Great Perfection revealed at Lotus Crystal Cave

Surrounded by white mountain cliffs, the valley of Meshö is like an open lotus flower and the foothills covered with meadows and forests. Flowers grow abundantly in summertime and water flows here and there. In the middle, the heart of the lotus, is a huge white rock with a cave in the center called Padma Shelpuk, the Lotus Crystal Cave. The rock, cave and surrounding area are all white in color. The cave contains many naturally appearing images and letters. Yeshe Tsogyal practiced in a small cave to the left, which has windows which also appeared naturally, though they look man-made. The practice caves of Vairotsana and Shri Singha with their naturally-appeared thrones are at the top of the rock.

Terma statue said to have been revealed
with the Dzogchen Desum

The Padma Shelpuk, which people called the Ghost Cave, was a cave no one dared visit. Whoever went there was eaten right away. People sometimes saw a one-eyed woman they said was the ghost. A bald-headed man riding on a goat was also seen. Chokgyur Lingpa, Jamyang Khyentse and Jamgön Kongtrül went there knowing that they would receive the Dzogchen Desum terma. People said (about Chokgyur Lingpa), “Today Kyater is going to take out a terma. The ghost will eat him.” Someone else said, “Since Khyentse and Kongtrül are here maybe he will indeed take out a terma.” Then a large crowd followed the three masters.
Many rainbows appeared in the sky. On arriving, they made a big burnt offering. Kongtrül offered the serkyem, the offering to the Dharma protectors, and Khyentse, holding a vajra, sang the Lhasum Damdrak song of command to the local deities. People said (about Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo), “Something special must be happening today because Tulku Rinpoche is doing something.” Everyone was then told to recite the Vajra Guru mantra and to supplicate Guru Rinpoche. The three masters and some others went inside the cave while those who could not fit stayed outside by the opening.

As everyone chanted the Vajra Guru mantra and the Seven Line Prayer, Chokgyur Lingpa’s experience blazed. Normally you can’t reach it, but he flew up and reached the ceiling. . From the ceiling he extracted the terma box containing Dzogchen Desum. As the terma object, he took sacred medicine and nectar blessed by Shri Singha, as well as some hairs of Yeshe Tsogyal and Vairotsana. The terma box was wrapped in one of Guru Rinpoche’s garments. Chokling blessed Khyentse, Kongtrül and everyone nearby with the terma box. People now knew he was a true tertön. Chokling told them, “All who came here are most fortunate. If things work out, I have many things left to do. The kindness of Guru Rinpoche and his consort is inconceivable..” Jamyang Khyentse continued, “Chokling is a great tertön, a very precious one. His terma teaching is extremely precious, as is this place. Everyone should make offerings and circumambulations. The three of us have now opened the gate to this sacred place. When you die, you will all go to the Copper Colored Mountain -- I promise.”

pp 8-9, in The Life of Chokgyur Lingpa (PDF file)

Tsewang Norbu was quite humble; he once told Samten Gyatso, "I'm nothing special, not at all. I don't have any great qualities, not a single one, except for one thing: even though I was just six months old at the time, I clearly remember receiving the Three Sections (Dzogchen Desum) from the two great treasure masters." [Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Chokgyur Lingpa] As a matter of fact, the Three Sections had just then been revealed [at Pema Shelpuk, see this post]. 

Twenty-five people were present at this event, including Khyentse and Karmey Khenpo. The moment the terma was revealed Chokgyur Lingpa called out to the child's mother, "Bring the kid here!" She brought the baby over, wrapped in blankets, and sitting on a tray of woven reeds covered with a layer of dried sheep droppings and then with a couple of layers of cloth, This was all in typical Khampa style for an infant, leaving the child free to pee whenever need be. 

Tsewang Norbu sat right between Khyentse and Chokling while he received the empowerment. Chokgyur Lingpa first conferred the empowerment on the baby and only then upon Khyentse. But because of the command that this empowerment only be given one on one, no one else received it--not even Kongtrul. That is also why the many lineages for the Three Sections all went through Tsewang Norbu. 

from Blazing Splendor, pg. 71

the struggle for recognition

Chokgyur Lingpa

Chokgyur Lingpa's early treasure revelations are recorded in multiple ambiguous and confused narratives. He himself wrote that before his thirteenth birthday he was visited by a vision of Padmasambhava, and that this was followed by “many unwanted and confusing apparitions,” some of them reportedly unintelligible, others apparently clear signs that he would reveal treasure. After he announced publicly that he would extract treasure from Namkadzod, one of his early teachers, Ngedzin Pusiri (gnas 'dzin pu si ri) at Pelme monastery, specifically forbade him from doing so. Nevertheless, the first four of his treasure revelations date to this period, including one of his most successful, the Barche Kunsel(bar chad kun sel), said to have been revealed in October 1848 from Danyin Kala Rongo (zla nyin kha la rong sgo), when Chokgyur Lingpa was only nineteen years old.

Biographies of Chokgyur Lingpa report that his colleagues in Nangchen scorned him, rejecting his claims to be a treasure revealer, and in his autobiography he expresses considerable frustration at this inability to gain acceptance. The nickname by which he was known during this period, Kyasu Terton (skya su gter ston), might be rendered in English as “the so-called treasure revealer of the Kyasu clan.” Ultimately, when he was twenty-five Chokgyur Lingpa left Nangchen for Derge, in search of patrons who might legitimize his treasure-revealing status. The biographies have it that Chokgyur Lingpa was expelled from his monastery, ostensibly for making mistakes during a ritual dance. But if he was in fact expelled, it is likely that it was due to his assertions that he was a treasure revealer, which possibly included his having taken a consort. Although this is nowhere explicit in the biographies, there is sufficient reason to believe that Chokgyur Lingpa began his relationship with his main consort, Dekyi Chodron (bde skyid chos sgron), before he left Nangchen in 1853.

read full biography at The Treasure of Lives

more info on image at Himalayan Art

Juniper Ridge now available

Treasures from Juniper Ridge is a collection of “hidden” or terma teachings given by Padmasambhava, the Tantric master who brought Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet. According to Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Padmasambhava hid many teachings to be uncovered later by “revealers of hidden treasures.” The special quality of the terma teachings is that they provide guidance appropriate for each period of time and individual person. By working with Padmasambhava, Yeshe Tsogyal, his mystic spiritual consort, was able to compile and codify these precious insights and hide them for use by future generations.

Treasures from Juniper Ridge presents a variety of significant revelations for seekers on the advanced path of the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition, as well as in-depth explanations of assorted aspects of practice: deity-focused meditation, nonconceptual meditation, death and dying, and recognizing the nature of mind. The book outlines ways for the modern student to apply these teachings while remaining true to Vajrayana Buddhism’s traditional principles.

Available now at an independent bookstore near you
or online at Amazon.ca or Amazon.com