On Wednesday I went to Barpak, Nepal's largest village. The region is one of the most beautiful on earth, with the snow-covered Himalayan mountains stretching in front of you like a curtain. But when you look down on the ground, what you see is heartbreaking. Seventy dead -- and what were once houses, now just piles of stones. Not one is habitable. There are landslides in every direction. The epicenter of the first earthquake is visible; you can see how the mountain moved, creating two steps. We were there to deliver much-needed food. But that is only part of the story.

Rinpoche wrote this piece for the Huffington Post, where he is chronicling the relief efforts in Nepal. Please visit that site to read the complete article.