffering was so terrifying that he found himself begging the judges for mercy. Next, he was shown what a great life he had missed
out on by having committed suicide – the beautiful life he gave up – the life of himself as a high practitioner of the Dharma, gaining miraculous realisations, practising the path to ultimate happiness. Te regret he felt after seeing what he
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LEAVING AUSTRALIA / GOING ABROAD Roger left his life in Western Australia and moved to Queensland and later to India in pursuit of Dharma. Leaving his old life behind also meant ending his marriage with his first wife. After parting ways amicably, she sent him back her wedding ring, together with a statue of the Goddess Tara and a book containing the “Songs of Milarepa”. Upon receiving it Roger was overcome with waves of self-pity and sorrow as he contemplated the wisdom of his decision. Weeping woefully, a little voice inside prompted him to open up the Songs of Milarepa for counsel. Staring back at him was advice from Milarepa reminding him how transient and impermanent his current life was. With that, Roger felt certain that his decision was the right one; that his quest for ending his suffering in current and future lives for himself and others was now his priority. Roger has never looked back since.
After coming to the Chenrezig Institute (Queensland)
and later to Sera Je (India) and eventually to California, Roger had the great good fortune of serving many high Tibetan Lamas either as their attendants or their cook! Trough these experiences Roger earned the privilege of living closely and learning, discussing and debating
JULY/AUGUST 2011 | FENGSHUIWORLD 31
had given up was far more unbearable than the regret of being reborn in hell. Roger found himself back at the courtroom expressing tremendous regret and pleading for a second chance. By the grace of the Buddhas, a second chance was granted; Roger remembered zooming back into his present life, everything happening in reverse, his dead broken body put back together again as he woke up. Tanks to his strong past-life connection with the
Buddhas, this near-death experience saved him and changed him forever!
GIVING UP FISHING / MEETING HIS GURUS He began living life with the aim of helping others. Shortly afterwards he received a book as a gift, and inside it was a line that said “when the disciple is ready, all they need do is ask, and the Guru would manifest.” On reading this, Roger began to pray that he would meet his Guru. Six months later in 1979, Roger received news that two Tibetan Buddhist Lamas were coming to Melbourne to give teachings. As soon as he set eyes on both Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe’s photographs, he knew without a doubt that both men were his spiritual Fathers. Around that time, Roger was involved in the business of fishing; killing thousands of fish daily as a way of making a living. After attending Lama Zopa’s teaching in Melbourne, everything changed. From the back seat of the Gompa, he saw Lama Zopa’s aura radiate and brighten up in a cocoon of golden light while teaching the profound topic of Sunyata (Emptiness), the true nature of all phenomena. Lama’s teaching on the samsaric wheel of karma (cause and effect) led him to understand the terrible consequences of killing these helpless fishes. From that day, he knew that he had to stop fishing for a living. Te rest, as he says to me, is “history”!
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