Bönpo Masters

Discussion of the fifth religious tradition of Tibet.
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kalden yungdrung
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Bönpo Masters

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Tashi delek,

Böndrong Tenpa Özer, a realized 16th century Bönpo Master.
He followed teachings at Menri Monastery / Tibet and at Triten Norbutse Monastery Tibet.

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Re: Bönpo Masters

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By: Yeshe Raphel Rithro

སྐྱབས་རྗེ་རྨེའུ་སྟོན་སློབ་དཔོན་སངས་རྒྱས་བསྟན་འཛིན།།
Kyabje Me'uton Lopön Sangye Tendzin
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Kyabje Me'uton Lobpön Sanggye Tendzin (skyabs rje rme'u ston slob dpon sangs rgyas bstan 'dzin) was born in 1912, in Drokshog ('brog shog) in the Hor region in Kham, a region that roughly corresponds to the Kandze (dkar mdzes) district. This particularly beautiful region has several valleys in which Bönpos flourished, including the sanctuary of Beri (be ri) up the Yalung River from Kandze city.

Sanggye Tendzin 's father was an important lineage holder of the Me'u (rme'u) clan and was called Kyawo Lama Tobwang (skya bo bla ma stobs dbang). His mother, a lady of the Gyurmur family (gyur mur bza') was called Gyetso (dgyes mtsho). As a young child, Sanggye Tendzin learned the art of reading and writing directly with his father.

In 1925, at the age of 14, Sanggye Tendzin entered the monastery of Pagon Yungdrung Rabten Ling (spa dgon g.yung drung rab brtan gling) and took the Genyen (dge bsnyen) vows from the great master Paton Tenpa Drugdrak (spa ston bstan pa 'brug grags). The latter was a disciple of the treasure revealer Sang-ngak Lingpa (gter ston gsang sngags gling pa, b. 1864) who played a great role in the diffusion of the Bönpo Kanjur (bka' 'gyur) in Kham.

From Paton Tenpa Drugdrak, Sanggye Tendzin received the complete explanation of the preliminaries (sngon 'gro) and of the main practice (dngos gzhi) of the Secret Treasury of the Sky Dancers on Channels and Winds (rtsa rlung mkha' 'gro gsang mdzod). He trained carefully in the practice of this cycle, reciting the required number of accumulated mantras, studying all the principles taught in this cycle, and performing the actual corresponding retreats.

Thereafter, Sanggye Tendzin went to Lupuk Monastery (klu phug dgon pa) where he studied Chinese and Indian astrology under the guidance of Yongdzin Sherab Nyima (yongs 'dzin shes rab nyi ma). He took the vows of novice monk from Kunkhyen Sherab Gyelchok (kun mkhyen shes rab rgyal mchog) and Yongdzin Tsultrim Gyeltsen (yongs 'dzin tshul khrims rgyal mtshan).

Then he studied the ordinary sciences and became quite an expert in poetry, grammar, composition of works, logic, etc. At the end of his curriculum of studies, he received the title of Geshe Rabjampa (dge bshes rab 'byams pa).

Sanggye Tendzin later traveled to Lungkar Monastery (lung dkar dgon) where he studied under the direction of Ula Gyelwa Tsultrim (u bla rgyal ba tshul khrims) and from whom he received the four initiations of the Welse Tsodzok (dbal gsas rtsod zlog), the complete transmission and explanation of the Akar Shicho (a dkar zhi gcod), as well as numerous other instructions belonging to the Bön Dzogchen teachings.

In order to entirely perfect his philosophical training and his knowledge, Sanggye Tendzin then entered the Gelukpa monastery of Drepung Losel Ling ('bras spungs blo gsal gling) in Lhasa, something he did without revealing his identity as a Bönpo monk.

It seems that the authorities of the monastery knew about the fact that several Bönpo monks were attending the curriculum in Losel Ling but they tolerated it on the condition that the monks followed the rules and compulsory daily rituals of the monastery. In this way, Sanggye Tendzin was able to study the entire philosophical tradition of the Geluk school and eventually obtained his Geshe degree in Losel Ling.

Following his reception of his Geluk degree Sanggye Tendzin went to Menri monastery and met the Abbot Tenpa Lodro (bstan pa blo gros) from whom he received all the outer, inner and secret initiations of Bön, including the initiations of the guardians (srung ma) and the special instructions of the Oral Transmission of Zhangzhung (zhang zhung snyan rgyud). From Kunkhyen Thukje Nyima (kun mkhyen thugs rje nyi ma) and Shen Dzamling Rinpoche (gshen 'dzam gling rin po che), he received the four initiations of the Mother Tantras (ma rgyud).

Furthermore, Sanggye Tendzin received numerous teachings and instructions from Drubnye Zopa Gyeltsen (grub brnyes bzod pa rgyal mtshan), Drugom Tsultrim Gyeltsen ('gru sgom tshul khrims rgyal mtshan) and the yogi Thechok Tendzin (theg mchog bstan 'dzin).

Sanggye Tendzin was then installed on the lobpon (slob dpon), or master scholar, throne of Menri monastery by Kyabje Menri Khenchen (skyabs rje sman ri'i mkhan chen) and, Khenchen Nyima Wangyel (mkhan chen nyi ma dbang rgyal) and other lineage holders. It is at that time that Sanggye Tendzin took charge of the monastic college (bshad grwa) for which he established a very specific curriculum of studies. He kept this charge for several years and thus trained numerous students.

Sanggye Tendzin was also in charge of printing important works of Dzogchen and thus greatly contributed to the survival of these teachings, both in Tibet and later in exile. In 1959, he fled to India where he took part in the printing of Bonpo texts on a large scale. He also took charge of the new settlement in Thobgyel in Dolanji, where he gave numerous teachings to his disciples, including detailed Dzogchen instructions. He passed away in 1978, on April the 28th, at the age of 66 years old.

Among his close disciples were Menri Khenchen Luntok Tenpai Nyima (sman ri mkhan chen lung rtogs bstan pa'i nyi ma, b. 1927) and Yongdzin Lobpon Tendzin Namdak (yongs 'dzin slob dpon bstan 'dzin rnam dag, b. 1926).
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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By: Yeshe Raphel Rithro
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།ཟེར་འཕྲོ་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་དབང་ཕྱུག་རྒྱལ་ཚབ་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམསཁྱུང་རྒྱལ།།
Zertro Tsultrim Wangchug
(zer ‘phro tshul khrims dbang phyug, -1960)
aka Gyaltsab Tsultrim Khyung Gyal
(rgyal tshab tshul khrim khyung rgyal).

This very rare photo shows Zertro Tsultrim Wangchug (zer ‘phro tshul khrims dbang phyug, -1960), a close student of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche.

Before attaining the rainbow body Shardza Rinpoche appointed his nephew Lodrö Gyaltsen (blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1915-1952) as his regent or gyaltsab (rgyal tshab) at the Shardza hermitage.

However, the latter died when he was about forty years old. Yet prior to his death, before he started for a pilgrimage journey to Central Tibet, he appointed Zertro Tsultrim Wangchug (zer ‘phro tshul khrims dbang phyug, -1960) as his regent.

Thus Zertro Tsultrim Wangchug became the Regent of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen’s transmissions and teachings (shar rdza rgyal tshab). Then he was also known as Gyaltsab Tsultrim Khyung Gyal (rgyal tshab tshul khrim khyung rgyal). However, only some 8 years later he died in 1960.
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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Tashi delek ,

By: John Vincent Belleza

The late Guru Odzer, Lake Dangra.
Belonging to the ancient Guru lineage of Bön adepts, Guru Ödzer was one of the most respected religious leaders in Upper Tibet.
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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by: Yeshe Rapel Ritrö


རྨེའུ་དགོངས་མཛོད་རི་ཁྲོད་ཆེན་པོ༌།།
Meu Gongdzö Ritrö Chenpo
(rme'u dgongs mdzod ri khrod chen po, 1038-1096)


This blockprint has the text below Meutön Dampa Gongdzö Ritröpa Chog (me'u ston dam pa dgongs mdzod ri khrod pa mchog), The Supreme Mountain Retreat Hermit, The Teacher of the Meu Clan, the Excellent Realization and Treasure.
It is slightly colored and appears in front of the 1967 edition of The A Khrid Collection.

Founder of the Dzogchen Atri tradition, also known as Dampa Ritropa and Yungdrung Gyeltsen

Meu Gongdzo (rme'u dgongs mdzod) was born in 1038 in a place called Gurzhok (gur zhogs), located in the Shang (shangs) district of Tibet. His father was called Shakya Ten (shakya brten) of the Meu (rme'u) clan, and his mother was called Dorje Tso (rdo rje mtsho). He was the elder of 4 brothers. When he grew up, his parents forced him to marry when he was 18. However, disgusted with worldly life, he broke from his wife by faking a painful illness.

Soon after, Meu Gongdzo met Lama Kyese Chenpo (bla ma skye se chen po) from whom he received numerous Tantric and Dzogchen teachings. Moreover, he listened to the minor sections of Mind (sems phran), including works like the Gabpa (gab pa) in the presence of Druton Yungdrung (bru ston g.yung drung) and Drolwa Shengyel (sgrol ba gshen rgyal).

Together with these 2 masters, Meu Gongdzo traveled to Upper Nyang (nyangs stod) to visit the master Takpa Khache (stag pa kha che) from whom the little group listened to teachings on logic (tshad ma). After this, he reflected that it would be better for him to spend his time practicing meditation in seclusion.

Meu Gongdzo traveled to Karpo Drak (dkar po'i brag) in Shang and he met there Droton Treton Gocha (drod ston tre ston go cha, late 10th-early 11th century) and Jetsun Trotsang Druklha (rje btsun khro tshang 'brug lha, 956-1077) from whom he received several oral instructions. After that, he went to U and attended the teachings of Khenpo Daryupa (mkhan po dar yu pa) and Lobpon Joyung (slob dpon jo g.yung) before taking full monk vows at the age of 24.

That same year, Khenpo Daryupa returned to Tsang where he entered an intensive retreat in a hermitage. Meu Gongdzo decided to follow his example and remained in his hermitage on Karpo Drak for 12 years. He practiced there in complete solitude, having cut all links with other people. He practiced meditation without distraction and with great zeal, day and night. Ultimately, he saw all illusory appearances liberate in and as the Space of Reality (bon nyid dbyings). He is said to have obtained the Body of Immaculate Wisdom (zag med ye shes sku), while the supreme accomplishment (buddhahood) instantaneously arose in him.

Meu Gongdzo transmitted his teachings to a group of 4 main disciples, instructing each of them in different matters.

- He gave the transmission of the teachings regarding the View and Meditation of Dzogchen to Gomchen Barwa (sgom chen 'bar ba).
- He taught the practice of Secret Formulas (gsang sngags, i.e. tantras) to Nuden Drupshen (nus ldan sgrub gshen).
- He taught the practice of monastic discipline to Namdak Tsunpa (rnam dag btsun pa),
-He gave the teachings of the Great Vehicle to Jangchub Sempa (byang chub sems dpa').

Moreover, he had numerous other qualified practitioners who attended his teachings on meditation and many of them reached the highest stages of accomplishment.

When Meu Gongdzo was 59, as he was preparing to return to Tsang, he was invited by Sonam Gyel (bsod nams rgyal) of the Trotsang (khro tshang) family to strive for the welfare of all beings. Despite being struck by illness, for 14 days he gave gave teachings and oral instructions to his attendants. Then, on the 14th of the middle month of winter, in the Fire mouse year (1096), at the early break of dawn, his contemplation (dgongs pa) dissolved into the Space of Reality.

The tradition reports that, as supports for guiding beings of future generations, he left many relics in the cremation of his body, such as statues, seed-syllables, and so forth.

Meu Gongdzo's many disciples continued his teachings and thus maintained his special tradition of practice. They are commonly grouped into several categories: his 4 mind-sons (thugs sras), his 2 wives (lcam gnyis), his 8 younger brothers (gcung brgyad), his 2 young sons (tha chung), the 58 Siddhas (grub thob nga brgyad), and the 300 hermits wandering in the mountains.

Beyond these he was said to have guided thousands of disciples in meditation. Having begun teaching meditation in a simple hermitage, the lamp of his teachings spread far and wide. In particular, he spread the outer teachings of monastic discipline, the inner teachings of the Great Vehicle (Mahāyāna) and the secret teachings on the practice of View and Meditation (lta sgom nyams len).

His main disciples diffused the teachings in the 4 directions of Tibet:
Zhakgom Barwa (bzhag sgom 'bar ba, a.k.a sgom chen 'bar ba) in the east;
Pogom Zhikpo (pho sgom zhig po) in the north;
Kyeme Drangsong (skye med drang srong) in the west;
Yardrok Meton (yar 'brog me ston) in the south.

The master who received the Atri (a khrid) transmission and was to be the next lineage-holder was Tokden Gomchen Barwa.

Meu Gongdzo was prophecized as an emanation of Tseme Oden (tshad med 'od ldan) in a text known as the Kyangpak Nejang Drukcu (skyang 'phags gnad byang drug cu) where he is named Meuton Dampa Ritro (rme'u/rmi'u ston dam pa ri khrod) and described as endowed with the Contemplation of Kuntuzangpo.

In the Dulwa Lingdrak ('dul ba gling grags), he is known as an emanation of Sertok Chejam (gser thog lce 'byams) and as belonging to the Meu clan. However, in the Magic Key of Drogon ('gro mgon 'phrul lde), he is regarded as an emanation of Sene Ga'u (sad ne ga'u) and he is known under his ordination name of Yungdrung Gyeltsen (g.yung drung rgyal mtshan).

Sources:
Jean Luc Achard, "Meu Gongdzo," Treasury of Lives, accessed December 13, 2014,
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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SHENCHEN LUGA:


"A Cavern of Treasures (Tibetan: མཛོད་ཕུག, Wylie: mdzod phug) is a terma uncovered by Shenchen Luga (Tibetan: གཤེན་ཆེན་ཀླུ་དགའ, Wylie: gshen chen klu dga') in the early eleventh century. ...Dan Martin identifies the importance of this scripture for studies of the Zhang-Zhung language....'For students of Tibetan culture in general, the mDzod phug is one of the most intriguing of all Bon scriptures, since it is the only lengthy bilingual work in Zhang-zhung and Tibetan (some of the shorter but still significant sources for Zhang-zhung are signalled in Orofino 1990.'...."...https://en.wikipedia.org/

Shenchen Luga was born in 996 in the Dringtsham (‘bring ‘tshams) region of Tsang, to a father of the sga clan and a mother who was the sibling of a Bonpo. Not much about his early years is known, but he did not seem to be formally engaged in religious pursuits until his massive corpus of treasure revelation appeared in 1017 AD, when he was 21. He spent the rest of his life teaching and debating, and perhaps established a seat at Darding (dar lding) near the town of Geding (dge lding). His greatest disciple was Zhuyé Legpo (zhu yas legs po), who eventually became the progenitor of his own lineage. In 1035 AD, the Buddhist monk Lotön Dorjé Wangchuk (lo ston rdo rje dbang phyug) allegedly poisoned and thus murdered Shenchen near the latter’s birthplace.".....https://collab.itc.virginia.edu/wiki/re ... 0Luga.html

Shenchen Luga Writings (rtsom yig):
Innermost Treasury of Life (g.yung drung las rnam par dag pa srid pa’i phug gi mdo), text written in both Tibetan and Zhangzhung revealed in 1017 AD.

"Shenchen Luga was perhaps the greatest and most popular Bönpo of the Tibetan Renaissance period, if not in all of the modern history of Bön. Adepts and supporters trace the religion back to Shenrab Miwo (gshen rab mi bo) and beyond, but there’s no question that the actual religion of Bön, in the admittedly trendy sense of an established and systematized tradition, was founded by Shenchen Luga.

His treasure revelations of 1017 and the years that followed (though Shenchen’s own narrative and those of his biographers attribute almost all of his texts to this one year) forged a uniquely Bönpo identity with the very instruments (mature doctrinal, ritual, and narrative texts), strategies (treasure revelation), and sensibilities (lineal autonomy, historical validity) that worked so effectively for the Nyingma Buddhists of the same period.

Around the scholarship and personality of Shenchen, the Bön tradition coalesced for the first time, blossoming into a widespread and internally consistent religious system that would inspire polemical publications and considerable anxiety on the part of the more dominant Buddhist traditions for many hundreds of years to come.".....https://collab.itc.virginia.edu

"There were at least 15 treasure revealers before Shenchen.."........https://collab.itc.virginia.edu

"The Tibetan word, terma, literally means “treasure” and refers to Buddhist (or Bon) scriptures and relics retrieved from the distant past through a process of revelation. There are two principal types of treasures: earth terma, discovered in the Tibetan and Himalayan landscape, and mind terma, discovered in the mind of the terton or “treasure revealer.” The latter should be distinguished with pure visions, or daknang, which appear in the mind of realized masters, but do not necessarily claim ancient origins. Though its source is located in the distant past, a terma is intended for the time and place of its discovery. "......http://shambhalatimes.org/2010/07/01/what-is-terma/

"The year 1017 AD marks the resurgence of Bön, which began with the discovery by Shenchen Luga (gShen-chen klu-dga’, 996-1035 AD) of a number of important concealed texts. With his discoveries Bön re-emerged as a fully systematized religion.

Shenchen Luga was born in the Shen clan, descended from Kontsha Wangden (Kong-tsha dbang-ldan), one of Tönpa Shenrab’s sons. The descendants of this important family still live in Tibet


Shenchen Luga had a large following. To 3 of his disciples he entrusted the task of continuing three different traditions.

To the first, Druchen Namkha Yungdrung (Bru-chen nam-mkha’ g.yung-drung) born in the clan of Dru which migrated to Tibet from Druzha (‘Bru-zha, i.e., Gilgit), he entrusted the studies of cosmology and metaphysics (mDzod-phug and Gab-pa)

The second disciple, Zhuye Legpo (Zhu-yas legs-po), was assigned to maintain the Dzogchen teachings and practices. He founded the monastery of Kyikhar Rizhing (sKyid-mkhar ri-zhing)

The third disciple, Paton Palchog (sPa-ston dpal-mchog), took responsibility for upholding the Tantric teachings..".....http://gyalshen.org/history-of-bon-2/

Sources of Tibetan Tradition......Page 259.....By Kurtis R. Schaeffer, Matthew Kapstein

"In the year 1017 AD, Shenchen Luga (gShen-chen klu-dga') came from eastern Tibet and discovered two large wooden boxes containing many Bonpo texts in the Tibetan language, which had been buried at Drigtsam Thakar ('brig-mtsham mtha' dkar) in Tsang Province, near the ancestral seat of the Shen clan, It was principally this discovery that led to the revival of Bon in central Tibet in the 11th century...."....http://www.drjameshenley.us/sutra-syste ... f-bon.html
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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༧མཁས་དབང་བོན་བརྒྱ་དགེ་ལེགས་ལྷུན་གྲུབ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་མཆོག་སྐུ་ཞི་བར་གཤེགས་པར།
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Tashi delek,

A week ago, the Great Bönpo Master and Scholar, Alag Böngya Gelek lundrub Gyatso Rinpoche passed away.

He was a great Dzogchen master and the Spiritual Leader of the Bönpo Ngagpa community Rebkong Bönmang, Amdo, East Tibet.

Sitting in the perfect five-pointed posture, Rinpoche entered Thugdam mediation and thus passed into nirvana.Today the ceremonies are being performed in Rebkong Bönmang, Trashi Menri monastery.

====================

Rebkong Bönmang །རེབ་གོངས་བོན་མང༌།

།རེབ་གོང་བོན་མང་ཕུར་ཐོགས་སྟོང་དང་དགུ་བརྒྱ༌།། Rebkong – Home of the 1900 Dagger-Wielding Community of Many Bön Tantric Practitioners.

The Bönpo tantric practitioners or Pön (dpon) of the Community of Many Bön tantric practitioners (bon mang) in Rebkong are known as the 1900 Dagger-Wielding Great Group of Bön Tantric Practitioners or Rebkong Bönmang Phurthog Tong Dang Gugya (reb gong bon mang phur thogs stong dang dgu brgya).

According to Prof. Tsering Thar in RET 15 they can be divided as follows: The gSas-khang of Reb-gong are divided into 4 groups, strictly speaking, but 2 in general:

- Yar-nang Bon-mang are: Bon-brgya gSang-sngags dar-rgyas-gling (at Bon-brgya village),
- Mag-sar g.Yung-drung bstan-dar-gling (at Mag-sar village).

Tantrics in these 2 gSas-khang are descendants of Khyung-po bsTan-pa dar-rgyas, a famous Tantric in their history.

These two villages traditionally do not participate in the dPyid-chos and sTon-chos of Reb-gong Bon-mang.

The last Bön-brgya Tulku attempted to bring them under the order of Reb-gong Bön-mang but without great success. There used to be a gSas-khang for the gDung-nges tribe called gDung-nges Grub-pa kun-'dul-gling in mDo-ba village where the Bön-brgya valley opens, and together with Bön-brgya and Mag-sar it used to be called Yar-nang Bön-mang or Yar-nang Bön-sde khaggsum, but as most people of the gDung- nges tribe have already converted to Buddhism, only a few Bönpo Tantrics and their families are left in the village.

5 gSas-khang in the eastern part of Reb-gong comprise Stodphyogs Bön-mang:

1. Theg-chen bon-'khor lhun-grub-gling (at rGya-mtsho-dpal or A-rga- steng village)
2. gSang-sngags rig-'dzin dar-rgyas-gling (at Gad-pa skya-bo village)
3. Theg-chen smin-grol rgya-mtsho-gling (at gDong-mgo village)

These three gSas-khang are the seats and their Tantrics are spiritual descendants of Grub-chen 'Khor-los bsgyur-ba'i-rgyal po, one of those who first in history to come to Reb-gong to spread the Bön religion.

4. rGyal-bstan ye-shes rgya-mtsho-gling (at Ngo-mo village)
5. Rig-'dzin thugs-rje byang-chub-gling (at Gyang-ru village),
The Tantrics of these two gSas-khang are the spiritual descendants of Grub-chen Ye-shes mtsho-rgyal, also one of the first to come to Rebgong to spread Bön.

People say that Gyang-ru Rig-'dzin thugs-rje in the 13th century defeated an evil spirit protecting the continuation of monks in Ra-rgya monastery so that it could continue to receive monks and be respectfully honored by gTsang Pandit as the source of his Rus- dpon (family priest).

5 gSas-khangs in the Northeast of Reb-gong comprise sMadphyogs Bon-mang:

1. mDo-sngags phun-tshogs dar-rgyas-gling (at Gling rgya village)
2. Kun-'dus g.yung-drung 'gyur-med-gling (at Zho-'ong nyin-tha village)
3. Sgrub-pa'i rgyal-mtshan mi-'gyur-gling (at Dar-grong village)
4. Khyung-dkar rig-'dzin smin-grol-gling (at Khyung-bothang village)
5. gSang-sngags bdud-'dul lhun-grub-gling (at sDongskam village).

rTogs-ldan Kun-bzang klong-grol and his son sNang-gsal lhun-grub in the 15th century were born there and made a great contribution to the Bön religion as the spiritual descendants of Grub-chen Khyungdkar tshang-ba, who was a famous Tantric.

3 gSas-khangs in North of Reb-gong comprise Snyan-bzang Bonmang: Bonpo Tantrics in Kokonor Area

1. gSang-chen smin-grol dpal-ldan-gling (at Hor-nag village)
2. Rig-'dzin kun-'dus rnam-rgyal-gling (at sTong-che village) Since sTong-che village has the same origin as sTong-che village of Khri-ka, all the Bönpo of sTong-che are disciples of Khyung-mo Tulku of Khri-ka, and there is a seat for him in this gSas-khang.
3. Khyung-dkar bstan-pa rgya-mtsho-gling (at Khyung-po la-ga village)

This is a very old gSas-khang in Reb-gong, although we do not know when it was built or by whom. sNyan-bzang Bon-mang joins sMad-phyogs Bon-mang for all the religious activities of Reb-gong Bon-mang.

All the above are together called the 1900 of Bon-mang of Reb-gong who hold Phur-pa (Reb-gong Bon-mang phurthogs stong-dang dgu-brgya).

Bon-brgya dGe-legs lhun-grub rgyamtsho is the master of the whole Bon-mang of Reb-gong. sTod-phyogs and sMad-phyogs are the main groups of Reb-gong Bon-mang, the other two groups being smaller.
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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IN ADDITION:

A week ago H.E. A lak Böngya Rinpoche passed away into nirvana
Yesterday, at the Triten Norbutse Bön Monastery, were made great offerings to this Guru with great prayers and rituals.

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Re: Bönpo Masters

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Nangzhig Kyabgon was born in 1983 and was recognized as the reincarnation of Nangzhig Kyapgön Tenpa Rabgye by high lamas of both Bön and Buddhist traditions.

This includes very esteemed lamas such as Menri Yongzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche and the late 10th Panchen Lama. At the age of six, Nangzhig Kyapgön took monastic vows in front of the golden tombs of Nangzhig high lamas. He was initiated in the presence of 4 lamas, including Jawob Rinpoche. With a great celebration, he was enthroned upon the Golden Throne of Nangzhig Monastery.

Afterwards, he studied with Yongzin Tenzin Yeshé as well as other teachers. He became an expert in philosophy and science, particularly the unique Bön doctrine and philosophy. He also traveled to many different parts of Tibet and gave teachings and empowerments to all of his followers.

He blessed the faithful with his empowerments of A Tri (A khrid), Nyengyü, and Dzogchen as well as with the internal, external and secret Bön initiations.

At the age of 19, he visited China’s sacred Buddhist Mount Wutai (Riwo Tse-nga) and there he did the retreat practice of Sherap Mawé Sengé (Bönpo Buddha of clear intellect and understanding). Then, he went to study at the Buddhist University in Beijing and graduated in the doctrines and philosophies of various traditions.

During his time there, he also learned the Chinese language. During both the First and Second International Conference on Yungdrung Bön, he acted as president.

In brief, he has completed his studies of Bön Sutra, Tantra, Dzogchen as well as other Tibetan cultural sciences and philosophies with Yongzin Tenzin Yeshé and the renowned scholar Böngya Rinpoche.

Thus, he is the head and the throne holder of the Nangzhig Monastery / Tsedruk Monastery.
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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Geshe Tenzin Yeshe is also the abbot of Shar Drol Dechen Yangwen Ling Monastery.
viewtopic.php?f=78&p=462310#p462310
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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IN ADDITION:
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Khenpo Tenzin Yeshe - Biography

Khenpo Tenzin Yeshe grew up in Khyungser in eastern Tibet in a family of nomads. Until the age of 18, he lived in the traditional lifestyle of eastern Tibetan nomads, herding yaks and sheep. At the age of 18, he took vows with Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen Khyungnak and became a monk.

He received a thorough education in Bön, practiced the 9 preliminaries, the purification of the 6 realms, and did a tsalung (tummo) retreat and a dark retreat.

He received Dzogchen teachings and Phowa instructions from Lungrig Namdak Rinpoche and from Thaye Rangdol Rinpoche.

To pursue higher education leading to the Geshe degree, he had to emigrate to India. Before setting out he made a pilgrimage to Bonri (the mountain of Bön), which he circumambulated 100 times, followed by a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash. Arrived in India, he pursued studies at Tashi Menri monastery in Dolanji for 4 years under the guidance of Menri Trizin Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche.

In 1995, he went to Triten Norbutse monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal, where he studied under Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche and Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche. In 2003, he graduated from Shedra (dialectic school) with the degree of Geshe.

After receiving Geshe degree, Geshe Tenzin Yeshe remained at Triten Nobutse 2 more years, teaching the younger monks. From 2005 to 2011, Geshe Tenzin Yeshe has tought Dzogchen, Tsalung, Tummo and Trulkhor in the US and in Europe, for instance, in France and in Poland. He also helped in the construction of the large Bön stupa in Mexico.

In 2011, Geshe Tenzin Yeshe received initiations reserved for advanced Lamas from Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, proving him fully competent to lead a monastery. Geshe Tenzin Yeshe was then appointed Khenpo of Shar Drol Dechen Yangwen Ling monastery and meditation center and went to Tibet to take up his post.

Khenpo Tenzin Yeshe's monastery and meditation center is Shar Drol Dechen Yangwen Ling.
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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Shot taken at Gom Khang Menri Monastery 2008

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མཉམ་མེད་ཤེས་རབ་རྒྱལ་མཚན།

Nyamme Sherab Gyaltsen

Founder and first abbot of Menri Monastery, in Tibet.

Nyamme Sherab Gyaltsen was born in 1356 in Gyarong in the village of Tegchog, East Tibet and is considered to be a manifestation of She-rab Ma-we Seng-Ge (the Wisdom Lion of Speech) the great liberator.

His father was a Tantric master known as Lugyal from the Ra lineage and his mother was Rinchen Men.

From early childhood, he was recognized as an extraordinary child: without studying, he could recite mantras, remember and learn spiritual texts easily and was also self-aware.

After discovering at the age of 10 the suffering of cyclic existence, he followed the teacher Chala Yungdung Gyaltsen, soon became a monk, took 25 vows and was given the spiritual name Sherab Gyaltsen.

From then on he received the higher teachings of Bön:
- Dho – the Path of Renunciation
- Nag – the Path of Transformation
- Dzogchen – the Path of Self Liberation

With great devotion he practiced and learned mainly from the teaching tradition of Yeru Monastery and by following the Great Master Rinchen Lodoe.

Nyammed Sherab Gyaltsen received complete transmission of empowerment (wang), oral transmission (lung), and oral instruction (tri) of the 3 main streams of Bön teaching: Dho, Ngag, and Dzogchen.

He received fully-ordained monks’ vows at the age of 31 and entered into the great center of learning of Bön – the Yeru Monastery in Tsang province.

By participating in many other renowned Buddhist institutions and monasteries, he became very well known in Tibet and was recognized as a great wisdom scholar.

During his stay at the Yeru monastery, he took charge of one of the schools. He also became a tutor of two royal sons of Dru lineages and was enthroned as the successor of Kunga Wangden, the famous master of the Dru lineages.

Through his work he preserved and spread the outer, inner and secret teachings of Bön. From that time forward, every monastery has followed the exact same clear knowledge of the ancient system of monastic laws brought to life by Nyammed Sherab Gyaltsen.

In 1405, he founded the original Menri Monastery known as Tashi Menri Ling in the mountains.

Bön protectors directed him as to where exactly he should build Menri Monastery. With support from them and miraculous powers, he built the whole structure of Menri Temple including the monks’ living quarters. He decided to preserve there the traditions and teaching system of the destroyed Yeru Wensakha monastery.

Tashi Menri Ling Monastery soon became the mother monastery of Bön.

Nyammed Sherab Gyaltsen became the crowning ornament of Bön for his mastery of text, systems and rules; he came to be considered as the second Buddha.

There really are no texts from these three sections of Dho, Ngag and Dzogchen that he did not teach or write about in all of the 3 transmission lineages of Bön. He passed away at the age of 60, leaving behind many great scholars and practitioners.
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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Tashi delek,

Funeral of a great Bönpo Lama “Alak Bongya Rinpoche” in Tibet. (Rebgong, Amdo)
ཨ་ལགས་བོན་བརྒྱ་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་སྐུ་གདུང་ཞུགས་འབུལ་སྐབས།



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Re: Bönpo Masters

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Tashi delek,

Geshe YongDong was born in the village of Ngawa, Amdo, Tibet in 1969. He made his initial decision to become a monk when he was seven years old after his mother had died and several monks were secretly in their home chanting mantras. One young monk, who looked only a little older than himself, impressed GesheLa so much that it was then he felt that he would like to become a monk. He sensed a strong connection to the spiritual way of life.

His family objected to his decision because he was so young and they had planned for him to join in the family business. It was not until the death of his grandmother six years later, that they gave him their blessing to enter a Tibetan monastery.

Due to the severe conditions in Tibet in 1979 when he was ten years old, he was taken by one of his uncles to live and work with the nomads, herding sheep and yaks in the Himalayas. It was lonely and dangerous work for a young boy traveling alone through the cold, dark mountains; but there was enough food to eat, and this gave him his first experience of utter silence and being alone with one’s fears.

In 1982 at 13 years old, he entered the Nangzhig Bönpo Monastery, the largest Bön Monastery in Tibet, and took the “Getsul” monks vow.

The Nangzhig monastery is located in the Amdo Ngawa region of Eastern Tibet. It was founded in 1108 AD by Yönten Gyaltsen, who is also known respectfully as Nangzhig Do Pag Chenpo. Later on, the monastery began to be taken care of by the Nangzhig Kyapgöns and the other senior lamas. Since its early history, this monastery has been one of the important monasteries in the Amdo region of Tibet.

At fifteen years old Geshe YongDong began studying logic, Paramita (perfection), the middle way and traditional studies of Tibetan grammar, and poetry.

In 1985 at 16 years old, he took his “Gelong” monk’s vow from his root teacher, Gyaltsap Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche in Nangzhig Bonpo Monastery, Amdo, Tibet.

His studies included debating, chanting, and drumming. His Dharma studies included Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen, Hinayana, Mahayana, and all schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Bönpo, Nyingma, Sakya, Gelugpa, and Kagyupa. He also spent three years studying ritual, sacred dancing for the monastery, and traditional flute.

In March 1992 at age 24, after debating on Sutra and Tantra for three days with hundreds of scholars; he was awarded the Rajampa Geshe degree at the Nangzhig Bon Monastery College, Amdo Tibet. It takes a minimum of nine years of study to receive the Geshe degree, the highest degree awarded in Tibetan monastic education.

In the spring of 1992, Geshe YongDong with 10 other Tibetans, escaped from Tibet into Kathmandu, Nepal. With the help of a Nepalese guide, they walked for 10 days through the Himalayan Mountains. He then travelled to Dharamsala, northern India and met with H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama.

Geshe YongDong received many teachings, transmissions and empowerments while residing in Dharamsala India, from H.H.the14th Dalai Lama including: Yidam Jigshag (a Tantric Deity), one Madhyamika teaching called (Gongpa Rabsal) and Lam Rim – the path to enlightenment (both Lama Tsongkhapa teachings), and the Kalachakra empowerment.

He began studying in the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastic universities of Sera in south India and the great Bönpo Menri Monastery in north India. He did in-depth studies on Sutra and Tantra including Dzogchen, both intellectually and practically under His Holiness the Menri Trizin and the great master, Pönlop Trinlyi Nyima Rinpoche.

The Bon Religion is the ancient indigenous religion of Tibet founded by Buddha Tonpa Shenrab eighteen thousand years ago in western Tibet and continues to the present day by an unbroken lineage.

Menri Monastery University was built in the 14th century in Central Tibet. It remained the main monastery of Bon and a premier centre of religious teaching and practice until the Chinese Cultural Revolution destroyed it in 1959. During that time, many Tibetans fled to India as refugees. His Holiness the Menri Trizin, the 33rdAbbot and The venerable Yongzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche of Menri Monastery, after many hardships re-established the present Menri Monastery in exile at Tibetan Bonpo Settlement, Dolanji (near Solan northern India), to preserve this unique and ancient tradition.

The monastery offers advance religious training in Dialectical Studies. The 11-year course of study includes philosophy, logic, poetics, astrology, medicine, ritual and meditation, and the languages of Zhang-Zhung and Sanskrit. The monks also studies and practices the Bon tradition of Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen. The training in Dzogchen includes the highest meditation practices such as the dark retreat and the visionary practices.

At the Sera Monastery University, he again went through all the main Dharma studies, in particular, middle path philosophy Madhyamika, under the instruction and guidance of Master Geshe Thupten Rinchen.

Sera Monastery follows its centuries old tradition and culture dating back to its great period in Tibet, to this present day without much significant change. As such the monastery continues to exist in a typical Tibetan Gelugpa monastic tradition to this day.

Geshe Degree Ceremony 1992, Nangzhig Monastery, Tibet

——————————————————

Geshe YongDong is the author of several books written in the Tibetan language:

Books:

- Introduction to Bardo Meditation
- Knowledge of the Land of the Snow
- The Life of the Son of the Snow
- Collection of Philosophy and Conduct of the Middle Path
- The Ancient History of Tibet
- Poetry
- The Wild Yak of the Snow Mountain
- Amala, the Treasure of My Heart
- Thesis
- The Principle of the Five Elements
- English Language:
- Calm Breath, Calm Mind (2017)

——————————————————

In 1999, Geshe YongDong was invited and travelled to Paris, France to teach at the Yungdrung Bön Centre there. That was his first experience teaching in the west.

Then in the fall of 1999, Geshe YongDong moved to the northern community of Kitimat, B.C., Canada. He focussed on learning about “western” culture and traditions and the English language and began teaching Buddhist philosophy in English, to groups of students.

Since 1999, Geshe YongDong has taught in Germany, Holland, France, USA and Canada. In January 2003, Lama Geshe YongDong relocated to Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada where he founded the Sherab Chamma Ling, Tibetan Bon Centre. He is the Resident Spiritual Director and continues to regularly teach at his centre. A registered non-profit society was created in 2006.

In May 2007 Geshe YongDong was granted Canadian citizen.

International Activities:

Geshe YongDong teaches on a regular basis in Costa Rica and has established a devoted group of Bön students there, a Sangha known as the “Bon Da Ling”.

He travels annually to teach in Colombia (Medellin and Santa Elena) where a group of students have created a Tibetan Bön Center, “Sherab Chamma Colombia” under his leadership.

In 2013, Geshe La was nominated as the first Treasurer of the newly created Western Bön Lama Group. In 2014, he took on the job to coordinate and organize raising funds to support translation of ancient Tibetan Bon texts.

First Meeting of Bön Lamas Who Live & Teach in the West – (The following is an excerpted portion of an interview in October 2013, Virginia U.S.)

The indigenous spiritual tradition of Tibet, Bön is among the world’s most ancient, unbroken spiritual lineages, tracing its oral history back 18,000 years. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution this rich heritage was gravely threatened. Countless monasteries in Tibet were destroyed, and many monks lost their lives. During the conflict only three senior lamas managed to flee the country; under great hardship they bore the responsibility for founding new monasteries in India and Nepal in the hope of preserving the sacred traditions. There, they taught new generations of monks—some of whom, like Geshe YongDong, chose to bring their knowledge and training to Western students.

In 2013 Geshe YongDong became actively involved with the newly formed North American Non-sectarian Conference of Tibetan Religious Schools. He was part of the financial committee and in 2016 accepted the nomination for the position of Vice President.

At the request of the Abbott of the Gelugpa Tibetan Centre in Vancouver B.C., Canada, in 2014 Geshe YongDong assisted in the preparations for the official visit of H.H. 14thDalai Lama.
One of the greatest highlights of Geshe La’s life was to have the honour of sitting directly across from H.H. 14th Dalai Lama during his public talks while in Vancouver. During this event, he was privileged to be recognized by H.H. who engaged him in a short conversation on his Tibetan Bön tradition.

During 2014, Geshe YongDong began teaching internationally over the Internet. He continues to teach Tibetan people both in Tibet and the west, Bon and non-sectarian Lama’s, and even a group of Tibetan Bon Nuns in Tibet.

In 2015, GesheLa was nominated by the International Gratitude Tenshug Organizing Committee to be the Bon representative of Canada. He chaired a meeting in Toronto, Ontario Canada and began the organizing process to form a Canadian Tibetan Bon organization located in Toronto. Practitioners and families would benefit from a central location to hold future gatherings of the Canadian Bonpo community to develop spiritual practice and to connect with each other.

Since he arrived in Canada in 1999, Geshe YongDong has had a ‘heart’ connection with the First Nations People of Canada. He has attended and given teachings or talks at several of the larger International ‘Gathering’s’. He has met with several of the Chiefs and Elders to discuss the many similarities and concerns that both of their cultures have or are facing.

GesheLa was honored to meet and form a lasting ‘brotherly’ friendship with one of the Saskatchewan First Nation Elders. He was officially adopted into the Cree Nation in 2001 and given a special name of Kah pae, pae, Tah Koosit, which means ‘the coming sound of Thunder Bird.’

Geshe YongDong has a dream and an objective to build a Tibetan Bon retreat centre on Vancouver Island, Canada. His plan is to invite monks from Tibet and India to teach classes and share their culture with western students. He also has a larger dream and commitment to introduce, teach and establish Yungdrung Bön Buddhism throughout Canada and the world.

More information on Geshe Yong Dong and the Canadian Yungdrung Bon centre can be found at: www.sherabchammaling.com. Mailing address: #7 – 3020 Cliffe Avenue Courtenay B.C., Canada V9N 2L7 Email: [email protected]
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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Tashi delek,

One of our greatest Masters at the moment is undoubtedly H.E.Lopön Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche.
His Holiness the late 33rd Menri Trizin Rinpoche & H.E.Lopön Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, spread the Bön Dharma in the west.

viewtopic.php?f=78&t=25996
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lop%C3%B6n_Tenzin_Namdak


Long live prayer for Lopon La:

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Re: Bönpo Masters

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།ཞེ་ནང་དགོན་གཡུང་དྲུང་དཔལ་རིའི་བླ་མ་ཉི་མ་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས།།




Nyima Tsultrim Rinpoche who attained the small rainbow body in 1960th.
Nyima Tsultrim Rinpoche from the Yungdrung Palri Monastery or more fully Zhenang Yungdrung Palri Monastery in Khyungpo,

Tenchen county, which is near Tengchen town (zhe nang dgön g.yung drung dpal ri’i bla ma nyi ma tshul khrims).

He was a Great Dzogchen Practitioner and attained the Small Rainbow Body ('ja' lus 'pho ba chung).
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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ཉག་བླ་གཡུང་དྲུང་བསྟན་འཛིན་མཁྱན་ནོ།།
Nyala Lama Yungdrung Tendzin
(nyag bla g.yung drung bstan 'dzin, d.u.)


By Näldjor:

Nyala Lama Yungdrung Tendzin was a great Dzogchenpa (rdzogs chen pa) following the yogic tradition of practicing under simple condtions in order to become free from the wordly conditions and expecially from one's attachments to shelter, food and clothes. Thus, as Naldjorpa (rnal 'byor pa) he practiced Tummo (gtum mo), the Practice of Inner Fire and Pleasurable Sensations, and Chülen (bcud len), the Practice of Extracting the Essences.

Even though he originated and practiced in Nyarong (nyag rong) he went to Shardza Ritrö, both Kham-South-Eastern Tibet, where his bodily remains are placed in a Kudung Chörten (sku gdung mchod rten), after its size reduced due to his successful Dzogchen Thögal Practice (rdzogs chen thod rgal).
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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Tashi delek

The Menri Ponlop Rinpoche is the head teacher in Menri Monastery / Dolanji.
Menri Monastery is the main Bön Monastery worldwide and the residence of the Leader of all Bönpos, His Holiness the 33rd Menri Trizin Rinpoche.

I was pleased when i saw that the head teacher of Menri Monastery, Lopön Menri Rinpoche would be the successor of the Bön Yongdzin Rinpoche.

Mutsug Marro
KY.

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See also below for more infformations:
viewtopic.php?f=78&t=22055
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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།ཤར་རྫ་བཀྲ་ཤིས་རྒྱལ་མཚན་གི་རྒྱལ་ཚབ་མཐི་སྟོབས་རྣམ་རྒྱལ།།
Gyaltsab Thuthob Namgyal,
the Present Regent and Representative of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche
(shar rdza bkra shis rgyal mtshan gi rgyal tshab mthi stobs rnam rgyal)


By Näldjor:

At the end of his lifetime Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche (shar rdza bkra shis rgyal mtshan, 1934) appointed his nephew Lodrö Gyaltsen (blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1915-1952) as his regent or gyaltsab (rgyal tshab) at the Shardza hermitage. However, the latter died when he was forty years old. Yet prior to his death, before he started for a pilgrimage journey to Central Tibet, he appointed Zertro Tsultrim Wangchug (zer ‘phro tshul khrims dbang phyug, -1960) as his regent. Some eight years later he died in 1960.

Later in 1985 the practitioners from Shardza Ritrö, Tenchen Monastery and other places around, elected a new regent. Since 1985 until present, the new Gyaltsab of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen is Thutob Namgyal (mthu stobs rnam rgyal, 1926-). He was born in the fire-tiger year of the fifteenth rabjung (rab byung), that is 1926, in a the village Bumda (‘bum mda’) in the same area of Shardza in Tsakhog (shar rdza rdza khog).

He received his first teachings from Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen when he was 9 years old. Soon after that, he became a monk at nearby Bumme monastery (‘bum med dgon). He started to receive further teachings from Shardza Rinpoche’s nephew Gyaltsab Lodrö Gyaltsen when he was 18 years old.
When he was twenty, he went to Central Tibet on pilgrimage to Bönpo sacred places. After his return, he was invited by Kundrol Dragpa Humchen Drudul Lingpa (kun grol grags pa hum chen ‘gro ‘dul gling pa, 1901-1956), the 6th Kundol Dragpa Jatsön Nyingpo (kun grol grags pa ‘ja’ tshon snying po), to be a teacher of his son Möngyal Lhase (smon rgyal lha sras). A few years after the cultural revolution Achung Rinpoche (a g.yung rin po che, 1922-1996) restarted Bönpo religious activities at the Shardza hermitage.

As already mentioned before, it was in 1985 that Thutob Namgyal assumed his position as gyaltsab or regent. However, after around 12 years in 1997, some problems at Tenchen Monastery (steng chen dgon) caused him to return to his original monastery Bumme. After he left a monk from Yeshe Monastery (ye shes dgon) called Achig (a ‘jigs), took up the responsibility for the hermitage. Obviously he was not the official regent although the monks used to call him younger abbot (mkhan chung). In the meantime Thutob Namgyal remained at Bumme. After the death of Achig in 1996, he returned to Shardza Ritrö and again assumed his position as main Master, teacher and regent of Shardza Rinpoche.

Back in 1993, when the Chinese authorities of the Derge county (sde rge rdzong) gave permission to start schools, Shardza hermitage was selected to establish a Bönpo school. At that time, Khenchung Achig was the representative of the local government and received the permission to establish the school in 1993. Although there were no funds at all to start the school they practitioners and local villagers worked on it.
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Re: Bönpo Masters

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Tashi delek,

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བྱ་འཕུར་ཀུན་བཟང་རྒྱལ་མཚན།

Chaphur Kunzang Rinpoche


The Chaphur lineage is one of the oldest and most important of the lama lineages. It is located in eastern Tibet or Amdo. Originally that lineage came from upper Tibet, Ngari, in the 12th century CE. It is called Nyima zhin after the son of Nangzhig Dophak Chenpo.

He had 3 children, Chachen, Chakdu and Ngulku. The Chaphur Lama lineage is from the oldest son, Chachen. There have been more than fifty lineage lamas in the Amdo area.
Right now in Nangzhig Monastery they have 6 high lama lineages, each with its own large temple. Of the 6 lineages, one is the Chaphur Lama lineage.

Currently Geshe Lhundup Chaphur’s older brother, Chaphur Kunzung Gyaltsen is the Chaphur lineage senior lama. He is a Tulku, the reincarnation and lineage of the 52nd Chaphur Lama. He was born in 1967 and became a monk at 10 years of age at Nangzhig Monastery, taking his vows from his Uncle Chaphur Tenzin Gyaltsen and Gyawob Rinpoche. He received most of his education from Gyawob Rinpoche and Khenzur Namkha Tsultrim.

In 1989, he received his Geshe degree in Nangzhyig Monastery. Normally, he spends most of his time in retreat practicing tantra and Dzogchen. He also travels to many different places especially around upper-Tibet and other areas to bring empowerments, transmission, teachings and other Bön practices to his followers among the Tibetan population.
The best meditation is no meditation
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