Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Buddhism in Tibet, Mongolia, Tuva, Bhutan, Kalmykia, Buryatia and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, and India (particularly in Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Dharamsala, Lahaul and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim). It is the state religion of Bhutan. It is also practiced in Mongolia and parts of Russia (Kalmykia, Buryatia, and Tuva) and Northeast China. Religious texts and commentaries are contained in the Tibetan Buddhist canon such that Tibetan is a spiritual language of these areas. Tibetan Buddhism preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India. Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body.

The Tibetan diaspora has spread Tibetan Buddhism to many Western countries, where the tradition has gained popularity. Among its prominent exponents is the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. The number of its adherents is estimated to be between ten and twenty million.

Tibetan

Tibetan can refer to:

His Holiness

His Holiness is a style and form of address (in the variant form Your Holiness) for supreme religious leaders, most notably the Pope.

Christian churches

His Holiness (Latin: Sanctitas) is the official style used to address the Roman Catholic Pope and the Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, as head of the Orthodox community. In February 2013, the Holy See announced that former Pope Benedict XVI would retain the style "His Holiness" after resigning and becoming Pope Emeritus.

The term is sometimes abbreviated or "HH" or "H.H." when confusion with "His/Her Highness" is unlikely. The associated form of address is "Your Holiness".

It is also used for certain other Eastern Patriarchs, notably those who head a church or rite which recognizes neither Rome's nor Constantinople's primacy, notably any Catholicos of the East.

Other religions

The English language honorific "His Holiness", and as female version "Her Holiness", has commonly been used for religious leaders from other traditions, including Buddhism (notably for the Dalai Lama), Shinto and in Ahmadiyya Islam for the Caliph.

Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama /ˈdɑːlaɪ ˈlɑːmə/ is a monk of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa. The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso.

The Dalai Lama is considered to be the successor in a line of tulkus who are believed to be incarnations of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, called Chenrezig in Tibetan. The name is a combination of the Mongolic word dalai meaning "ocean" (being the translation of the Tibetan name, 'Gyatso') and the Tibetan word བླ་མ་ (bla-ma) meaning "guru, teacher, mentor". The Tibetan word "lama" corresponds to the better known Sanskrit word "guru".

From 1642 until the 1950s (except for 1705 to 1750), the Dalai Lamas or their regents headed the Tibetan government or Ganden Phodrang which governed all or most of the Tibetan plateau from Lhasa with varying degrees of autonomy, up to complete sovereignty. This government also enjoyed the patronage and protection of firstly Mongol kings of the Khoshut and Dzungar Khanates (1642–1720) and then of the emperors of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1720–1912).

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo (Wylie: mkhan po shes rab bzang po )

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo was trained by Khenpo Petse Rinpoche and Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche, two of the greatest masters of the Nyingma tradition in recent history. Most recently, he was invited to teach at Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche's Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling monastery, where he gave lectures to both Tibetan monks and Western students at the Centre for Buddhist Studies.

Biography

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo teaching at the Minneapolis Shambhala Center

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo teaching at the Minneapolis Shambhala Center

Khenpo (tib. literally "wise one" a title equivalent to a western Ph.D.)is the spiritual adviser of the Bodhicitta Sangha. He was first invited to Minnesota to teach under the auspicious of the Rimé Foundation

“Khenpo Sherab Sangpo studied under the lord of refuge Khenchen Padma Tsewang Rinpoche…and with numerous masters of all traditions. He has taught the profound Dharma of sutra and mantra to students of numerous nationalities. This teacher should be treated with reverence and respect. Doing so will bring goodness in this life and the next and establish a profound connection with the Buddha’s teachings.” - Katok Getsé Rinpoche