Jigme Tromge Rinpoche is a tulku of Tsewang Norbu, the son of the first Chokgyur Lingpa. In a previous life Jigme Rinpoche was also Yudra Nyingpo, one of the twenty-five close disciples of Guru Padmasambhava. Born in 1964, he received a traditional Buddhist education in Asia and then completed a three-year retreat in the United States. Jigme Rinpoche has received empowerments and teachings from many masters, including his father, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche. He spoke with Lama Trinley after the Essence of Siddhi drubchen at Rigdzin Ling this fall.
LT: Could you tell us about some of the masters who are your teachers and talk about what you have learned from them?
Jigme Rinpoche: When I was about six years old, I began studying at Chokling Monastery with all the monks and tulkus. We had a tutor, but Chokgyur Lingpa’s son, Tulku Urgyen Topgyal Rinpoche, also instructed us. He was quite wrathful and at the time I didn’t enjoy the discipline, but toward the end of my stay there I really appreciated it, because in a short time I learned reading, writing, and ritual arts. When I was nine years old, I received my first formal teachings from my father, Chagdud Rin- poche, on Nyingthik ngondro and the p’howa cycle of Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo.
Later on, I studied with Khetsun Zangpo Rinpoche, a very great scholar and practitioner of the Nyingma lineage who had just opened a shedra in India. We were among the first batch of students. I lived with him for four years and received teachings on Patrul Rinpoche’s Words of My Perfect Teacher from him. Rinpoche also taught other, more scholarly texts, but from the standpoint of practice those were the most important teachings he gave me. I have deep respect for him. He has a very strong presence, and as teenagers, whenever we saw him coming, we would run away. Yet I never saw him get angry— he is very loving, gentle, and kind. I think of him as one of my main teachers. Over the years I’ve received many teachings and empowerments from H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche and H.H. Khyentse Rinpo- che, H.H. Jigme P’huntsok Rinpoche, H.E. Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, Do Drubchen Rinpoche, and Trulshik Rinpoche. There were other important connections I made as well.
I didn’t receive so many teachings from Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, but from the time I was very young, whenever I saw him it gave me something. I didn’t know how to label it then, but later, when I had done some retreat and practice, I could feel it as some shift in my meditation. In India, I used to visit him every day and felt very strong comfort from him. Later, while in retreat in Williams, I received Khenpo Ngaga’s Dzogchen teachings from him. I consider him one of my teachers because whenever I saw him, my practice, which I don’t have much of, took a small leap. When I was quite young, I received many teachings, empowerments, and oral transmissions from H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche, but due to youthful distraction I didn’t study closely with him. When I did three-year retreat under the guidance of Chagdud Rinpoche, I felt very guilty because I realized what a precious opportunity I had blown. During my retreat, whenever I would think of His Holiness, my deep, heart-felt longing to be in his presence intensified, because I knew what an opportunity I had missed. So I prayed one-pointedly to Khyentse Rinpoche and began to receive teachings from him in my dreams. In these dreams, he was always in the same big temple like a palace and he was always on the second floor. A few lamas that I recognized were always there. But on the day of his passing, in September 1991, he asked each of us questions about Dzog-chen and we each answered according to our own understanding. Then he gave us brief instructions and asked, “Are you sure you’ve got it?” We all nodded. Then he told us that if, in the future, we had any doubts about Dzogchen practice we should read a particular text by Longchen Rabjam and it would help resolve those doubts. The minute he said that, I realized he was dying. I started crying in the dream and when I woke up at four in the morning I was still crying— there were tears everywhere. I called Rigdzin Ling to see if they had heard anything. At first they hadn’t, but later that day someone called back with the news that His Holiness had passed away.
I felt very lonely. I called my father, who was on pilgrimage in China. I was very emotional and I said to him, “I think I want to go. I don’t really care about three-year retreat. I just want to go to pay my respects and do practice.” In response, Rinpoche gave me a very brief teaching on guru yoga. With just a few words, he made me feel free to go, yet at the same time he made me un- derstand that going and staying in retreat were exactly the same. With those few words, he completely cut my attachment to being in Nepal, so I didn’t leave retreat.
But sometimes when I practiced guru yoga I still thought about it. Then one day I really started to think that living was not so worthwhile. So I prayed to Khyentse Rinpoche and went to sleep. In my dream I saw him in the same palace but this time on a very high throne, giving empowerments. I came a little late, so I sat by the door. When he finished and I went up to receive his blessings, I said, “Please take me with you.” Then he pulled my head, and it was very strange because it stretched all the way up to his throne and into his lap but somehow my feet still touched the ground. Then he asked me for some scissors and, when they appeared in my hand, I gave them to him. He took a big clump of hair and said, “O fortunate son, it is not time for you to come yet, but it is good to think in this way.” And he cut off some of my hair. Then he put his huge hands on the sides of my head. When I woke up, I could still feel the warmth and softness of those hands. Later when I sat down to do practice, I could feel quite a change in my meditation.
Another turning point in my practice was my connection with Tromge Tulku Arik Rinpoche, although due to my lack of merit I never met him. When Chagdud Rinpoche, Khadro, and I went to Tibet in 1987, we traveled to Tulku Arik Rinpoche’s hermitage on a small hill near Tromge Monastery. We came around a ridge, and the minute I saw the hill I was a different person. It really did something to me. The qualities of enlightenment. It came very naturally, and I knew right away that I wanted to stop eating meat and to give up worldly things. True dharma arose just from seeing the hill Tulku Arik lived on.
In order to establish our connection with him, Tulku Arik Rinpoche gave Chagdud Khadro and I a longevity blessing through his retreat cabin window. At that time my ordinary thoughts dissolved and I rested naturally in rigpa—awareness.
When I met H.H. Jigme P’hun- tsok, I felt a very strong connec- tion with him. I haven’t received so many teachings from him, but I had an interesting experience when I first saw him at the airport. Before I could even say hello or receive his blessings, he made a gesture with his index fingers linked, which in Tibet is the sign of friendship. There was a definite connection between us. When I saw that gesture, my practice changed in a nice way, and since then His Holiness has kept me under his care. Whenever I practice Manjushri I see him, especially when I give the peaceful Manjushri empowerment he asked me to be- stow. Sometimes when I’m offer- ing this empowerment, I feel that if I could touch my heart it might be in the shape of him. I have very little knowledge or practice, but what tiny bit I have comes from his kindness. I consider him one of my main teach- ers, because even that first gesture helped to untangle confusion in my practice.
When I first started retreat, I had many different experiences which I now think were obstacles. I would call Rinpoche to tell him about them, and at first he was patient with me, but it seemed that the more I told him the more I would experience. Eventu- ally, after a few months of this, Rinpoche started getting irritat- ed, so I stopped calling him. The phenomena began to dissolve, which disappointed me. Maybe I had just been trying to please Rinpoche so he would praise me. But when he became wrathful I stopped hoping for praise. We can read in the biographies of great masters about how they practiced and related to their own teachers, but it’s difficult to follow their examples because our own habits are so strong. After three or four months, I realized how Rinpoche had in one moment cut through months of useless thoughts.
As I said, when I was in retreat I often dreamt of H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche. In the daytime if my view wavered or my rec- ognition was not so stable then in my dreams, when he gave me blessings, he would either turn his head away or touch me with just one finger. It was very powerful being poked on the head with one finger. It corrected me naturally.
So these are some of the masters I think of as my teachers. My two main teachers are my father and H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Chagdud Rinpoche is both my father and my teacher, but mostly our relationship is as teacher and student.
LT: You mentioned once how important it is for Chagdud Rinpoche’s students to start doing the practices that are his terma.
Jigme Rinpoche: Rinpoche never calls them terma; he prefers to call them pure visions. But other lamas have predicted that he would discover terma and that’s what I think they are. It is my thought that since we have the texts we should request the teachings and empowerments and start doing the practices. I was hoping to take these teachings to Chagdud, Tromge, and Tenpel gonpas in Tibet so they could establish them there. But when I asked Rinpoche about it, he said it wasn’t time to do the practices openly yet.
He’s not making a big deal about them, because he is humble and respects other terma that were revealed before his. I think it is our responsibility to request these teachings and empowerments and try to hold the practices; otherwise they might be lost. Although many great tertons have discovered terma, and although there may be texts for these practices, in some cases there is no lineage because no one did the practice. The omniscient Padma- sambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal hid particular teachings to be revealed at a certain time; I’m sure Rinpoche’s treasures are meant for this generation— otherwise he would not have revealed them.
LT: What is the difference between pure vision and terma?
Jigme Rinpoche: Terma are teachings that were spoken by great masters in the past such as Guru Padmasambhava. They were then hidden intact, in various ways, such as earth terma and mind terma, to be revealed, with the blessings of Guru Pad- masambhava, by great masters in degenerate times in order to benefit beings.
Pure vision depends on, and is an expression of, the mas- ter’s realization. Those with less realization may have a medi- tative experience and write things down, but a pure vision can still be tainted by their own expectations or mixed with their own experiences. But the meditation of such great masters as Chagdud Rinpoche and H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche is unwavering. Their view is grounded and unchanging, so their visions are authentic.
It may sound like I’m just praising my relatives, but in the Tromge family each generation has a Tara siddha. Khen Rinpo- che, Khenpo Achung, and many other lamas around Tromtar, Tibet, believe that my father is the Tara siddha of this generation. That’s quite obvious because he has many visions and terma con- cerning Tara, including one very elaborate Green Tara sadhana. Also H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche used to tell me that my father is a siddha who mastered Vajrakilaya. Basically, if you are a master of view then everything else follows, but at the same time indi- viduals do have connections with specific practices.
LT: Could you tell us about your ongoing dharma projects in Asia?
Jigme Rinpoche: I have two current projects in eastern Tibet and another that will begin this summer. At Chagdud Gonpa, the oldest monastery in the Nyarong region and the seat of H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, the shedra project is almost two-thirds com- pleted. My intention is to serve and extend Rinpoche’s activities by making the school available to both monks and lay people.
The second project is the construction of a drubdra [retreat facility] at Tromge Monastery, my family monastery. I feel that it is important to provide an environment where many students can benefit from doing traditional retreats under the guidance of great masters such as Tromge Khachod Wangpo, a great- grandson of Terton Sogyal, and Tromge Trungpa Rinpoche.
The third project—another drubdra—will begin this sum- mer at Nyugshul Monastery in Tromtar Valley, the seat of Khen- po Lungtok and Khenpo Ngaga. The abbot of the monastery is Khenpo Ngakchung, the incarnation of Khenpo Ngaga, who was an emanation of Vimalamitra. There is already a shedra there, but the drubdra will help to ensure that the lineage of these two great khenpos can continue.
I am equally involved in all my projects, but the most challenging has been the construction of what will be the largest Guru Rinpoche statue ever built, which will be located on a site in the Parping Valley, just a few hundred feet from Yangleshod Cave. I am building the statue to help fulfill a prophecy of great masters of the past who predicted that to do so would bring peace to the world. The land has been purchased, and I am now in the process of raising funds for the project, which will also include a temple. I hope to begin construction in 2002.
LT: You are in an interesting position because you were trained in Asia yet live in the West. You travel back and forth. Do you have any advice for Western dharma practitioners about keeping the dharma pure?
Jigme Rinpoche: It is very important to keep the dharma pure. “Pure” means not being influenced by the three poisons. “Pure” means staying away from the negative mind. Keeping dharma pure all depends on how pure our intention is. For that reason, it is important to contemplate and try to understand the suffering of samsara. The more we understand the suffering of samsara, the more we are able to allow our pure intention anddharma to grow. Faith and devotion to the Buddha, dharma, and sangha are essential. Without them we will not be able to receive the enlightened blessings that are necessary to reveal our own buddha nature. When you recognize the qualities of the Buddha, dharma, and sangha, then your faith and devotion will arise naturally.
One thing to be avoided, which can happen in both the West and East, is when certain students, who want to be close to the lama or have the lama to themselves, push others away to “protect” the lama. This can disturb others’ practice and make people think this is an appropriate way to practice Vajrayana or show de- votion to a teacher. But it shows a weakness in one’s practice and a misunderstanding of guru yoga. So it is important to recognize this if it arises in our own practice and to dissolve it.
I’ve been to many different centers, and I’m very happy to see how harmonious our Chagdud Gonpa sangha is under Rinpoche’s kind and compassionate guidance. I see that many of Rinpoche’s senior students are content with their practice. They aren’t trying to show off how much they know. In my trav- els I often see people who teach yet don’t have any practice, understanding, or the blessings of their own teacher, and this is very scary. The whole world knows that Rinpoche is one of the living Dzogchen masters. Some of Rinpoche’s senior students have understanding of his teachings, have recognition, and have done practice. I’m very happy about this and I hope it continues, because eventually these students will help to hold the lineage. Right now we have some masters from Asia, but eventually our lineage has to be taken on by Western practitioners as well.
Jigme Tromge Rinpoche is a tulku of Tsewang Norbu, the son of the first Chokgyur Lingpa. In a previous life Jigme Rinpoche was also Yudra Nyingpo, one of the twenty-five close disciples of Guru Padmasambhava. Born in 1964, he received a traditional Buddhist education in Asia and then completed a three-year retreat in the United States. Jigme Rinpoche has received empowerments and teachings from many masters, including his father, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche. He spoke with Lama Trinley after the Essence of Siddhi drubchen at Rigdzin Ling this fall.
LT: Could you tell us about some of the masters who are your teachers and talk about what you have learned from them?
Jigme Rinpoche: When I was about six years old, I began studying at Chokling Monastery with all the monks and tulkus. We had a tutor, but Chokgyur Lingpa’s son, Tulku Urgyen Topgyal Rinpoche, also instructed us. He was quite wrathful and at the time I didn’t enjoy the discipline, but toward the end of my stay there I really appreciated it, because in a short time I learned reading, writing, and ritual arts. When I was nine years old, I received my first formal teachings from my father, Chagdud Rin- poche, on Nyingthik ngondro and the p’howa cycle of Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo.
Later on, I studied with Khetsun Zangpo Rinpoche, a very great scholar and practitioner of the Nyingma lineage who had just opened a shedra in India. We were among the first batch of students. I lived with him for four years and received teachings on Patrul Rinpoche’s Words of My Perfect Teacher from him. Rinpoche also taught other, more scholarly texts, but from the standpoint of practice those were the most important teachings he gave me. I have deep respect for him. He has a very strong presence, and as teenagers, whenever we saw him coming, we would run away. Yet I never saw him get angry— he is very loving, gentle, and kind. I think of him as one of my main teachers. Over the years I’ve received many teachings and empowerments from H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche and H.H. Khyentse Rinpo- che, H.H. Jigme P’huntsok Rinpoche, H.E. Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, Do Drubchen Rinpoche, and Trulshik Rinpoche. There were other important connections I made as well.
I didn’t receive so many teachings from Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, but from the time I was very young, whenever I saw him it gave me something. I didn’t know how to label it then, but later, when I had done some retreat and practice, I could feel it as some shift in my meditation. In India, I used to visit him every day and felt very strong comfort from him. Later, while in retreat in Williams, I received Khenpo Ngaga’s Dzogchen teachings from him. I consider him one of my teachers because whenever I saw him, my practice, which I don’t have much of, took a small leap. When I was quite young, I received many teachings, empowerments, and oral transmissions from H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche, but due to youthful distraction I didn’t study closely with him. When I did three-year retreat under the guidance of Chagdud Rinpoche, I felt very guilty because I realized what a precious opportunity I had blown. During my retreat, whenever I would think of His Holiness, my deep, heart-felt longing to be in his presence intensified, because I knew what an opportunity I had missed. So I prayed one-pointedly to Khyentse Rinpoche and began to receive teachings from him in my dreams. In these dreams, he was always in the same big temple like a palace and he was always on the second floor. A few lamas that I recognized were always there. But on the day of his passing, in September 1991, he asked each of us questions about Dzog-chen and we each answered according to our own understanding. Then he gave us brief instructions and asked, “Are you sure you’ve got it?” We all nodded. Then he told us that if, in the future, we had any doubts about Dzogchen practice we should read a particular text by Longchen Rabjam and it would help resolve those doubts. The minute he said that, I realized he was dying. I started crying in the dream and when I woke up at four in the morning I was still crying— there were tears everywhere. I called Rigdzin Ling to see if they had heard anything. At first they hadn’t, but later that day someone called back with the news that His Holiness had passed away.
I felt very lonely. I called my father, who was on pilgrimage in China. I was very emotional and I said to him, “I think I want to go. I don’t really care about three-year retreat. I just want to go to pay my respects and do practice.” In response, Rinpoche gave me a very brief teaching on guru yoga. With just a few words, he made me feel free to go, yet at the same time he made me un- derstand that going and staying in retreat were exactly the same. With those few words, he completely cut my attachment to being in Nepal, so I didn’t leave retreat.
But sometimes when I practiced guru yoga I still thought about it. Then one day I really started to think that living was not so worthwhile. So I prayed to Khyentse Rinpoche and went to sleep. In my dream I saw him in the same palace but this time on a very high throne, giving empowerments. I came a little late, so I sat by the door. When he finished and I went up to receive his blessings, I said, “Please take me with you.” Then he pulled my head, and it was very strange because it stretched all the way up to his throne and into his lap but somehow my feet still touched the ground. Then he asked me for some scissors and, when they appeared in my hand, I gave them to him. He took a big clump of hair and said, “O fortunate son, it is not time for you to come yet, but it is good to think in this way.” And he cut off some of my hair. Then he put his huge hands on the sides of my head. When I woke up, I could still feel the warmth and softness of those hands. Later when I sat down to do practice, I could feel quite a change in my meditation.
Another turning point in my practice was my connection with Tromge Tulku Arik Rinpoche, although due to my lack of merit I never met him. When Chagdud Rinpoche, Khadro, and I went to Tibet in 1987, we traveled to Tulku Arik Rinpoche’s hermitage on a small hill near Tromge Monastery. We came around a ridge, and the minute I saw the hill I was a different person. It really did something to me. The qualities of enlightenment. It came very naturally, and I knew right away that I wanted to stop eating meat and to give up worldly things. True dharma arose just from seeing the hill Tulku Arik lived on.
In order to establish our connection with him, Tulku Arik Rinpoche gave Chagdud Khadro and I a longevity blessing through his retreat cabin window. At that time my ordinary thoughts dissolved and I rested naturally in rigpa—awareness.
When I met H.H. Jigme P’hun- tsok, I felt a very strong connec- tion with him. I haven’t received so many teachings from him, but I had an interesting experience when I first saw him at the airport. Before I could even say hello or receive his blessings, he made a gesture with his index fingers linked, which in Tibet is the sign of friendship. There was a definite connection between us. When I saw that gesture, my practice changed in a nice way, and since then His Holiness has kept me under his care. Whenever I practice Manjushri I see him, especially when I give the peaceful Manjushri empowerment he asked me to be- stow. Sometimes when I’m offer- ing this empowerment, I feel that if I could touch my heart it might be in the shape of him. I have very little knowledge or practice, but what tiny bit I have comes from his kindness. I consider him one of my main teach- ers, because even that first gesture helped to untangle confusion in my practice.
When I first started retreat, I had many different experiences which I now think were obstacles. I would call Rinpoche to tell him about them, and at first he was patient with me, but it seemed that the more I told him the more I would experience. Eventu- ally, after a few months of this, Rinpoche started getting irritat- ed, so I stopped calling him. The phenomena began to dissolve, which disappointed me. Maybe I had just been trying to please Rinpoche so he would praise me. But when he became wrathful I stopped hoping for praise. We can read in the biographies of great masters about how they practiced and related to their own teachers, but it’s difficult to follow their examples because our own habits are so strong. After three or four months, I realized how Rinpoche had in one moment cut through months of useless thoughts.
As I said, when I was in retreat I often dreamt of H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche. In the daytime if my view wavered or my rec- ognition was not so stable then in my dreams, when he gave me blessings, he would either turn his head away or touch me with just one finger. It was very powerful being poked on the head with one finger. It corrected me naturally.
So these are some of the masters I think of as my teachers. My two main teachers are my father and H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Chagdud Rinpoche is both my father and my teacher, but mostly our relationship is as teacher and student.
LT: You mentioned once how important it is for Chagdud Rinpoche’s students to start doing the practices that are his terma.
Jigme Rinpoche: Rinpoche never calls them terma; he prefers to call them pure visions. But other lamas have predicted that he would discover terma and that’s what I think they are. It is my thought that since we have the texts we should request the teachings and empowerments and start doing the practices. I was hoping to take these teachings to Chagdud, Tromge, and Tenpel gonpas in Tibet so they could establish them there. But when I asked Rinpoche about it, he said it wasn’t time to do the practices openly yet.
He’s not making a big deal about them, because he is humble and respects other terma that were revealed before his. I think it is our responsibility to request these teachings and empowerments and try to hold the practices; otherwise they might be lost. Although many great tertons have discovered terma, and although there may be texts for these practices, in some cases there is no lineage because no one did the practice. The omniscient Padma- sambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal hid particular teachings to be revealed at a certain time; I’m sure Rinpoche’s treasures are meant for this generation— otherwise he would not have revealed them.
LT: What is the difference between pure vision and terma?
Jigme Rinpoche: Terma are teachings that were spoken by great masters in the past such as Guru Padmasambhava. They were then hidden intact, in various ways, such as earth terma and mind terma, to be revealed, with the blessings of Guru Pad- masambhava, by great masters in degenerate times in order to benefit beings.
Pure vision depends on, and is an expression of, the mas- ter’s realization. Those with less realization may have a medi- tative experience and write things down, but a pure vision can still be tainted by their own expectations or mixed with their own experiences. But the meditation of such great masters as Chagdud Rinpoche and H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche is unwavering. Their view is grounded and unchanging, so their visions are authentic.
It may sound like I’m just praising my relatives, but in the Tromge family each generation has a Tara siddha. Khen Rinpo- che, Khenpo Achung, and many other lamas around Tromtar, Tibet, believe that my father is the Tara siddha of this generation. That’s quite obvious because he has many visions and terma con- cerning Tara, including one very elaborate Green Tara sadhana. Also H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche used to tell me that my father is a siddha who mastered Vajrakilaya. Basically, if you are a master of view then everything else follows, but at the same time indi- viduals do have connections with specific practices.
LT: Could you tell us about your ongoing dharma projects in Asia?
Jigme Rinpoche: I have two current projects in eastern Tibet and another that will begin this summer. At Chagdud Gonpa, the oldest monastery in the Nyarong region and the seat of H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, the shedra project is almost two-thirds com- pleted. My intention is to serve and extend Rinpoche’s activities by making the school available to both monks and lay people.
The second project is the construction of a drubdra [retreat facility] at Tromge Monastery, my family monastery. I feel that it is important to provide an environment where many students can benefit from doing traditional retreats under the guidance of great masters such as Tromge Khachod Wangpo, a great- grandson of Terton Sogyal, and Tromge Trungpa Rinpoche.
The third project—another drubdra—will begin this sum- mer at Nyugshul Monastery in Tromtar Valley, the seat of Khen- po Lungtok and Khenpo Ngaga. The abbot of the monastery is Khenpo Ngakchung, the incarnation of Khenpo Ngaga, who was an emanation of Vimalamitra. There is already a shedra there, but the drubdra will help to ensure that the lineage of these two great khenpos can continue.
I am equally involved in all my projects, but the most challenging has been the construction of what will be the largest Guru Rinpoche statue ever built, which will be located on a site in the Parping Valley, just a few hundred feet from Yangleshod Cave. I am building the statue to help fulfill a prophecy of great masters of the past who predicted that to do so would bring peace to the world. The land has been purchased, and I am now in the process of raising funds for the project, which will also include a temple. I hope to begin construction in 2002.
LT: You are in an interesting position because you were trained in Asia yet live in the West. You travel back and forth. Do you have any advice for Western dharma practitioners about keeping the dharma pure?
Jigme Rinpoche: It is very important to keep the dharma pure. “Pure” means not being influenced by the three poisons. “Pure” means staying away from the negative mind. Keeping dharma pure all depends on how pure our intention is. For that reason, it is important to contemplate and try to understand the suffering of samsara. The more we understand the suffering of samsara, the more we are able to allow our pure intention anddharma to grow. Faith and devotion to the Buddha, dharma, and sangha are essential. Without them we will not be able to receive the enlightened blessings that are necessary to reveal our own buddha nature. When you recognize the qualities of the Buddha, dharma, and sangha, then your faith and devotion will arise naturally.
One thing to be avoided, which can happen in both the West and East, is when certain students, who want to be close to the lama or have the lama to themselves, push others away to “protect” the lama. This can disturb others’ practice and make people think this is an appropriate way to practice Vajrayana or show de- votion to a teacher. But it shows a weakness in one’s practice and a misunderstanding of guru yoga. So it is important to recognize this if it arises in our own practice and to dissolve it.
I’ve been to many different centers, and I’m very happy to see how harmonious our Chagdud Gonpa sangha is under Rinpoche’s kind and compassionate guidance. I see that many of Rinpoche’s senior students are content with their practice. They aren’t trying to show off how much they know. In my trav- els I often see people who teach yet don’t have any practice, understanding, or the blessings of their own teacher, and this is very scary. The whole world knows that Rinpoche is one of the living Dzogchen masters. Some of Rinpoche’s senior students have understanding of his teachings, have recognition, and have done practice. I’m very happy about this and I hope it continues, because eventually these students will help to hold the lineage. Right now we have some masters from Asia, but eventually our lineage has to be taken on by Western practitioners as well.
Jigme Tromge Rinpoche is a tulku of Tsewang Norbu, the son of the first Chokgyur Lingpa. In a previous life Jigme Rinpoche was also Yudra Nyingpo, one of the twenty-five close disciples of Guru Padmasambhava. Born in 1964, he received a traditional Buddhist education in Asia and then completed a three-year retreat in the United States. Jigme Rinpoche has received empowerments and teachings from many masters, including his father, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche. He spoke with Lama Trinley after the Essence of Siddhi drubchen at Rigdzin Ling this fall.
LT: Could you tell us about some of the masters who are your teachers and talk about what you have learned from them?
Jigme Rinpoche: When I was about six years old, I began studying at Chokling Monastery with all the monks and tulkus. We had a tutor, but Chokgyur Lingpa’s son, Tulku Urgyen Topgyal Rinpoche, also instructed us. He was quite wrathful and at the time I didn’t enjoy the discipline, but toward the end of my stay there I really appreciated it, because in a short time I learned reading, writing, and ritual arts. When I was nine years old, I received my first formal teachings from my father, Chagdud Rin- poche, on Nyingthik ngondro and the p’howa cycle of Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo.
Later on, I studied with Khetsun Zangpo Rinpoche, a very great scholar and practitioner of the Nyingma lineage who had just opened a shedra in India. We were among the first batch of students. I lived with him for four years and received teachings on Patrul Rinpoche’s Words of My Perfect Teacher from him. Rinpoche also taught other, more scholarly texts, but from the standpoint of practice those were the most important teachings he gave me. I have deep respect for him. He has a very strong presence, and as teenagers, whenever we saw him coming, we would run away. Yet I never saw him get angry— he is very loving, gentle, and kind. I think of him as one of my main teachers. Over the years I’ve received many teachings and empowerments from H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche and H.H. Khyentse Rinpo- che, H.H. Jigme P’huntsok Rinpoche, H.E. Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, Do Drubchen Rinpoche, and Trulshik Rinpoche. There were other important connections I made as well.
I didn’t receive so many teachings from Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, but from the time I was very young, whenever I saw him it gave me something. I didn’t know how to label it then, but later, when I had done some retreat and practice, I could feel it as some shift in my meditation. In India, I used to visit him every day and felt very strong comfort from him. Later, while in retreat in Williams, I received Khenpo Ngaga’s Dzogchen teachings from him. I consider him one of my teachers because whenever I saw him, my practice, which I don’t have much of, took a small leap. When I was quite young, I received many teachings, empowerments, and oral transmissions from H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche, but due to youthful distraction I didn’t study closely with him. When I did three-year retreat under the guidance of Chagdud Rinpoche, I felt very guilty because I realized what a precious opportunity I had blown. During my retreat, whenever I would think of His Holiness, my deep, heart-felt longing to be in his presence intensified, because I knew what an opportunity I had missed. So I prayed one-pointedly to Khyentse Rinpoche and began to receive teachings from him in my dreams. In these dreams, he was always in the same big temple like a palace and he was always on the second floor. A few lamas that I recognized were always there. But on the day of his passing, in September 1991, he asked each of us questions about Dzog-chen and we each answered according to our own understanding. Then he gave us brief instructions and asked, “Are you sure you’ve got it?” We all nodded. Then he told us that if, in the future, we had any doubts about Dzogchen practice we should read a particular text by Longchen Rabjam and it would help resolve those doubts. The minute he said that, I realized he was dying. I started crying in the dream and when I woke up at four in the morning I was still crying— there were tears everywhere. I called Rigdzin Ling to see if they had heard anything. At first they hadn’t, but later that day someone called back with the news that His Holiness had passed away.
I felt very lonely. I called my father, who was on pilgrimage in China. I was very emotional and I said to him, “I think I want to go. I don’t really care about three-year retreat. I just want to go to pay my respects and do practice.” In response, Rinpoche gave me a very brief teaching on guru yoga. With just a few words, he made me feel free to go, yet at the same time he made me un- derstand that going and staying in retreat were exactly the same. With those few words, he completely cut my attachment to being in Nepal, so I didn’t leave retreat.
But sometimes when I practiced guru yoga I still thought about it. Then one day I really started to think that living was not so worthwhile. So I prayed to Khyentse Rinpoche and went to sleep. In my dream I saw him in the same palace but this time on a very high throne, giving empowerments. I came a little late, so I sat by the door. When he finished and I went up to receive his blessings, I said, “Please take me with you.” Then he pulled my head, and it was very strange because it stretched all the way up to his throne and into his lap but somehow my feet still touched the ground. Then he asked me for some scissors and, when they appeared in my hand, I gave them to him. He took a big clump of hair and said, “O fortunate son, it is not time for you to come yet, but it is good to think in this way.” And he cut off some of my hair. Then he put his huge hands on the sides of my head. When I woke up, I could still feel the warmth and softness of those hands. Later when I sat down to do practice, I could feel quite a change in my meditation.
Another turning point in my practice was my connection with Tromge Tulku Arik Rinpoche, although due to my lack of merit I never met him. When Chagdud Rinpoche, Khadro, and I went to Tibet in 1987, we traveled to Tulku Arik Rinpoche’s hermitage on a small hill near Tromge Monastery. We came around a ridge, and the minute I saw the hill I was a different person. It really did something to me. The qualities of enlightenment. It came very naturally, and I knew right away that I wanted to stop eating meat and to give up worldly things. True dharma arose just from seeing the hill Tulku Arik lived on.
In order to establish our connection with him, Tulku Arik Rinpoche gave Chagdud Khadro and I a longevity blessing through his retreat cabin window. At that time my ordinary thoughts dissolved and I rested naturally in rigpa—awareness.
When I met H.H. Jigme P’hun- tsok, I felt a very strong connec- tion with him. I haven’t received so many teachings from him, but I had an interesting experience when I first saw him at the airport. Before I could even say hello or receive his blessings, he made a gesture with his index fingers linked, which in Tibet is the sign of friendship. There was a definite connection between us. When I saw that gesture, my practice changed in a nice way, and since then His Holiness has kept me under his care. Whenever I practice Manjushri I see him, especially when I give the peaceful Manjushri empowerment he asked me to be- stow. Sometimes when I’m offer- ing this empowerment, I feel that if I could touch my heart it might be in the shape of him. I have very little knowledge or practice, but what tiny bit I have comes from his kindness. I consider him one of my main teach- ers, because even that first gesture helped to untangle confusion in my practice.
When I first started retreat, I had many different experiences which I now think were obstacles. I would call Rinpoche to tell him about them, and at first he was patient with me, but it seemed that the more I told him the more I would experience. Eventu- ally, after a few months of this, Rinpoche started getting irritat- ed, so I stopped calling him. The phenomena began to dissolve, which disappointed me. Maybe I had just been trying to please Rinpoche so he would praise me. But when he became wrathful I stopped hoping for praise. We can read in the biographies of great masters about how they practiced and related to their own teachers, but it’s difficult to follow their examples because our own habits are so strong. After three or four months, I realized how Rinpoche had in one moment cut through months of useless thoughts.
As I said, when I was in retreat I often dreamt of H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche. In the daytime if my view wavered or my rec- ognition was not so stable then in my dreams, when he gave me blessings, he would either turn his head away or touch me with just one finger. It was very powerful being poked on the head with one finger. It corrected me naturally.
So these are some of the masters I think of as my teachers. My two main teachers are my father and H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Chagdud Rinpoche is both my father and my teacher, but mostly our relationship is as teacher and student.
LT: You mentioned once how important it is for Chagdud Rinpoche’s students to start doing the practices that are his terma.
Jigme Rinpoche: Rinpoche never calls them terma; he prefers to call them pure visions. But other lamas have predicted that he would discover terma and that’s what I think they are. It is my thought that since we have the texts we should request the teachings and empowerments and start doing the practices. I was hoping to take these teachings to Chagdud, Tromge, and Tenpel gonpas in Tibet so they could establish them there. But when I asked Rinpoche about it, he said it wasn’t time to do the practices openly yet.
He’s not making a big deal about them, because he is humble and respects other terma that were revealed before his. I think it is our responsibility to request these teachings and empowerments and try to hold the practices; otherwise they might be lost. Although many great tertons have discovered terma, and although there may be texts for these practices, in some cases there is no lineage because no one did the practice. The omniscient Padma- sambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal hid particular teachings to be revealed at a certain time; I’m sure Rinpoche’s treasures are meant for this generation— otherwise he would not have revealed them.
LT: What is the difference between pure vision and terma?
Jigme Rinpoche: Terma are teachings that were spoken by great masters in the past such as Guru Padmasambhava. They were then hidden intact, in various ways, such as earth terma and mind terma, to be revealed, with the blessings of Guru Pad- masambhava, by great masters in degenerate times in order to benefit beings.
Pure vision depends on, and is an expression of, the mas- ter’s realization. Those with less realization may have a medi- tative experience and write things down, but a pure vision can still be tainted by their own expectations or mixed with their own experiences. But the meditation of such great masters as Chagdud Rinpoche and H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche is unwavering. Their view is grounded and unchanging, so their visions are authentic.
It may sound like I’m just praising my relatives, but in the Tromge family each generation has a Tara siddha. Khen Rinpo- che, Khenpo Achung, and many other lamas around Tromtar, Tibet, believe that my father is the Tara siddha of this generation. That’s quite obvious because he has many visions and terma con- cerning Tara, including one very elaborate Green Tara sadhana. Also H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche used to tell me that my father is a siddha who mastered Vajrakilaya. Basically, if you are a master of view then everything else follows, but at the same time indi- viduals do have connections with specific practices.
LT: Could you tell us about your ongoing dharma projects in Asia?
Jigme Rinpoche: I have two current projects in eastern Tibet and another that will begin this summer. At Chagdud Gonpa, the oldest monastery in the Nyarong region and the seat of H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, the shedra project is almost two-thirds com- pleted. My intention is to serve and extend Rinpoche’s activities by making the school available to both monks and lay people.
The second project is the construction of a drubdra [retreat facility] at Tromge Monastery, my family monastery. I feel that it is important to provide an environment where many students can benefit from doing traditional retreats under the guidance of great masters such as Tromge Khachod Wangpo, a great- grandson of Terton Sogyal, and Tromge Trungpa Rinpoche.
The third project—another drubdra—will begin this sum- mer at Nyugshul Monastery in Tromtar Valley, the seat of Khen- po Lungtok and Khenpo Ngaga. The abbot of the monastery is Khenpo Ngakchung, the incarnation of Khenpo Ngaga, who was an emanation of Vimalamitra. There is already a shedra there, but the drubdra will help to ensure that the lineage of these two great khenpos can continue.
I am equally involved in all my projects, but the most challenging has been the construction of what will be the largest Guru Rinpoche statue ever built, which will be located on a site in the Parping Valley, just a few hundred feet from Yangleshod Cave. I am building the statue to help fulfill a prophecy of great masters of the past who predicted that to do so would bring peace to the world. The land has been purchased, and I am now in the process of raising funds for the project, which will also include a temple. I hope to begin construction in 2002.
LT: You are in an interesting position because you were trained in Asia yet live in the West. You travel back and forth. Do you have any advice for Western dharma practitioners about keeping the dharma pure?
Jigme Rinpoche: It is very important to keep the dharma pure. “Pure” means not being influenced by the three poisons. “Pure” means staying away from the negative mind. Keeping dharma pure all depends on how pure our intention is. For that reason, it is important to contemplate and try to understand the suffering of samsara. The more we understand the suffering of samsara, the more we are able to allow our pure intention anddharma to grow. Faith and devotion to the Buddha, dharma, and sangha are essential. Without them we will not be able to receive the enlightened blessings that are necessary to reveal our own buddha nature. When you recognize the qualities of the Buddha, dharma, and sangha, then your faith and devotion will arise naturally.
One thing to be avoided, which can happen in both the West and East, is when certain students, who want to be close to the lama or have the lama to themselves, push others away to “protect” the lama. This can disturb others’ practice and make people think this is an appropriate way to practice Vajrayana or show de- votion to a teacher. But it shows a weakness in one’s practice and a misunderstanding of guru yoga. So it is important to recognize this if it arises in our own practice and to dissolve it.
I’ve been to many different centers, and I’m very happy to see how harmonious our Chagdud Gonpa sangha is under Rinpoche’s kind and compassionate guidance. I see that many of Rinpoche’s senior students are content with their practice. They aren’t trying to show off how much they know. In my trav- els I often see people who teach yet don’t have any practice, understanding, or the blessings of their own teacher, and this is very scary. The whole world knows that Rinpoche is one of the living Dzogchen masters. Some of Rinpoche’s senior students have understanding of his teachings, have recognition, and have done practice. I’m very happy about this and I hope it continues, because eventually these students will help to hold the lineage. Right now we have some masters from Asia, but eventually our lineage has to be taken on by Western practitioners as well.
Jigme Tromge Rinpoche is a tulku of Tsewang Norbu, the son of the first Chokgyur Lingpa. In a previous life Jigme Rinpoche was also Yudra Nyingpo, one of the twenty-five close disciples of Guru Padmasambhava. Born in 1964, he received a traditional Buddhist education in Asia and then completed a three-year retreat in the United States. Jigme Rinpoche has received empowerments and teachings from many masters, including his father, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche. He spoke with Lama Trinley after the Essence of Siddhi drubchen at Rigdzin Ling this fall.
LT: Could you tell us about some of the masters who are your teachers and talk about what you have learned from them?
Jigme Rinpoche: When I was about six years old, I began studying at Chokling Monastery with all the monks and tulkus. We had a tutor, but Chokgyur Lingpa’s son, Tulku Urgyen Topgyal Rinpoche, also instructed us. He was quite wrathful and at the time I didn’t enjoy the discipline, but toward the end of my stay there I really appreciated it, because in a short time I learned reading, writing, and ritual arts. When I was nine years old, I received my first formal teachings from my father, Chagdud Rin- poche, on Nyingthik ngondro and the p’howa cycle of Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo.
Later on, I studied with Khetsun Zangpo Rinpoche, a very great scholar and practitioner of the Nyingma lineage who had just opened a shedra in India. We were among the first batch of students. I lived with him for four years and received teachings on Patrul Rinpoche’s Words of My Perfect Teacher from him. Rinpoche also taught other, more scholarly texts, but from the standpoint of practice those were the most important teachings he gave me. I have deep respect for him. He has a very strong presence, and as teenagers, whenever we saw him coming, we would run away. Yet I never saw him get angry— he is very loving, gentle, and kind. I think of him as one of my main teachers. Over the years I’ve received many teachings and empowerments from H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche and H.H. Khyentse Rinpo- che, H.H. Jigme P’huntsok Rinpoche, H.E. Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, Do Drubchen Rinpoche, and Trulshik Rinpoche. There were other important connections I made as well.
I didn’t receive so many teachings from Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, but from the time I was very young, whenever I saw him it gave me something. I didn’t know how to label it then, but later, when I had done some retreat and practice, I could feel it as some shift in my meditation. In India, I used to visit him every day and felt very strong comfort from him. Later, while in retreat in Williams, I received Khenpo Ngaga’s Dzogchen teachings from him. I consider him one of my teachers because whenever I saw him, my practice, which I don’t have much of, took a small leap. When I was quite young, I received many teachings, empowerments, and oral transmissions from H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche, but due to youthful distraction I didn’t study closely with him. When I did three-year retreat under the guidance of Chagdud Rinpoche, I felt very guilty because I realized what a precious opportunity I had blown. During my retreat, whenever I would think of His Holiness, my deep, heart-felt longing to be in his presence intensified, because I knew what an opportunity I had missed. So I prayed one-pointedly to Khyentse Rinpoche and began to receive teachings from him in my dreams. In these dreams, he was always in the same big temple like a palace and he was always on the second floor. A few lamas that I recognized were always there. But on the day of his passing, in September 1991, he asked each of us questions about Dzog-chen and we each answered according to our own understanding. Then he gave us brief instructions and asked, “Are you sure you’ve got it?” We all nodded. Then he told us that if, in the future, we had any doubts about Dzogchen practice we should read a particular text by Longchen Rabjam and it would help resolve those doubts. The minute he said that, I realized he was dying. I started crying in the dream and when I woke up at four in the morning I was still crying— there were tears everywhere. I called Rigdzin Ling to see if they had heard anything. At first they hadn’t, but later that day someone called back with the news that His Holiness had passed away.
I felt very lonely. I called my father, who was on pilgrimage in China. I was very emotional and I said to him, “I think I want to go. I don’t really care about three-year retreat. I just want to go to pay my respects and do practice.” In response, Rinpoche gave me a very brief teaching on guru yoga. With just a few words, he made me feel free to go, yet at the same time he made me un- derstand that going and staying in retreat were exactly the same. With those few words, he completely cut my attachment to being in Nepal, so I didn’t leave retreat.
But sometimes when I practiced guru yoga I still thought about it. Then one day I really started to think that living was not so worthwhile. So I prayed to Khyentse Rinpoche and went to sleep. In my dream I saw him in the same palace but this time on a very high throne, giving empowerments. I came a little late, so I sat by the door. When he finished and I went up to receive his blessings, I said, “Please take me with you.” Then he pulled my head, and it was very strange because it stretched all the way up to his throne and into his lap but somehow my feet still touched the ground. Then he asked me for some scissors and, when they appeared in my hand, I gave them to him. He took a big clump of hair and said, “O fortunate son, it is not time for you to come yet, but it is good to think in this way.” And he cut off some of my hair. Then he put his huge hands on the sides of my head. When I woke up, I could still feel the warmth and softness of those hands. Later when I sat down to do practice, I could feel quite a change in my meditation.
Another turning point in my practice was my connection with Tromge Tulku Arik Rinpoche, although due to my lack of merit I never met him. When Chagdud Rinpoche, Khadro, and I went to Tibet in 1987, we traveled to Tulku Arik Rinpoche’s hermitage on a small hill near Tromge Monastery. We came around a ridge, and the minute I saw the hill I was a different person. It really did something to me. The qualities of enlightenment. It came very naturally, and I knew right away that I wanted to stop eating meat and to give up worldly things. True dharma arose just from seeing the hill Tulku Arik lived on.
In order to establish our connection with him, Tulku Arik Rinpoche gave Chagdud Khadro and I a longevity blessing through his retreat cabin window. At that time my ordinary thoughts dissolved and I rested naturally in rigpa—awareness.
When I met H.H. Jigme P’hun- tsok, I felt a very strong connec- tion with him. I haven’t received so many teachings from him, but I had an interesting experience when I first saw him at the airport. Before I could even say hello or receive his blessings, he made a gesture with his index fingers linked, which in Tibet is the sign of friendship. There was a definite connection between us. When I saw that gesture, my practice changed in a nice way, and since then His Holiness has kept me under his care. Whenever I practice Manjushri I see him, especially when I give the peaceful Manjushri empowerment he asked me to be- stow. Sometimes when I’m offer- ing this empowerment, I feel that if I could touch my heart it might be in the shape of him. I have very little knowledge or practice, but what tiny bit I have comes from his kindness. I consider him one of my main teach- ers, because even that first gesture helped to untangle confusion in my practice.
When I first started retreat, I had many different experiences which I now think were obstacles. I would call Rinpoche to tell him about them, and at first he was patient with me, but it seemed that the more I told him the more I would experience. Eventu- ally, after a few months of this, Rinpoche started getting irritat- ed, so I stopped calling him. The phenomena began to dissolve, which disappointed me. Maybe I had just been trying to please Rinpoche so he would praise me. But when he became wrathful I stopped hoping for praise. We can read in the biographies of great masters about how they practiced and related to their own teachers, but it’s difficult to follow their examples because our own habits are so strong. After three or four months, I realized how Rinpoche had in one moment cut through months of useless thoughts.
As I said, when I was in retreat I often dreamt of H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche. In the daytime if my view wavered or my rec- ognition was not so stable then in my dreams, when he gave me blessings, he would either turn his head away or touch me with just one finger. It was very powerful being poked on the head with one finger. It corrected me naturally.
So these are some of the masters I think of as my teachers. My two main teachers are my father and H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Chagdud Rinpoche is both my father and my teacher, but mostly our relationship is as teacher and student.
LT: You mentioned once how important it is for Chagdud Rinpoche’s students to start doing the practices that are his terma.
Jigme Rinpoche: Rinpoche never calls them terma; he prefers to call them pure visions. But other lamas have predicted that he would discover terma and that’s what I think they are. It is my thought that since we have the texts we should request the teachings and empowerments and start doing the practices. I was hoping to take these teachings to Chagdud, Tromge, and Tenpel gonpas in Tibet so they could establish them there. But when I asked Rinpoche about it, he said it wasn’t time to do the practices openly yet.
He’s not making a big deal about them, because he is humble and respects other terma that were revealed before his. I think it is our responsibility to request these teachings and empowerments and try to hold the practices; otherwise they might be lost. Although many great tertons have discovered terma, and although there may be texts for these practices, in some cases there is no lineage because no one did the practice. The omniscient Padma- sambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal hid particular teachings to be revealed at a certain time; I’m sure Rinpoche’s treasures are meant for this generation— otherwise he would not have revealed them.
LT: What is the difference between pure vision and terma?
Jigme Rinpoche: Terma are teachings that were spoken by great masters in the past such as Guru Padmasambhava. They were then hidden intact, in various ways, such as earth terma and mind terma, to be revealed, with the blessings of Guru Pad- masambhava, by great masters in degenerate times in order to benefit beings.
Pure vision depends on, and is an expression of, the mas- ter’s realization. Those with less realization may have a medi- tative experience and write things down, but a pure vision can still be tainted by their own expectations or mixed with their own experiences. But the meditation of such great masters as Chagdud Rinpoche and H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche is unwavering. Their view is grounded and unchanging, so their visions are authentic.
It may sound like I’m just praising my relatives, but in the Tromge family each generation has a Tara siddha. Khen Rinpo- che, Khenpo Achung, and many other lamas around Tromtar, Tibet, believe that my father is the Tara siddha of this generation. That’s quite obvious because he has many visions and terma con- cerning Tara, including one very elaborate Green Tara sadhana. Also H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche used to tell me that my father is a siddha who mastered Vajrakilaya. Basically, if you are a master of view then everything else follows, but at the same time indi- viduals do have connections with specific practices.
LT: Could you tell us about your ongoing dharma projects in Asia?
Jigme Rinpoche: I have two current projects in eastern Tibet and another that will begin this summer. At Chagdud Gonpa, the oldest monastery in the Nyarong region and the seat of H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, the shedra project is almost two-thirds com- pleted. My intention is to serve and extend Rinpoche’s activities by making the school available to both monks and lay people.
The second project is the construction of a drubdra [retreat facility] at Tromge Monastery, my family monastery. I feel that it is important to provide an environment where many students can benefit from doing traditional retreats under the guidance of great masters such as Tromge Khachod Wangpo, a great- grandson of Terton Sogyal, and Tromge Trungpa Rinpoche.
The third project—another drubdra—will begin this sum- mer at Nyugshul Monastery in Tromtar Valley, the seat of Khen- po Lungtok and Khenpo Ngaga. The abbot of the monastery is Khenpo Ngakchung, the incarnation of Khenpo Ngaga, who was an emanation of Vimalamitra. There is already a shedra there, but the drubdra will help to ensure that the lineage of these two great khenpos can continue.
I am equally involved in all my projects, but the most challenging has been the construction of what will be the largest Guru Rinpoche statue ever built, which will be located on a site in the Parping Valley, just a few hundred feet from Yangleshod Cave. I am building the statue to help fulfill a prophecy of great masters of the past who predicted that to do so would bring peace to the world. The land has been purchased, and I am now in the process of raising funds for the project, which will also include a temple. I hope to begin construction in 2002.
LT: You are in an interesting position because you were trained in Asia yet live in the West. You travel back and forth. Do you have any advice for Western dharma practitioners about keeping the dharma pure?
Jigme Rinpoche: It is very important to keep the dharma pure. “Pure” means not being influenced by the three poisons. “Pure” means staying away from the negative mind. Keeping dharma pure all depends on how pure our intention is. For that reason, it is important to contemplate and try to understand the suffering of samsara. The more we understand the suffering of samsara, the more we are able to allow our pure intention anddharma to grow. Faith and devotion to the Buddha, dharma, and sangha are essential. Without them we will not be able to receive the enlightened blessings that are necessary to reveal our own buddha nature. When you recognize the qualities of the Buddha, dharma, and sangha, then your faith and devotion will arise naturally.
One thing to be avoided, which can happen in both the West and East, is when certain students, who want to be close to the lama or have the lama to themselves, push others away to “protect” the lama. This can disturb others’ practice and make people think this is an appropriate way to practice Vajrayana or show de- votion to a teacher. But it shows a weakness in one’s practice and a misunderstanding of guru yoga. So it is important to recognize this if it arises in our own practice and to dissolve it.
I’ve been to many different centers, and I’m very happy to see how harmonious our Chagdud Gonpa sangha is under Rinpoche’s kind and compassionate guidance. I see that many of Rinpoche’s senior students are content with their practice. They aren’t trying to show off how much they know. In my trav- els I often see people who teach yet don’t have any practice, understanding, or the blessings of their own teacher, and this is very scary. The whole world knows that Rinpoche is one of the living Dzogchen masters. Some of Rinpoche’s senior students have understanding of his teachings, have recognition, and have done practice. I’m very happy about this and I hope it continues, because eventually these students will help to hold the lineage. Right now we have some masters from Asia, but eventually our lineage has to be taken on by Western practitioners as well.
Jigme Tromge Rinpoche is a tulku of Tsewang Norbu, the son of the first Chokgyur Lingpa. In a previous life Jigme Rinpoche was also Yudra Nyingpo, one of the twenty-five close disciples of Guru Padmasambhava. Born in 1964, he received a traditional Buddhist education in Asia and then completed a three-year retreat in the United States. Jigme Rinpoche has received empowerments and teachings from many masters, including his father, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche. He spoke with Lama Trinley after the Essence of Siddhi drubchen at Rigdzin Ling this fall.
LT: Could you tell us about some of the masters who are your teachers and talk about what you have learned from them?
Jigme Rinpoche: When I was about six years old, I began studying at Chokling Monastery with all the monks and tulkus. We had a tutor, but Chokgyur Lingpa’s son, Tulku Urgyen Topgyal Rinpoche, also instructed us. He was quite wrathful and at the time I didn’t enjoy the discipline, but toward the end of my stay there I really appreciated it, because in a short time I learned reading, writing, and ritual arts. When I was nine years old, I received my first formal teachings from my father, Chagdud Rin- poche, on Nyingthik ngondro and the p’howa cycle of Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo.
Later on, I studied with Khetsun Zangpo Rinpoche, a very great scholar and practitioner of the Nyingma lineage who had just opened a shedra in India. We were among the first batch of students. I lived with him for four years and received teachings on Patrul Rinpoche’s Words of My Perfect Teacher from him. Rinpoche also taught other, more scholarly texts, but from the standpoint of practice those were the most important teachings he gave me. I have deep respect for him. He has a very strong presence, and as teenagers, whenever we saw him coming, we would run away. Yet I never saw him get angry— he is very loving, gentle, and kind. I think of him as one of my main teachers. Over the years I’ve received many teachings and empowerments from H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche and H.H. Khyentse Rinpo- che, H.H. Jigme P’huntsok Rinpoche, H.E. Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, Do Drubchen Rinpoche, and Trulshik Rinpoche. There were other important connections I made as well.
I didn’t receive so many teachings from Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, but from the time I was very young, whenever I saw him it gave me something. I didn’t know how to label it then, but later, when I had done some retreat and practice, I could feel it as some shift in my meditation. In India, I used to visit him every day and felt very strong comfort from him. Later, while in retreat in Williams, I received Khenpo Ngaga’s Dzogchen teachings from him. I consider him one of my teachers because whenever I saw him, my practice, which I don’t have much of, took a small leap. When I was quite young, I received many teachings, empowerments, and oral transmissions from H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche, but due to youthful distraction I didn’t study closely with him. When I did three-year retreat under the guidance of Chagdud Rinpoche, I felt very guilty because I realized what a precious opportunity I had blown. During my retreat, whenever I would think of His Holiness, my deep, heart-felt longing to be in his presence intensified, because I knew what an opportunity I had missed. So I prayed one-pointedly to Khyentse Rinpoche and began to receive teachings from him in my dreams. In these dreams, he was always in the same big temple like a palace and he was always on the second floor. A few lamas that I recognized were always there. But on the day of his passing, in September 1991, he asked each of us questions about Dzog-chen and we each answered according to our own understanding. Then he gave us brief instructions and asked, “Are you sure you’ve got it?” We all nodded. Then he told us that if, in the future, we had any doubts about Dzogchen practice we should read a particular text by Longchen Rabjam and it would help resolve those doubts. The minute he said that, I realized he was dying. I started crying in the dream and when I woke up at four in the morning I was still crying— there were tears everywhere. I called Rigdzin Ling to see if they had heard anything. At first they hadn’t, but later that day someone called back with the news that His Holiness had passed away.
I felt very lonely. I called my father, who was on pilgrimage in China. I was very emotional and I said to him, “I think I want to go. I don’t really care about three-year retreat. I just want to go to pay my respects and do practice.” In response, Rinpoche gave me a very brief teaching on guru yoga. With just a few words, he made me feel free to go, yet at the same time he made me un- derstand that going and staying in retreat were exactly the same. With those few words, he completely cut my attachment to being in Nepal, so I didn’t leave retreat.
But sometimes when I practiced guru yoga I still thought about it. Then one day I really started to think that living was not so worthwhile. So I prayed to Khyentse Rinpoche and went to sleep. In my dream I saw him in the same palace but this time on a very high throne, giving empowerments. I came a little late, so I sat by the door. When he finished and I went up to receive his blessings, I said, “Please take me with you.” Then he pulled my head, and it was very strange because it stretched all the way up to his throne and into his lap but somehow my feet still touched the ground. Then he asked me for some scissors and, when they appeared in my hand, I gave them to him. He took a big clump of hair and said, “O fortunate son, it is not time for you to come yet, but it is good to think in this way.” And he cut off some of my hair. Then he put his huge hands on the sides of my head. When I woke up, I could still feel the warmth and softness of those hands. Later when I sat down to do practice, I could feel quite a change in my meditation.
Another turning point in my practice was my connection with Tromge Tulku Arik Rinpoche, although due to my lack of merit I never met him. When Chagdud Rinpoche, Khadro, and I went to Tibet in 1987, we traveled to Tulku Arik Rinpoche’s hermitage on a small hill near Tromge Monastery. We came around a ridge, and the minute I saw the hill I was a different person. It really did something to me. The qualities of enlightenment. It came very naturally, and I knew right away that I wanted to stop eating meat and to give up worldly things. True dharma arose just from seeing the hill Tulku Arik lived on.
In order to establish our connection with him, Tulku Arik Rinpoche gave Chagdud Khadro and I a longevity blessing through his retreat cabin window. At that time my ordinary thoughts dissolved and I rested naturally in rigpa—awareness.
When I met H.H. Jigme P’hun- tsok, I felt a very strong connec- tion with him. I haven’t received so many teachings from him, but I had an interesting experience when I first saw him at the airport. Before I could even say hello or receive his blessings, he made a gesture with his index fingers linked, which in Tibet is the sign of friendship. There was a definite connection between us. When I saw that gesture, my practice changed in a nice way, and since then His Holiness has kept me under his care. Whenever I practice Manjushri I see him, especially when I give the peaceful Manjushri empowerment he asked me to be- stow. Sometimes when I’m offer- ing this empowerment, I feel that if I could touch my heart it might be in the shape of him. I have very little knowledge or practice, but what tiny bit I have comes from his kindness. I consider him one of my main teach- ers, because even that first gesture helped to untangle confusion in my practice.
When I first started retreat, I had many different experiences which I now think were obstacles. I would call Rinpoche to tell him about them, and at first he was patient with me, but it seemed that the more I told him the more I would experience. Eventu- ally, after a few months of this, Rinpoche started getting irritat- ed, so I stopped calling him. The phenomena began to dissolve, which disappointed me. Maybe I had just been trying to please Rinpoche so he would praise me. But when he became wrathful I stopped hoping for praise. We can read in the biographies of great masters about how they practiced and related to their own teachers, but it’s difficult to follow their examples because our own habits are so strong. After three or four months, I realized how Rinpoche had in one moment cut through months of useless thoughts.
As I said, when I was in retreat I often dreamt of H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche. In the daytime if my view wavered or my rec- ognition was not so stable then in my dreams, when he gave me blessings, he would either turn his head away or touch me with just one finger. It was very powerful being poked on the head with one finger. It corrected me naturally.
So these are some of the masters I think of as my teachers. My two main teachers are my father and H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Chagdud Rinpoche is both my father and my teacher, but mostly our relationship is as teacher and student.
LT: You mentioned once how important it is for Chagdud Rinpoche’s students to start doing the practices that are his terma.
Jigme Rinpoche: Rinpoche never calls them terma; he prefers to call them pure visions. But other lamas have predicted that he would discover terma and that’s what I think they are. It is my thought that since we have the texts we should request the teachings and empowerments and start doing the practices. I was hoping to take these teachings to Chagdud, Tromge, and Tenpel gonpas in Tibet so they could establish them there. But when I asked Rinpoche about it, he said it wasn’t time to do the practices openly yet.
He’s not making a big deal about them, because he is humble and respects other terma that were revealed before his. I think it is our responsibility to request these teachings and empowerments and try to hold the practices; otherwise they might be lost. Although many great tertons have discovered terma, and although there may be texts for these practices, in some cases there is no lineage because no one did the practice. The omniscient Padma- sambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal hid particular teachings to be revealed at a certain time; I’m sure Rinpoche’s treasures are meant for this generation— otherwise he would not have revealed them.
LT: What is the difference between pure vision and terma?
Jigme Rinpoche: Terma are teachings that were spoken by great masters in the past such as Guru Padmasambhava. They were then hidden intact, in various ways, such as earth terma and mind terma, to be revealed, with the blessings of Guru Pad- masambhava, by great masters in degenerate times in order to benefit beings.
Pure vision depends on, and is an expression of, the mas- ter’s realization. Those with less realization may have a medi- tative experience and write things down, but a pure vision can still be tainted by their own expectations or mixed with their own experiences. But the meditation of such great masters as Chagdud Rinpoche and H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche is unwavering. Their view is grounded and unchanging, so their visions are authentic.
It may sound like I’m just praising my relatives, but in the Tromge family each generation has a Tara siddha. Khen Rinpo- che, Khenpo Achung, and many other lamas around Tromtar, Tibet, believe that my father is the Tara siddha of this generation. That’s quite obvious because he has many visions and terma con- cerning Tara, including one very elaborate Green Tara sadhana. Also H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche used to tell me that my father is a siddha who mastered Vajrakilaya. Basically, if you are a master of view then everything else follows, but at the same time indi- viduals do have connections with specific practices.
LT: Could you tell us about your ongoing dharma projects in Asia?
Jigme Rinpoche: I have two current projects in eastern Tibet and another that will begin this summer. At Chagdud Gonpa, the oldest monastery in the Nyarong region and the seat of H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, the shedra project is almost two-thirds com- pleted. My intention is to serve and extend Rinpoche’s activities by making the school available to both monks and lay people.
The second project is the construction of a drubdra [retreat facility] at Tromge Monastery, my family monastery. I feel that it is important to provide an environment where many students can benefit from doing traditional retreats under the guidance of great masters such as Tromge Khachod Wangpo, a great- grandson of Terton Sogyal, and Tromge Trungpa Rinpoche.
The third project—another drubdra—will begin this sum- mer at Nyugshul Monastery in Tromtar Valley, the seat of Khen- po Lungtok and Khenpo Ngaga. The abbot of the monastery is Khenpo Ngakchung, the incarnation of Khenpo Ngaga, who was an emanation of Vimalamitra. There is already a shedra there, but the drubdra will help to ensure that the lineage of these two great khenpos can continue.
I am equally involved in all my projects, but the most challenging has been the construction of what will be the largest Guru Rinpoche statue ever built, which will be located on a site in the Parping Valley, just a few hundred feet from Yangleshod Cave. I am building the statue to help fulfill a prophecy of great masters of the past who predicted that to do so would bring peace to the world. The land has been purchased, and I am now in the process of raising funds for the project, which will also include a temple. I hope to begin construction in 2002.
LT: You are in an interesting position because you were trained in Asia yet live in the West. You travel back and forth. Do you have any advice for Western dharma practitioners about keeping the dharma pure?
Jigme Rinpoche: It is very important to keep the dharma pure. “Pure” means not being influenced by the three poisons. “Pure” means staying away from the negative mind. Keeping dharma pure all depends on how pure our intention is. For that reason, it is important to contemplate and try to understand the suffering of samsara. The more we understand the suffering of samsara, the more we are able to allow our pure intention anddharma to grow. Faith and devotion to the Buddha, dharma, and sangha are essential. Without them we will not be able to receive the enlightened blessings that are necessary to reveal our own buddha nature. When you recognize the qualities of the Buddha, dharma, and sangha, then your faith and devotion will arise naturally.
One thing to be avoided, which can happen in both the West and East, is when certain students, who want to be close to the lama or have the lama to themselves, push others away to “protect” the lama. This can disturb others’ practice and make people think this is an appropriate way to practice Vajrayana or show de- votion to a teacher. But it shows a weakness in one’s practice and a misunderstanding of guru yoga. So it is important to recognize this if it arises in our own practice and to dissolve it.
I’ve been to many different centers, and I’m very happy to see how harmonious our Chagdud Gonpa sangha is under Rinpoche’s kind and compassionate guidance. I see that many of Rinpoche’s senior students are content with their practice. They aren’t trying to show off how much they know. In my trav- els I often see people who teach yet don’t have any practice, understanding, or the blessings of their own teacher, and this is very scary. The whole world knows that Rinpoche is one of the living Dzogchen masters. Some of Rinpoche’s senior students have understanding of his teachings, have recognition, and have done practice. I’m very happy about this and I hope it continues, because eventually these students will help to hold the lineage. Right now we have some masters from Asia, but eventually our lineage has to be taken on by Western practitioners as well.
