Translating the Dharma

Translating the Dharma from Carol Beck on Vimeo

Dr. José Cabezón chaired this panel of the 2010 International Conference on Tibetan Buddhism. Dr. Jeffrey Hopkins and Geshe Thupten Jinpa were the keynote speakers. Others on the panel included Eng. Gerardo Abboud, Sarah Harding, Timothy McNeill, and Geshe Dadul Namgyal.

When The Iron Bird Flies- Selected Scenes

When The Iron Bird Flies- Selected Scenes from Victress Hitchcock on Vimeo.

In 1959, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama escapes the Chinese invasion of Tibet and with his departure and the exodus of many of the major teachers of the all the sects of Tibetan Buddhism— Buddhadharma, as it was practiced in virtual seclusion for centuries in the Land of Snow, was suddenly thrust out into the world. Fifty years later, there are Tibetan Buddhist meditation centers in every major city in the western world, two three-year retreat centers in France alone, and the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, has 92,000 followers on Twitter. When the Iron Bird Flies traces the astounding path of one of the worlds great spiritual traditions from the caves of Tibet to the mainstream of western culture and asks: how can this 2,600 year old eastern religion help us in the West cope with our 21st century lives and reach Enlightenment? Chariot Productions and Pundarika Foundation, the producers of BLESSINGS: The Tsoknyi Nangchen Nuns of Tibet, have teamed up again to tackle this timely and important subject. These are selected scenes from a WORK-IN-PROGRESS, copyright Pundarika Foundation.

Tibetan Buddhism and Social Engagement

Tibetan Buddhism and Social Engagement from Carol Beck on Vimeo.

This panel from the 2010 International Conference on Tibetan Buddhism was chaired by Dr. John Makransky and featured keynote speakers Lama Pema Wangdak and Dr. Jan Willis. Additional panelists included Acharya Fleet Maull, Ven Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Diana Rose and Tsoknyi Rinpoche.

Longchen Nyingthig of the Ancient Ones Tradition (Nyingma)

Its Origins and Transmission by Ven. Khenpo Namdrol Rinpoche

The teaching  of  Dzogpachenpo was  first  given  in  the  pure  realm  of  Akanishtha,  where the  teacher  Samantabhadra, in  Sambhogakaya  form,  communicates  the teaching directly by means of his wisdom mind to disciples who are not different from him in any way-sugatas and bodhisattvas, male and female.


Now, in this world of ours, the first to spread the teaching of Dzogpachenpo was the Nirmanakaya emanation Garab Dorje. Dates given for Garab Dorje put his birth in the year 536BC; by comparison, one popular date for the passing away of Lord Buddha, from the Theravada traditon of Sri Lanka, is 543BC. From the glorious Lord of Secrets, Vajrapani, or it is often said Vajrasattva, Garab Dorje received, in an instant and all together, the empowerments, as well as the tantras, agamas, and upadeshas, of Dzogpachenpo. Then in the north of the western land of Oddiyana, on the rugged mountain-peak of Suryaprakasha, the vidyadhara Garab Dorje, along with the wisdom dakinis, gathered and complied all the tantras in existence, both those that were known and those that were unknown. Together they divided the 20,000 tantras which bore the name of Dzogpachenpo into ʻshlokasʼ or verses, and classifi ed them into 6,400,000 verses. Garab Dorjeʼs disciple, Manjushrimitra, then divided these 6,400,000 verses of Dzogpachenpo into three categories:
the outer category of mind-Semde,
the inner category of space-longde, and
the secret category of pith instructions-Mengakde.1


Looking first at the outer category of mind- when the Semde teachings were translated in Tibet, the land of snows, eighteen ʻmotherʼ and ʻchild texts of the mind class were indentified, although the Semdeʼ tantras can also be counted as numbering twenty-one. These eighteen ʻmotherʼ and ʻchildʼ texts of Semdeʼ consist of the first five to be translated, which were translated by Vairochana, and given the name the ʻFive Earlier Translationʼs, plus the thirteen texts translated by his disciple Yudra Nyingpo, known as the “Thirteen Later Translations of Semdeʼ. When the ʻThree Major Tantrasʼ of Semdeʼ are then added, that makes a total of twenty-one.


Vairochana received the cycle of Smedeʼ from the master Shri Singha, and then transmitted it to the great Dharma king Trisong Detsen, Yudra Nyingpo, and others as a result of which it spread throughout Tibet. Next, the inner category of space, the Longdé, is reckoned to consist of 20,000 ʻvolumes.ʼ These can be classified into three: white space, black space, and variegated space, or they can also be categorized as nine spaces. From Shri Singha, Vairochana received the Longdé pith instructions, and composed ʻthe Vajra Bridgé, a scriptural text, which he transmitted in Tibet to Pang Sangyeʼ Gonpo. Pang Sangyé Gonpo and the six successive
disciples in his lineage left this world by dissolving into a body of light.


Finally, as for the secret category of pith instructions, it was divided by Manjushrimitraʼs disciple, Shri Singha, into:
the outer cycle, which is like the physical body,
the inner cycle, which is like the eyes,
the secret cycle, which is like the heart, and
the innermost secret Nyingtik, which is like the whole body that contains everything, all complete.
These four great cycles present the Trekcho teachings in a similar way, but where they differ is in the clarity, explicitness and detail of how the Togal techings are given. Shri Singha gave the outer, inner and secret  cycles  of the  category of pith instructions to both Vimalamitra and Jnanasutra. He transmitted the innermost secret cycle to Jnanasutra, who then passed it on to Vimalamitra.




The Vima Nyingtik


The first four masters in the lineage left this world in a characteristic way. At the end of his life, the first human Dzogchen master Garab Dorje disappeared into a sphere  of  rainbow  light,  leaving  his  disciple  Manjushrimitra  his  last  testament  ʻHitting  the  Essence  in  Three  Wordsʼ,  Tsik  Sum  Ne  Dek.  When  Manjushrimitra departed from this world, vanishing in a cloud of light, he gave his laste testament to his disciple Shri Singha, entitled ʻSix  Experiences of Meditationʼ, Gom Nyam Drukpa. When Shri Singha passed away and dissolved into a body of light, he bestowed his testament ʻSeven  Nailsʼ, Zerbu Dun, on Jnanasutra. He too left this
world by disappearing into a sphere of light, leaving his disciple Vimalamitra his own testament ʻFour Methods of Contemplationʼ, Shyak Tab Shyipa.


The lineage which passed from the primordial buddha Samantabhadra through Vajrapani or Vajrasattva to the vidyadhara Garab Dorje is known as the Mind Direct
Transmission of the Buddhas Gyalwa Gong Gyu. From Garab Dorje down through Manjushrimitra, Shri Singha and Jnanasutra to Vimalamitra, the lineage is known 
as the Sign Transmission of the Vidyadharas-Rigdzin Da Gyu. Then from Vimalamitra onwards, the lineage is called the Oral Transmission from Special IndividualsGangzak Nyen Gyu. These are the three transmissions according to the tradition of Vimalamitra. Within the Innermost Secret Cycle of Nyingtik are the Seventeen Tantras.  The  tradition  of  Vimalamitra  adds  to  them  the  ʻTantra  of  the  Wrathful  Mother,  Protectress  of  Mantrasʼ,  to  make  eighteen  in  all, while  the  tradition  of Padmasambhava also arrives at a total of eighteen by adding the ʻTantra of the Blazing Expanse of Luminosityʼ. Generally, however, both the ʻTantra of the Wrathful
Mother, Protectress of Mantrasʼ, from Vimalamitraʼs tradition and the ʻTantra of the Blazing Expanse of Luminosityʼ from Padmasambhavaʼs tradition and the ʻTantra of the Blazing Expanse of Luminosityʼ from Padmasambhavaʼs tradition are added to the Seventeen Tantras of the Innermost Secret Nyingtik Cycle, making a total of nineteen altogether.


In Tibet, the ones who made this Nyingtik teaching of Clear Light spread were the great masters who possessed their special direct transmission, chiefly the great pandita Vimalamitra, and Guru Padmasambhava. In the room known as Utseʼ Barkhang in Samye, Vimalamitra gave the cycle of the Innermost Secret Nyingtik of Dzogpachenpo in  strictest  secrecy  to  five  disciples:  the  King  Trisong  Detsen,  Nyangben  Tingdzin  Zangpo,  Prince  Muni  Tsepo,  Kawa  Platsek  and  Chokro  Luyi Gyaltsen. The tradition of Nyingtik which came down from this transmission is known as the Vima Nyingtik. The Vima Nyingtik itself can be categorized into tantras,agamas,  and  upadeshas,  which  are  all  taught  within  it.  The  tantras  here  refer to  the  Seventeen  Tantras  of  the  pith  instruction.  The  agamas  found in  the  Vima Nyingtik are the golden lettered instructions, the turquoise lettered instructions, the copper lettered instructions, and the conch lettered instructions. These are what are called the ʻfour volumes of profound instructionsʼ. Then the upadeshas refer to the 119 treatises of essential pith instructions. Vimalamitra spent thirteen years in Tibet, and then promising to  return to Tibet every hundred years as  an emanation to further the Clear Light teaching of Dzogpachenpo, he left for the Wutaishan 
mountain in  China. There he  remain until  all  of the  1000 buddhas of this  Fortunate Kalpa  have  appeared. When they  have  all  done  so,  he will  once  again go to Vajrasana in India, where he will manifest the state of complete and perfect enlightenment.


Fifty-five  years  after  Vimalamitraʼs  departure for Wutaishan,  Nyangben Tingdzin  Zangpo,  having  given  the  transmission  of  the  Vima  Nyingtik  cycle  to  Be  Lodro Wangchuk, attained the rainbow body. Be Lodro Wangchuk gave the pith instructions cycle of Nyingtik to Dangma Lhundrup Gyaltsen, who in turn passed it on to Chetsun Senge Wangchuk. He transmitted it to Gyalwa Shyangton Tashi Dorje, and then left this world in a rainbow body. Gyalwa Shyangton passed it on to the great siddha Khepa Nyimabum, who gave the teachings to his principal disciple Guru Jober. Then Guru Jober transmitted them to Trulshik Senge Gyabpa. He in turn 
gave  them  to  the  great  siddha  Drupchen Melong  Dorje,  who  passed  them  on  to  the  vidyadhara  Kumaradza.  Kumaradza  gave  the  teachings  to  the  Omniscient Longchen Rabjam, and so this is how the lineage flowed down to the Omniscient Longchenpa, who was born in the year 1308.In terms of what are called the ʻoldʼ and ʻnew Nyingtiks, the Vima Nyingtik came to be known as the old Nyingtik, and in terms of kama and terma, it was classified
as kama. This is how it is popularly defined. The Vima Nyingtik is also called the ʻmother textʼ (ma yik). Later on, Longchenpa composed his own commentary on the Vima Nyingtik, which was mainly based on the Dzogchen Tantra ʻGarland of Pearlsʼ. It was called the Lama Yangtik, ʻWish Fulfilling Jewelʼ, and is subdivided into fiftyone different treatises. Since it is a commentary on the Vima Nyingtik, it is referred to as the ʻchild textʼ (bu yik). This is how Vimalamitraʼs lineage came to be passed down.


The Khandro Nyingtik


It  was from Shri Singha that the  great master Padmasambhava  received the teachings of Nyingtik. In Tibet, Padmasambhava taught his  own complete Nyingtik cycle of the Clear Light teaching of Dzogpachenpo in secret to Yeshe Tsogyal, along with 100,000 wisdom dakinis, at the Shyoto Til Dro cave. Then one day, king Trisong Detsenʼs  daughter, the Princess Pema Sel,  died unexpectedly at the  age of  only  eight. The  king was  distraught with  grief, and so to  console him. Guru Rinpoche drew a syllable NRI over the little princessʼs heart, caught her consciousness with the hook of his samadhi, and brought her back to life. As soon as she 
opened her eyes  and  could  speak  again,  he  gave  her the  whole  cycle  of the Khandro Nyingtik  by  emans  of the  power he  had to transfer  blessings  directly.  He empowered Princess Pema Seal to reveal this teaching in a future life, and then the complete Khandro Nyingtik cycle was hidden as a terma. Princess Pema Sel was  reborn much  later  as  Pema  Ledrel Tsal,  who withdrew the terma  of  Khandro Nyingtik  from its  place  of  concealment  at  the  Daklha  Tramo  Drak  rock  in the province of Dakpo. He then transmitted it to his main disciple Gyalseʼ Lekden. Pema Ledrel Tsal was reincarnated as the Omniscient Longchenpa, who received the whole cycel of Khandro Nyingtik from Gyalseʼ Lekden, and by so doing ensured that the authentic lineage was kept alive.


According  to  the  Khandro  Nyingtik  then,  the  Mind  Direct  Transmission  of  the  Buddhas  is  the  same  primordial  expression  of  the  Dzogchen  teachings  in  the Akanishtha heaven. The Sign Transmission of the Vidyadharas is that which passed from Vajrapani to Garab Dorje, Shri Singha, Guru Rinpoche, Yeshe Tsogyal and Princess Pema Sel. From Pema Ledrel Tsal on, to Gyalse Lekden and the Omniscient Longchen Rabjam, is the Oral Transmission from Special Individuals. TheKhandro Nyingtik cycle itself consists of the Twelve ʻmotherʼ and ʻchildʼ Tantras of the Takdrol Gyu, the ʻThree Last Testaments of the Buddhaʼ, and other teachings 
amounting to  a total  of  sixty-five  different  categories. When the  pith-instructions  are  given  according to  the  Khandro Nyingtik,  it  is  these  Twelve  Tantras  of  the 
Takdrol Gyu and Three Last Testaments which are quoted as references.


Guru Rinpocheʼs Khandro Nyingtik came to be known as the ʻnewʼ Nyingtik, and is classifi ed as terma. As it was first taught to Yeshe Tsogyal and Pema Sel, who were both dakinis, and the guardian of the teaching was the protectress Shaza Khamocheʼ, it was given the name ʻKhandroʼ Nyingti. Guru Rinpocheʼs Khandro Nyingtik is  called the ʻmother textʼ,  as is the Vima Nyingtik, and so these two are known as the two ʻmotherʼs. The commentary on the Khandro Nyingtik composed by the Omniscient Longchen Rabjam is the Khandro Yangtik-ʼthe Cloud-bank of Ocean-like Profound Meaningsʼ, which is  called the ʻchild textʼ.  The two mother texts  and two child texts  of the Nyingtik were called the ʻfour partsʼ - Yabshyi, and so became known
together as the Nyingtik Yabshyi. Longchen Rabjam also composed the Zabmo Yangtik, which condenses the important pith-instructions of both Vima Nyingtik and Khandro Nyingtik, but it is not comprehensive.


Most of the cycles of the Innermost Secret Nyingtik are famous as being termas, and they can be categorized into elaborate, middle-length and condense cycles of teachings. The most elaborate Nyingtik is the Nyingtik Yabshyi itself. The middle-length Nyingtik is said to be the Northern Treasure Gongpa Zangtal, ʻAll-penetrating Wisdom Mindʼ, and the condense one is said to be Minling Terchenʼs terma Ati Zapdon Nyingop ʻEssence of the Profound Truth of Atiʼ.


The Continuing Lineage Between Longchen Rabjam and the  vidyadhara Jikme  Lingpa, there are fourteen masters in the lineage of transmission, However, when Jikme Lingpa practised, focusing on the Omniscient Longchenpa, for three years in the Sangchen Metok Cave at Samye Chimphu, Longchenpa actually appeared to him  in  a  vision  three  times,  and  gave  them  the  entire  blessing  of  the  transmission  of  his  wisdom  mind.  So  this  was  a  short  lineage  which  came  directly  and immediately  down from  Longchenpa to  Jigme  Lingpa. From  Jikmeʼ Lingpa, the teaching  passed to  Jikme Gyalweʼ Nyugu, then to  Jikmeʼ Chokyi Wangpo  (Patrul Rinpoche), and then to Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpeʼ Nyima, who gave it to the great Khenchen Ngakgi Wangpo (Khenpo Ngaga. In turn, he transmitted it to his disciple, 
Shedrup Lungtok  Tenpe Nyima, the incarnation of  Nyoshul  Lungtok.  From this  great master,  His  Holiness Penor Rinpoche  received, it  is  said,  almost  all  of the 
teachings of the Nyingtik cycle. The transmission which Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpe Nyima gave to Khenchen Ngaga was in turn passed on by him to the vidyadhara 
Palchen Dupa, the  second Pema Norbu Rinpoche. Khenpo Ngaga and Palchen Dupa were as teacher and student to  one another. So Plachen Dupa would offer 
Khenchen  Ngaga many  teachings  from  the  Nyingtik  cycle,  and likewise  he  received  a  considerable  number  of  Nyingtik  teachings  from  the  great  khenpo.  Now,
Palchen Dupa gave the transmission to Thubten Chökyi Dawa, the second Choktrul Rinpoche, who passed it on to His Holiness Drubwang Penor Rinpoche. In this 
way, the two lineages from Khenpo Ngaga merged into one. Finally, Penooche received the entire transmission of Nyingtik Yabshyi, along with the detailed 
explanation of the texts, from His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.


This  brief  note  on the  Nyingtik Yabshyi  was  composed  by  Khenpo Namdrol Rinpoche to mark  HH Drubwang Penor Rinpocheʼs  granting of the  Nyingtik Yabshyi empowerments at the request of Sogyal Rinpoche and Rigpa at Lerab Ling in July 1995. The Dzogchen teachings of Mengakde are also differentiated according to whether they  belong to  the  ʻShé  Gyüʼ or ʻNyen  Gyü,ʼ the  explanatory  Tantras  or  oral transmission.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  the  Shé  Gyü  mainly  contains  the instructions for enlightement in this lifetime and the Nyen Gyü for enlightenment in the intermediate state. Another way in which this is explained is that the Outer,
Inner and Secret cycles are Nyen Gyü, and the Innermost Secret Cycle belongs to Shé Gyü. The special fruition of the practice of the Innermost Secret Cycle, the Nyingtik teachings, is to attain the ʻrainbow body.ʼ Through the perfection of the practice of Trekcho, the physical body can be dissolved completely at death into particles, while through the Togal practice, it is dissolved into a body of light or rainbow body. There are two kinds of rainbow body: the general rainbow body, where the  body  dissolves  completely into light,  and the ʻRainbow Body  of the Great Transferenceʼ,  Jalu Phowa Chenpo, where the  ordinary body is  transformed into  a rainbow-like body and the individual lives for centuries for as long as they can benefit  beings, appearing to them from time to time. Such was the case with both Vimalamitra and Guru Rinpoche.

Tibetan Translator Training Program in Bir, India

Tibetan Translator Training Program in Bir, India: "

The following message appears in the latest news bulletin of the Deer Park Institute:

Tibetan Translator Training Program

Starting from June 2011

Recognising the immense benefits of translating words of Buddha and Indian panditas which is preserved in classical Tibetan language and Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Deer Park will initiate the institute’s first Tibetan Translation Program in the summer of 2011.

The aim of the program is to produce 10-15 classical Tibetan-English fluent junior translators capable of translating texts within the Kangyur and Tengyur.

This four-year program will have native Tibetan teachers, part time lamas and khenpos, and visiting translator scholars.

All applicants will go through a strict screening process to ensure that they have a rudimentary understanding of Tibetan and that they are committed to becoming a translator. This process will create a committed group of students that progress together through each level of the program.

Please circulate this information to friends you know who have passion in becoming Lotsawa! Scholarships are available.

For more info, contact program@deerpark.in

"

Translating the Tengyur on VOA Kunleng (in Tibetan)

Translating the Tengyur on VOA Kunleng (in Tibetan): "

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7sTkU-F02Q]

Kunleng invites Lobsang Shastri, New York based writer and expert on the Buddhist canons, Kagyur and Tengyur, and Penpa Dorjee, Central University of Higher Tibetan Studies, to discuss the recently concluded International Conference on Translating the Tengyur into foreign languages.

"

A Tribute to Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö

To mark the 50th anniversary of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö's parinirvana, we have quickly assembled this short compilation from our ever-growing archive of film and photographs.

Although little known in the West, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö was of the greatest importance for the spread of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings over the Western hemisphere. At that time in Tibet there was no other master that received the respect from followers of all traditions. Since he himself, following in the footsteps of his predecessor Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, had gathered, studied, practiced and taught all the different lineages of Tibetan Buddhism everyone claimed him as a great teacher of their very own tradition.

As His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lamapointed out, during the inauguration of the Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö Institute of Dialectics in 2004, he never traveled without boxes to carry all the hats that are necessary to perform the rituals for each one of the major schools. Although he had mastered all of them, he took great care never to mix and dilute the different traditions, but performed every ritual with minute accuracy according to the scriptures. He was known to change even his dress, voice and language according to the background of the author of a text, thus ensuring the authenticity of its transmission.

The early 20th century was not an easy time in Eastern Tibet. Yet despite the turmoil that surrounded him he accomplished a vast number of tasks for the benefit of the teachings. Carried by his prophetic insight their effects were felt not only there and then, but have resonated far into the future and far beyond Tibet.

His incredible learning, his serenity and warmth, his love and respect for the Buddha's teachings and his tireless work to preserve them, combined with his galvanizing personality and charisma had made him a reference point for many of the important lamas that later taught and practiced in countries across the entire world. Many of these teachers have pursued their studies either at Dzongsar or in one of the over eighty other colleges that had been founded by Kham-je Shedra graduates.

When, in the late 1950's, the Tibetans were scattered like 'peas thrown on a drum', both the dharma of transmission and thedharma of realization miraculously managed to survive the destruction of monasteries, libraries, and centers of learning. This almost unprecedented preservation of a wisdom culture under the most difficult of circumstances can be largely attributed to the life and work of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö.

This short film portrays only a few of his many disciples: HH Sakya Trizin, H.E.Dagmo Kusho, Sogyal Rinpoche, Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche, Alak Zenkar Rinpoche, Ngari Tulku Rinpoche,Khenchen Kunga Wangchuk and Khenchen Appey.

For a longer list of his students, albeit still incomplete, please lookhere.

Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö in the form of Pema Yeshe Dorje

Thangka of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö in the form of Pema Yeshe Dorje, courtesy of Jeff Watt at himalayanart.org. For the zoom-able image go to Himalayan Art. Original photograph part of the Shechen Archives Photography Collection

In the 1920's Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö spent several months at the hermitage of the third Dodrupchen Rinpoche Jikme Tenpe Nyima receiving empowerments and teachings. During an extraordinary empowerment into the mandala of Rigdzin DüpaDodrupchen gave him the secret name Pema Yeshe Dorje.

Many scholars have seen this as an indication that Dodrupchen considered Jamyang Khyentse to be also an incarnation of Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje (1800-1866), a student of the firstDodrupchen Rinpoche Jikmé Trinlé Özer (1745-1821) and a teacher and friend to the second Dodrupchen Jikmé Puntsok Jungné (1824-1863)

Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje from Rigpa Wiki

Later Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö wrote of his visit to Dodrupchen:

I went to the encampment of Do in the North and
Met the omniscient Tenpe Nyima.
I received the empowerment of Rigdzin Dupa and Ladrup Tiklé Gyachen,
The teachings on Longchen Nyingthig, and
The Outline of Guhyagarbha.
He constantly gave me instructions and advice.
He gave me the permission to propagate
His writings, with no need of having the verbal transmission (lung).
With great kindness, he gave me all his care.

quoted from Tulku Thondup, Masters of Meditation and Miracles,Shambhala, 1996

a rather romantic view of the main entrance gate to Dodrupchen Monastery in East Tibet
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkrigsman/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

For more some translations of writings by the third Dodrupchen Tenpe Nyima visit his page on Lotsawahouse.org

Leaving Tibet

Leaving Tibet: "According to the Western calendar, June 12 of this year marks the 50th anniversary of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö's parinirvana. He passed away at the Tsuklakhang, the Royal Chapel in Gangtok, Sikkim, where he had spent most of the last three years of his life as the guest of Chogyal Tashi Namgyal (1914-1963).

In 1955/56 Crown Prince Thondup Namgyal traveled to Lhasa with a special mission on behalf of India's Prime Minister Pandit Nehru: An invitation for His Holiness the Dalai Lama to join the celebrations for the 2,500 year anniversary of the birth of Buddha, which would enable him to forge international alliances, drawing attention to the threats his people was facing. At the same time Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö and his party had arrived on their pilgrimage and secret flight from Kham and had taken up lodging at the Samdrup family home, right across from the Jokhang temple. Coincidentally the prince's first wife, Sangey Deki, was a member of the Samdrup family, and so Thondup Namgyal met Jamyang Khyentse at Samdrup Podrang, inviting him to join in the great Buddha Jayanti, via Sikkim.

However Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö was not keen to leave Tibet. Many times he talked about how he wanted to return to Dzongsar as quickly as possible. Around Losar 1956, following a divination, the omniscient Sixteenth Karmapa Rigpé Dorje, urged him strongly to avoid even going to South Tibet and instead to seek refuge in Sikkim. During his stay in Lhasa his fame had spread throughout the holy city and many members of the aristocracy had begun to request blessings and teachings. This gathering of influential personalities raised an alarm with the Chinese authorities, so that, after spending his last month in Tibet at Sakya, Jamyang Khyentse saw no other way than to turn south for Sikkim, traveling in the footsteps of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama who had escaped Chinese troops by fleeing to Sikkim in 1909. In his party were Khandro Tsering Chödron, the Lakar family, and about forty other members of their families and entourage.

Gangtok in January 1957 – Khangchendzonga in background (photo by India Ministry of Broadcasting)

Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö had a special connection with Sikkim. Like the King of Sikkim, Chogyal Tashi Namgyal, he was considered an incarnation of Lhatsün Namkha Jikmé who, with his revelation of the Rigdzin Sokdrup (‘Accomplishing the Life-force of the Vidyadharas’) had established the Dzogchen teachings in Sikkim in the 17th century. In his autobiography Jamyang Khyentse clearly recalled these memories from his former life.

Crossing the rugged terrain of the Himalayas that took them from the high, arid plateau of Tibet across mountain trails, glaciers and snow-bound passes, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö and his party travelled down into the tropical rainforests of Sikkim through Lachen via the Sebu Pass.

At the invitation of the Chogyal, they took up residence in Gangtok's Royal Chapel. During summers, when the hot and humid monsoon sweeps up from the Indian plains, they would move to Kalimpong and Darjeeling where the climate was more agreeable. Everywhere he went he gave teachings and empowerments to disciples who had begun to cross the border in increasing numbers as conditions deteriorated in Tibet.

Sogyal Rinpoche remembers that despite the illness that would soon claim his life, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö continued to radiate humour and spiritual luminosity:

“He used to stay in the palace monastery in Sikkim where there's quite a large ground and every afternoon he would go there and drink tea and sit there, and all his disciples would sit around him and he would give a teaching.”

Sogyal Rinpoche also recalls their first visit to a cinema in Darjeeling where they watched a documentary about wildlife and, to the delight of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, a filmed version of the Ramayana, the Indian epic attributed to the Hindu sage Valmiki (ca. 400BCE).

Jetsun Kushok Luding, elder sister of H.H. Sakya Trizin, recollects that when they were still in Sakya, while anxiously listening on their radio for news about the turn of events in Lhasa, one day they miraculously tuned into the voice of Jamyang Khyentse on All India Radio, as he was giving a teaching titled 'Opening the Dharma'. So far, no amount of searching in the archives of A.I.R. has been able to produce this precious recording of his voice.

Ngari Tulku Rinpoche, about fourteen years old at the time, remembered how Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö stayed true to the tradition of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgön Kongtrul giving teachings according to the different capacity and temperament of whatever people came to see him. He recalled to us that the top floor of the Tsuglakhang was always packed with some of the highest lamas. Among them were Gyalwang Karmapa from nearby Rumtek, Chatral Rinpoche, Dodrupchen Trinlé Palbar, Kachu Rinpoche, Dhardo Rinpoche, Dhongthog Rinpoche, Trulshik Pawo Dorje, Khamtrul Rinpoche, Thartse Ken Sonam Gyatso — to name a few!

In those days not only Tibetan lamas and disciples received teachings from Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. Among others his students included the Sikkim royal family, the Indian Diplomat Apa Pant, the translator Sonam Tobgay Kazi, and even a handful of western Buddhists, namely the scholar John Driver, the journalist and humanitarian Robert Godet, and English bhikṣu and FWBO founder Urgyen Sangharakshita.



In an interview with us he vividly recalls:

“At certain points in the initiations that he gave, he would be visualising the bodhisattvas, and I could see that as he did so, he was sort of looking up with a beautiful smile, a very beatific expression, as though he could actually see those bodhisattvas floating there in the air before him, and he gave a sort of smile of recognition, “Ah yes, you are there again.”

"

The Western Anniversary of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö

The Western Anniversary of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö: "

Ajanta Cave 26 The Buddha's parinirvana

According to the western calendar today marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of one the greatest masters of early 20th century Tibetan Buddhism, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. He entered into his final meditation (thug dam) in the palace temple in Gangtok, which had been his home since coming into exile from Tibet in 1956. His death was kept a secret until his final passing into parinirvana three days later, when suddenly an incandescent light illuminated the sky over Gangtok, hours after nightfall.

Sogyal Rinpoche, using the examples of the Sixteenth Gyalwang Karmapa and Kalu Rinpoche in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, describes the death of a master:

'A realized practitioner continues to abide by the recognition of the nature of mind at the moment of death, and awakens into the Ground Luminosity when it manifests. He or she may even remain in that state for a number of days. Some practitioners and masters die sitting upright in meditation posture, and others in the 'posture of the sleeping lion.' Besides their perfect poise, there will be other signs that show they are resting in the state of the Ground Luminosity: There is still a certain color and glow in their face, the nose does not sink inward, the skin remains soft and flexible, the body does not become stiff, the eyes are said to keep a soft and compassionate glow, and there is still a warmth at the heart. Great care is taken that the master's body is not touched, and silence is maintained until he or she has arisen from this state of meditation.'

"

The Story of the Hunted Deer `The Messenger of Renunciation`

Song of Advice for Giving Up the Eating of Meat

Introduction of Food for Bodhisattvas

Shabkar Tsodruk Rangdrol (1781-1851), the great Tibetan yogi who espoused the ideals of vegetarianism. Shabkar’s attitude toward the different schools of Tibetan Buddhism was unclouded by even the slightest trace of sectarian bias. No doubt this was due primarily to his free and independent lifestyle, uncomplicated by institutional allegiances or dependence on benefactors. He lived an entirely hand-to-mouth existence. He had no fixed abode and reduced his own needs to an absolute minimum. He is often venerated as an emanation of Manjushrimitra (jam dpal bshes gnyen), one of the patriarchs of the Dzogchen lineage of the Nyingma school. He has been recognized as the incarnation of the master Ngulchu Gyalse Thogme, much venerated by the Sakyapas, and as the rebirth of Chengawa Lodro Gyaltsen, a close disciple of Je Milarepa.The Dharma was for him a matter of personal insight and training, not of allegiance to a school. He loved the Buddha’s teaching in all its manifestations, and his attitude to all traditions was one of unfeigned devotion. Shabkar was famous for his affection and concern for animals. His attitude was an expression not only of personal sympathy and aesthetic appreciation; it was rooted in his understanding of Buddhist teaching as can be read in the book Food for Bodhisattavs containing two works of Shabkar and his autobiography translated by Matthieu Ricard (references).

Tulku: You're the reincarnation of your fathers teacher..... now what? By: Gesar Mukpo

At age three, Gesar Tsewang Arthur Mukpo, son of renowned Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his British wife Diana, was identified as the reincarnation of the late Jamgon Kongtrul of Sechen, one of his fathers own teachers in Tibet. Living in Boulder, Colorado and then Halifax, Nova Scotia, Gesar balanced competing cultures and strikingly different definitions of self. His life was far from that of an ordinary contemporary American or Canadianhis father was a world famous Buddhist teacher and authorbut there was no monastery upbringing like that of perhaps the best known tulku, the Dalai Lama, or even like his father. And after his fathers untimely death, he was on his own with this challenge

Inspired by Tibetan Buddhist teacher and noted filmmaker Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche (The Cup, Travellers & Magicians), Gesar Mukpo has documented his own story and those of several other tulkus in this personal and thoughtful film that asks the questions, What does it mean to be identified as a tulku? and more broadly, How does one live in this world, fulfill ones destiny?

Features rare archival footage from Tibet, with appearances by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche; HH Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Karmapa; Lady Diana Mukpo

Brilliant Moon: Glimpses of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Brilliant Moon: Glimpses of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche  chronicles the life of the writer, poet, and meditation master Khyentse Rinpoche, one of Tibet's most revered 20th-century Buddhist teachers. Known as the instructor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Royal Family of Bhutan, his life and teachings were an inspiration to all who encountered him. Two of his admirers are Richard Gere and Lou Reed, who provide the narration for his dangerous journey out of China and the subsequent spread of his influence around the world. Brilliant Moon was filmed in Tibet, India, Bhutan, the United States and Nepal, and uses animation, rare archival footage and interviews with some of Tibet's great thinkers, to tell his moving life story, from birth to death to rebirth. Written and Directed by Neten Chokling (Milarepa), one of Khyentse Rinpoche's students, it is an intimate, moving and revelatory look at a transcendent spiritual being.

Longchen Nyingthig Yumka text

"Queen of Great Bliss" 
including additional parts for Tshog offering

Longchen Nyingthig Rigdzin Dupa text

"Assemblage of Knowledge Holders" including additional parts for Tshog offering


Rigdzin Düpa, 'The Gathering of Vidyadharas,' is the inner lama practice from the Longchen Nyingtik, the terma revelation of Jikmé Lingpa.


At the centre of the mandala is Guru Rinpoche in union with Mandarava. Above his head is Garab Dorje and Samantabhadra. He is surrounded by the eight vidyadharas who are in essence the eight deities of Kagyé:

East - Humkara - Yangdak Heruka

South - Manjushrimitra - Yamantaka

West - Nagarjuna - Hayagriva

North - Prabhahasti - Vajrakilaya

South-east - Dhanasamskrita - Mamo Bötong

South-west - Vimalamitra - Düdtsi Yönten

North-west- Rombhuguhya - Jikten Chötö

North-east - Shantigarbha - Möpa Drakngak

They are all surrounded by all the vidyadharas of India and Tibet and the twenty-five disciples and yidam deities, dakas, dakinis and dharma protectors.

Nam Cho

The Nam Cho, or Space Dharma, is the collection of terma teachings revealed by the Terton, Migyur Dorje, at the age of 13 and compiled by Karma Chagmed, they comprise the trunk of the Palyul Lineage.
13 Volumes.

Longchen Nyingtik "Tsa Put"

The Cycle of the Longchen Nying Thig root texts.
5 Volumes.

Nyingthig Yabshi

Lonchenpa's collection of teachings and practices of the Dzogchen Traditions of the Khandro Nying Thig from Guru Rinpoche, the Vimala Nying Thig from Vimalamitra and the commentaries composed by Longchenpa, the Khandro Yangtig, Vimala Yangtig and Lama Yangtig.
13 Volumes 

Chetsun Nyingthig

Vol 1: rdzogs chen lce btsun snying tig gi skor.
Vol 2: lce btsun snying thig gi chos skor.
The Works of Adzom Drugpa, Lerab Lingpa and other Great Masters.
Vol. 1 is written in u-chen Tibetan script from pages 1-314 and 513- 530. Pages 315-512 are written in the u-med Tibetan script.
Vol. 2 is writtten in the u-chen Tibetan script.

2 Volumes. (Can be ordered individually--choose to order an individual volume or the 2-volume set under the Product Options menu above) 

Dzod Dun - The Seven Treasures of Longchenpa

kun mkhyen klong chen pa dri med 'od zer

theg mchog rdzogs chen bka' gter gyi. bcud 'dus mdzod chen rnam bdun bzhugs.

The Collection of the Seven Treasures of Longchenpa is a synthesis of the entire path to liberation.  

The Seven Treasures are:

1.  yid bzhin mdzod:  The Precious Wish-fulfilling Treasury.

2.  chos dbyings mdzod:  The Precious Treasury of the Dharmadhatu.

3.  theg mchog mdzod:  The Precious Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle.

4.  gnas lugs mdzod:  The Precious Treasury of the Way of Abiding.

5.  tshig don mdzod:  The Precious Treasury of the Meaning of Words.

6.  man ngag mdzod:  The Precious Treasury of Oral Instructions.

7.  grub mtha' mdzod:  The Precious Treasury of Philosophical Systems.

"How to Wrap a Pecha"

This video "How to Wrap a Pecha" with instruction by Lama Drimed, shows in detail how to wrap a traditional, Tibetan Text.

Two prayers by Dza Patrul Rinpoche

Two short prayers written by the great Dzogchen master Dza Patrul Rinpoche. Unfortunately I do not know the exact circumstances in which they were originally written.

The Queen of Great Bliss

[NOTE: Traditionally, empowerment, reading transmission, and explanatory teaching from a qualified teacher are necessary in order for such a sadhana to be fully understood and practised.]
This is the Dakini practice from the famous Longchen Nyingthig Cycle, written down by Jigme Lingpa. Although as a sadhana it is a Tantric practice, it is imbued throughout with the Dzogchen perspective. I referred to several earlier English versions, including that produced by the Dzogchen Shri Singha University, when re-translating this text. This is a brief version, omitting many prayers that customarily accompany the practice when it is performed in groups.

Bardo Prayers

These prayers were written down by the fourteenth century tertön Karma Lingpa, and are traditionally recited as guidance to the dead and dying. The "Prayer Requesting Assistance from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas," requests all enlightened beings to comfort those who are dying or who are suffering in the intermediate states after death (Bardos). "Root verses of the Bardo Tödral (Liberation on Hearing in the Bardo)" encapsulates the essential instructions on each phase of the Bardos. The "Prayer that protects from fear in the Bardos" appeals for the Buddhas' and bodhisattvas' compassionate refuge from fear. The "Prayer for Deliverance from the Bardo's Narrow Passage" outlines the experiences of the Bardo of Reality or Dharmata, in order to help the dead person to recognize the true nature of the visions that arise there.