27 pictures from Olav

Olav posted 27 pictures on http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2009502&id=1405652246&ref=nf

From the enthroment celebration

Among the lamas present were Kyabje Trulshik, Dzongsar Khyentse, Beru Khyentse, Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi, Tenga Tulku, Neten Chokling, Tsikey Chokling, Tulku Chokyi Nyima, Shechen Rabjam, Sogyal Tulku, Mingyur Tulku, Drubwang Tsoknyi, Orgyen Tobgyal, Tarik Tulku, Tsangsar Tulku and Phakchok Tulku, all venerable Rinpoches. Tenzin Choyang, the tulku's mother is also on a picture from the arrival at the airport.

Many thanks to Olav Nyhus, the photograher, Magda, and others.

Olav posted 27 pictures on http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2009502&id=1405652246&ref=nf

Arrival in Nepal of Tulku Urgyen's reincarnation

Brilliant Moon now available

Through lively anecdotes and stories this highly revered Buddhist meditation master and scholar tells about his life of study, retreat, and teaching. The formative events of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s life, and those insights and experiences that caused him to mature into the warm, brilliant, and highly realized meditation master and teacher he was, are deeply inspiring. The details of his early life and spiritual training reveal an authentic and human view of Tibetan culture, as well as the hardships endured by the Tibetans who fled their country and reestablished their tradition in exile.

The first part of this volume includes Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s early life story, told in his own words. The second half of the book comprises recollections by Khyentse Rinpoche’s wife; his grandson and spiritual heir, Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche; Tenga Rinpoche; Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche; Orgyen Topgyal Rinpoche; Kenpo Pema Sherab; the Queen Mother of Bhutan; Trulshik Rinpche; and Pewar Tulku.

Available now at your local independent bookstore! (Trust me--it's a great read.)

From the Enthronement Day

Mike Eisenbach has sent the first four pictures: greeted Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, coferring with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Yangsi Rinpoche looking up at him, and he receives the flower garland while held up by Phakchok Rinpoche.

Thanks for sending them, Mike.

Yangdzom's 2008 Activities - Dechen Ling Gets Water

The Ted Worcester/Yangdzom Healing Hands project sponsors medical training, clinics and supplies in remote areas of Eastern Tibet. This year, due to problems in obtaining Chinese visas because of tensions associated with the Olympics, the medical and support team was unable to visit the region, or hold a scheduled three-month training in Western medicine. The program, which will train two workers from each monastery/nunnery in basic medical care, is now slated for 2009, with support from the Bridge Fund. Yangdzom is continuing to send money for medicines as well as support for the elderly poor through The Bridge Fund.
In 2009 we look forward to building another clinic at Neten Monastery with support from The Bridge Fund. This will be our fourth fully funded clinic. Three more are planned, as well as an expansion of the existing clinic at Cha Chik. Yangdzom's medical and support team will travel to Nangchen next year to oversee activities.
Yangdzom's biggest achievement in 2008 was facilitating a water supply for Dechen Ling Nunnery with the help of Jinba, a Tibetan NGO run by Tashi Tsering. The water project implemented the longest pipe in Qinghai Province. It is a great joy to help these 300 special yoginis to acquire a most basic need. Previously they relied on a single small spring that froze solid in winter. Dechen Ling was the residence of Tulku Urgyen's father, Chimey Dorje; Tulku Urgyen himself lived there for a time as a boy.

Yangdzom is run under the umbrella of Rangjung Yeshe Gomde USA.

Enthronement of Tulku Urgyen Yangsi Rinpoche will be broadcast live on the internet

Dear Everyone,

We are pleased to let you know that the auspicious enthronement of Tulku Urgyen Yangsi Rinpoche will be broadcast live on the internet at www.dharmasun.org on November 19 and 20 from 8.00 am to 11.00 am Nepali time. To view the broadcast, simply go to www.dharmasun.org during these times and click on the live transmission link.

For those who are unable to view the ceremony live, an edited summary will also be made available at www.dharmasun.org in the following days. Both the live transmission and the summary is made freely available and no registration is required.

For friends and sangha members around the world who are unable to come to Nepal but would like to make a donation to the enthronement ceremony, a separate donation link has been created at www.monlam.org. All donations made at www.monlam.org will be officially recognized during the enthronement festivities.

With best wishes,

Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery

www.shedrub.org

www.dharmasun.org

www.monlam.org

Chants by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Download Mp3s of Chants by Tulku Urgyen:
The audio of the chants inside the Rangjung Yeshe chantbook, as sung by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.

World's youngest king crowned in Bhutan

Wonderful video of the coronation ceremonies of the Fifth King of Bhutan. And another with commentary.

There is also an excellent slideshow.

Enthronement Ceremony of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Dear Friends, Here at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery, we are formalizing our preparations for the forthcoming 4-day enthronement ceremony for Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche's reincarnation. The ceremony will be held in our monastery from Wednesday Nov 19 to Saturday Nov 22, 2008, with the main event taking place on the holy day, Labab Duchen, Wednesday, Nov 19. In order to clearly know how many visitors we can expect from Western countries, we are asking people who already plan to attend the enthronement ceremony, in part or in full, to please visit our the monastery's website as soon as possible: www.shedrub.org There you will find more information about the ceremony, a detailed 4-day schedule and a place where you can register with your full name, place of origin and email address. Regarding privacy, your address will be used simply so that we can confirm your registration and, in coming days, provide you with any sudden change in program plans or any additional helpful information. http://www.shedrub.org/Enthronement%20schedule.html Once again, it is important to us that you take a moment to register so that your name may be formally added to our master list. Best regards, Kathleen J. Morris Secretary to the Abbot, Tulku Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery P.O. Box 1200, Boudha Nath Kathmandu, Nepal web: www.shedrub.org web: www.gomdeusa.org web: www.gomde.dk web: www.gomde.de

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

Since Blazing Splendor was published, several rare photos have seen the light of day. I have seen this picture of Katok Situ enough times to feel it should be included.

In the book, a whole chapter is devoted to him, as told through Turlku Urgyen's uncle: "The Master-Scholar Katok Situ", which includes a wonder story about how Katok Situ found the renowned Armor Against Darkness, a clarification of Anu Yoga practice according to an original tantra known as the Scripture of the Great Assemblage. This commentary, written by Sangye Yeshe of Nub, one of the Lotus-Born’s twenty-five disciples, had vanished centuries ago.

About the location of Dhumasthira

... the place where the Tibetan translator Vairotsana met Prahevajra (Garab Dorje). There has been an exchange which I would like to repeat under its own entry.

Anonymous said...

Hello all,
Thanks for this "wish-fulfilling" blog. I am looking for any information about the actual location of Dhumasthira, "The Place of Smoke". It seems to have been a charnel ground where Lotsawa Vairotsana beheld Garab Dorje. Does this place exist anymore, how is it called these days? Does anyone have a picture of the place?
Thank you very much,
Saraswatee

October 21, 2008 5:23 AM

Erik Pema Kunsang said...

Dear Anonymous,

I have sent your question in an email to Ani Jinpa who has translated his biography (see below). Let's see what she has heard. My guess would be that is lies close to Bodhgaya.

Palmo, Ani Jima (Eugenie de Jong; translator); Nyingpo, Yudra (compilor, et. al.) (2004). The Great Image: the Life Story of Vairochana the translator. Shambala Publications, Inc.: Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. ISBN 1-59030-069-6 (pbk.: alk. paper)

October 21, 2008 6:20 AM

pensum said...

Funny that meeting isn't described in Vairotsana's biography, The Great Image. The only reference to his meeting Garab Dorje is in passing after receiving all the teachings from Shri Singha: "Then Vairo went to see all the great masters, including Prahe (Garab Dorje) and Manjushrimitra, who taught him the nature of dharmata in an instant, and he fully comprehended it that very moment." (pg.124)

October 21, 2008 12:06 PM

Erik Pema Kunsang said...

Ani Jinpa replied:

The name Dhumasthira, "The Place of Smoke" doesn't occur in that text. It does mention many times throughout the text that Garab Dorje lived in a cave called Place of the Vajra near a charnel gound called Golden Sanctuary of Expanding Delight, which was on the bank of the Kutra Lake in Oddiyana.

Thanks, Ani La,

I also read in the Wellsprings and elsewhere that Vairotsana met the master Prahevajra in a vision, or as a "wisdom body" and not as an actual flesh-and-blood person.

Dharma Sun

For those of you who do not have the good fortune to regularly attend Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche's famous Saturday talks at Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling in Nepal, Dharma Sun makes recordings available on a regular basis. This website emerged from Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche's wish to make the Buddha's teachings available to everyone. Highly recommended!

Buddhist prayer services for anyone who needs help

Buddhist prayer services for anyone who needs help. Buddhist prayers on this website http://monlam.org/mainprayers.html are offered frequently. These prayers can done for you or your family very soon. Most of the prayers are performed by the monks of Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling. Tara Praises and Chöd are done by the nuns of Nagi Gompa.

Monlam means "wish-path" - the Buddhist path of helping others through kind prayers. Monlam.org is a service of Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling, a Buddhist monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal; and Nagi Gompa, a Buddhist nunnery on Shivapuri Mountain near Kathmandu.

Through this site you can request Buddhist prayers for yourself and others. Your donations help support the monks and nuns who perform the prayers. Some of the monastics are Tibetan refugees. All money raised goes to the monastery and nunnery, except for the small costs of having a website and using Paypal. Prayers and pujas are supervised by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and Chokling Rinpoche, accomplished teachers of meditation and ritual.

People in Buddhist cultures have relied on the prayers of monks and nuns for centuries. Full-time spiritual practitioners develop deep wisdom and great kindness, which make their prayers especially effective. Sacred rituals, originated by highly realized masters, enhance the blessing power of the prayers.

Pujas are beautiful and powerful. Body, speech, and mind are all involved. Prayers and pujas can involve reciting sutras, chanting mantras, performing mudras, visualizing Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and offering water, flowers, incense, lights, food, music, etc. All these methods generate merit. Merit is necessary for health, long life, happiness, and spiritual realization.

Anyone who needs help can request prayers. You don't have to be a Buddhist. You can ask for prayers for healing, long life, prosperity, support for the dying and the dead, etc.

We ask that you donate to support the monks and nuns. Buddhist prayers, teachings and rituals are traditionally given without a price tag. Monks and nuns pray for people without asking for anything in return. Buddhist lay-people donate as generously as they are able. Many people are unfamiliar with this culture of mutual giving, so donation amounts are listed for each service. Giving creates merit. Merit is essential for happiness, good health, long life, worldly success, spiritual realization and good rebirth.

Talks

Here are a few talks by the lamas shown above that I just came across that you may like to check out:

Chatral Rinpoche offers Words of Advice

Dudjom Rinpoche on meditation

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche Never Born, Never Ceasing

(Please note that as there were questions about the authenticity of the originally posted teaching by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, I have replaced it with a link to a translation by Matthieu Ricard)

The View from above Dzongsar Monastery

The view towards Dorje Melong from abobve Dzongsar monastery in Kham. Photo courtesy of Matteo Pistono.

The Passing of Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro

In this clip an important tulku from Dzongsar Monastery named Dzongsar Ngari Tulku, discusses the death of Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. The video is an extract from the forthcoming documentary, ‘The Life of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö’. Dzongsar Ngari Tulku passed away on 19 May 2008.

A likeness of Chokgyur Lingpa

This is, I presume, an old statue of Chokgyur Lingpa, situated at Neten Monestary in Kham.

Tulku Urgyen's reincarnation with our editor

Here is a photo from last autumn of Tulku Urgyen's reincarnation together with Michael Tweed, the main editor for Wellsprings.

As you may know, the tulku and his parents will be invited from Bir in nortern India to Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling in Nepal for the grand enthronement ceremony this coming November.