The Russian Princess Buddhist Nun
When we see the words ‘royalty’ and ‘Hollywood’, most of us immediately think glamour, richness and indulgence. Many of us are envious of the lifestyle that Hollywood actors and actresses lead… or have, at one point in time, thought about what it would be like to be leading the life of a movie star!
If you were given the opportunity to be reborn as both royalty and a Hollywood actress, would you take it?
Zina Rachevsky was both “royalty” and a Hollywood actress. She was also born into an incredibly wealthy family, where her grandfather was the founder of SW Straus & Co.
SW Straus & Co was a mortgage and bond banker, who created the first mortgage real estate bond in 1909. In 1922, they were established to hold loans across the United States amounting to $150,000,000. Remember, this was back in 1922! They also owned hotels in LA and New York, and built what is now known as the Metropolitan Tower in Chicago… it was the tallest structure back then!
Zina’s mother, Harriet Straus Rachevsky, was a heiress and one of the richest women in the US. Her father was Vladimir Rachevsky, who was the brother-in-law to the Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich Romanov (a direct descendant of Czar Alexander II of Russia).
Her father did not have direct royal blood, but during the 1920s, so long as there was any connection to royal blood, royal titles were freely used on foreign soil to impress people. For Zina’s father, the title stuck in America.
Her father and mother both met in Paris, and secretly wedded. In September 1930, Zina was born in the Ambassador Hotel of New York (pic; left). She was known to be a bright and smart girl… and being brought up in Hollywood, she became the typical product of Tinseltown.
She became a Hollywood actress, but was better known as an international socialite. She made it onto the headlines of newspapers and front covers of magazines, as she was actively involved in love and drug scandals.
She was beautiful, Marilyn Monroe-esque and wild. At the age of 18, she married Count Bernard d’Harcourt for 2 years… and during that time she changed her Hollywood name from Princess Zina to Countess d’Harcourt.
Her life continued to be as colourful as her background… who would have thought that Zina would also be, according to Lama Yeshe, the “cooperative cause for the existence of Kopan Monastery.”
It was Zina who wanted to create a place where creative people could convene and learn meditation from Lama Zopa and Lama Yeshe. From her idea, came Kopan Monastery!
I have been and still continue to be inspired by Zina, her meeting with the Lamas, her contribution, her temper, her diva-like character, her transformation, her faith in the lamas and eventually her ascending into Kechara Paradise as said by Lama Yeshe, Trulshik Rinpoche and Kyabje Zong Rinpoche. I am so happy Zina is in a good place now.
I read Zina was not an easy person to be around. Very temperamental, very difficult and controlling. She had a hard time getting along with many people. She would even attempt to control Lama Yeshe who was compassionate enough and skillful to ‘tame’ her into a dakini like lady. Her being very difficult inspires me more. Because often in Dharma organizations you expect everyone to listen to Dharma, accept and transform so you have angels running around. But the opposite is true of this. Many respect, listen and accept Dharma but few actually practice to the point of transformation. That is a fact. And if you ‘push their buttons’ like Lama Yeshe was legendary for doing, they can run away in a blink of an eye. Many do run. They even ran from Lama Yeshe! Some came back and some didn’t. But that is ok, in time they will realize what they lost and will have a turn around. Zina was temperamental, wealthy and wanted to create a place for all her arty socialite friends to have respite on weekends for detox, spirituality and truth. She was very sharp and knew the party life was going to get her and her friends nowhere, so that is how Kopan got conceptualized in a nut shell. And look what it has grown into today. How beautiful. You have to read about Zina and be inspired.
You have to read about Lama Yeshe and be double inspired. I reproduced everything here to let the world know how wonderful Zina was and how anyone from any background can transform. I wanted everyone to know how wonderful Lama Yeshe was. I have admired, respected, loved and deeply trust in Lama Yeshe since very young. I use to read about Lama Yeshe and wished when I grew up I can be like him (far from being like him now) but I wished that very much. Reading about Lama Yeshe always brings tears to my eyes and chokes me up because you can feel his extraordinary love even from his pictures. I really want the world to know about him and what he has done. Therefore I reproduced this here.
Read the post below written by David Lai to read more about Zina’s journey to nunhood!
Tsem Rinpoche
Zina in her heyday in Hollywood…
One of the hotels that Zina’s grandfather owned.
Zina Rachevsky on the cover of PARIS LIFE.
On the cover of Focus magazine in 1953.
A write up on Zina on Cine Revue.
The many shots of Zina in 1953.
On the cover of Tempo magazine.
The beautiful heiress.
Front cover story on a love triangle between Zina and 2 high society boys.
Zina’s mother, Harriet Straus Rachevsky.
Ordination day of Zina Rachevsky. Lama Yeshe is third from the right…
Zina Rachevsky with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa. She’s seated on the ground on the left.
Zina Rachevsky with Trulshik Rinpoche in 1972.
Zina Rachevksy with Lama Yeshe in 1967.
Zina and her daughter Rhea.
From David Lai’s blog: http://www.davidlai.me/2013/05/16/the-russian-princess-who-became-a-nun/
The Russian Princess Who Became A Nun
Zina Rachevsky as a Hollywood actress in 1953
The legendary Zina Rachevsky was the earliest Western student and patron of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Everything about her including her royal heritage had become legendary. Her family was incredibly wealthy to begin with. Her grandfather established SW Straus & Co. that held loans on a string of buildings across the United States that was worth $150 million dollars in those days.
In 1930, her grandfather passed away and it was also the year that Zina was born. She was a precocious, intelligent and an independent child. She grew up to be a Hollywood actress and gained her reputation as an international socialite. She married Count Bernard d’Harcourt when she was only 18 and then divorced him two years later. At one point, she would be seen with the likes of screen legend Marlon Brando. She would later give birth to a son, Alex by Conrad Rooks, a troubled filmmaker and a daughter, Rhea Rechevsky.
Her apparent royal background was really not what it seems and it was a part of her family lineage that she embraced in order to avoid anti-Semitic backlash considering the other Jewish part of her family line. Her father was the brother-in-law to the Grand Duke Boris, the last of the Russian Romanovs. Her father and his wife, Harriet got married in 1929, about 12 years after the Russian Revolution. It was her family ties with the Grand Duke that Zina assumed her identity as the wild Russian Princess and it became a part of her larger-than-life persona that many still remember her by.
Zina had everything – money, fame, beauty and a string of marriages and relationships but she was deeply unhappy and that triggered her soul-searching. In 1965, Zina came to India and it was in India that she encountered Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa. Before meeting the lamas, she had read about Domo Geshe Rinpoche in Alexander David Neel’s book. To her delight, her guide brought her right to Lama Zopa, who was also known as Domo Rinpoche simply because he was a tulku of Dungkar Gompa. Domo is the name of the area around Dungkar monastery and tulkus of the monastery is traditionally named after the area. Lama Zopa and Lama Yeshe at that time never had any encounters with Westerners and Lama Yeshe was pleasantly surprise to learn that Zina came to them in search of enlightenment. At that time, the Tibetans regarded Westerners as mere spiritual barbarians, unable to perceive the value of the Dharma. Zina with her characteristic intensity shattered that view.
Portrait of Lama Yeshe, Zina Rachevsky and Lama Zopa in 1967
Thus began her involvement with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa with a long line of endless questions. Her thirst for the Dharma was unquenchable and her faith in Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa was equally unwavering all through the years. In the earlier days, she would also request Lama Yeshe to teach a meditation course but he would refuse, probably due to his limited English vocabulary in those days. So, she turned to Lama Zopa to teach and after pestering him, he finally agreed with Lama Yeshe’s approval of course. At the same time, she brought many Western students to study with them. She returned to America to share what she had learnt and celebrated thanksgiving at Mary Jane “Max” Matthews’ home. Max Matthews or Mummy Max as she became affectionately known would eventually become a key sponsor of the monks and Kopan Monastery. She later became ordained as a nun as well.
In the beginning, it was obvious that Zina was in control. She was extremely thirsty for the Dharma but didn’t know anything about Buddhist traditions and rituals. On one occasion, Max purchased an antique statue and excitedly showed it to the Lamas. Lama Yeshe said that the statue looked pretty good but he wanted to examine the holy items encased within the statue. So, Lama Zopa and Lama Yeshe performed a puja in Max’s bedroom, which was in the basement of the house. The puja was to ritually open the statue and after examining the items within and then another puja was performed to consecrate the statue again.
However, everyone else just went upstairs and started to party away and forgot about the chanting lamas in the basement. Later, they felt an energy emanating from the basement and the soft sounds of the bell and the tapping sound of the damaru wafted through. They went downstairs only to realize that the energy came from the statue. Apparently, the statue was very old and that it contained holy relics of the previous Buddha. Everyone sat in a semi-circle to bask in the holy energy that permeated the room. A deep conversation soon ensued about what everybody wanted to do with their lives. Zina confessed that she had created a lot of bad karma in this life and that she wanted to ‘make up’ by creating a place where people could come, work and study the Dharma with the lamas. That was how the idea for Kopan monastery was born.
Zina would promote her Lamas with whomever she met and even brought a French film crew to Tibet in order to film Lawudo cave in Khumbu. Lawudo was where Lama Yeshe was born and the cave was the place where Lama Zopa’s previous life meditated in. Over time, she bought land and founded Nepal Mahayana Gompa Retreat center that eventually became Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Even as she was devoted to her Lama, she found herself constantly arguing with Max. Although far removed from their familiar environment, one thing remained the same – they were both used to being the center of attention. Some American students were shocked by the manner in which Zina and Max fought for ‘control’ over the lamas that these students would repeatedly reassure the lamas that not all Americans behave in this manner. In those days, Zina would be over-protective of Lama Yeshe and she would not let anybody meet Lama Yeshe and she would tell visitors that Lama is busy. It seems that she wanted to keep Lama Yeshe all to herself.
Some were even shocked by the manner in which Zina had housed the lamas. At Kopan, Zina stayed in a large bedroom decked with a luxurious white carpet and a leopard-skin bedspread while Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa lived a spartan existence in a tiny little dark room with 2 beds behind the house. However, the Lamas never complained. Generally, people cursed Zina under their breaths because she had little regard for other people’s possessions. However, nobody had the heart to be really angry with Zina because she was still a genuine friend. By and large, she was friends with everybody and yet she was close to nobody.
In 1970, Zina travelled with Lama Yeshe, Lama Zopa and some other western students to be ordained in Dharamsala. The ordination took place at Chopra House, Kyabje Ling Rinpoche’s residence just outside McLeod Ganj. Geshe Rabten presided over the ceremony along with Lama Yeshe, Gen Jampa Wangdu, and two other monks. This was done according to tradition with four monks and an abbot as required for monastic ordination ceremonies.
A picture of Zina Rachevsky right after ordination. She is in the middle with Geshe Rabten on the right and Lama Yeshe standing right behind him and Zina along with other monks and nuns.
Zina Rachevsky was transformed by her spiritual practice and nunhood.
Zina Rachevsky outside her retreat hut with her daughter
Towards her last years of her life, she entered a long solitary retreat and midway through the retreat, Lama Yeshe suddenly decided to meet her. He hastily made his way to see her and he talked to her extensively. That would be the last time they would meet in this life. Not long after, Zina Rachevsky passed away which some say was from food poisoning and some say from hepatitis but post-mortem tests showed that she had died of cholera.
During her last moments, her stomach was said to have swelled up like a basketball and she had terrible cramps in her legs that prevented her from folding her legs. So, she sat there with her legs stretched out while reciting mantras until she died. While Zina was dying, a close student informed Lama Yeshe. He immediately entered into meditation and after awhile, he came out of meditation and told the student that he had performed mind transference (Powa) and sent Zina Rachevsky to Kechara Paradise – Buddha Vajrayogini’s pure realm. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche later confirmed this and Trulshik Rinpoche also said that she had “a good death.”
In the Buddhist tradition, the manner in which she passed away was auspicious because she spent her final moments in deep spiritual practice. She led her life to the fullest from her Hollywood days to renouncing everything when she met Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa. She studied extensively, sponsored her Lama, established a whole monastery and brought many students to her Lama. Apparently, she had taken rebirth as a French boy and was recognized by Sakya Trizin Rinpoche to be her reincarnation. Zina’s story serves as a great inspiration for her generosity, perseverance and her genuine thirst for the Dharma. This goes to show that anybody from any part of the world can just take a leap of faith and go all the way with the Lama’s teachings and building projects.
By David Lai
Sources:
Reincarnation: The Spanish Boy Whose Destiny was to be a Tibetan Lama by Vicki Mackenzie, Wisdom Publications, 1996.
http://seesaw.typepad.com/blog/2008/03/zina-rachevsky-jewish-princess-and-the-tibet-connection.html
http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/662/Zina+Rachevsky/index.html
http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/
More information:
Zina Rachevsky Dies
From 1973: First Steps First Students by Adele Hulse, Big Loveauthor:
“Khumjung, where Rinpoche had sent me to find Gomchen-la, is in the last wave of mountains before Mount Everest,” Chötak recalled. “During the monsoon the mornings are usually clear, but then it rains solidly for the rest of the day. But the first three days I was there it rained non-stop. When the sun broke through, there was a huge rainbow in front of an extraordinary sunset of glowing fire. I fed two crows there and they ‘talked’ to me. Whenever someone was coming along the path, they’d land on my roof with a big thud to let me know. They were right every time.
“One day the crows started making a big fuss on the roof. I looked down the valley and in the distance I could see Trulshik Rinpoche coming along with his entourage. The Sherpas burnt piles of fragrant juniper along the way and you could hear his deep puja voice reverberating for miles. When he arrived, his attendant told me that I had to speak to him. By then I could speak just enough Tibetan to get by…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/zina-rachevsky-dies/
The First Meditation Course at Kopan
From 1971: The First Kopan Meditation Course by Adele Hulse, Big Loveauthor:
” Zina was still eager for Lama Yeshe to teach a course, but he refused. She turned to Lama Zopa Rinpoche. “She pestered me like a mosquito,” Rinpoche recalled. “She kept on asking until I began to feel encouraged in my heart and developed a strong wish to do it. I asked Lama Yeshe what he thought. He replied, ‘Well, if you think it will be beneficial, then you do it.’ So with Lama’s blessing I agreed,” said Zopa Rinpoche.
The first course was held in the spring of April 1971. It was springtime at Kopan, dry and breezy. The monsoon rains weren’t due to start until the end of May or early June, but the colder winter months had passed and the temperature was quite warm during the days. Zina took charge of the overall arrangements and Zopa Rinpoche taught a ten-day course based on his stamp-filled text on thought transformation…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/the-first-meditation-course-at-kopan/
The Bodhgaya Teachings
From 1971: The First Kopan Meditation Course by Adele Hulse, Big Loveauthor:
The lamas always attended the Dalai Lama’s Bodhgaya teachings, but this was Zina’s first visit.
Ann and James traveled together, arriving at 3:00 in the morning. Bodhgaya was packed tight with Tibetans, but a Thai monk they met on the train invited them to stay at his temple. They were welcomed and given comfortable bunk beds. Monks and nuns always sleep in their long undershirts, and it simply never occurred to Ann, who was tall and very wiry, that they didn’t realize she was a woman. The lamas were staying at the Tibetan temple. Next morning, Ann and James hurried over there. “Lama,” said Ann, “they think I’m a monk. What am I going to do?” “Listen,” said Lama, “in the eyes of the Buddha there is no male and female; it doesn’t make any difference at all…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/the-bodhgaya-teachings/
The First Group Ordination
From 1970: The First Group Ordination written by Adele Hulse, Big Loveauthor:
From the Lama Yeshe’s teachings to his monks and nuns:
The reason we are unhappy is because we have extreme craving for sense objects, samsaric objects, and we grasp at them. We are seeking to solve our problems but we are not seeking in the right place. The right place is our own ego grasping; we have to loosen that tightness, that’s all.
According to the Buddhist point of view, monks and nuns are supposed to hold renunciation vows. The meaning of monks and nuns renouncing the world is that they have less craving for and grasping at sense objects. But you cannot say that they have already given up samsara, because monks and nuns still have stomachs!…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/the-first-group-ordination/
Lama Yeshe’s English Language
From 1970: The First Group Ordination by Adele Hulse, Big Loveauthor:
From the lamas’ perspective, the world of all these Injis was upside down. They had everything but drowned themselves in self-pity and a lack of confidence. It was ironic: Here were two refugees looking after a stream of well-educated middle-class Westerners, all of whom were full of fear, wringing their pale hands. “Don’t preak out!”
Lama Yeshe exhorted. “You can help people, you can do! You should try to help mother sentient beings. You must try! Possible, possible. The mind is so strong. Never underestimate the power of mind.”…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/lama-yeshes-english-language-2/
Lame Yeshe, Lama Zopa and the Injis
From 1969: Kopan’s Beginning by Adele Hulse, Big Loveauthor:
Titles are something of a feature in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Zina and her friends had always called Thubten Yeshe and Zopa Rinpoche “Lama Yeshe” and “Lama Zopa.” The Westerners who gathered around them did the same, though they also called Lama Zopa by his title, “Rinpoche.” To Tibetans, however, they were still Thubten Yeshe and Zopa Rinpoche. As neither monk had received a geshe degree, one title by which they were not addressed was “Geshe-la,” though a few people did refer to Lama Yeshe this way.
Zina ran the house. She was “mother.” Most days at Kopan passed with just Zina, Jan, Robbie, Randy and Piero sitting around talking with the lamas when they were not doing their practices…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/lame-yeshe-lama-zopa-and-the-injis/
Jan Willis and the Solicks
From 1969: Kopan’s Beginning by Adele Hulse, Big Loveauthor:
In late October three more Americans walked into Kopan. They were Jan Willis, an African-American political activist majoring in philosophy, her best friend, Randy, and Randy’s husband, Robbie Solick. Jan had won a scholarship to study in Varanasi for a year, the only Westerner and the only woman in a class with seven Thai monks. Jan had been to India before. She had attended a Buddhist education program at the university in Varanasi and had gone on to Nepal, where she had made friends with a Tibetan monk, Losang Chonjor, who lived at Samten Ling Monastery in Boudhanath. Subsequently, they kept in touch through letters…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/jan-willis-and-the-solicks/
Moving to Kopan
From 1969: Kopan’s Beginning by Adele Hulse, Big Loveauthor:
Around July the lamas moved into Kopan, where Zina gave them a small dark room with two small beds at the side of the house. There was just enough room for Losang Nyima to sleep on the floor. Once again, their food was awful. The monks accepted it all.
Clive Giboire visited them there. Later, he recalled, “I must confess that I was shocked to find the lamas stuck away in such a tiny room at the back of the house when Zina had this rather grand boudoir kitted out in white carpet and a leopard-skin bedspread…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/moving-to-kopan/
An Important Statue
From 1969: Kopan’s Beginning by Adele Hulse, Big Loveauthor:
After returning from Lawudo…
One day Max told Judy she had seen an exquisite but very expensive statue that she just had to have. She was short of money at the time but bought it anyway. Wanting to know what it was, she invited the lamas to come over one Sunday and examine it. They arrived around mid-morning.
Judy Weitzner: “So that was how I met them; Zina was the queen bee and the lamas were like her exotic pets. They said the statue looked pretty good, but to really know they had to do a special puja to open it up and see what it was filled with—the mantras and precious gems and other things. We didn’t even know what a puja was. I’d only just learned the Tibetans didn’t think it was cool to use offering bowls as wine cups. Tibetan antiques were all just decorator items to us…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/an-important-statue/
Introducing Max Matthews (Part 1)
From 1968: Return to Nepal… For the First Time by Adele Hulse, Big Love author: “Far from this ancient life of ordered study and esoteric wisdom, yet just around the corner, lay the very worldly pleasures of Kathmandu. On the last Thursday of November 1968 Zina set off with Clive Giboire for an all-American Thanksgiving Day party at an art gallery right next to the American Embassy. Max’s Gallery was the first commercial art gallery in Nepal.
Its owner, Max Mathews, an African-American woman, worked as a teacher in the American diplomatic service’s international schools division. The job at Kathmandu’s Lincoln School paid very well, and Max definitely had a taste for the high life. No hippie, she lived in a beautifully furnished apartment above the gallery…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2012/10/14/introducing-max-matthews-part-1/
Introducing Max Matthews (Part 2)
From 1968: Return to Nepal… For the First Time by Adele Hulse, Big Love author: Although Max and Zina were both grandes dames, they were, nevertheless, two very different people. Zina was not actually very much older than Max, but she seemed considerably older in her appearance. “She’d done so much, taken so many drugs, read so much esoteric literature, dabbled in her witching, and had this Blavatsky trip going on,” said Max. “Zina had left no stone unturned. She had ‘made her soup’ as Lama Yeshe put it, and her last pregnancy seemed to have taken a lot out of her. But she was still hooked on the celebrity lifestyle with these hippies out at the Double Dorje house…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2012/10/18/introducing-max-matthews-part-2/
Serkong Dorje Chang
From 1968: Return to Nepal… For the First Time by Adele Hulse, Big Love author:
Following tradition, upon arriving in Nepal Thubten Yeshe and Zopa Rinpoche paid their respects to the highest Gelug lama in the Kathmandu Valley, Serkong Dorje Chang. Zina loved meeting high lamas and Thubten Yeshe had prepared some questions for her to ask. Arriving at Serkong Rinpoche’s gompa at Swayambhu they asked directions from a nondescript passing monk, who directed them upstairs and told them to wait. To their surprise the great Serkong Dorje Chang and this seemingly insignificant monk turned out to be one and the same person. There were many tales told about Serkong Dorje Chang’s ability to disappear and reappear at will, and that he almost never appeared in photographs taken of him…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/serkong-dorje-chang/
Zina is Ordained
From 1967: Thubten Yeshe Meets a Russian Princess by Adele Hulse, Big Loveauthor:
Lama Yeshe: “Zina had decided to become a nun. I thought that was a good idea. But since according to the Vinaya, novice ordination requires the participation of at least four monks in addition to the preceptor, Lama Zopa and I couldn’t do it ourselves, so we went to Dharamsala to ask His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He couldn’t do it either but arranged for some other lamas to ordain her…”
Thubten Yeshe and Zopa Rinpoche returned to Darjeeling and then went to Calcutta to meet up with Zina. This trip must have given them their first sight of the ocean. The trio then traveled to Dharamsala. There they went to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama and make offerings. This was only the second time Zopa Rinpoche had seen His Holiness; the first time had been outside the Dalhousie school, when he had come to meet Mrs. Bedi…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/zina-is-ordained/
Villa Altomont
From 1967: Thubten Yeshe Meets a Russian Princess by Adele Hulse, Big Love author:
“After a month of going back and forth to Ghoom, Zina asked the monks if they would come and live with her in Darjeeling. Incredibly, they agreed, transferring themselves and their few belongings to Villa Altomont. They stayed in Zina’s cold, glassed-in summerhouse for nine months. This small outbuilding contained a table, one door, and just enough room on the floor for the monks to sleep, one on either side of the door. Meanwhile, Zina swanned around her sprawling bungalow with a continuous parade of exotic guests. She addressed the monks as “Lama Yeshe” and “Lama Zopa.”…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/villa-altomont/
Villa Altomont continued…
From 1967: Thubten Yeshe Meets a Russian Princess by Adele Hulse, Big Loveauthor:
“Although Zina was quite serious about developing a spiritual life, she was still pretty hedonistic. Drugs had been a part of her life for a long time. A true child of the 1960s, she had taken LSD with Timothy Leary at his Millbrook estate in New York. Marijuana was a staple in her life. “I don’t know which came first for the Injis,” said Zopa Rinpoche, using the common term among Tibetans for Westerns, “LSD or The Way of the White Clouds.” Once when Zina was going out to buy marijuana, Lama Yeshe confronted her straightaway and told her he didn’t want her to use drugs. Zina suddenly realized that he had known what she was doing all along…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2012/09/29/villa-altomont-continued/
Meeting Zina Rachevsky
From 1967: Thubten Yeshe Meets a Russian Princess by Adele Hulse, Big Love author:
“Some months after Thubten Yeshe and Zopa Rinpoche’s arrival, a tall, glamorous Western woman turned up at Samten Chöling. This was Zinaide Rachevsky, then aged thirty-six.
It was a beautiful Sunday when Zina met the monks for the first time. Accompanying Gene and Zina was Jampa Gyaltsen Mutugtsang (whose name means “smoke of the dragon”), a married Kagyu tulku whom Zina had found to translate for her. “I took her everywhere, to see everyone,” he said. “She wore Western dress with lots of jewelry and asked many questions. I knew Zopa Rinpoche from the Young Lamas’ Home School, where we had spent six or seven months together. She knew she wasn’t meeting Domo Geshe Rinpoche, though at school we had always called Zopa Rinpoche ‘Domo Rinpoche’ because he had come from that monastery…
To read more: http://biglovelamayeshe.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/meeting-zina-rachevsky/
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Thank you PDL and Rinpoche for this blog post on Zina Rachevsky.
Read this blog post a few times and it is still very inspiring to me every time I read it. Ms Zina from a celebrity and spoilt rich heiress, a party animal and become a nun who lived in a small cave that’s very simple and with minimum supply really showed her renunciation to the worldly things and focus on her spiritual practice. Her devotion to her Guru also very strong. May I be like her one day, received the practice of Vajrayogini, able to renounce and attained. ???
A beautiful story of guru devotion of a Russian princess Buddhist nun. Very inspiring , she was a Russian-born French-American socialite, film actress, and Gelug Tibetan Buddhist nun. The legendary Zina Rachevsky was the earliest Western student and patron of Lama Yeshe . She came from an incredibly wealthy family, having everything money, fame, beauty yet she was not happy and that triggered her soul-searching. Travelling to India, that’s where she met Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa. That’s the first time they encounters with Westerners and Lama Yeshe was glad to learn that this wealthy lady came to them in search of enlightenment. Zina became the first Western student of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa . It was her request and insisted that the Lamas to teach Westerners on Buddhism. She led her life to the fullest from her Hollywood days to renouncing everything.
Thank you Rinpoche for this inspiring article of a princess turned nun.
Thank you Rinpoche and Pastor David for sharing with us this inspiring story. The story of Zina gives us hope, it shows us if we genuinely practice Dharma we can save ourselves from the suffering we create for ourselves and make up the wrongs that we have done in the past. We can even gain attainment if we are determined and transform our mind.
Princess Zina was wild, temperamental, very difficult and controlling. Who in her status would not be like that? But she realised there is a better place to go than all the luxury she had been enjoying. She truly understood her attitude, her way of thinking, her characters were not going to bring her anywhere so she pushed herself to change and she made it. Apart from pushing herself to change, she also did a lot of very beneficial works to support and spread Dharma. She had to do a lot more good works to make up the wrongs she had done in the past.
Even though it was not described in the story how much difficulty or struggling she had to go through in her transformation process but I believe it was not easy. How she pulled herself through was her trust in her lama and her faith in Dharma. If someone like Princess Zina who was so difficult and had everything she could have had in the world can transform into a humble person and eventually ascend to Kechara Paradise, who are we to say we cannot change?
There are people who are naturally good hearted. Due to ignorant of Dharma, what they are doing daily is reinforcing their attachments and leads to more and more sufferings. They may have fame, wealth and power but they are unhappy and depressed.
Zina life story is inspiring. What caught my attention was her courage to confess what she had done. She wanted to “make up” by creating a place for others to come, work and study the Dharma. That was how the idea for Kopan monastery was born.
I believed that her feeling of regret and confession has purified much negative karma due to mistakes she made in the past. Her determination to help her Lamas to spread dharma further gives her the power to commit not to repeat negative actions. Her devotion to her Guru with love and respect is a very powerful awakening and heart opening for her dharma path.
A genuine Guru is always there to guide us to the path of enlightenment. It is whether we are willing to surrender our ego or not. Practicing dharma is never easy but if we have faith and consistent with it, our mind will transform gradually. Ignorance is never permanent. Developing a clean samaya with our Lama and serve our Lama sincerely can purify many eons of negative karma, and our inner Buddha nature shall raised.
Many people still think money, fame, material things, beauty etc can give us happiness. But it’s not really true. Just like Zina’s story told us clearly that happiness cannot come from the outside material world. We should look inside ourselves which dharma can help.
We can’t change the past but we need to make a change for a better future. For this instance, Zina accepted dharma and she practiced, transformed and became a dedicated nun. With her determination and strong devotion to her guru, it is believed that she had a good death where Lama Yeshe had performed Powa and sent her to Kechara Paradise. This had been confirmed by great masters, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche and Trulshik Rinpoche.
Thank you Rinpoche for this inspiring real story of Zina.
By reading this story, it inspired me that we can still go to Kechara Paradise if we really have Guru Devotion and be serious and go all the way to our dharma practices. This is a good article that give hopes to us that nothing is impossible
While many people would think of death as depressing and sad, I see Zina’s death as a beautiful celebration of her spiritual practice. It is a time to rejoice as the result of her practice has sent her to Kechara Paradise as confirmed by not one but 3 high lamas – Lama Yeshe, Trulshik Rinpoche and Kyabje Zong Rinpoche.
From early turbulent life, she renounced and became ordained. Her life story is truly inspiring to me. Revisiting this post reminds me of how there is hope for all of us. We only need to make Guru Devotion our main practice.
Thank you with folded hands.
Zina Rachevsky’s story is a real life story happening in our time to prove that whatever is being written and discussed in the 50 Verses of Guru Devotion is true. It is said in verse 18 that “(Such practice of offering) can confer even buddhahood on a zealous (disciple) in his or her very lifetime, which otherwise might be difficult to attain even in countless millions of eons.” Zina Rachevsky has been very devoted to her Gurus and she even offered the Kopan Monastery which benefits many to her guru. Her faith in the lamas and her sincere offerings to her Gurus has eventually resulting in her ascending into Kechara Paradise as said by Lama Yeshe, Trulshik Rinpoche and Kyabje Zong Rinpoche.
To read more about 50 Verses of Guru Devotion and it’s complete commentary, please go to this link:
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/complete-commentary-on-50-verses-of-guru-devotion.html
For many worldly people, what Zina had in her youth was a dream come true. She had title, wealth, fame, and beauty. But after enjoying her wealth and fame, Zina did not find any real happiness. She must have accumulated merits in her previous lives that she could meet and stick with Lama Yeshe, whom unlike her many other “yes mam” acquaintance, dared to confront her and teach her the truth.
Zina’s story is very inspiring because she was not a perfect Dharma practitioner, but through her sincerity and the guidance and of her teacher, Zina managed to transform herself and had a good death. May her story continues to live on and inspires many future practitioners.
Zina’s story is a good reminder that, although it is important to know and understand the past causes that create our current surrounding, it is even more important to be aware of what we are doing now and what we are working towards for the future.
Thank you for this inspiring post, Rinpoche and Pastor David. The thing that stood out for me is how Zina Rachevsky went from a Hollywood actress-model-socialite to an ordained nun who helped establish a monastery and her ascension to Kechara Paradise via Powa upon her passing. This gives me hope that even normal people like me would be able to ascend to Kechara Paradise if we have sufficient merits and go all the way with our spiritual practice.
The amazing transformation of Zina Rachevsky from a Hollywood celebrity and Russian princess, a wild party girl, who realised the hollowness of her life and decided to go to India in quest of Enlightenment, to that of a renunciate and nun, can only be attributed to a few factors. One was her burning passion for Dharma and the other more important one was meeting the most compassionate Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa.
Her Guru Devotion was almost instantaneous. Her faith in the 2 Gurus remained unwavering. She would promote her Lamas wherever she went. Upon meeting her two Guurs, she renounced all her worldly wealth and pursuits. Finally, in 1974, she was ordained as a nun by Geshe Rabten in Dharamsala. Lama Yeshe was also present at her ordination. She maintained unwavering faith in her Gurus. Nunhood and her spiritual practice transformed her even further. She sponsored the building of Kopan Monastery.She brought many students to her Lama.
She passed away in deep prayer and practice and that was most auspicious for her. Her precious Guru, Lama Yeshe, performed powa and she was taken to Kechara Paradise. This was confirmed later by Kyabje Zong Rinpoche and Trulshik Rinpoche also said that she had “a good death.”
What a powerful story of renunciation and Guru Devotion!
This is not a legend that is centuries old but a real life story of the 20th Century, when a hedonistic, wealthy and successful Russian Princess became a Buddhist Nun and became enlightened.
Her secret recipe is devotion to her Guru, Lama Yeshe and and Lama Zopa, her love of the Dharma and her generosity in funding the beginning of Kopan Monastery. With that practice, on her death she gained entry to Pure Land through the transference of Her Lama’s mind (Powa).
A beautiful story of devotion of a student and the great compassion of her Lama.
Dear Rinpoche,
When reading this post, I felt moved, and hopeful, and happy that everyone can get enlightened and make up for their bad karma. This was a nice story about ZIna Rachevsky, and about transforming one’s mind to find happiness.
Your humble student,
Keng Hwa.
The Russian women are renowned for their beauty and allure and those born into wealth have a rather predictable life of trying to move higher up in the social strata. Being a blue blood, Zina Rachevsky’s entry and prominence in Hollywood seems natural for a lady of such charm and allure. Yet, how lucky was she to seek something more and how lucky was she to meet great Lamas of Tibet and be immensely devoted to Lama Yeshe. It’s a great story of real reverence and faith for one’s guru. Congratulations to her for achieving much more.
I have heard Rinpoche told this story many times and each time it’s just as inspiring. It is not who she was, how she lived her life that inspired me the most, it is how she died. Towards the end of her life, she seems to have suffered great physical pain but she kept her practice, she died holding her vows as a nun and what is most touching to me is that even though her guru Lama Yeshe was not with her at the time of her death, he performed Powa and sent her to Kechara Paradise. What merit she must have collected in her lifetime. She must have kept her samaya with her guru to allow Lama Yeshe to perform such great blessing for her. She is a story of today’s modern time, a lady who experienced all the world has to offer and yet defies the samsaric path and successfully pursued dharma till the end.
There are many great stories of how people lived their lives but there are not that many great stories about how people died. Zina Rachevsky is a story of how a beautiful Russian Princess found dharma, became a Buddhist nun and died a great death.
[…] The Russian Princess Buddhist Nun […]
其实人生的路程就像一个迷宫，我们就是要在这个迷宫选择我们人生过程的路。在这五花八门的路途中，我们会遇到很多诱惑和迷失。但要走到佛光大道之路，我们也要有一定的佛缘和前世印记才可让我们顺利的到终点。很佩服Zina 尼姑有很强的佛缘印记，她没有被娑婆世界的诱惑而迷失自己，反而还放下所有的执着来修行佛法。难得！难得！
In this age of materialism, we are so used to think if we have a lot of money and fame and glamour, power then we will be happy will we really? Many people myself included think if we get this or get that we will be happy. But this story shows that despite having so much Zina was not happy. She had everything anyone could want for.
Monks have nothing much yet they are one of the happiest people on this earth.
I am fortunate to be born in a time whereby the buddha dharma is still thriving, may I learn the dharma so I do not get deluded by things that do not bring true happiness. This was not the first time I came across this russian lady with Lama Zopa and Lama yeshe and I have always wondered what was her role with these lamas, thank you Rinpoche sharing this story.
Many people always envious about the actors and actress, because they think being famous and rich like a star is something very great and happy, well, they only saw the glamorous side of these celebrities, but the pain and unhappiness they have to go through, how many people can see?
Zina is the great example, money, fame, power, everything, she has everything anyone can ever ask for, but look where she is, she find herself living in the life of unhappiness, she has lots of friends, but there is empty inside her. If money if what people ask for, then why does she still want to search for something else? Obviously life is not about just luxurious.
In her story, it also shows how kind and compassion Lama Yeshe is, being treated this way but Lama Yeshe did not leave her, he use his skillful way to guide and teach Zina and lead her to the proper path of Dharma. For the growth of Dharma, for the transformation of his student, he never mind staying in a small room.
Even party girl like Zina can turn out to be a nun, what else is impossible in this world, From royal family to become celebrity to party girl to ordained nun and then gained enlightenment at the end of life. Zina’s story has told us that nothing is impossible, it’s not the matter of can or not, but it is whether you want or not.
Not many people will have this kind of realisation as Zina did, she must had a very strong imprint or merits in her past lifes. Moreover, if without her there won’t be Kopan Monastery today. For her to let go ‘everything’ and became a nun which i don’t think is easy at all especially when she had a lot of distraction in her ‘glamorous’ life. Very inspiring…
Shelly tai on 10June at 1245pm
Dear Rinpoche
Thank you for posting such a inspiring story I think for us to renounce is not that easy because it really need a lot of faith and trust in your guru then only we be able to do it, especially for the rich. I rejoice for those who can make it and I wish one day I can be able to reach that stage of mind.
A princess became a nun. She had everything under the sky but yet she let go and step into full spiritual life. She realized that spiritual practice is the only way to keep herself save form going into 3 lower realms. Because of her faith in her two gurus, she’s saved and sent to Kechara Paradise.
Why are we practicing dharma or gotten ourselves into dharma work? So that whatever merits we collected helped us to improved our spiritual practice and protected by 3 jewels. When we are ready, we can step out and help others to do the same.
Zina walked her last beautiful journey by ending her life in the retreat. I wished that i have the fortunate to end my life in this way too.
Wow from a Hollywood actress/royal blooded process to a nun that went to Kechara paradise, this proves that anything can happen you just need the right motivation. This also prooves that you can’t say “I can’t do it” because you can.
Dear Rinpoche, I have read the article about Zina Rachevsky before. Her story is so amazing that I shared to my family, I rarely share blog articles with my family except the ones that are amazing like this. The saddest part in the whole story to me is when Zina at her last meditation. She died because her stomach swollen up like a basketball, but she still continue to recite her mantras until the moment that she dies. I hope Zina Rachevsky’s daughter is also practicing Dharma and may Zina continue to stay with Vajra Yogini.
A spoilt rich heiress turned nun and died while on retreat and her ascend to Kechara Paradise! Wow amazing! She was super rich and had everything yet she was not happy until she met Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa. It showed how powerful dharma is if we are sincere to practice it.
I am touched by her sincerity and her strong guru devotion and the remarkable good deeds she did to benefit others; promoting her Gurus, spreading dharma to the Westerners, sponsoring her Gurus and building Kopan Monastery. In the secular world, it seemed that she gave up everything for dharma but in actual fact through dharma she bought herself a ticket to Kechara Paradise.
We are very blessed and fortunate that Rinpoche is with us to guide us in our spiritual path. We are all “Zina” but if we follow our Guru’s advice and guidance we can end up in Kechara Paradise too!
To quote Lama Zopa, “So, every time, every day, whenever one complete’s one advice of guru, every time you become closer to enlightenment. Every time, every day, one advice get’s done, you become closer to enlightenment and it becomes great purification for many lifetimes, those heavy negative karma get purified. Inconceivable merits get collected.”
I just absolutely love the stories on Zina Rachevsky and I thoroughly enjoyed reading and writing the little blogpost on her. I laughed, folded my hands and cried and cried especially when I saw the picture of her, shaved as a nun and meditating in a room with little belongings. The picture said it all about her years of devotion to Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa has brought her to this state of transcendence. To think that she was this spoilt rich heiress was mind-blowing.
It was through her devotion, renunciation and ultimately her Vajrayogini practice that transformed her. I am blown away and I totally want to die the same way she does. I want to die in retreat and doing Dharma. It is totally liberating way of living and dying. Just reading her story leaves me with tremendous hope and I may not be as attained as her but I would definitely want to end up in the same place as she does. Don’t anybody?
This is truly amazing that the Russian Princess became a Buddhist nun and her transformation is very inspiring!! I have heard about this story from Rinpoche and I really touched! If we willing to do it or transform it will never be too late for anything! Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa were very very kind, patient and compassionate to used so much time to nurtured Zina.
The good quality of Zina is although she has an extraordinary Diva’s lifestyle, she still very devoted to her Gurus. I believed in Buddhism self transformation is the best offering to our Lama and also ourselves. We must share this beautiful true story to the world! From a very samsaric person and she is now at Kechara Paradise, How wonderful!!! NEVER TOO LATE FOR WHATEVER! 🙂
Thank you Rinpoche for this inspiring post 🙂
Much care and love,
Helena
Thank you for sharing this post, Rinpoche.
It is interesting to observe that Zina’s success in what we deem to be a secular and samsaric life gave her the exact training she needed to build Kopan monastery. Just like Lord Buddha Shakyamuni himself, his princely lifestyle provided the other end of an austere living that created the existence of a middle path (an interdependent origination, perhaps?). If either end-point was missing, the conditions would not be ready for an awakening that benefited all sentient beings.
From this I learn that we must never judge anything as samsaric or dharmic because ultimately, all is empty or devoid of an intrinsic existence.
Samsara after all is an illusion. We just have to awaken to this truth and see it for what it is not theoretically but realistically. The fact that Zina could build Kopan almost all by herself shows how deep she understands and applies the Dharma and her strong Guru devotion helps her to arrive at this state – as simple as that.
Thus Guru devotion is key. 🙂
And we are all truly blessed that Rinpoche is here to guide and teach us, so long as we are open to receive, listen, practice, learn and most importantly transform.
Oh my.. truly a spectacular article. Zina’s story is nothing short of amzanig! Being the richest person around would not make us the happiest. I am happy that Zina has discovered her spiritual side and understood the value of precious human life by accepting Dharma into her life.
I don’t think it is easy to ‘let go’ of her rich and famous life especially when her life is fabulous! One can only imagine the amount of merit she has collected over the years of being a nun. Inspiring to know that she had the wisdom to choose Dharma over fame!
SO awesome to know that she has been taken to Kechara Paradise!
Will continue reading the attached articles.
Thank you for sharing, Rinpoche! =)
knowing Zina’s story is like knowing there is some piece of “Zina” inside everyone of us. Dealing with the “Zina” of us is very challenging, knowing “Zina” can be tamed and have attainment set enormous hopes and courages for everyone.
I’m actually quite surprised by Zina as she had everything anyone would have died for: money, fame, beauty etc and she decided to give up all these and became a nun. I’m really happy that she is in Kechara Paradise, because she has done a lot of good deeds in her earlier life. Her story really inspires me..
Thank You for sharing Rinpoche.
This story is remarkably inspiring.
Zina was everything you will not imagine to be in the dharma. However, she is and that is the best part of buddhism. No matter who/what u are/was, u are still acceptable and change is possible….it is never too late cause it is only by your action that will change things around for the good or bad. Look at zina, she has taken rebirth in Kechara Paradise. Wow….
In Asia, if u get characteristic like Zina in your center, everyone will start talking badly “how come a lama keeps a woman like that round?” & “why that and why this”. I get ask so many questions of such all the time but little do everyone know that just like Lama Yeshe, our Rinpoche keeps the difficult around him all the time including myself, and that is because of his vows and who he is. Seriously, who in the world has embrace religious institution if we have no problems….none! Therefore, we should never questions the lama intention as his motivation is pure.
Only within a span of 3 years, Princess Zina transformed from a wordly person to a fully ordained nun. What a speedy transformation, the best offering to one’s guru. Not only had she renounced, she also built Kopan Monastery, leaving a legend behind. She was truly an inspiration.
Zina is really larger than life.. it is an encouraging story that someone who led such a hedonistic life could turn her karma around and end up in Kechara Paradise because of her devotion to Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa.. It will give many people hope that they didn’t have to have a pure past in order to be ‘saved’. We cannot change our past but what makes a difference is what we do today. By Zina’s faith and support for these Lamas, she had singlehandedly created an institution – Kopan – which will benefit so many generations to come. We can do that for KFR!
This is a fascinating story and immediately I thought how much Dharma can do for a person if they are sincerely open to it. Although Zina led a hedonistic life, I did not feel that she did not take the Dharma seriously.Perhaps like all of us, she wanted the best of both worlds. But in her case, as much as she was samsaric with the way she lived, she also did quite remarkable Dharma deeds such as bringing Dharma to the Westerners, sponsoring Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa and eventually building Kopan. Whatever Dharma she did continues to benefit people till this day and that is very auspicious.
But in Zina’s case, meeting the Dharma was not an accident as she must have strong seeds planted in her already to drive her to go seek Dharma. Meeting Lama Yeshe was no doubt due to the merits she must have gained in her previous live(s).
What the stories did not tell is how the lamas must have quietly nurtured her, and prayed for her which I am sure happened. We saw how Lama Yeshe urgently wanted to meet her when she was in retreat and we saw how Lama Yeshe upon learning of her death, immediately performed powa for Zina. That says to me that Lama Yeshe have been watching over Zina all the time. This is also what our guru does for each of us.
What a beautiful inspiring story of real Dharma transformation! From a Diva, a real princess with loads of money, rude, load, premiscuious, to a nun who died in retreat and was able to go to Kechara Paradise heaven! Wow… this is what I call amazing real stories that allows to know that nothing is impossible! It gives many like me “hope” 🙂
I am moved most of all from her strong Guru devotion to her Lama and how from someone who is so samsaric could change and become a nun… totally from one end of the spectrum to another! Yes it is these type of Divas, freaks, weirdos, and very “unexpected” people who were seen “bad/sinful” become “good” is what captures my attention because it goes to show that Buddha’s teachings truly exist and can be applied because well, she did it… who are we to complain and say “we can’t”. I am beginning to comprehend this tricky mind of ours… it is not we “can’t”, but rather we “CHOOSE” NOT TO! Everything is a CHOICE…. Happiness is a CHOICE. Real FREEDOM is a CHOICE 🙂
Thank you Rinpoche for always highlighting such inspiring REAL stories to motivate us! x
Dear Rinpoche,
It’s true when people hear the words Hollywood or royalty people tend to go crazy…. especially in the Modern Days as they not only admire the Rich, crazy and happy go lucky life’s of the famous and rich stars in Hollywood.
This story totally caught me by surprise because I did not expect such a famous and rich lady such as Zina to let go of her “Samsaric” life to practice the Dharma…..
I have to admit that I was even more surprised to know that she even took the extra step to even become a nun!
I totally rejoice that she is in Kechara Paradise now and I hope that more and more famous people will be inspired to follow her footsteps.
Thank you Rinpoche for taking time out to compose this blog post!
With Much Love
Jutika
It is wonderful to see people that give up their life of luxury for something more. This is also proof that the Dharma can be acceptable to the modern crowd as Buddhism still allows you to indulge in Samsara but it lessens your attachment. Slowly, people who are at the tip of luxury can become a kindly nun. Amazing!
People should not use the fact that Buddhism is a mildly ascetic-like religion. Nothing needs to be changed to be a good Buddhist. However, despite nothing changing, everything on the inside changes.. You become a kinder person and you feel inner peace as you conquer your inner demons.