{"id":11161,"date":"2022-02-09T00:50:26","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T00:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/uncategorized\/dodrupchen-de-nhat-jigme-thrinle-ozer\/"},"modified":"2022-04-07T10:40:22","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T10:40:22","slug":"dodrupchen-de-nhat-jigme-thrinle-ozer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/en\/masters-en\/dodrupchen-de-nhat-jigme-thrinle-ozer\/","title":{"rendered":"First Dodrupchen Jigme Thrinle \u00d6zer"},"content":{"rendered":"

1745\u20131821<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE First Dodrupchen\u00a0 Rinpoche\u00a0 Jigme\u00a0 Thrinle\u00a0 \u00d6zer182\u00a0 was\u00a0 the principal doctrine-holder (rTsa Ba\u2019i Ch\u2019os bDag) of the Longchen Nyingthig cycle of teachings.<\/p>\n

He was known by many names, including K\u00fcnzang Zhenphen, S\u00f6nam Ch\u00f6den, Changchup Dorje, and Drubwang Dzogchenpa.<\/p>\n

He was born in the upper Do Val ey of Golok Province in Eastern Tibet in the Wood Ox year of the twelfth Rabjung (1745). Do Val ey is situated in Golok Province on the border of the Amdo and Kham regions. Dodrupchen\u2019s father, Z\u00f6nkho, was from a warrior clan cal ed Puchung in the Mukpo Dong lineage. His mother, S\u00f6namtso, was from the Nizok (Nubzur) tribe.<\/p>\n

His birth was prophesied by Guru Rinpoche:<\/p>\n

In the east there wil come a person named \u00d6zer,<\/p>\n

Endowed with strong devotion, extraordinary actions, powerful mind, and ful of wisdom.<\/p>\n

He wil uphold the discovered heart treasure teachings<\/p>\n

And propagate them with the support of many fortunate people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At about three, Dodrupchen started revealing his memories of his past lives. His parents wouldn\u2019t let him repeat them, as they were afraid that he was possessed by a demonic force. At about four or five, now and then, he witnessed amazing lights of Th\u00f6gal visions, and he would remain absorbed in them with a feeling both of joy and sadness.<\/p>\n

At six and seven, he saw and then remembered the sufferings of people from poverty, il ness, old age, and death. Because of this, an unbearable sadness occupied his tiny heart, and his little face was always soaked in tears.<\/p>\n

At seven, his parents sent him to his uncle, who was a lama, to study Tibetan and scriptures. He was able to read the prayers after he was taught them once, whereas others could learn them only by repeating them many times. Although Dodrupchen took birth as great masters in his past lives, he was not recognized as a t\u00fclku in his youth. Thus he was given the chance and chal enges of passing through his studies and trainings as an ordinary trainee does in Tibet.<\/p>\n

At ten, he revealed some ter teachings, but none survived, as no one thought them of any importance. He had numerous visions and dreams of masters who entrusted teachings and blessings to him and also warned him of any danger that was coming. Stil , as his mind was always fil ed with compassion, when his parents were not noticing, he would cry profusely over the sufferings that people were experiencing and would try to help them, at least by saying prayers for them. He never had il wil toward anybody, even people who were trying to hurt him. He was always frank, bold, and powerful in expressing his thoughts. He was generous and energetic in offering his services to improve others\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

At fourteen, he entered Gochen Monastery of the Paly\u00fcl lineage and received teachings from Sherap Rinchen until that teacher\u2019s death. Sherap Rinchen was a student of Pema Lh\u00fcndrup Gyatso (1660\u20131727), who studied with K\u00fcnzang Sherap (1636\u20131699), the founder of the Paly\u00fcl lineage. Sherap Rinchen gave him the Dharma name S\u00f6nam Ch\u00f6den. He studied and meditated on many teachings, mainly Dzogpa Chenpo and Tsalung, and fulfil ed the requirements of various recitations and trainings. However, there was not much progress in his spiritual experience beyond what he already had.<\/p>\n

At twenty-one, Dodrupchen left for Central Tibet through Dege with six other monks. On the way he received teachings from Situ Ch\u00f6kyi Jungne (1700\u20131774) at Palpung Monastery in Dege.<\/p>\n

Final y they reached Taklha Gampo, the monastic seat of Gampopa (1079\u20131153), the main disciple of Milarepa (1040\u20131123). At Taklha Gampo, the Fifth Gampopa Jampal Thrinle Wangpo (Mipham Wangpo, 1757\u2013?) named Dodrupchen as S\u00f6nam Ch\u00f6den. With master Tamch\u00f6 Wangchuk, a disciple of the Third Gampopa Zangpo Dorje, Dodrupchen studied Ng\u00f6ndro, Chakchen Ch\u00f6druk, and Phowa of both the Takpo and Zats\u00f6n traditions and many other teachings. Then he went on a pilgrimage to Ts\u0101ri, one of the most sacred places in Tibet, with much physical hardship. There, in a vision, he received the blessings of Vajrav\u0101r\u0101h\u012b, a Buddha in female form. Soon al the voices, fears, and hardships he was experiencing on his pilgrimage turned into an experience of great joy, and he felt very happy and fulfil ed.<\/p>\n

On his return from Ts\u0101ri to Taklha Gampo, Tamch\u00f6 Wangchuk sent him to a cemetery to spend the night practicing Ch\u00f6 and said: \u201cWhatever happens, do not leave!\u201d So Dodrupchen went to the cemetery and did his evening Ch\u00f6 practice. In the middle of the night, when he woke up, he saw that the rock behind him had turned into a huge and terrifying monster with long hair and sharp teeth. Dodrupchen was frightened, and his body was trembling. He couldn\u2019t go back to sleep, but remembering the lama\u2019s words, after performing another Ch\u00f6 practice, he remained lying there, his back against the monster. Before dawn he performed his third and last Ch\u00f6 practice. Soon day broke and there was nothing but the rock. He felt so happy, as if he had been granted another chance to live. From there, he went straight to the lama. By his clairvoyance the lama knew what had happened and was waiting for him. With a broad smile, the lama asked, \u201cWas your good meditation stil there?\u201d Dodrupchen answered, \u201cNo, it has disappeared!\u201d The lama said, \u201cYou did well! You were attached to your so-cal ed good meditative experiences, which wil cause rebirths in the higher realms of sa\u1e43s\u0101ra. I sent you to the cemetery to dissolve those attachments. So don\u2019t feel regret that you have lost your experiences. You did wel by not leaving the cemetery.\u201d Then the lama, using this incident as the means of introduction to the ultimate nature, asked, \u201cIs there any truly existing entity in those fears? Didn\u2019t they arise and dissolve in their own [openness] nature [free from limitations]?\u201d Then in \u00d6sal Phuk, the Cave of Luminosity, Dodrupchen did a long retreat with very little food.<\/p>\n

With his companions Dodrupchen went on pilgrimage to Samye, Lhasa, and other holy places in Central Tibet. Then they journeyed toward home. On the way, in Dege, Dodrupchen received teachings from K\u00fcnzang Namgyal (1713\u20131769), the Second Rabjam of Zhechen Monastery, who gave him the name K\u00fcnzang Zhenphen. He also received teachings from K\u00fcntr\u00f6l Namgyal (1706\u20131773), the First Jew\u00f6n of Dzogchen Monastery, and Karma Tashi (1728\u2013 1790), the First Karma Kuchen of Paly\u00fcl Monastery.<\/p>\n

From the ages of twenty-five through thirty he stayed around his home val ey because an old uncle had urged him in the name of Dharma not to leave until he died. As Dodrupchen belonged to a powerful tribal group, traditional obligations forced him to take care of tribal responsibilities. He was a forceful orator with a fearless heart and a powerful personality, which made him a most admired tribal figure. One day, he was traveling across a val ey to collect some debts, riding one of the best-known horses in the tribal community. Suddenly strong remorse over sa\u1e43s\u0101ra overwhelmed his mind. This instantly caused al the appearances before him to transform into the Pure Land of Amit\u0101bha Buddha. It was a beautiful atmosphere, unimaginable by the mind. Al the graspings and cravings of his mind had dissolved. Then, in a most enchanting voice, the blissful Buddha Amit\u0101bha said, \u201cSon of good family, do not stay here. Go wherever you like. Your purposes wil be fulfil ed.\u201d Then he emerged from his realm of spiritual vision and experience into ordinary life, as if he had awakened from a deep sleep. Dodrupchen writes, \u201cThis experience might have lasted only for the time it takes to drink two cups of tea,\u201d perhaps about twenty minutes. \u201cSince then my feelings toward even the best kinds of worldly prosperity, power, and gain became as if they were rich food before a sick person who has no appetite at all.\u201d Then he adds, \u201cAlthough this experience might not seem of any great significance, yet it is the best part of my life story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen went to Dzogchen Monastery, where he received Khandro Nyingthig transmissions and teachings from Pema Sang- ngak Tendzin (1731\u20131805), the Second P\u00f6nlop, and he meditated on them.<\/p>\n

Then with four other monks he set off on his second trip to Central Tibet. On the way he got very sick, and doctors and friends had little hope of his recovering, but he refused even to take any medicine. Nevertheless, after some time he recovered, solely by the power of his pilgrimage and inner meditative strength.<\/p>\n

Final y, he reached Taklha Gampo again and received teachings from the Fifth Gampopa Jumpal Thrinle Wangpo (Ts\u00fcltrim Palbar). Then they went on pilgrimage to Yarlung, Samye, Tashi Lh\u00fcnpo, Sakya, Tsurphu, Lhasa, and Drikung. He also received teachings from the Thirteenth Karmapa D\u00fcd\u00fcl Dorje (1733\u20131797), who gave him the name Karma Wangtrak.<\/p>\n

Then he returned to Dzogchen Monastery. Because he felt uneasy meditating in the monastery because of so many distractions, he went to Kangtr\u00f6 Ogma, the Lower Snow Mountain, not very far from Dzogchen Monastery.<\/p>\n

At thirty-five he started a three-year retreat in a cave in the solitary mountain of Kangtr\u00f6 Ogma, practicing K\u00f6nchok Chid\u00fc and many other teachings, and especial y Th\u00f6gal in summer and Tsalung in winter. He enjoyed the great peace of the atmosphere, but he vowed to dedicate himself to the training without letting himself be distracted even for a second by his enjoyment of the surroundings. However, after a month or so, a great shaking up (Lhong Ch\u2019a) arose in him. It became hard for him to stop the turbulent waves of thoughts, emotions, and il usions. He now started having disturbances of the life-force energy (Srog rLung), symptoms that brought him to the brink of insanity. Al appearances arose as enemies. He even saw fearful animals in his teapot. He felt he was involved in fighting with weapons. One night in a dream he heard a very frightening shout, and he felt that it almost split his heart. Even after he awoke, he kept hearing the same cry and then saw a pil arlike dark light linking the ground and the sky. His body was trembling violently. He felt an unbearable terror and feared that the sky and earth were being turned upside down. But then in an instant, al the disturbing appearances dissolved into himself, the \u201cI,\u201d which was merely projecting and experiencing al those appearances. Then the concept of \u201cI\u201d was also gone beyond any elaboration. The fearful mind and the objects of fear al had merged into one taste, the taste of ultimate nature, the total openness. The fears of his dreams and experiences had vanished without even a trace. At that point, he writes, \u201cI experienced a realization in which there is no designation of any view to realize or any meditation to follow. By just being in the realized state, my fear over negative experiences as wel as joy over the experiences of bliss have gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just before reaching a high realization, it is normal for many meditators to experience the final mental, emotional, and habitual struggles in various forms or degrees of temptations, fearful il usions, threatening sounds, or painful feelings. Many great masters have had the same kinds of experience just before they entered into high states of realization. If you do not succumb to these kind of last-minute disturbances created by hidden subtle habits and get beyond al those final encounters by remaining in the realized nature, like shaking the dust from a rug for good, you wil attain total freedom from mental and emotional obscurations with their traces. A person who is having a so-cal ed smooth meditative experience might think, \u201cI am doing so wel that I have no shaking-up experiences,\u201d but the truth could be that he has not yet destroyed his mental and emotional defilements and their habits from the root.<\/p>\n

After some time, Dodrupchen\u2019s food was exhausted and for a long time, except for some tea, he didn\u2019t have much to eat. He became physical y weak, like a man in a sickbed. He could hardly move, and his breathing became heavy and his chest congested. One day, as his water pot was empty, he went out to collect some water from a pond outside the cave. On the way back, while climbing up to the cave, because of the weight of the pot he fel down and lost consciousness. After a while he regained consciousness and tried to get up, but he could not. Thoughts came to his mind: \u201cNow there is no way to escape from death. What to do?\u201d Then another thought came into his mind: \u201cIt would be sad if I were dying while doing unvirtuous deeds, but I am dying while doing Dharma practice, so I should be rejoicing.\u201d This thought brought a feeling of joy in him, and his joy gave him the strength to get up. He went back to the cave, treated<\/p>\n

himself with the smoke from burning a little tsampa that he had saved for medicinal use to calm down his violent air humors. Then he took a smal er pot and got some water. He made some tea and drank it, but as he had had no solid food for a long time, the tea made his body shake violently and he had a hard time calming it down.<\/p>\n

Then he thought, \u201cIt would be better to go to Dzogchen Monastery and get some food. Otherwise I shal die, and that wil be an obstacle to the practice.\u201d He left the cave and climbed a little way down the hil , but he was so weak that he fel down again. Getting up, he thought, \u201cHow foolish I am. My lamas instructed me to practice. To follow the instructions of the lamas is my main practice. To go and look for food wil be wrong. Even if I die, I shall not leave the meditation cell, until I finish my retreat.\u201d He returned to the cave and resumed his meditation as usual. After a while he heard a knock on the door, but ignored it as he was practicing. At the break in practice, at the door he found a pot of yogurt, which he brought inside and ate. The yogurt had special healing qualities, which helped not only to restore his health but to assist his meditation. The yogurt was said to have been offered to him by the Dharma protectresses Tseringma, the Long-Life Sisters. Since then the environs of the meditation cave are known as Tsering Phuk, the Cave of Tseringma. A few days later his Dharma friends brought him provisions of food. The pot of yogurt left by Tseringma, made of copper gilded with gold, was preserved til the late 1950s in a st\u016bpa in Dodrupchen Monastery.<\/p>\n

At thirty-eight Dodrupchen moved to Shinje Cave near Dzogchen Monastery, and there he did another four-year retreat, except for a short break when he had to go the monastery. He practiced the five- deity Chakrasa\u1e43vara of the Takpo lineage, Wrathful Guru Mekhyil and Vajrak\u012bla Yangsang La-me, both discovered by Ratna Lingpa. Then he meditated on Shinje (Yamar\u0101ja) and one day wrote the mantra on a rock with his finger as if in mud. Since then the cave became known as Shinje Cave, and I was told that the mantra is stil visible on the rock.<\/p>\n

Then he received the transmission of Tsasum Sangwa Nyingthig from the third Dzogchen Rinpoche (1759\u20131792), and he did a short retreat on it with many experiences and visions. During that retreat, the third Dzogchen Rinpoche sent him a copy of Y\u00f6nten Rinpoche Dz\u00f6. His reading it gave him \u201cuncontrived devotion\u201d to its author, Jigme Lingpa.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen went to Dzogchen Rinpoche, who encouraged him to go see Jigme Lingpa, saying, \u201cSeeing him wil be more beneficial for you than staying in retreat.\u201d Dzogchen Rinpoche also urged Dodrupchen to invite Jigme Lingpa to Kham on his behalf or at least to bring the transmission of Longchen Nyingthig for him and others. From Dzogchen Rinpoche he received the transmissions and teaching of Nyingthig Yabzhi and many other teachings.<\/p>\n

Somewhere in Dege, Dodrupchen came to a big river but couldn\u2019t find any way of crossing. He remained in the meditation of seeing the river as earth and walked across the river as if on dry land. When he was almost at the other shore, he thought, \u201cOh, my meditation is quite good,\u201d and at that moment he sank into the river and almost drowned. So later he kept saying, \u201cThoughts are dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

At forty-one Dodrupchen left for Central Tibet for the third time. He met Jigme Lingpa, his karmic guru, for the first time at the house of Depa Push\u00fc near Tsering Jong hermitage in Yarlung Val ey in Southern Tibet. It was a time of great joy, like the reunion of a long-lost father and son. Jigme Lingpa said, \u201cLast night I dreamed of meeting with a bodhisattva, and it must be you.\u201d Dodrupchen saw Jigme Lingpa as Thangtong Gyalpo and experienced many visions and revelations.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen took the bodhisattva vow with Jigme Lingpa. That night, in his luminous dream Dodrupchen saw bowls of ringsel and remains of Buddha K\u0101shyapa being withdrawn from a white st\u016bpa. It was the sign that Dodrupchen was renewing the vow that he took before Buddha K\u0101shyapa, when he was the son of King K\u1e5bikr\u012b at the time of Buddha K\u0101shyapa.<\/p>\n

While receiving the empowerment of Lama Gongd\u00fc, Dodrupchen remembered clearly, without any doubt in his mind, that Jigme Lingpa had been Nyang Nyima \u00d6zer (1124\u20131192) and he himself had been Sangye Lingpa (1340\u20131396).<\/p>\n

Jigme Lingpa gave Dodrupchen the complete transmission of both kama and terma teachings, including Longchen Nyingthig, Y\u00f6nten Dz\u00f6, with its autocommentary, Dz\u00f6d\u00fcn, Shingta Namsum, Tr\u00f6lthik, and Nying Gy\u00fc. Jigme Lingpa gave him the name Jigme Thrinle \u00d6zer, Rays of Fearless Enlightened Action.<\/p>\n

When Dodrupchen was at Samye, Barchung Gomchen Rigdzin and Mange Pema K\u00fcnzang from Kham arrived on pilgrimage. With a letter Dodrupchen sent them to Jigme Lingpa for teachings. Later Pema K\u00fcnzang became Jigme Lingpa\u2019s renowned disciple Jigme Gyalwe Nyuku. Having received teachings for two weeks, Rigdzin and Gyalwe Nyuku returned to Dodrupchen at Samye. Together they al went on pilgrimage in Central Tibet. Then they went to see a great meditator, Rigdzin Pema She-nyen, in Tsang and received many Changter (Northern Treasure) transmissions.<\/p>\n

Then Dodrupchen returned to Lhasa from Tsang accompanied by Gyalwe Nyuku, who was on his way to Kham. While they were crossing a no-man\u2019s land in the Yadrok area of Central Tibet, Dodrupchen got seriously sick, but his mind remained very cheerful. Gyalwe Nyuku writes:<\/p>\n

When we, teacher and disciple, were going downward in Yadrok val ey, the Lord Lama [Dodrupchen] got seriously sick with air and rheumatism. He was in constant excruciating pain and became so weak that he was almost dying. We didn\u2019t have much to eat except a piece of rotten animal fat and a pot of oil.<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t have even a spoonful of tsampa. We drank some black tea. After he sat down to rest, in order for him to stand, I had to help him by pul ing him up with the ful strength of my two hands. Although physical y he was in critical condition, instead of being depressed, he would say: \u201cOh, today I have a chance to pursue a little austerity in the practice of Dharma by putting some burden on my mortal body and by taming my greedy mind. I am achieving the goal for my precious human life\u2026<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that the experiences of hardship I am going through are the fortunate fruitions produced by the accumulation of merits and purification of obscurations in my numerous lives in the past.\u201d There was great joy in his mind. I too was joyful, thinking, \u201cIt is wonderful that this Lord Lama is putting into practice [what the Buddha taught]\u201d:<\/p>\n

Preserve Dharma [realization] forever,<\/p>\n

Even at [the cost of] crossing [a mass of] flames or [a field of] razors.<\/p>\n

Also, sometimes when the lama wasn\u2019t watching, I cried a lot, thinking:<\/p>\n

This holy person is going to die in this place where no other human being wil even notice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From Lhasa, Gyalwe Nyuku went back to Tsang, Western Tibet, and Dodrupchen left for Kham, Eastern Tibet. But after a few days\u2019 journey, Dodrupchen could not bear leaving his teacher without seeing him once more. So he turned south and went to see Jigme Lingpa, to the great surprise and joy of his teacher. Dodrupchen received more transmissions and teachings. Jigme Lingpa recognized him as the incarnation of Prince Murum Tsenpo, son of King Trisong Detsen, and empowered him as the principal doctrine-holder of the Longchen Nyingthig teachings, as prophesied in Nechang Thukkyi Drombu:<\/p>\n

An incarnation of the Lhase [Divine Prince]<\/p>\n

shal open the door of the [Longchen Nyingthig] doctrine.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On his return to Do Val ey, at the request of Akyongza Paldzom, the lady chieftain of Upper Do Val ey, Dodrupchen laid the foundation of a gompa at Shukchen Tago, which is about ten miles down from the present Dodrupchen Monastery. But soon he left for Dege and construction stopped.<\/p>\n

At Dzogchen Monastery, he gave the textual transmissions of Longchen Nyingthig to the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche (1759\u20131792) and the Second P\u00f6nlop (1731\u20131805) of Dzogchen Monastery. Again with the approval of Dzogchen Rinpoche, Dodrupchen went to Central Tibet for the fourth and last time, with huge offerings. He was accompanied by Getse Lama S\u00f6nam Tendzin (Jigme Ngotsar) and a few others. This time he saw Jigme Lingpa at the house of Depa Lha Gyatri (Gyari).<\/p>\n

Then with Jigme Lingpa he traveled to Samye. In the main temple of Samye, Dodrupchen sponsored and arranged a huge tsok offering ceremony presided over by Jigme Lingpa. He took bodhichitta vows again from Jigme Lingpa, and they recited many Zangpo Ch\u00f6pe M\u00f6nlam together. He sponsored a mendrup, the preparation of \u201cblessed medicine,\u201d for seven days under the mastership of Jigme Lingpa. Remember that the main temple of Samye is the place where Guru Rinpoche entrusted Longchen Nyingthig teachings to King Trisong Detsen, a previous incarnation of Jigme Lingpa\u2019s, and transmitted teachings to Prince Murum Tsepo, a previous incarnation of Dodrupchen\u2019s, a number of centuries previously.<\/p>\n

Then they traveled together to Tsering Jong. Jigme Lingpa gave many empowerments, but as he had problems with his eyesight, Dodrupchen gave the textual transmission (Lung) of Nyingma Gy\u00fcbum and others to the t\u00fclku of Tsele G\u00f6tsang T\u00fclku, Jigme Tenpe Gyaltsen of Thangdrok, and many others on behalf of his master.<\/p>\n

In 1791, when Dodrupchen was at Samye, the Gurkha forces of Nepal ransacked many places in Western Tibet, including the town of Shigatse and Tashi Lh\u00fcnpo Monastery. People in Central Tibet were frightened of being overrun by Gurkha forces any day, and many were fleeing their towns and monasteries.<\/p>\n

As requested by fearful people, after having completed prayers at the main temple of Samye, Dodrupchen went to Hepori Hil and made a Sang offering. He invoked the Dharma protectors and reminded them of their vows to protect Tibet made before the very eyes of Guru Rinpoche. The smoke of the Sang formed the shape of a garu\u1e0da (an eaglelike mystical bird) in the sky and was carried in the direction of the invaders. At sunset he threw a torma (offering cake) toward the West. At that moment, a dark cloud and a strong storm were coming from the West, but as soon as he threw the torma, miraculously the cloud turned back toward the West.<\/p>\n

Then, in a poem, Dodrupchen gave his prophecy that there would be nothing more to fear from Nepalese forces, and he sent it to the government in Lhasa. Because of his assurances, people in Samye stopped fleeing. He wanted to go to see Jigme Lingpa but couldn\u2019t, as no boat was available to cross the Tsangpo River. Then he went to Kordz\u00f6 Ling, the temple of the Dharma protectors at Samye. First he said prayers and performed ceremonies. But suddenly his manner total y changed. He shouted at the image of Pehar, the main Dharma protector of Tibet, hit it with his shawl, pul ed down the coverings of the image, and chal enged the Dharma protector\u2019s promises to protect Tibet before the eyes of Guru Rinpoche. Final y, he felt peaceful and remained in contemplation in that peace for a long time. (I have heard stories that the image was seen to tremble, and smoky mist came from its mouth and nose and rose into the air, causing hailstorms and epidemics among the invading forces.)<\/p>\n

Kal\u00f6n Dzasak Lama Kalzang Namgyal, one of the high authorities of the Tibetan government, sent a special emissary to Dodrupchen for his prophecy about the Nepalese danger. Dodrupchen wrote his prophecy in a poem that included the following lines and sent it to Kal\u00f6n Lama:<\/p>\n

In [my mind, which is] crystal-clear primordial purity,<\/p>\n

Appear the following words and expressions:<\/p>\n

When you are at ease, O arrogant people<\/p>\n

Who are swollen with pride,<\/p>\n

Do not listen to any unsubstantiated voice.<\/p>\n

Do not flee to any unknown land. . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As the four provinces of Central Tibet were facing the threat of severe drought, Dodrupchen performed a fire-offering ceremony (homa), and that produced heavy rain, bringing great relief for many from the danger of famine.<\/p>\n

From Samye, Dodrupchen went to Tsering Jong. At that time, Jigme Lingpa couldn\u2019t read much because of eye problems, possibly cataracts. Jigme Gyalwe Nyuku sent for an eye doctor, who performed a successful operation. Before taking his final leave, Dodrupchen offered everything he had, including his cherished old hat, to Jigme Lingpa. He experienced great joy and peace as a result of this action.<\/p>\n

Praising Dodrupchen, Jigme Lingpa gave his advice in writing, including the following lines:<\/p>\n

A person who can heal the disturbances of [physical and environmental] elements,<\/p>\n

Who is able to tame the negative circumstances, and<\/p>\n

Who can accomplish whatever [the teacher] orders him to do\u2014<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t he cal ed a fortunate disciple?<\/p>\n

Because of our past karmic relations,<\/p>\n

Which began many previous lives ago, Jigme Thrinle \u00d6zer,<\/p>\n

You came here from a long distance,<\/p>\n

From a place that is difficult to see or hear about.<\/p>\n

Carrying as precious gifts the treasures of profound and vast teachings,<\/p>\n

Which are hard to find,<\/p>\n

You are returning toward your homeland.<\/p>\n

You are like a successful trader returning across the ocean.<\/p>\n

If there were no karmic relations,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even if you lived in the same part of the country,<\/p>\n

How could you see me<\/p>\n

As a bodhisattva, who takes care of others? . . .<\/p>\n

As prophesied in Nechang Thukkyi Drombu,<\/p>\n

While building the temple of Samye,<\/p>\n

We were related as father [the king] and son [the prince].<\/p>\n

Pure visions of that fact you saw by yourself.<\/p>\n

From your childhood,<\/p>\n

While remaining in solitary places,<\/p>\n

As I did in my life,<\/p>\n

You have received the prophecies about [discovering] ters.<\/p>\n

Now the treasure of kama and terma teachings<\/p>\n

I am entrusting to you, and<\/p>\n

I prophesy that you wil spread it in the barbarous lands.<\/p>\n

As long as the [realization of the] true nature is not being lost to delusions,<\/p>\n

There is no need to spend one\u2019s life in retreats. . . .<\/p>\n

Between you and me there is no separation.<\/p>\n

By the truth of the union of my mind and your mind,<\/p>\n

By the compassionate blessings of the three Jewels,<\/p>\n

By the power of the three roots, and<\/p>\n

By the actions of the Dharma protectors,<\/p>\n

May there be no negative circumstances in your Dharma activities, and<\/p>\n

May there be not even a trace of any obstruction.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jigme Lingpa said, \u201cTonight you stay in my house. I have some advice to give to you.\u201d So Dodrupchen spent his last night in the presence of Jigme Lingpa. Jigme Lingpa said:<\/p>\n

Al the instructions that I have received on both canonical and terma teachings are the inheritance of both you and me. When I was entrusted with the yel ow scroll [of Longchen Nyingthig] by the \u1e0c\u0101kin\u012b of the Ultimate Sphere, she told me that these are the Dharma inheritance of the king and his son. Also, in Nechang (Thukkyi Drombu) it is said, \u201cThe door of the teachings wil be opened by the incarnation of the Divine Prince.\u201d So, without any doubt, you are the incarnation [of the Divine Prince]. So to propagate the teachings for the benefits of the tradition and beings is your main mission. We are inseparable. In future there wil come a time that your enlightened activities wil become very successful, but there wil also be many obstructions from negative forces. Pray to me, and your obstructions wil be pacified. When in you a new faith arises toward me, if a new opportunity arises, we, father and son, wil meet again.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The meaning of the last line was that Jigme Lingpa would take rebirth as Do Khyentse and would meet Dodrupchen again as his teacher.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen expressed his wish to remain as a hermit. Jigme Lingpa, rejecting that aspiration, advised:<\/p>\n

I have given you the vow of the bodhisattva, the pledge of taking the responsibility of [providing happiness for] al beings on your shoulders. If you just enjoy the peace and joy of a cave, you could be neglecting your vows. Never waver from propagation of the teachings. I have no doubt that even unvirtuous situations wil turn into virtues for you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The next day, touching the warm bare feet of Jigme Lingpa with the crown of his head, Dodrupchen, a stream of tears glowing on his face, said, \u201cIn al successive future lives, may I never be separated from you, my protector lord. May every action and thought of my body, speech, and mind become a powerful source of benefit for the Dharma and beings.\u201d Jigme Lingpa, with great affection touching the forehead of Dodrupchen with his own forehead, said, \u201cIt is a promise; we have no separation. Please travel joyful y.\u201d Dodrupchen, with the feeling that his heart was leaping out of his chest, stepped backward and left the room and the hermitage.<\/p>\n

Now that Dodrupchen had become known as an important lama, he had to perform ceremonies of blessings at Samye, Depa Lha Gyatri, and many other places.<\/p>\n

At D\u00f6jo Palkhyim (D\u00f6pal) in Lhasa, as requested by the government, under the personal supervision of Changtrung Khenpo (aka Kud\u00fcn Khenpo), Dodrupchen performed ceremonies for many days for the welfare of the government and the country and<\/p>\n

then for Kud\u00fcn Khenpo himself. While effectuating a d\u00f6 (mDos) ceremony of Mag\u00f6n, with just his right hand Dodrupchen miraculously raised a two-story-high d\u00f6 and then threw it. The Tibetan government paid him great respect and gratitude for his protection and prophecy for the country. Since that time, Dodrupchen became known by the name of Dodrupchen, the Great Adept (Mah\u0101siddha) of Do (Val ey). People of Lhasa said, \u201cThere are many adepts (Grub Thob), but there is only one Great Adept (Grub Ch\u2019en, Drupchen).\u201d<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen also brought back Gyalwe Nyuku with him to Kham. On the way they faced many dangers, but he conquered them al either by heroic courage or by spiritual powers. It al only strengthened his inner realization. For example, one day they lost their way in the snow, and Dodrupchen experienced a feeling of sadness. From that sadness arose an amazing vision of Milarepa. Milarepa, singing, gave him the Nget\u00f6ti Nyingpo s\u0101dhana of Milarepa and merged himself into Dodrupchen.<\/p>\n

In 1793, Dodrupchen was invited by the Dege Palace for the first time. He performed ceremonies and gave teachings accompanied by many mystical signs. From that time Dodrupchen became one of the main preceptors of Queen-Regent Tsewang Lhamo and her son, Prince Tsewang Dorje Rigdzin (1786\u20131847?) of Dege. The Dege court requested him to stay as their preceptor, but Dodrupchen immediately refused, for going to Wu Tai Shan in China in order to spend the rest of his life there was his primary goal (although it was never realized).<\/p>\n

Now Dodrupchen was dedicating his life solely to the propagation of Dharma, so that the teachings would reach the hearts of many trainable beings. In his autobiography Jigme Lingpa expressed his joy on receiving a message about Dodrupchen\u2019s success in the propagation of Dharma.<\/p>\n

Dola [the Lama from Do, i.e., Dodrupchen] has given the explanatory teachings of Nyingthig [in Dege] three times. On the first occasion, two thousand disciples received teachings; on the second, three thousand; and on the third, five thousand. Many laypeople took vows of not hunting, whereby many animals were given the \u201cgift of fearlessness.\u201d I feel happy that I have brought about this smal result by staying in a remote place and developing bodhi-chitta. This is the fulfil ment of the prophecy that said:<\/p>\n

The incarnations of Nam-nying, Nyang-ben, Chok-ying, and the Divine Prince wil open the door of [Longchen Nyingthig] teachings.<\/p>\n

In the same year, as requested and sponsored by the queen-regent of Dege, Dodrupchen laid the foundation of Ogmin Rigdzin Phelgye Ling Monastery at Getse T\u00f6 in Dzachukha Val ey. But after laying the foundation, he left for Amdo because of his long-standing aspiration to go to Wu Tai Shan. He made a winter-long retreat at Trakkar Treldzong, a sacred place in Amdo.<\/p>\n

In the monastery of Ch\u00f6je Rinpoche in Go-me Province, Dodrupchen transmitted the Longchen Nyingthig and other teachings to Ch\u00f6je Rinpoche, a celebrated Geluk scholar, who had studied Nyingma teachings and had become one of Dodrupchen\u2019s disciples. Dodrupchen received some transmissions from Go-me Ch\u00f6je also.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen gave teachings and served many Tibetan and Mongolian communities of that region. He displayed many miracles, such as causing a stream to flow out of dry land for a community that was without water. For the Mongols of the Blue Lake region he became known as Harhan Dalai Lama.<\/p>\n

Because of the fame of Dodrupchen\u2019s enlightened power, old Ch\u00f6nang Dzasak, a powerful Mongol chieftain, invited him to his domain, although Nyingma practice had been prohibited there for the last two years. The chieftain had many children, but none ever survived, although he took the spiritual protection of the lamas of Kubum Monastery. Dodrupchen blessed him and prophesied that the chieftain would have another child. When a child was born, the baby was so sick that no one expected him to live. But through Dodrupchen\u2019s spiritual protection the child survived. First he was named Yamathar, and later his name was changed to Garwap Gyalchok and Yizhin Wangyal. The spiritual power of Dodrupchen caused a new attitude of tolerance in the minds of people toward other lineages of Buddhism in that area.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen was also invited by the Mongol king, Ching Wang Ngawang Dargye (1759\u20131807), also known as Ch\u00f6gyal Ngaki Wangpo. Ngawang Dargye was the most important chieftain in the Blue Lake region at that time. Dodrupchen gave the transmissions and instructions of Longchen Nyingthig, Khandro Yangtig, and commentaries of Y\u00f6nten Dz\u00f6 to between forty and a hundred important people in addition to the king and queen.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen gave the Longchen Nyingthig transmission to Drupchen T\u00fclku Jigme Namkha Gyaltsen of G\u00f6n Lakha, who became a Longchen Nyingthig lineage holder. Before 1959, it is known that G\u00f6n Lakha had more than nineteen hundred tantric residents. Dodrupchen also taught to Ngawang Tendar Lharampa (1759\u2013?) of the Alaksha Mongols. Then a problem arose for Dodrupchen involving the Amban, the representative of the emperor of China at Sining, the capital of the state of Blue Lake (Qinghai). Dodrupchen was summoned to the Amban\u2019s camp and accused of belonging to a group of Khampas who were fleeing from their homeland. Dodrupchen was helping them, but he didn\u2019t belong to that particular group. Another accusation was that Dodrupchen had been in the Blue Lake region for a few years without informing the Amban, which was true. Further, it was said that he was wearing the hat of a Khenpo, an abbot, without official recognition, which was partial y true since he hadn\u2019t received such recognition from the Geluk school, which was the official religious institution of that particular region. Through two interpreters, the Amban questioned Dodrupchen for a whole day amid a huge assembly of Tibetan and Mongolian dignitaries of the Blue Lake region, including King Ngawang Dargye and Jonang Dzasak. Al of them, as Dodrupchen describes it, \u201csat as if they were receiving a religious discourse.\u201d At the end of the day, not only was Dodrupchen released, but the Amban was so impressed that he even requested him to say prayers for a sick friend of his. The problem was thus miraculously avoided, to everybody\u2019s surprise. Otherwise there could have been a real danger to Dodrupchen\u2019s life and to the positions of many Mongol princes, who were his patrons.<\/p>\n

Many months later, the Amban sent another messenger to invite Dodrupchen to Sining. In Sining, with great respect the Amban said to Dodrupchen, \u201cUsual y, when people get a letter from the emperor, they stand and listen to it facing east. You, however, may remain sitting, but listen careful y and face east.\u201d Ceremoniously he opened the letter from the Emperor Chia Ch\u2019ing (r. 1796\u20131820), which included the following lines:<\/p>\n

If the lama is beneficial to people, there should be no problem about his being a lama of the Red Hat [Nyingma] sect. He [Dodrupchen] must stay in the Blue Lake region. He mustn\u2019t leave for Wu Tai Shan, for Lhasa, or for his own home. If he should leave, he must consult the emperor first. The chieftains [of the Blue Lake region] must pay respect and service to the lama.<\/p>\n

The people of that area saw that the emperor\u2019s recognition of Dodrupchen as a lama of the twelve divisions (mDa\u2019 Tshan) of Mongols of the Blue Lake region was a great honor. They were joyful because their prayers that he would stay with them were granted. But Dodrupchen\u2019s dream of going to Wu Tai Shan was shattered. (There are stories that Dodrupchen\u2019s disciple-chieftains were instrumental in the emperor\u2019s edict that he must remain in that area.)<\/p>\n

Realizing that now he could not travel toward Wu Tai Shan against the emperor\u2019s edict, Dodrupchen wanted instead to go to Central Tibet to see Jigme Lingpa once again. But his devotees persisted in opposing this plan, citing the emperor\u2019s order. So Dodrupchen sent Jigme Ch\u00f6trak in his stead to Central Tibet with huge offerings, everything that he possessed. The travelers also took many gifts from King Ngawang Dargye for Jigme Lingpa.<\/p>\n

The Chonang chieftain requested Dodrupchen to build a gompa (monastary) and promised al the necessary financial and political support. But Dodrupchen refused to accept the offering, reminding himself of a wise old saying, \u201cDon\u2019t stay too close to your patrons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arik Geshe Chenmo Champa Gelek Gyaltsen (1726\u20131803) of Ragya Monastery, a preeminent Geluk scholar, profusely praised Dodrupchen and made generous offerings to him. He also received transmissions from Dodrupchen.<\/p>\n

An epidemic in Arik Ragya Gompa, a large Geluk monastery in Amdo, kil ed about half of its four thousand monk residents. Al the survivors fled to a nearby val ey, except one monk, who chose not to leave, as it would disrupt his saying the prayer of Ma\u00f1jushr\u012b-n\u0101ma- sa\u1e43g\u012bti. One day he heard the sound of bel s and saw some people with an unusual tigerlike animal entering the abandoned monastery. When one of them came to his house, before he could warn him of the epidemic, the man said, \u201cDodrupchen is here. He wants to get the message to the monks that there wil be no more danger and they can return. We are disposing of the abandoned bodies.\u201d Later, Dodrupchen performed a fire-offering ceremony (homa) and stopped the epidemic, enabling the monastery to revive. He also miraculously drew a stream of water from the rock of Amye Khyung-g\u00f6n, the hil behind the monastery, which is stil a healing stream today.<\/p>\n

An uncle of Dodrupchen and others came from Do Val ey in Golok and urged him to return home. Citing and emperor\u2019s order, the chieftains and people of the Blue Lake region, who were his devotees, objected to his departure. But Dodrupchen\u2019s uncle suddenly got sick and refused to take medicine or go to any monastery for prayers unless Dodrupchen would go back home with him. Thus the chieftains were forced to al ow Dodrupchen to return home. He left Lama Pema Tamch\u00f6 behind as his representative to show that he was not abandoning the area.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen returned from the Blue Lake region to Do Val ey in 1799. There he resumed building his Drot\u00f6n Lh\u00fcntrup Gompa at Shukchen Tago in Do Val ey. Jigme Gyalwe Nyuku also came to Do Val ey to help Dodrupchen build the monastery. Dodrupchen, accompanied by Gyalwe Nyuku and others, visited the King Tsewang Lh\u00fcndrup (d. 1825) of Dzigak at the Ph\u00fcntsok Dzong, the king of Ch\u00f6tse, and many places in Dzika Val ey to transmit teachings, perform ceremonies, and raise funds for the monastery.<\/p>\n

N\u00fcden Dorje, a young nephew of Dodrupchen\u2019s, who later became the famous Khangdong (or Khordong) Terchen, came to see his uncle. Dodrupchen gave him a vajra and a phurbu and asked him to stand up. Holding them in his hand, Terchen turned around and said H\u016a\u1e42 H\u016a\u1e42 H\u016a\u1e42. At that moment, the memories of Terchen\u2019s having been D\u00fcd\u00fcl Dorje (1615\u20131672) in the past awakened. Then Dodrupchen conferred on him the empowerment of Yumka Dechen Gyalmo, and Terchen heard the sound of the mantra O\u1e42 PADMOYOGIN\u012a J\u00d1\u0100NAV\u0100R\u0100H\u012a H\u016a\u1e42 coming from al the trees, flowers, and vegetation he could see around him.<\/p>\n

In 1801, on a visit to Mar Val ey, Dodrupchen met Do Khyentse (1800\u20131866), who was then about a year old. The child was insisting his parents take him to someone named S\u00f6nam Ch\u00f6den, adding that otherwise he would be going home, meaning that he would die. S\u00f6nam Ch\u00f6den was one of the early names of Dodrupchen, but hardly anybody but he knew it. When Dodrupchen met the child, he tearful y held him and assured him, \u201cI wil take care of you.\u201d Khyentse wrote years later that when he met Dodrupchen, he saw him not in the form of an ordinary person, but as Guru Rinpoche.<\/p>\n

At the advice of Dodrupchen, Do Khyentse was brought to Shukchen Tago and started to receive blessings and teachings. Do Khyentse kept seeing Dodrupchen in various forms and surrounded by various men and women in mysterious forms. After growing up, he realized that those appearances were not normal forms of the lama or his surroundings.<\/p>\n

After a few years\u2019 stay, the involvement of the chieftain of upper Do Val ey in shielding a thief was discovered. That incident disappointed Dodrupchen greatly, as he was not only a great lama, but a wise, ethical, and highly respected tribal leader. Soon, he refused to stay at Shukchen Tago, although it remained as a hermitage for many years. Paltr\u00fcl Rinpoche (1808\u20131887) read the Kanjur there for a long time and memorized many s\u016btras. However, I saw only the ruins of Shukchen Tago when I used to pass by the place as a child.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen kept receiving urgent invitations from the king of Dege and Dzogchen Monastery. He went to Gyarong Monastery, Dzogchen Monastery, and places in Dzachukha Val ey. He was received with great ceremonial processions at each place. At Dzogchen Monastery he gave empowerments to the young Fourth Dzogchen Rinpoche. When he heard that the queen-mother regent of Dege was seriously sick, he rushed to Dege Palace. The queen mother had just recovered from her sickness. Dodrupchen gave her teachings on Yeshe Lama and other teachings. To the king he gave empowerments of Hyagr\u012bva, and Vajrak\u012bla of Gy\u00fcluk. Later he also transmitted to him the ter teachings discovered by Dodrupchen himself.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen transmitted many teachings, including Yabzhi, Longchen Nyingthig, Nyingma Gy\u00fcbum, and Dz\u00f6d\u00fcn to many disciples, including high lamas of Nyingma monasteries of Kham, such as Dzogchen, Kathok, and Zhechen. Among the recipients were the Fourth Dzogchen Rinpoche, Do Khyentse, the Third Zhechen Rabjam, Kathok Situ, Gotsa T\u00fclkus, Gomchen Ngawang Ch\u00f6jor, and Thartse Khenchen Namkha Chi-me of Ngor.<\/p>\n

Til then, Do Khyentse was staying under the care of Dodrupchen and had unofficial y been recognized as the t\u00fclku of Jigme Lingpa by Dodrupchen himself. Then approval of the recognition by Sakya Kongma and Drikung t\u00fclkus, who were close disciples of Jigme Lingpa, was brought by the representatives from Drikung, who came to bring the t\u00fclku to Central Tibet. With elaborate arrangements by the Dege Palace, Do Khyentse was then sent to Drikung, where Jigme Lingpa\u2019s son was one of two heads of the Drikung lineage.<\/p>\n

In 1806, as an uncle of Dodrupchen was dying, he rushed back to Golok from Dege. But until 1809, he went back and forth a few times between Dege, Dzogchen, and Golok, performing ceremonies and mostly giving transmissions and teachings at many monasteries and other places.<\/p>\n

With Jigme Gyalwe Nyuku, Dodrupchen built Dzagya Monastery210 in Dzachukha Val ey, which later became the main seat of Jigme Gyalwe Nyuku himself and of his famous disciple, Paltr\u00fcl Rinpoche.<\/p>\n

I would like to note here that there was a sectarian resistance against the influence of Nyingma lamas headed by Dodrupchen in the Dege court. However, there is no basis for the assertion made by some Western writers that Dodrupchen was imprisoned and then<\/p>\n

exiled from Dege during the revolt in Dege in 1798. In fact, Dodrupchen was not in Dege during this period. Between 1793 and 1799 he remained in the Blue Lake region giving teachings to Tibetans and Mongols. He returned from Amdo to Golok only in 1799 and built Shukchen Tago Gompa. It was only from around 1802 until 1809 that he made frequent visits to Dege, giving teachings to the queen-mother regent and the prince, who became king in 1806. Dodrupchen made many visits and spent a lot of time in Dege after his return from Amdo, compared with his single visit of many months in 1793. According to numerous documents, not only the queen-mother regent but also her son, King Tsewang Dorje Rigdzin (1786\u20131847?, r. 1806\u20131847?), remained ardent devotees of Dodrupchen.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen inspired the palace of Dege to commission the wooden blocks of the nine volumes by Jigme Lingpa, and also the twenty-five volumes of the Nyingma Gy\u00fcbum and more than ten volumes by Longchen Rabjam.<\/p>\n

Final y in 1809 Dodrupchen returned to Golok. A prophecy of Rongt\u00f6n Dechen Lingpa (17th century) says:<\/p>\n

An incarnation of the Divine Prince, the heroic bodhisattva, Wil appear, with teachers and meditators of Dzogchen Ati. He wil build about three monasteries in upper, middle, and lower Ser Val ey.<\/p>\n

In 1810, at the age of sixty-six, he established a meditation center at Yarlung in the Trakchen gorge of Ser Val ey. He named it the Pemak\u00f6 Tsasum Khandr\u00f6 Ling. Later, it became known popularly as Yarlung Pemak\u00f6 Monastery.<\/p>\n

After building Yarlung Pemak\u00f6, Dodrupchen vowed never to leave it, so he didn\u2019t go anywhere, but stayed there for more than the next ten years of his life. While Dodrupchen was living there, music with no visible source could be heard in Yarlung Pemak\u00f6 on almost every tenth and twenty-fifth day of the lunar calendar. People believed that the music was played by the assembly of \u1e0d\u0101kas and \u1e0d\u0101kin\u012bs. On those days when the music was heard, people were reminded that this was one of the ceremonial days of the month.<\/p>\n

At Yarlung Pemak\u00f6, Dodrupchen taught and gave transmissions to a great number of disciples, many of whom went on to become famous masters. Frequently, when Dodrupchen would give the transmission of empowerments and the instructions, Jigme Kalzang would give the textual transmission (Lung) on his behalf.<\/p>\n

In 1812, Do Khyentse returned from central Tibet to see the aging Dodrupchen. Again and again the king of Dege strongly urged both Dodrupchen and Do Khyentse to come to Dege, but Dodrupchen couldn\u2019t go, as he had vowed never to leave his monastery.<\/p>\n

At the age of twenty,215 the Fourth Dzogchen Rinpoche (1793\u2013?) visited Yarlung Pemak\u00f6 to receive further teachings from Dodrupchen. Dodrupchen transmitted to him the empowerment, texts, and instructions belonging to Longchen Rabjam and Jigme Lingpa, as wel as Vima Nyingthig and Nyen-gy\u00fc Dorje Zampa.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen blessed Dzogchen Rinpoche by giving him a skul cup ful of chang (beer). With the drink, the teacher\u2019s realization was spontaneously transferred to Dzogchen Rinpoche, and he attained the state of the dissolution of relative phenomena into the absolute nature (Ch\u2019os Nyid Zad Pa). Thereafter Dzogchen Rinpoche became a famous adept who made no distinctions and who had no hope or fear of good or bad. There are many amazing stories of his life and wisdom.<\/p>\n

When Gyalse Zhenphen Thaye (1800\u2013?) first saw Yarlung Pemak\u00f6 from afar, he got off his horse. Making many prostrations, he cried like a child. He said, \u201cThis place of my teacher is nothing but the true Unexcel ed Pure Land of the Dharmak\u0101ya.\u201d When he reached Dodrupchen, the lama was blessing people by touching them with a smal banner made of silk ribbons of five colors, and Gyalse saw Vajrap\u0101\u1e47i in a light body adorning the banner.<\/p>\n

In 1815, Dodrupchen sent Do Khyentse to Central Tibet with huge offerings. He returned in 1816.<\/p>\n

In 1817\/18, Jigme Gyalwe Nyuku came to Yarlung Pemak\u00f6 to see the aged Dodrupchen216 for the last time. It was a time of great joy and sadness for both the Dharma father and son or brothers.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen summed up the reunion by saying, \u201cIt is [as rare and joyful as] the meeting of a dead and a living person.\u201d Dodrupchen gave teachings on Ng\u00f6ndro and many other teachings to Gyalwe Nyuku and others. He also prophesied where Gyalwe Nyuku should establish his main seat, with detailed descriptions of a place that he had never seen.<\/p>\n

In Yarlung Pemak\u00f6, many great masters came to receive transmissions from Dodrupchen. Among them were Gyalwe Nyuku, Fourth Dzogchen Rinpoche, Do Khyentse, Kathok Getse Mah\u0101p\u1e47\u1e0dita, Dola Jigme Kalzang, Repa Tamtsik Dorje, Ch\u00f6ying Tobden Dorje, Zhichen S\u00f6nam Palden, S\u00f6nam Gyaltsen, Changlung Namkha Jigme Dorje, and Gyalse Zhenphen Thaye.<\/p>\n

In 1819, Dodrupchen advised217 the representatives of Dege Palace, Dzogchen Monastery, Kathok Monastery, and Drikung to al ow Do Khyentse to be a hermit t\u0101ntrika, as he wished in order to fulfil his enlightened activities. So they did al ow Do Khyentse to assume the life of a wandering yogi. Do Khyentse recal s the life of the aged Dodrupchen in those days:<\/p>\n

The Precious Lord Dharma King was in better health than before. Occasional y he would suddenly sing yogic songs, but we did not have the opportunity to write them down. Sometimes he would describe his visions of the Sambhogak\u0101ya pure lands, and at other times, various circumstances of beings in the six realms. He also gave prophecies of the future of the Dharma propagation and of individuals. Some of us kept seeing his body in various forms, and sometimes we saw no body but only his clothes on his seat. There were endless wonders. Whenever we remembered any question we had on important points of teachings, he would answer spontaneously without our needing to ask him.<\/p>\n

At the age of seventy-seven, in the early morning219 of the thirteenth day of the first month of the Iron Snake year (1821), he changed into Sambhogak\u0101ya costume. He gave instructions to some disciples individual y. Then, without being sick, he merged into ultimate peace, while describing his experience of the phases of withdrawal of energies of the elements in the body. Beams and circles of rainbow lights and a rain of flowers fil ed the sky. When his body was cremated, many ringsels emerged as the sign of high attainment. His followers built a golden st\u00fcpa in which they preserved his remains at Dodrupchen Monastery til 1959. Ngawang Tendar Lharampa, a famous Geluk writer and a disciple of Dodrupchen from Alaksha, Mongolia, writes:<\/p>\n

There are masters who are able to attain the realization . . . that dissolves [their bodies into rainbow-light bodies] but who choose instead to attain the state of knowledge-holder with residue. The reason is that some of them have not ended their karmic force, in order to dedicate themselves to turning the wheel of activities in the service of Dharma and beings. Others leave physical remains in the form of dungs and ringsels, so that these at least remain as sources of blessing for the disciples. An example is [the manner of death of] our precious refuge, the glorious Jigme Thrinle \u00d6zer, the il usory manifestation of Samantabhadra, the primordial Buddha arisen in the perceptions of trainable beings as the lord of the sages and the embodiment of the hundred Buddha families.<\/p>\n

On the very night of Dodrupchen\u2019s death, his spiritual testament was received by his principal disciple, Do Khyentse, who was at a distance of many weeks of travel. In the latter part of the night of the thirteenth day of the first month of the Iron Snake year, Dodrupchen appeared in the sky in a radiant light body and an attire of lights. He was floating on a carpet of light, which was held up by four \u1e0d\u0101kin\u012bs. In a very enchanting voice he sang the verses of his testament, which include the following lines, and then he merged into Do Khyentse.<\/p>\n

I am going into the expanse of the Wisdom of the Ultimate Sphere,<\/p>\n

Which is the state that transcends thoughts and expressions. I am going into the state of Mirrorlike Wisdom,<\/p>\n

Which is the ceaseless clear glow, fresh and open.<\/p>\n

I am going into the expanse of the Wisdom of Evenness,<\/p>\n

In which al the thoughts of grasping and grasper have vanished into the ultimate sphere.<\/p>\n

I am going into the Wisdom of Discriminative Awareness,<\/p>\n

Which is the clarity, the dawn of six kinds of foreknowledge.<\/p>\n

I am going into the state of the Wisdom of Accomplishment,<\/p>\n

Which emanates various manifestations in accordance with [the needs of] trainable beings.<\/p>\n

I am going to Zangdok Palri, the pure land of knowledge- holders.<\/p>\n

As my mind becomes the same as the mind of the Heruka,<\/p>\n

I wil manifest three incarnations as your companion.<\/p>\n

This testament, until it clearly appears<\/p>\n

As the secret drawings of the \u1e0d\u0101kin\u012b symbols,<\/p>\n

Keep sealed tightly like the mouth of a dead body.<\/p>\n

May these symbols never vanish, TI\u1e62H\u1e6cHA-LHEN!<\/p>\n

Son, please stay healthy.<\/p>\n

Now you have won over the obstructions of your life.<\/p>\n

Until al the phenomenal existents are liberated as the signs and teachings [of Dharma],<\/p>\n

[You should be] aware of sa\u1e43s\u0101ra and nirv\u0101\u1e47a as dreams and il usions.<\/p>\n

Dedicate yourself to the meditation where there is no reference point.<\/p>\n

This is the empowerment of total entrustment and aspiration.<\/p>\n

This is the supreme empowerment of empowerments.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dodrupchen discovered many teachings as mind treasure, under the title of Tamch\u00f6 Dechen Lamchok, the Excel ent Path of Supreme Joy, the Holy Teachings. It includes Outer, Inner, and Secret s\u0101dhanas of Amit\u0101bha, a most sacred s\u0101dhana of Hayagr\u012bva, and the s\u0101dhanas of the twelve Dzogchen Masters, Milarepa, Machik Labdr\u00f6n, and Mah\u0101deva. He also discovered a famous Ch\u00f6 liturgy, entitled Chuwo Chigdre. Among his writings were Gyats\u00f6 Chuthik (A Drop from the Ocean), a short and a long version of commentaries on Y\u00f6nten Rinpoche Dz\u00f6, a brief commentary on Ch\u00f6 Khandr\u00f6 Kegyang, a s\u0101dhana of purification of samaya, and compilations of Mah\u0101kala liturgy and of the Vajrak\u012bla s\u0101dhana discovered by Sangye Lingpa.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen wrote many prophecies. It is known that Labrang Monastery in Amdo had a one-volume collection of his prophecies. I myself have seen a collection of a couple of hundred pages, but now only one section of a few pages seems to have survived.<\/p>\n

Dodrupchen was renowned for the clarity and accuracy of his prophecies. Usual y lamas write their prophecies as they are told of the events by a \u1e0d\u0101kin\u012b, a lama, or a Buddha in a pure vision. But the uniqueness of Dodrupchen\u2019s prophetic writings is that he foretel s the events as a natural or self-arisen vision that appears in his realized wisdom state itself. For example:<\/p>\n

In the mirror of the Ultimate Sphere [of my wisdom mind], which is free from thoughts,<\/p>\n

Arise the situations of the world in general, and Of Eastern Tibet (mDo sMad) in particular,<\/p>\n

In the form of interdependent arisings without any confusion. ..,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He foretold many events related to Dharma propagation, various provinces, and individuals. For example, he prophesied the births of Khyentse Wangpo (1820\u20131892), Zhapkar Tsoktruk Rangtr\u00f6l (1781\u2013 1851), Pema Siddhi (d. 1957), and hundreds of other great lamas.<\/p>\n

He foretold that China would become \u201cred,\u201d although in his time \u201cred\u201d didn\u2019t signify what it does today. He also foretold what could happen to a regent of Tibet from Redring (died in 1947) and the consequences of that event.<\/p>\n

Soon after Dodrupchen\u2019s death, Do Khyentse returned to Yarlung Pemak\u00f6 to pay respect to the remains, ashes, and ringsels of Dodrupchen, which were kept in a vase. Dodrupchen\u2019s disciples urged Do Khyentse to stay as Dodrupchen\u2019s successor (gDan Tshabs), but he refused.<\/p>\n

Later, Gyalse Zhenphen Thaye (1800\u2013?) of Dzogchen Monastery, a celebrated scholar and one of the main disciples of Dodrupchen, came to stay as Dodrupchen\u2019s successor for a while. Gyalse instituted a forty-five-day annual teaching and practice of Guhyagarbha- m\u0101y\u0101j\u0101la-tantra at Yarlung Pemak\u00f6. Paltr\u00fcl Rinpoche acted as the teaching-assistant to Gyalse for the first year, and then he himself<\/p>\n

presided over it for two more years. Paltr\u00fcl Rinpoche and Nyosh\u00fcl Lungtok (d. 1902?) stayed around Ser and Do Val ey, the seats of Dodrupchen, for about nine or ten years.<\/p>\n

Among his disciples were the lineage-holder masters, who are prophesied in The Confidential Prophecy of Lama Gongd\u00fc.225 They are the four lineage-holders named Dorje (rDo rje\u2019i gDung bZhi), the thirteen named Dorje (rDo rje\u2019i Ming Chan bChu gSum), and the six named Sangye (Buddha mCh\u2019ed Drug).<\/p>\n

There are different interpretations for specifying the four lineage- holders named Dorje. One way is: (1) Dola Jigme Kalzang Dorje (Ch\u00f6kyi Lodr\u00f6) in the east, like the sound of a white conch ful of spiritual fame, (2) Repa Tamtsik Dorje of Khyunglung (who was renowned for having a thousand yog\u012b and a thousand yogin\u012b disciples) in the south, with many tantric disciples like a heap of white rice, (3) Gyalse Rikpe Dorje (Zhenphen Thaye) in the west, with many monk meditator-disciples like a garden of red lotuses, and (4) Ch\u00f6ying Tobden Dorje (a great writer and propogator of Nyingthig teachings in Amdo, especial y in Rekong) in the north, like an iron phurbu with many powerful tantric disciples.<\/p>\n

Another way is: (1) Do Khyentse, (2) Fourth Dzogchen Rinpoche, (3) Gyalse Rigpe Dorje, and (4) Kyebu Yeshe Dorje (Dola Jigme Kal-zang).<\/p>\n

A third way is: (1) Do Khyentse, (2) Dzogchen Rinpoche, (3) Repa Tamtsik Dorje, and (4) Ch\u00f6ying Tobden Dorje.<\/p>\n

Kongtr\u00fcl Y\u00f6nten Gyatso (1813\u20131899) writes,<\/p>\n

To you who are known as the Radiance [\u00d6zer] of the East, the Nirm\u0101\u1e47ak\u0101ya,<\/p>\n

With four [disciple] yog\u012bs, as prophesied by the Guru [Rinpoche],<\/p>\n

Who acted for the benefit of beings, the wisdom incarnation of Murum (Tsepo),<\/p>\n

Changchup Dorje [Dodrupchen], Lord of Sages, I pray.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The thirteen named Dorje are listed variously, but one way is: (1) Mingyur Namkhe Dorje, (2) Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje, (3) Jigme Miky\u00f6 Dorje (Namkha Tsewang Choktrup, 1744\u2013?) of Gyarong G\u00f6n, (4) Repa Tamtsik Dorje, (5) Ch\u00f6ying Tobden Dorje, (6) Jigme Palkyi Dorje, (7) Rigdzin Jampal Dorje of Zhechen, (8) Kyilung Thukchok Dorje of Golok, (9) Jigme Pawo Dorje, (10) Zh\u00f6nu Yeshe Dorje (aka Dola Jigme Kalzang, (11) Wangda Dorje Palzang of Golok, (12) Rigdzin Palkyi Dorje of Trosh\u00fcl, and (13) Rolwe Dorje of Barchung.<\/p>\n

Nyosh\u00fcl Lungtok provides another way of categorizing the main disciples of Dodrupchen:<\/p>\n

The chief of al the Khampa disciples of the great knowledge\u2013 holder [Jigme Lingpa] was Jigme Thrinle \u00d6zer, the Dodrupchen. Among Dodrupchen\u2019s [principal] disciples were four lineage- holders named Dorje, six named Buddha, thirteen named Namkha, and one hundred ma\u1e47\u1e0dala-holders. The chief among the thirteen named Namkha is Mingyur Namkhe Dorje.<\/p>\n

Jigme Gyalwe Nyuku and Jigme Ngotsar were both colleagues and disciples of Dodrupchen. Also, when Paltr\u00fcl Rinpoche was little, Dodrupchen confirmed him as the t\u00fclku of Palge Lama, and with his fore-knowledge he said to Dola Jigme Kalzang: \u201cI am bestowing the mind entrustment and aspirational transmission of the complete Longchen Nyingthig teachings upon him, with the name of Ogyen Jigme Ch\u00f6kyi Wangpo.\u201d<\/p>\n

As explained before, the Nyingthig lineages of King Ngawang Dargye and his disciple Zhapkar Tsoktruk Rangtr\u00f6l came through Dodrupchen. Kuyang Lo-de,228 a disciple and teacher of Zhapkar, writes in a lineage prayer:<\/p>\n

K\u00fcnkhyen Jigme Lingpa,<\/p>\n

To you I pray, please bestow your blessings. K\u00fcnzang Zhenphen, the Supreme among the Adepts, Dharma King Ngaki Wangpo, and Omniscient Tsoktruk Rangtr\u00f6l,<\/p>\n

To you I pray, please bestow your blessings.<\/p>\n

The Longchen Nyingthig lineage of Dharma Senge (d. 1890) also came through Dodrupchen, as Dharma Senge writes:<\/p>\n

May the sacred aspirations of Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa be fulfil ed. May the sacred aspirations of Jigme Thrinle \u00d6zer be fulfil ed.<\/p>\n

May the sacred aspirations of Ngadak Yeshe Gyatso be fulfil ed.<\/p>\n

May the sacred aspirations of the root teacher be fulfil ed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Among Dodrupchen\u2019s many incarnations were Jigme Ph\u00fcntsok Jungne, the Second Dodrupchen (1824\u20131863), and Se Sherap Mebar (1829\u20131843),231 a son of Do Khyentse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE First Dodrupchen\u00a0 Rinpoche\u00a0 Jigme\u00a0 Thrinle\u00a0 \u00d6zer182\u00a0 was\u00a0 the principal doctrine-holder (rTsa Ba\u2019i Ch\u2019os bDag) of the Longchen Nyingthig cycle of teachings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":7384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[134],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11161"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11161"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12184,"href":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11161\/revisions\/12184"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo8.thuythu.com\/longchennyingthigvn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}