Interview with Peter van Vliet

Peter was briefly introduced in an earlier newsletter. In this interview he tells a little more about himself.

Peter (68 years old) is married to Andrea, father of 5 children and has 5 grandchildren. Peter lives in ́s-Gravenland and is the founder of Luwte and Storm. He is a remedial educationalist and expert and trainer in dealing with serious conflicts in relationships and cooperation. Within The WHISE Foundation, Peter is secretary.

At the age of 19, Peter was already interested in meaning and came into contact with anthroposophy and the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. At the time, he felt that Buddhism was too focused on suffering. Peter saw life as a young man mainly as something beautiful and positive and did not want to emphasize suffering. But over the years, he changed his mind about this. Anthroposophy turned out to be very cognitive and the interest in the dharma remained.
Through a colleague who was umzé at Jewel Heart (Nijmegen), Peter came into contact with Reverend Gelek Rinpoché. In the middle of the first lesson, Rinpoché asked Peter if he had a question. A special and precious moment.
After two years of retreats and classes, Peter decided to become a student of Gelek Rinpoché and a close and personal bond developed. Peter: “Thanks to your spiritual teacher who explains the dharma to you, you get an increasingly powerful conviction and practical skills for daily life.”

Many of the students of Rev. Gelek Rinpoché were also students of Rev. Dagpo Rinpoché and that's how Dagpo Rinpoché came across Peter's path. Peter met Rinpoché during a lecture in Haarlem and soon followed a retreat in Biezenmortel in 2013. For Peter, the contact with Dagpo Rinpoché brought a deepening and broadening of his dharma practice.

Rev. Gelek Rinpoché passed away on February 15, 2017. This was a major event for all his students and therefore also for Peter. Although it was not entirely unexpected, the news hit hard. Peter: “It felt like losing a dear close family member. Life suddenly changes.”

The WHISE Foundation

“The work we do for The WHISE Foundation (TWF) serves multiple purposes. As members of the TWF, we also learn about working together. Not only with each other, but also with students and members of other Reverend Rinpoché foundations, with people from different countries and cultures. The connection we make in this way with them and with the monastery and its traditions is particularly valuable. But the most important thing is that we can help the monks by giving them a

create a better living environment. We know that the monks study and pray every day for the well-being of all beings and it is nice to be able to support them in this by repairing the buildings. It goes step by step, as Rinpoché has also indicated. We are probably going to be busy for many years to come. Eventually others will take over from us to keep the monastery safe and comfortable in the very long run. I am very grateful to be able to contribute to fulfilling the wishes of Rev. Dagpo Rinpoché.”