Part of a series on Tibetan Buddhism
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Three marks of existence · Skandha · Cosmology · Saṃsāra · Rebirth · Bodhisattva · Dharma · Dependent origination · Karma
Major figures
Gautama Buddha · Padmasambhava · Je Tsongkhapa · Dalai Lama · Panchen Lama · Lama · Karmapa Lama · Rinpoche · Geshe · Terton · Tulku
Practices and attainment
Buddhahood · Avalokiteśvara · Four stages of enlightenment · Tantric yoga · Paramitas · Meditation · Laity
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Changzhug · Drepung · Dzogchen · Ganden · Jokhang · Kumbum  · Labrang · Mindroling · Namgyal · Narthang · Nechung · Pabonka · Palcho · Ralung · Ramoche · Sakya · Sanga · Sera · Shalu · Tashilhunpo · Tsurphu · Yerpa
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Chotrul Duchen · Dajyur · Losar · Monlam · Sho Dun
Texts
Kangyur · Tengyur · Tibetan canon · Mahayana sutras · Nyingma Gyubum
Art
Sand mandala · Thangka · Ashtamangala · Tree of physiology
Outline  · Comparative studies  · Culture  · List of topics  · Portal
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In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku (Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་སྐུ, Wylie: sprul sku, ZYPY: Zhügu, also tülku, trulku) is a particular high-ranking lama (e.g., the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama, the Karmapa) who can choose the manner of his (or her) rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his (or her) predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other lamas, have no choice as to the manner of their rebirth.^{[clarification needed]} In addition to choosing the manner of their rebirth, tulkus are able, on their deathbed, to make known the place of their next birth.

It has been estimated that there are presently about 500 tulkus found across Tibet, although before the Chinese invasion there were probably a few thousand. Each tulku has a distinct lineage of rebirths. For example, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama is held to be the reincarnation of each of the previous thirteen Dalai Lamas of Tibet, who are in turn considered to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara, or Chenrezig, Bodhisattva of Compassion, holder of the White Lotus.^[1] The vast majority of tulkus (and lamas) are men, although some are women.

The tulku incarnation lineage should not be confused with the lineage of Buddhist masters and their disciples, which is concerned with the oral or written transmission of particular Buddhist teachings and spiritual practice from generation to generation.

Nomenclature and etymology[link]

The word སྤྲུལ or 'sprul' (Modern Lhasa Tibetan [ʈʉlku] was originally a verb in Old Tibetan literature, found at 敦煌/Dunhuang, and was used to describe the བཙན་པོ་ btsanpo ('emperor'/天子) taking a human form on earth. So the 'sprul' idea of taking a corporeal form is a local religious idea alien to Indian Buddhism and other forms of Buddhism (e.g. Theravadin or Zen). Over time, indigenous religious ideas became assimilated by the new Buddhism; e.g. 'sprul' became part of a compound noun, སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་'sprul.sku' ("incarnation body" or 'tülku', and 'btsan', the term for the imperial ruler of the Tibetan Empire, became a kind of mountain deity). The term tülku became associated with the translation of the Sanskrit philosophical term nirmanakaya. According to the philosophical system of trikaya or three bodies of Buddha, nirmanakaya is the Buddha's "body" in the sense of the bodymind (Sanskrit: nāmarūpa). Thus, the person of Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, is an example of nirmanakaya. In the context of Tibetan Buddhism, tülku is used to refer to the corporeal existence of enlightened Buddhist masters in general.

In addition to Tibetans and related peoples, Tibetan Buddhism is a traditional religion of the Mongols and their relatives. The Mongolian word for a tulku is qubilγan, though such persons may also be called by the honorific title qutuγtu (Tib: 'phags-pa / Skt: ārya), or hutagt in the standard Khalkha dialect. According to the Light of Fearless Indestructible Wisdom by Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal: designates one who is "noble" (or "selfless" according to Buddha's usage) and used in Buddhist texts to denote a highly achieved being who has attained the first bhumi, a level of attainment which is truly egoless, or higher.

The Chinese word for tulku is huófó (活佛), which literally means "living Buddha" and is sometimes used to mean tulku although this is rare outside of Chinese sources. Also, modern Chinese sources typically refer to a young incarnation of a (presumably male) tulku as a "soul boy" (Chinese: 靈童; pinyin: língtóng). However, according to the Dalai Lama, "this is wrong. Tibetan Buddhism recognises no such thing."^[2] Also, in interviews that he has given, the Dalai Lama has frequently dismissed the notion of 'living Buddha' referring to it as "nonsense".^[3]

Characteristics[link]

History[link]

The Tibetan institution of the tulku as the emanation^{[clarification needed]} (often misunderstood as the rebirth^{[clarification needed]} ) of a lama developed during the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries, as various Schools of Tibetan Buddhism began to accept the possibility that exemplary figures might remain within the human world as institutional teachers, manifesting from one lifetime to the next out of compassion. At this point, the notion of nirmanakaya, or created body of a Buddha, became linked to a notion of regular manifestation (Tibetan: yangsi, Wylie: yang-srid). The most dramatic—and at that time controversial—innovation was the idea that a tulku could inherit the estate (Tibetan: labrang) of their previous incarnation. This rule of inheritance allowed for the rise of hugely wealthy estates belonging to the lineages of reincarnating tulkus. The first recognized tulku of this kind within the Vajrayana traditions was the Karmapa, the head of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism; precisely, the first to be recognized as a manifestation was the second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (1204–1283). The Karmapa is now in his 17th emanation.

While most tulkus historically have been Tibetans, some have also been born among various other peoples with whom the Tibetans have had contact, such as the Mongols. Now in the Tibetan diaspora, tulku are being found all over the world. In modern times, as Tibetan Buddhism has attracted followers across the world, a small number of tulkus have been found among Western people. Perhaps the most religiously significant such tulku is Tenzin Ösel (born 1985), the child of Spanish parents, who has been recognized as the reincarnation of Thubten Yeshe, an influential Tibetan lama.

In 1988 a conference was convened at the request of the Dalai Lama at which approximately 350 tulkus and Abbots attended from all five Tibetan spiritual traditions - Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, Gelug, and Bon. The agenda was to discuss the future of the Tibetan spiritual traditions in the Indian subcontinent, Tibet and foreign countries, and the relationship with science and foreign religions.^[4]

Finding a successor[link]

As a tulku nears death he (or she) may hint in writings or reveal signs, to those with the karmic proclivity, that will help determine his or her successor or next mindstream emanation. Sometimes, a tulku will leave a prediction letter or song describing where they will be found, sometimes adding various details about their future parents, the situation of their house and so on. If such details are lacking, the monks whose duty is to locate his reincarnation, resort to a lama-tulku astrologer (or tsispa) for directions.^[5] Prophecies, which may date forward or backward many generations, also play a role. The vetting of a potential successor often involves tests such as checking whether the child can recognize acquaintances or possessions from his previous life or answer questions only known to his former life-experience. According to the book Magic and Mystery in Tibet by Alexandra David-Neel, “A number of objects such as rosaries, ritualistic implements, books, tea-cups, etc., are placed together, and the child must pick out those that belonged to the late tulku, thus showing that he recognizes the things that were his in his previous life."^[6] This process was portrayed in the movies Kundun and The Golden Child.

The thoroughness of the testing procedure varies according to the eminence of the tulku. For minor figures, associated with a particular area or monastery only, the choice is sometimes made after a perfunctory search and often motivated by political considerations. For major tulkus, like the Dalai Lamas and the Panchen Lamas, a great deal of care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the process of finding a successor.^[7]

Usually the tulku heir has been male, that is, appeared in male form. However, discussing his own successor, the Dalai Lama has been quoted as saying that "if a woman reveals herself as more useful the lama could very well be reincarnated in this form".^[8] The Dalai Lama has also said (when speculating about the possibility that his people might have no use for a Dalai Lama after he dies) that he "might take rebirth as an insect, or an animal...".^[2]

Tulku lineages[link]

Tibetologist Françoise Pommaret estimates there are presently approximately 500 tulku lineages found across Tibet, Bhutan, Northern India, Nepal, Mongolia, and the southwest provinces of China. The vast majority of tulkus are men, although there are a small number of female tulku lineages. The most prestigious female tulku lineage is that of the Dorje Phagmo of Samding Monastery.

By far the most politically powerful tulku lineage for the past several hundred years have been the Dalai Lamas, which has seen a total of fourteen emanations beginning with Gedun Drub.^[9] Note that the title "Dalai Lama" was not applied to this line from the beginning: the second emanation was seen simply as the rebirth of Gedun Drub. The same was true of the third emanation, Sonam Gyatso, until he was dubbed "Dalai Lama" as an adult, after which he applied the title posthumously to his predecessors and declared himself the 3rd Dalai Lama. It was Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682), the 5th Dalai Lama, who established the Dalai Lamas as Tibet's predominant political power. After their control was consolidated, recognition of some of the most important tulkus was vetted by the government at Lhasa, and could on occasion be banned if its previous incumbent fell out of favour. A notable example of this penalty was the Shamarpa, once the most powerful subordinate of the Karmapa, whose recognition of reincarnation was banned by order of the Dalai Lama in 1792. This ban remained in place until after the Dalai Lama lost power in Tibet during the 1950s, although it was later revealed that the Karmapa had recognized emanations of the Shamarpa secretly during the intervening period.

Lineages of tulkus may be interlinked—for example the Panchen Lama traditionally recognizes the new incarnation of the Dalai Lama and vice versa. In most cases there is no such relationship, but the potential candidate is always vetted by respected lamas (as described above).

Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo is an enthroned tulku within the Palyul lineage of the Nyingma tradition recognized by Penor Rinpoche. In the late 1980s, she gained international attention as the first Western woman to be named a reincarnate lama.

Controversy and Criticisms[link]

The recognition of tulkus has sometimes involved ambiguity as well as controversy.^[10] According to Tibetan historian Samten Gyaltsen Karmay, Lobsang Gyatso, the 5th Dalai Lama, wrote in his autobiography:

The official Tsawa Kachu of the Ganden Palace showed me statues and rosaries (that belonged to the Fourth Dalai Lama and other lamas), but I was unable to distinguish between them! When he left the room I heard him tell the people outside that I had successfully passed the tests. Later, when he became my tutor, he would often admonish me and say: "You must work hard, since you were unable to recognize the objects!"^[11]

In the 2009 documentary film Tulku, Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche argues against the institutionalized Tulku system stating,

And now, I personally think that to hold that culture, institutionalized Tulku. That culture is dying; it’s not going to work anymore. And even if it… And if it doesn’t work, I think it’s almost for the better because this tulku, it’s going to… If the Tibetans are not careful, this Tulku system is going to ruin Buddhism. At the end of the day Buddhism is more important [than] Tulku system, who cares about Tulku... [and] what happens to them.^[12]

The American film actor Steven Seagal, while already an adult, was recognized by Penor Rinpoche, the head of the Nyingma school, as the reincarnation of a 17th century tertön from eastern Tibet, Chungdrag Dorje. Penor Rinpoche notes that "such recognition does not mean that one is already a realized teacher"; Seagal has not been enthroned and has not undergone the extensive program of training and study that is customary for a tulku.^[13]

Documentaries[link]

• Tulku
• Unmistaken Child
• My Reincarnation

In popular culture[link]

• In the film The Shadow, a mystical tulku trains Lamont Cranston to use his inner darkness to fight crime.
• In the book Tulku, by Peter Dickinson, a young boy and his companions, fleeing the Boxer rebellion in China, encounter Tibetan monks awaiting the birth of a tulku.^[14]
• The Green Lama was often referred to as Tulku by his associates.

See also[link]

• Kumari - a Nepalese Hindu goddess lineage with similar selection processes
• Rebirth
• Reincarnation Application
• Bodhi
• Avatar
• Incarnation
• Namarupa

Notes[link]

1. ^ From Birth to Exile Website of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
2. ^ ^{a b} Tenzin Gyatso (1998) Freedom in Exile. The autobiography of the Dalai Lama of Tibet. London: Abacus.
3. ^ His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Japan - Day 3 Website of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, June 20th 2010.
4. ^ Tulkus' Conference on Nonsectarianism The Buddhist Archives of Dr. Alexander Berzin
5. ^ Alexandra David-Néel(1967) Magic and Mystery in Tibet. Souvenir Press Ltd. (originally published as Mystiques et magiciens du Thibet. Plon: Paris, 1929; English translation Claude Kendall, New York, 1932)
6. ^ David-Neel, Alexandra. Magic and Mystery in Tibet. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1971 (ISBN 0-486-22682-4)
7. ^ John Powers (2007) Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. Snow Lion Publications.
8. ^ Dalai Lama Says Successor Could Be A Woman Website of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, December 13th 2007.
9. ^ Tulkus: Incarnate Lamas of Tibet An Interview with Sakya Gongma Dagchen Rinpoche
10. ^ Tales of Intrigue from Tibet's Holy City: The Historical Underpinnings of a Modern Buddhist Crisis Thesis by Lindsay G. McCune The Florida State University College of Arts and Sciences
11. ^ "The Great Fifth". http://www.iias.nl/nl/39/IIAS_NL39_1213.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-31. 
12. ^ Dzongsar Khyentse intervewed in the movie Khyentse Rinpoche, Dzongsar Jamyang. Tulku: Diving Birth, Ordinary Life part 4/4. 21 September 2010. Online Video Clip. Youtube. Accessed 16 May 2011.
13. ^ Statement by H.H. Penor Rinpoche Regarding the Recognition of Steven Seagal as a Reincarnation of the Treasure Revealer Chungdrag Dorje of Palyul Monastery
14. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Tulku-Peter-Dickinson/dp/0440214890

References[link]

• Campbell, June (1996). The Emperor's Tantric Robes Winter 1996 issue of "Tricycle" magazin
• Logan, Pamela (2004). "Tulkus in Tibet". Harvard Asia Quarterly 8 (1) 15-23.
• Ray, Reginald A. 1986 "Some aspects of the Tulku tradition in Tibet." in The Tibet Journal 11 (4): 35-69

Further reading[link]

• Reincarnate Lamas: Tulkus and Rinpoches - section from Berzin, Alexander. 2000 Relating to a Spiritual Teacher.
• Tulkus: Incarnate Lamas of Tibet - An Interview with His Holiness Sakya Trizin - An excerpt from Testimonies of Tibetan Tulkus; A Research among Reincarnate Buddhist Masters in Exile by Danial Barlocher, Opuscula Tibetana, Rikon-Zurich, August 1982
• Tulkus: Incarnate Lamas of Tibet 2 - Interview with Sakya Gongma Dagchen Rinpoche - excerpted from Testimonies of Tibetan Tulkus; A Research among Reincarnate Buddhist Masters in Exile by Danial Barlocher, Opuscula Tibetana, Rikon-Zurich, August 1982. (Interview translator: Cyrus Stearns).
• Tulkus : Masters of Reincarnation - focus article at WisdomBooks.com
• A small explanation for the Lineages

Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche - April 2001

Chagdud Tulku (Tibetan: ལྕགས་མདུད་, Wylie: Lcags-mdud) Rinpoche (1930–2002) was a teacher of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. He was known and respected in the West for his teachings, his melodic chanting voice, his artistry as a sculptor and painter, and his skill as a physician. He acted as a spiritual guide for thousands of students worldwide.^[1]

Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche was the fourteenth recognized Chagdud incarnation. Chagdud Gonpa centers practice Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, primarily in the Nyingmapa tradition of Guru Padmasambhava.

Early life[link]

Part of a series on Tibetan Buddhism
History
Timeline · Related-topics
Schools
Nyingma · Kagyu · Sakya · Gelug · Bön · Jonang
Key concepts
Three marks of existence · Skandha · Cosmology · Saṃsāra · Rebirth · Bodhisattva · Dharma · Dependent origination · Karma
Major figures
Gautama Buddha · Padmasambhava · Je Tsongkhapa · Dalai Lama · Panchen Lama · Lama · Karmapa Lama · Rinpoche · Geshe · Terton · Tulku
Practices and attainment
Buddhahood · Avalokiteśvara · Four stages of enlightenment · Tantric yoga · Paramitas · Meditation · Laity
Major monasteries
Changzhug · Drepung · Dzogchen · Ganden · Jokhang · Kumbum  · Labrang · Mindroling · Namgyal · Narthang · Nechung · Pabonka · Palcho · Ralung · Ramoche · Sakya · Sanga · Sera · Shalu · Tashilhunpo · Tsurphu · Yerpa
Major festivals
Chotrul Duchen · Dajyur · Losar · Monlam · Sho Dun
Texts
Kangyur · Tengyur · Tibetan canon · Mahayana sutras · Nyingma Gyubum
Art
Sand mandala · Thangka · Ashtamangala · Tree of physiology
Outline  · Comparative studies  · Culture  · List of topics  · Portal
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Jigme Tromge Rinpoche

Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche was born in the Tromtar region of Kham eastern Tibet in 1930. His father was Sera Khato Tulku, a lama in the Gelugpa sect. His mother was Dawa Drolma, who was widely considered to be an emanation of Tara and was from a Sakya family, and had a profound influence on her son's spiritual life.

By the time he was three years old, he was recognized as the incarnation of the previous Chagdud Tulku, and soon thereafter traveled to Temp'hel Gonpa, a monastery about two or three days by horseback from Tromtar. As he recounts in his autobiography, The Lord Of The Dance:

For the next seven years, until I went into three year retreat at the age of eleven, my life would alternate between periods of strict discipline in which my every move would be under the surveillance of my tutors and interludes in which my suppressed energies would explode. Throughout, I had many visions, many clairvoyant experiences, many extraordinary dreams, and within these, I sometimes had glimpses of absolute open awareness.^[2]

After this retreat he received numerous teachings, empowerments, and oral transmissions, from various spiritual masters. One of them, Sechen Rabjam Rinpoche, told him that Tara meditation would be one of his major practices.

In 1945, shortly after completing his first three year retreat, he went to see Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. From Chökyi Lodrö Rinpoche he received the Rinchen Terzod empowerments, and caught his first glimpse of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who was attending the empowerments. By 1946 he entered his second three year retreat, this time under the guidance of the Tromge Trungpa Rinpoche. Near the conclusion of this retreat, the death of Tromge Trungpa forced him to leave before its completion. He then returned to Chagdud Gompa in Nyagrong, and after staying there for a while, proceeded on a pilgrimage to Lhasa with an entourage of monks. He then did an extended retreat at Samye, the monastery built by Guru Padmasambhava, and afterwards attended empowerments given by Dudjom Rinpoche, who would become a main teacher as well as a source of spiritual inspiration for him.

After this in 1957 he stayed for a year in Lhasa, Tibet, in the same household as Khenpo Dorje, whom he regarded as his root lama. Among his other teachers were Shechen Kongtrul, Tulku Arig and Dudjom Rinpoche.

During 1958, his last year in Tibet, Chagdud Tulku was advised to marry in order to have a companion and helper in the unsettled times to come. He later wed Karma Drolma, the daughter of a wealthy landowner in Kongpo. Later, in exile in India, they would have a son and a daughter, Jigme Tromge Rinpoche and Dawa Lhamo Tromge.

Life in exile from Tibet[link]

Following Tibet's invasion by China in 1959, Chagdud Tulku escaped along with Khenpo Dorje to India, after enduring hunger, and many close calls, where it looked like they would not make it out. His route took him through Padma Kod region of Tibet, and his party came out from there into the Naga land area of India. In India Rinpoche lived in a number of Tibetan refugee resettlement camps ─ Kalimpong, Orissa, Dalhousie, Bir, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi. He practiced Tibetan medicine, and was much in demand as his fellow refugees had trouble coping with the heat, and subtropical diseases found in India.

A year or two after his arrival in India, Rinpoche entered a retreat in Tso Pema, a lake sacred to Guru Rinpoche, located near the city of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. At this location he met Jangchub Dorje, a primary disciple of Apong Terton and a lineage holder of this great treasure revealer's Red Tara cycle. Jangchub Dorje gave him empowerments for the Red Tara cycle, and then he re-entered into retreat and signs of accomplishment in the practices came very swiftly. Later, when he began teaching in the West, Red Tara Sadhana would become the meditation most extensively practiced by his Western students.

While he was living in Bir, Himachal Pradesh, circumstances there gradually led to an estrangement with Karma Drolma, and eventually they separated.

After giving a teaching in Kulu Manali, the Dalai Lama extended an invitation for Rinpoche to go to the United States and teach, contingent upon him getting a visa. It was at this time that he moved to Delhi, and lived in Majnukatilla, a Tibetan camp on the banks of the Yamuna River. The process of trying to get a visa went on for three years, and was ultimately unsuccessful. During this time period he met his first Western students, but he also caught malaria and nearly died, and was saved by an Indian doctor who finally made the correct diagnosis of what was ailing him.

In the fall of 1977 empowerment cycles were given in Kathmandu, Nepal by Dudjom Rinpoche in order to propagate the sacred lineages to a new generation. Chagdud Tulku decided to travel there in order to receive all the empowerments of the Dudjom treasures from Dudjom Rinpoche. Hundreds of tulkus, scholars, yogis and lay practitioners gathered at Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche's monastery for these empowerments. About his experience he says this in his autobiography:

During my stay in Nepal I received empowerments and oral transmissions for all the treasures he had discovered in this life and in his previous life as Dudjom Lingpa. It was a wealth of practices whose splendor is unsurpassed, and deep within me I formed the aspiration to offer this transmission to others through empowerment and teaching.^[2]

While attending them Chagdud Tulku met an older lama from Western Tibet, Lama Ladakh Nono, who was known for doing mirror divinations. He subsequently did a mirror divination for Chagdud and told him he should go to the West and benefit many people there by teaching the Dharma. He also predicted that a Western woman would come into his life and that this would be good.

He continued to stay in Nepal on into 1978 in order to attend a new series of empowerments in the Chokling Tersar cycle given by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. It was while attending one of these empowerments that a Western woman, Jane Dedman (later Chagdud Khadro),^[3][4] approached Chagdud Rinpoche with the offering of a white scarf and a jar of honey. Afterwards he invited her to lunch, and shortly after this he gave her some teachings. A month or so later he accepted her offer to serve as his attendant in retreat after the empowerments. This retreat lasted for several months, after which Dudjom Rinpoche among other things suggested Chagdud go to America to teach.

Life in the West[link]

After many months of waiting he was finally granted a visa and landed in San Francisco on Oct. 24, 1979. Shortly after this, he married Jane in South Lake Tahoe, California. The early years of his teaching in the Americas was spent in Eugene, and Cottage Grove, Oregon. In 1983, at the request of his students, he established Chagdud Gonpa Foundation. He soon ordained his first lama, a Western woman named Inge Sandvoss, as Lama Yeshe Zangmo (in 1987).

Additionally in the time period of 1980 through 1987 he traveled widely and gave many teachings, accompanied by his interpreter, Tsering Everest. He invited many other Lamas such as Dudjom Rinpoche, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, and Kyabje Penor Rinpoche to Oregon where they bestowed many empowerments and teachings. He also helped set up Padma Publications which eventually published his two books: The Lord of the Dance, and Gates to Buddhist Practice. With the assistance of Richard Baron, Padma Publications also began the monumental task of translating Longchenpa's Seven Treasuries from Tibetan into English, three volumes of which have been published to date.^[5][6]

In 1987 he returned to Tibet for the first time since 1959. He traveled to Kham, visiting the three monasteries of his youth, and actually bestowed empowerments to the monastic staff there. His son, Jigme Tromge Rinpoche, traveled with him to Tibet and the next year immigrated to the United States, entering a three-year retreat a few months after his arrival. Then in 1988, after land was acquired in the Trinity Alps of Northern California, the main seat of Chagdud Gonpa Foundation was created there as Rigdzin Ling.

It was here that Chagdud Tulku offered the empowerments and oral transmissions of the Dudjom Treasures in 1991, and several years later, of the supreme Dzogchen cycle, Nyingt'hig Yabzhi.^[7]

In 1992 he received an invitation to teach in Brazil and he would become a pioneer insofar as spreading the Dharma in South America. Throughout the 1990s he maintained an extensive teaching schedule, put some of his senior students into three year retreats, and helped to establish many Chagdud Gonpa centers throughout the Western Hemisphere. These include more than 38 Dharma centers under Chagdud Tulku's supervision and inspiration, in USA, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Switzerland and Australia. The best known are Rigdzin Ling in Junction City, California and Khadro Ling, his main center in Três Coroas, Brazil.

In all his teachings he was known for stressing pure motivation in doing spiritual practice. He once wrote, "In the course of my Buddhist training, I have received teachings on many philosophical topics and meditative methods. Of all teachings, I find none more important than pure motivation. If I had to leave only one legacy to my students, it would be the wisdom of pure motivation. If I were to be known by one title, it would be the 'motivation lama.'" ”^[8]"

In this context, ‘pure motivation’ means the cultivation of bodhicitta, which is the enlightened intent of doing practice for the benefit of oneself, and all other sentient beings.

In 1995 he moved to Khadro Ling, in Río Grande do Sul, Brazil, and it became the main seat of his activities for the rest of his life. Before moving to Brazil, Chagdud Tulku enthroned Lama Drimed Norbu (Alwyn Fischel) one of his main Western students, head lama of the Chagdud Gonpa foundation and gave him authorization to teach the Great Perfection teachings. In 1996 the first Brazilian Dzogchen retreat took place at Khadro Ling and a large Guru Rinpoche statue was created there. In the next few years, he traveled in South America, giving teachings in Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile, in addition to different parts of Brazil. He also continued to travel to his centers in the United States, and made frequent visits to Nepal, a return to Chagdud Gompa in eastern Tibet and a visit to mainland China. During this same time period, in addition to leading Drubchens and month long Dzogchen retreats, he also trained his students in the sacred arts of sculpture and painting, as well as ritual dance, chanting, and music.

In 1998, construction began on the lha khang (temple) of Khadro Ling. In July 1998, the empowerments of the Taksham Treasures were bestowed by Terton Namkhai Drimed in the still incomplete temple. This temple was followed by an enormous prayer wheel project, perhaps the largest in the Western Hemisphere, then eight magnificent stupas, and a monumental statue of Akshobhya Buddha. In the same period, in Parping, Nepal, Rinpoche built a new retreat center where eight people began training according to the Kat'hog tradition under Kyabje Getse Tulku.

While Chagdud Rinpoche kept up a tremendous amount of Dharmic activity, in the last few years of his life he was somewhat slowed down by diabetes, and in 1997, he entered a clinic and was diagnosed with a serious heart condition. In the last year of his life Rinpoche's body began to hinder his outer activities. He tired more easily, and travel became difficult. In 2002, he cancelled a trip to the United States, which had been scheduled for October, and instead entered strict retreat.

In the last week of his life, he concluded this retreat on Tuesday, November 12, worked with a student artist to complete a statue of Amitabha, talked with many of his students, and led a training in phowa (transference of consciousness at the moment of death) for more than two hundred people. He continued teaching with great vigor until about 9 pm on Saturday night November 16. Then on Sunday morning of the 17th, at about 4:15 a.m., Brazilian daylight time, he suffered massive heart failure while sitting up in bed.

According to his son, Jigme Tromge Rinpoche, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche then remained in a state of meditation for almost six full days. The ability to remain in meditation after the breath stops is known as (t'hug dam). Jigme Tromge Rinpoche described this in a release to the Brazilian press:

After his last breath, my father remained in a state of meditation for almost six full days that prevented the usual deterioration of his body. The ability to remain in a state of meditation after the breath stops is well known among great Tibetan masters, but circumstances have rarely allowed it to occur in the West. Chagdud Rinpoche remained sitting in a natural, lifelike meditation posture, with little visible change of color or expression. During that time, no one touched his body.

Until the sixth day, Friday, November 22rd, Rinpoche showed no physical signs that his meditation had ended. In the interim we were in constant consultation with a lawyer and other officials about local customs and regulations. Friday midday, his meditation ended and his mind separated from his body. Within hours, his appearance changed. He took on the signs typical of those occurring within the first 24 hours of death.^{[citation needed]}

Afterwards his ku dun (the physical body) was flown to Kathmandu, Nepal, and then to the retreat center in Parping. During the forty-nine days that followed, Getse Tulku Rinpoche and Jigme Tromge Rinpoche led ceremonies in Parping, to purify inauspicious circumstances to Rinpoche's rebirth and to generate great merit through offerings and practice.

A year later on the full moon of December 8, 2003, Rinpoche's cremation was held on Jigme Rinpoche's land in Parping, with Kyabje Mogtza Rinpoche, one of the highest lamas of Kat'hog Gonpa, serving as Vajra Master. Hundreds of Rinpoche's students gathered, to mourn the loss of his direct physical presence, and made prayers and offerings for his eventual rebirth.

His main students and the lamas he ordained continue to teach and carry on Chagdud's many projects and practices.

At Brazil Gonpa the project ^[9] of Padmasambhava's Pureland has been realized, the Consecration having taken place in the meantime.^[10][11] To build a replica of Zangdog Palri was Chagdud Rinpoche’s last wish and great project before he died in 2002.

Chagdud Rinpoche made it a point to not only ordain many western lineage holders and lamas, but to surround himself with powerful female practitioners. Over half of the 30 some-odd westerners he has ordained as lamas have been women..." The first lama whom he had ordained as Lama Yeshe Zangmo was a Western woman named Inge Sandvoss.^[12]

As a "true Dzogchen master" he authorized at least one western teacher to teach Dzogchen, Lama Drimed - there may be more.^[13] In September 2010, Lama Drimed offered his resignation to the Board of Directors of Chagdud Gonpa Foundation from his positions as Spiritual Director and President of the Foundation, while remaining an ordained lama with authorization to teach the Great Perfection.

Bibliography[link]

• Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (1993). Gates to Buddhist Practice: Essential Teachings of a Tibetan Master. Padma Publishing. ISBN 1-881847-02-0
• Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (2000). Life In Relation To Death. Padma Publishing, 2nd edition. ISBN 1-881847-11-X
• Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (1992). Lord of the Dance: Autobiography of a Tibetan Lama. Padma Publishing. ISBN 1-881847-00-4

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website biography
• Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche : Red Tara
• Chagdud Gonpa/North America
• Chagdud Gonpa international

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Gautama Buddha · Padmasambhava · Je Tsongkhapa · Dalai Lama · Panchen Lama · Lama · Karmapa Lama · Rinpoche · Geshe · Terton · Tulku
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Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (1920^[1] - February 13, 1996^[1]) (Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་ཨོ་རྒྱན་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་, Wylie: Sprul-sku O-rgyan Rin-po-che). A contemporary Buddhist master of the Kagyü and Nyingma lineages,^[1] who lived at Nagi Gompa hermitage in Nepal, Urgyen Rinpoche was considered one of the greatest Dzogchen masters of our time.^[2]

Life[link]

Born in Eastern Tibet in Kham,^[3] in 1920,^[1] he was recognized by Khakyab Dorje, 15th Karmapa Lama as both the reincarnation of the Chowang Tulku^[1] and Nubchen Sangye Yeshe,^[1] one of the twenty-five principal students of Padmasambhava.

Rinpoche's father was Tsangsar Chimey Dorje,^[3] a vajrayana instructor^[3] who began giving Rinpoche transmission for the Kangyur, the Buddha, and "The New Treasures of Chokgyur Lingpa."^[3] As he grew older, he studied Dzogchen with Samten Gyatso.^[3]

Urgyen Rinpoche spent thirty three years at Nagi Gompa Hermitage where he spent two decades in retreat,^[1] and eventually established six monasteries and retreat centers in Nepal.^[1] Urgyen Rinpoche was the father of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche.

In the early morning of February 13, 1996, Urgyen Rinpoche died.^[1]

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche's special quality was to begin with the view rather than end with it; to train in devotion, compassion, and renunciation, perfecting the accumulations, and removing obscurations, all within the framework of the view. The practitioner was encouraged to see all these aspects of practice as the very expressions of the view itself. That was Tulku Urgyen's unique style.^[4]

Later reincarnation[link]

His reincarnation was discovered in March 2006,^[5] the four year old son of Chokling Rinpoche (known as the Chokling of Neten, not to be confused with Tulku Urgyen's son who is the Chokling of Tsikey). He lives in the village of Bir in Himachal Pradesh, in India.

Writings[link]

His main transmissions were the Chokling Tersar and the pointing-out instruction.

He is the author of the 2-volume series titled 'As It Is', which deals with the subject of emptiness.

Yangsi Urgyen Rinpoche

References[link]

External links[link]

• Brief biography
• Speech by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche on the recognition of his father's Tulku in 2006

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Dilgo Khyentse
Religion	Tibetan Buddhism
School	Nyingma
Personal
Born	1910 Denkok Valley, Kham Derge, Tibet
Died	September 28, 1991 Bhutan
Senior posting
Title	Rinpoche
Religious career
Reincarnation	Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo

Part of a series on Tibetan Buddhism
History
Timeline · Related-topics
Schools
Nyingma · Kagyu · Sakya · Gelug · Bön · Jonang
Key concepts
Three marks of existence · Skandha · Cosmology · Saṃsāra · Rebirth · Bodhisattva · Dharma · Dependent origination · Karma
Major figures
Gautama Buddha · Padmasambhava · Je Tsongkhapa · Dalai Lama · Panchen Lama · Lama · Karmapa Lama · Rinpoche · Geshe · Terton · Tulku
Practices and attainment
Buddhahood · Avalokiteśvara · Four stages of enlightenment · Tantric yoga · Paramitas · Meditation · Laity
Major monasteries
Changzhug · Drepung · Dzogchen · Ganden · Jokhang · Kumbum  · Labrang · Mindroling · Namgyal · Narthang · Nechung · Pabonka · Palcho · Ralung · Ramoche · Sakya · Sanga · Sera · Shalu · Tashilhunpo · Tsurphu · Yerpa
Major festivals
Chotrul Duchen · Dajyur · Losar · Monlam · Sho Dun
Texts
Kangyur · Tengyur · Tibetan canon · Mahayana sutras · Nyingma Gyubum
Art
Sand mandala · Thangka · Ashtamangala · Tree of physiology
Outline  · Comparative studies  · Culture  · List of topics  · Portal
view talk edit

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (Tibetan: དིལ་མགོ་མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་, Wylie: dil mgo mkhyen brtse) (c. 1910 – 28 September 1991) was a Vajrayana master, scholar, poet, teacher, and head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism from 1987 to 1991.

Biography[link]

He was born in the Denhok Valley at Kham Derge, Eastern Tibet in 1910 to a family directly descended from the ninth century King Trisong Detsen. His father was a minister to the King of Derge. When he was seven years old, he was publicly recognized as one of the reincarnations of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo by Shechen Gyaltsap Rinpoche (1871–1926) at Shechen, one of the six principal monasteries of the Nyingmapa school. During the next few years Dilgo Khyentse received full schooling from various tutors, in addition to training in meditation, and in the study of the Dharma in general, and of Tantra specifically.

His root Guru was Shechen Gyaltsap Rinpoche, and Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro (1893–1959) was his other main spiritual master. After he completed what are known as the Preliminary Practices (Ngöndro), Khyentse Rinpoche spent most of the next thirteen years in silent retreat in remote hermitages and caves near his birthplace.

After completing his retreat at the age of twenty-eight, Khyentse Rinpoche spent many years with Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. After receiving from Khyentse Chokyi Lodro the many empowerments of the Rinchen Terdzo (the collection of Revealed Treasures or termas), Dilgo Khyentse requested to spend the rest of his life in solitary meditation. But Khyentse Chokyi Lodro's answer was: "The time has come for you to teach and transmit to others the countless precious teachings you have received."

Additionally he received teachings at Palpung Monastery from the eleventh Tai Situ Rinpoche, and full instruction on the ancient Guhyagarbha Tantra and its various commentaries from Khenpo Tubga at Kyangma Ri-tro. In all he studied with over fifty great teachers from all the various oral and practice lineages of Tibetan Buddhism.^[1]

As his own teaching career developed, he became renowned within Tibet for his ability to transmit the teachings of each Buddhist lineage according to its own tradition. Later on His Holiness the Dalai Lama would regard Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche as his principal teacher in the Nyingma tradition and of Dzogchen.

In the 1950s, as rebellions broke out in Kham in response to the imposition of Chinese Communist rule, Khyentse Rinpoche and his family escaped to central Tibet, leaving behind his precious library of collected Dharma books and most of his own writings. Then in 1959, after the 14th Dalai Lama left Tibet, Khyentse Rinpoche, his family and a few disciples decided to leave Tibet, including his brother the 9th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche and Tenga Rinpoche,^[2] and headed for Bhutan. The royal family of Bhutan invited him to stay there and teach, and as his reputation spread he attracted many new disciples, and he became the foremost Buddhist teacher in Bhutan.

Later, as he made frequent visits to give teachings to H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama at Dharamasala in India, he began giving teachings all over the Himalayas, India, Southeast Asia and the West. His life became a continual flow of teaching, yet he found time for extensive scholarship and composed numerous poems, meditation texts and commentaries. He was also a Terton (a discoverer of spiritual treasures), discovering numerous termas and was one of the leading masters of the pith-instructions of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, and one of the principal holders of the Longchen Nyingtik tradition.

In 1980, he founded the Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery in Nepal, where he transplanted the Shechen tradition to a new home near the great stupa of Boudhanath, just northeast of Kathmandu. At this location over the years he gave many teachings, turning the wheel of the Dharma countless times for hundreds of other lamas, disciples, and students from around the world. Over this same time period, and up until his paranirvana in 1991, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche was involved in publishing as much of Tibet’s extraordinary heritage of Buddhist teachings as possible, over three hundred volumes altogether.

By followers of Tibetan Buddhism he is regarded as having been a great teacher of teachers, a realized being, who was also remarked upon as being a genuinely good human being. His entire life was devoted to the preservation and dissemination of the Buddha Dharma and he is still regarded with awe and amazement throughout the Tibetan diaspora, and western centers of Tibetan Buddhism. His importance within the Nyingma school in the 20th century was all-pervading. He was one of the few Tibetan Lamas accorded the honorific title of "His Holiness". Following the death of Dudjom Rinpoche in 1987, he became the head of the Nyingma School, and remained so until his own death in Bhutan on 28 September 1991.

Final cremation ceremonies were held for him over a three day period near Paro in Bhutan, in November 1992 and were attended by over a hundred important lamas, the Royal Family and ministers of Bhutan, five hundred western disciples and a huge crowd of some fifty thousand devotees.