Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (c. 1910 – 28 September 1991) was a
VajrayanaVajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
master, scholar, poet, teacher, and head of the
NyingmaThe Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
school of
Tibetan BuddhismTibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
from 1987 to 1991.
Biography
He was born in the Denhok Valley at
KhamKham , is a historical region covering a land area largely divided between present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region and Sichuan province, with smaller portions located within Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces of China. During the Republic of China's rule over mainland China , most of the region was...
Derge, Eastern
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
in 1910 to a family directly descended from the ninth century King
Trisong DetsenTrisong Detsän or Trisong Detsen ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེ་བཙན , was the son of Me Agtsom and one of the emperors of Tibet and ruled...
. His father was a minister to the King of Derge. When he was seven years old, he was publicly recognized as one of the
reincarnationReincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
s of
Jamyang Khyentse WangpoJamyang Khyentse Wangpo , also known as Pema Ösal Do-ngak Lingpa, was a renowned teacher, scholar and tertön of 19th century Tibet. He was a leading figure in the nonsectarian Rime movement.-Biography:...
by Shechen Gyaltsap Rinpoche (1871–1926) at
ShechenThe Shechen Monastery is one of the primary monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, in Tibet. It is located in Derge between Nangdo and Dzogchen Monastery...
, 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
meditationMeditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
, and in the study of the
DharmaDharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
in general, and of
TantraTantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
specifically.
His root
GuruA guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
was Shechen Gyaltsap Rinpoche, and
Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi LodroDzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö was a Tibetan lama, a master of many lineages, and a teacher of many of the major figures in 20th century Tibetan Buddhism...
(1893–1959) was his other main spiritual master. After he completed what are known as the Preliminary Practices (
NgöndroNgöndro refers to the preliminary, preparatory or foundational 'practices' or 'disciplines' common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bön...
), 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
termasTerma are key Tibetan Buddhist and Bön teachings, which the tradition holds were originally esoterically hidden by various adepts such as Padmasambhava and his consorts in the 8th century for future discovery at auspicious times by other adepts, known as tertöns. As such, they represent a...
), 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 MonasteryPalpung is the name of the congregation of monasteries and centers of the Tai Situpas as well as the name of the monastic seat in Tibet in Dege. Palpung means "glorious union of study and practice"...
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 BuddhismTibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
.
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 LamaThe Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
would regard Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche as his principal teacher in the Nyingma tradition and of
DzogchenAccording to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...
.
In the 1950s, as rebellions broke out in
KhamKham , is a historical region covering a land area largely divided between present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region and Sichuan province, with smaller portions located within Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces of China. During the Republic of China's rule over mainland China , most of the region was...
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, as the takeover of
LhasaLhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
became certain, Khyentse Rinpoche, his family and a few
disciplesShravaka or Śrāvaka or Sāvaka means "hearer" or, more generally, "disciple".This term is used by both Buddhists and Jains. In Jainism, a shravaka is any lay Jain...
decided to leave Tibet, and headed for
BhutanBhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
. 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
HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
,
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
,
Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and the West. His life became a continual flow of teaching, yet he found time for extensive
scholarshipA scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
and composed numerous poems, meditation texts and commentaries. He was also a
TertonA tertön is a discoverer of ancient texts or "terma". Many tertöns are considered incarnations of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava. A vast system of transmission lineages developed...
(a discoverer of spiritual treasures), discovering numerous
termasTerma are key Tibetan Buddhist and Bön teachings, which the tradition holds were originally esoterically hidden by various adepts such as Padmasambhava and his consorts in the 8th century for future discovery at auspicious times by other adepts, known as tertöns. As such, they represent a...
and was one of the leading masters of the pith-instructions of
DzogchenAccording to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...
, the Great Perfection, and one of the principal holders of the Longchen Nyingtik tradition.
In 1980, he founded the Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery in
NepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, where he transplanted the Shechen tradition to a new home near the great
stupaA stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
of Boudhanath, just northeast of
Kathmandu. At this location over the years he gave many teachings, turning the
wheel of the DharmaThe Dharmachakra , lit. "Wheel of Dharma" or "Wheel of Life" is a symbol that has represented dharma, the Buddha's teaching of the path to enlightenment, since the early period of Indian Buddhism. A similar symbol is also in use in Jainism...
countless times for hundreds of other
lamaLama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
s, 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 BuddhismTibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
. 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 RinpocheDudjom Rinpoche is the title of a prominent line of tulkus of the Nyingmapa order of Tibetan Buddhism. Dudjom Rinpoche was born in 1904 on the tenth day of the sixth month in the year of the wood dragon in Southern Tibet in a region called the "hidden land" of Pema Ko. He died on January 17, 1987...
in 1987, he became the head of the Nyingma School, and remained so until his own death in
BhutanBhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
on 28 September 1991.
Final
cremationCremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
ceremonies were held for him over a three day period near
Paro-History:Rinpung Dzong a fortress-monastery overlooking the Paro valley has a long history. A monastery was first built on the site by Padma Sambhava at the beginning of the tenth century, but it wasn't until 1646 that Ngawang Namgyal built a larger monastery on the old foundations, and for...
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.
Preservation of lineages
Gyatrul (b.1924), in a purport to
Karma ChagméThe name Karma Chagme refers to a 17th century Tibetan Buddhist lama and to the tülku lineage which he initiated. Including the first, seven Karma Chagme tülkus have been recognized...
, conveys Khyentse's '
samayaThe samaya , is a set of vows or precepts given to initiates of an esoteric Vajrayana Buddhist order as part of the abhiṣeka ceremony that creates a bond between the guru and disciple.According Keown, et al., Samaya may be defined as:*A particular system of teaching or...
' (Sanskrit), diligence and humility in receiving '
wangAn empowerment is a ritual in Tibetan Buddhism which initiates a student into a particular tantric deity practice. The Tibetan word for this is wang , which literally translates to power. The Sanskrit term for this is abhiseka which literally translates to sprinkling or bathing or anointing...
' (Tibetan),
linealAn authentic lineage in Buddhism is the uninterrupted transmission of the Buddha's Dharma from teacher to disciple.The transmission itself can be for example oral, scriptural, through signs, or directly from one mind to another....
transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
and 'rlung' (Wylie) as rendered into English by
WallaceB. Alan Wallace is an American author, translator, teacher, researcher, interpreter, and Buddhist practitioner interested in the intersections of consciousness studies and scientific disciplines such as psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and physics...
(Chagmé
et al., 1998: p. 21):
With respect to oral transmission, even if the lineage is impure, it is not a problem. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche often sought out and received any oral transmission he thought was on the verge of disappearing. It made no difference who was giving it. He would receive it and, in turn, pass it on to make sure that the lineage remained unbroken.
Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche
Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche, who currently resides in
BhutanBhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, was appointed as the incarnation of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche on December 1995 :
Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche was born in Nepal on June 30, 1993. When Khyentse Rinpoche passed away, his close students requested Trulshik Rinpoche, his most senior and accomplished disciple, to find his incarnation.
Publications
- Enlightened Courage: An Explanation of Atisha's Seven Point Mind Training
- by Rab-Gsal-Zla-Ba, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
- Paperback: 120 pages; Publisher: Snow Lion Publications
- (December 1, 1993); ISBN 1-55939-023-9
- Guru Yoga : According to the Preliminary Practice of Longchen Nyingtik
- by Rab-Gsal-Zla-Ba, Matthieu Ricard, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Rigpa
- Paperback: 101 pages; Publisher: Snow Lion Publications
- (December 1, 1999); ISBN 1-55939-121-9
- Journey to Enlightenment: The Life and World of Khyentse Rinpoche, Spiritual Teacher from Tibet
- by Matthieu Ricard (Photographer) [Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche's disciple], Rab-Gsal-Zla-Ba, Padmakara Translation Group (Translator)
- Hardcover: 151 pages; Publisher: Aperture
- 1st ed edition (October 1, 1996); ISBN 0-89381-679-5
- The Excellent Path to Enlightenment
- by H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
- Paperback: 128 pages; Publisher: Snow Lion Publications
- (April 1, 1996); ISBN 1-55939-064-6
- The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones
- by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Patrul Rinpoche (Foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama)
- Paperback: 280 pages; Publisher: Shambhala; ISBN 0-87773-493-3
- The Hundred Verses of Advice : Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on What Matters Most
- by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Padama Sangye
- Hardcover: 176 pages; Publisher: Shambhala
- (February 15, 2005); ISBN 1-59030-154-4
- The Lotus-Born: The Life Story of Padmasambhava
- by Erik Pema Kunsang, His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Tsele Natsok Rangdrol
Tsele Natsok Rangdröl was an important master of the Kagyü and Nyingma schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He is also known as Tsele Gotsangpa.-References:...
, Yeshe Tsogyal
- Paperback: 336 pages; Publisher: North Atlantic Books, Rangjung Yeshe
- (October 10, 2004); ISBN 962-7341-55-X
- The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel
- by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
- Paperback: 120 pages; Publisher: Shambhala;
- Reprint edition (March 16, 1999); ISBN 1-57062-452-6
- The Collected Works of Dilgo Khyentse Vols. 1-3
- by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
- Hardcover: 1808 pages; Publisher: Shambhala; (January 11, 2011)
- 1st edition; ISBN 978-1590308875
External links