Khentrul Rinpoche has been in the United States for more than a year, traveling and teaching at Chagdud Gonpa centers and other places throughout the country. Lama Dorje and Lama Trinley interviewed him for the Wind Horse in Cottage Grove last November with Paloma Lopez translating.
Wind Horse: What first brought you to the United States?
Khentrul Rinpoche: I had been away from Tibet for more than five years, studying and teaching at Kyabjé Penor Rinpoche’s monastery in India. On my way back to Tibet, I received a phone call from H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, who asked me to come to the United States to teach at his centers and help him start a shedra, or dharma school. He had requested that Kyabjé Moktsa Rinpoche and Kyabjé Drimed Zhingkyong, both of Katok Monastery, find him a khenpo (professor of Buddhism) who met his criterion—someone from the Katok lineage who could teach anything. He said that Moktsa Rinpoche had then referred him to me.
I didn’t want to be away from my monastery, Katok Mardo Tashi Choling in Tibet, any longer. I felt a responsibility toward the monks and lamas there. So I told Chagdud Rinpoche that I needed to go back to check on them; if it seemed as though I could leave, I would consider coming to Rigdzin Ling.
When I returned to Mardo Tashi Choling, the lamas and monks were so happy to see me. Although Moktsa Rinpoche had already told them that I was going to America, they begged me not to leave again. I then went to visit Moktsa Rinpoche, who said, “It is wonderful you came. It is nice to see you. Now you have to go to America.” I told him how much my monks relied on me as a teacher. He replied, “That’s no problem. I can give them fifteen teachers if you want.” Then he wrote a long letter of explanation to my monastery.
Moktsa Rinpoche had cared for me since I was a very young child, and I am very grateful to him. Moreover, he is the head of all of the Katok monasteries, and I have received from him transmissions of the kama and terma traditions, as well as all the empowerments of the Katok lineage. So I agreed to go.
Chagdud Rinpoche passed away soon after I arrived in the United States; I was extremely disappointed, because I had met him only twice. Despite Rinpoche’s passing, a shedra was convened last summer, taking place for more than a month at Rigdzin Ling. The Chagdud Gonpa sanghas that I have visited are very enthusiastic about the teachings, and I aspire to do my best to help them. When I spoke with Mok tsa Rinpoche recently, his instructions to me were very clear: “Now that Chagdud Rinpoche has died, you will not return to Tibet. You have to help the centers in America.” So that is what I’m doing.
WH: What is a shedra?
KR: A shedra is a dharma school that emphasizes study and contemplation. In Tibet we study many different texts over many years, but in America I think we can focus on the essentials— just enough contemplation and study to learn how to practice. These essentials include such texts as The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva and Shantideva’s The Way of the Bodhisattva, as well as teachings on the six perfections, emptiness, and buddha nature, and some teachings on tantra.
WH: Rinpoche, you have mentioned that Westerners tend to have strong intellects and sharp minds but maybe not so much faith.
KR: Often when they begin to study dharma, Westerners don’t have so much faith. But slowly, through reasoning, confident faith arises. That is the best kind of faith; it can’t be lost, because it is based on knowing. In America you are well educated. When I teach calm abiding practice here, even those who haven’t received many teachings understand. If I were to teach this to new people in Tibet, they wouldn’t grasp it because most people haven’t learned how to study.
WH: In the last few years of his life, it seemed that Chagdud Rinpoche’s connection with the Katok lineage was very important to him.
KR: In the Katok lineage is a cycle called Triyik Norbu Melong, or The Jeweled Mirror of Advice, which includes everything from the preliminary practices to the Great Perfection. Compiled by Getsé Pandita, it comprises all the works of the Katok lineage. There are five Golden Throne holders of Katok and one of them, Getsé Rinpoche, is a reincarnation of Getsé Pandita. Moktsa Rinpoche gave the transmission of this cycle privately to Chagdud Rinpoche at Katok Bero Gonpa in Nepal. There are about two hundred branch monasteries of Katok; Chagdud Rinpoche’s monastery in Kham and Katok Mardo Choling are two of the larger ones. So we have those connections. Another is that my monastery was Dudjom Lingpa’s first residence—he lived there for about sixteen years. Dudjom Lingpa’s tulku, Ky abjé Dudjom Rinpoche, was one of Chagdud Rinpoche’s root teachers. In addition, there were two great tertons at Katok: Rigdzin Duddul Dorje and Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo. Rigdzin Duddul Dorje’s fifth emanation was Dudjom Rinpoche. In these ways, the interdependent connections between Katok, Chagdud Rinpoche, and my monastery are very good.
WH: At this time, what do you think is most important for us to focus on in our practice?
KR: We need to pray that the identity of Chagdud Rinpoche’s tulku is unquestionable. Doubt about it can create many obstacles to the dharma. For this reason, everyone should focus on the aspiration that Rinpoche’s indisputable tulku return. The interdependence of such aspirations and prayers at this time is crucial. Because his tulku hasn’t yet taken birth, there isn’t a specific child to focus on. Once the tulku is born and recognized, we will have someone to rely on.
WH: How do we know if a teacher is someone we can rely on?
KR: To practice dharma, we need to rely on a qualified teacher. When we do all of our negativity—anger, attachment, and ignorance—begins to decrease; at the same time, our positive qualities increase like the waxing moon. They say that when we rely on a teacher, we take on all of his or her positive qualities in the same way that clay pressed into a tsatsa mold reflects the contours of the mold.
But we have to make sure that the teacher is authentic. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she sits on a high throne, is famous, or is wealthy—a teacher’s authenticity isn’t determined by outer appearance. The teachings say, “Don’t rely on the individual, rely on the dharma.” It is the dharma in the teacher’s mind and heart that we rely on. That someone can teach the dharma doesn’t mean that he or she is truly practicing or has developed positive qualities. The most important thing is that a teacher’s motivation be that of bodhichitta, that the teacher teach and act in harmony with the dharma. It takes time to know whether a teacher has these qualities. If you find a teacher who has them, then you have found someone you can rely on.
When I was a young monk, I had a teacher who was a very unassuming and helpful khenpo. At the time, I did not recognize his qualities. It was only later, when I began to travel, that I came to understand how excellent a teacher he was. Subsequently, I returned and was able to receive the most profound transmissions from him. Although he has since passed away, I will always remember him as a teacher with the right qualities.
Whether we meet a good teacher completely depends on our merit. If a teacher is truly a Great Perfection master, it will be reflected in the teacher’s conduct—he or she won’t be like ordinary people. Some lamas say that you don’t need to practice the preliminaries to accumulate merit or purify obscurations. This kind of thinking can create obstacles to the dharma. When the dharma first came to Tibet, some teachers told people that they didn’t need to study, engage in virtuous activities, gather the accumulations, or refine away obscurations; rather they could just focus on the Great Perfection. To rectify this, panditas (accomplished scholars) were invited from India to clarify the teachings. They taught in the traditional way, presenting the dharma step-by-step. That dharma has flourished in Tibet is due in part to these masters’ great kindness.
There are two kinds of individuals, with differing capacities. The first, a sudden (or spontaneous) realizer, is someone who has accumulated merit and refined away obscurations to the extent that he or she is ready for the highest practices. The second is a gradual realizer, someone who trains his or her mind step by step, gradually traversing the stages of the path toward realization. Sudden realizers don’t have to follow all the steps of working with their minds because theirs have already changed. They can become completely liberated with just one teaching or empowerment.
In my travels, I have met students who thought for years that Great Perfection practice was all they needed to do. But now they realize that their minds haven’t changed. They lack enthusiasm for virtuous activities, and their faith, com passion, and loving kindness have not increased. Nor have their negative emotions lessened. They want to start from the beginning, training their minds step by step.
We each need to be our own mind’s witness. There is a saying that if we are honest with ourselves and do our very best to develop a kind heart and work with our mind, even were we to meet Guru Rinpoche today, there would be no need for embarrassment.
Khentrul Rinpoche has been in the United States for more than a year, traveling and teaching at Chagdud Gonpa centers and other places throughout the country. Lama Dorje and Lama Trinley interviewed him for the Wind Horse in Cottage Grove last November with Paloma Lopez translating.
Wind Horse: What first brought you to the United States?
Khentrul Rinpoche: I had been away from Tibet for more than five years, studying and teaching at Kyabjé Penor Rinpoche’s monastery in India. On my way back to Tibet, I received a phone call from H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, who asked me to come to the United States to teach at his centers and help him start a shedra, or dharma school. He had requested that Kyabjé Moktsa Rinpoche and Kyabjé Drimed Zhingkyong, both of Katok Monastery, find him a khenpo (professor of Buddhism) who met his criterion—someone from the Katok lineage who could teach anything. He said that Moktsa Rinpoche had then referred him to me.
I didn’t want to be away from my monastery, Katok Mardo Tashi Choling in Tibet, any longer. I felt a responsibility toward the monks and lamas there. So I told Chagdud Rinpoche that I needed to go back to check on them; if it seemed as though I could leave, I would consider coming to Rigdzin Ling.
When I returned to Mardo Tashi Choling, the lamas and monks were so happy to see me. Although Moktsa Rinpoche had already told them that I was going to America, they begged me not to leave again. I then went to visit Moktsa Rinpoche, who said, “It is wonderful you came. It is nice to see you. Now you have to go to America.” I told him how much my monks relied on me as a teacher. He replied, “That’s no problem. I can give them fifteen teachers if you want.” Then he wrote a long letter of explanation to my monastery.
Moktsa Rinpoche had cared for me since I was a very young child, and I am very grateful to him. Moreover, he is the head of all of the Katok monasteries, and I have received from him transmissions of the kama and terma traditions, as well as all the empowerments of the Katok lineage. So I agreed to go.
Chagdud Rinpoche passed away soon after I arrived in the United States; I was extremely disappointed, because I had met him only twice. Despite Rinpoche’s passing, a shedra was convened last summer, taking place for more than a month at Rigdzin Ling. The Chagdud Gonpa sanghas that I have visited are very enthusiastic about the teachings, and I aspire to do my best to help them. When I spoke with Mok tsa Rinpoche recently, his instructions to me were very clear: “Now that Chagdud Rinpoche has died, you will not return to Tibet. You have to help the centers in America.” So that is what I’m doing.
WH: What is a shedra?
KR: A shedra is a dharma school that emphasizes study and contemplation. In Tibet we study many different texts over many years, but in America I think we can focus on the essentials— just enough contemplation and study to learn how to practice. These essentials include such texts as The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva and Shantideva’s The Way of the Bodhisattva, as well as teachings on the six perfections, emptiness, and buddha nature, and some teachings on tantra.
WH: Rinpoche, you have mentioned that Westerners tend to have strong intellects and sharp minds but maybe not so much faith.
KR: Often when they begin to study dharma, Westerners don’t have so much faith. But slowly, through reasoning, confident faith arises. That is the best kind of faith; it can’t be lost, because it is based on knowing. In America you are well educated. When I teach calm abiding practice here, even those who haven’t received many teachings understand. If I were to teach this to new people in Tibet, they wouldn’t grasp it because most people haven’t learned how to study.
WH: In the last few years of his life, it seemed that Chagdud Rinpoche’s connection with the Katok lineage was very important to him.
KR: In the Katok lineage is a cycle called Triyik Norbu Melong, or The Jeweled Mirror of Advice, which includes everything from the preliminary practices to the Great Perfection. Compiled by Getsé Pandita, it comprises all the works of the Katok lineage. There are five Golden Throne holders of Katok and one of them, Getsé Rinpoche, is a reincarnation of Getsé Pandita. Moktsa Rinpoche gave the transmission of this cycle privately to Chagdud Rinpoche at Katok Bero Gonpa in Nepal. There are about two hundred branch monasteries of Katok; Chagdud Rinpoche’s monastery in Kham and Katok Mardo Choling are two of the larger ones. So we have those connections. Another is that my monastery was Dudjom Lingpa’s first residence—he lived there for about sixteen years. Dudjom Lingpa’s tulku, Ky abjé Dudjom Rinpoche, was one of Chagdud Rinpoche’s root teachers. In addition, there were two great tertons at Katok: Rigdzin Duddul Dorje and Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo. Rigdzin Duddul Dorje’s fifth emanation was Dudjom Rinpoche. In these ways, the interdependent connections between Katok, Chagdud Rinpoche, and my monastery are very good.
WH: At this time, what do you think is most important for us to focus on in our practice?
KR: We need to pray that the identity of Chagdud Rinpoche’s tulku is unquestionable. Doubt about it can create many obstacles to the dharma. For this reason, everyone should focus on the aspiration that Rinpoche’s indisputable tulku return. The interdependence of such aspirations and prayers at this time is crucial. Because his tulku hasn’t yet taken birth, there isn’t a specific child to focus on. Once the tulku is born and recognized, we will have someone to rely on.
WH: How do we know if a teacher is someone we can rely on?
KR: To practice dharma, we need to rely on a qualified teacher. When we do all of our negativity—anger, attachment, and ignorance—begins to decrease; at the same time, our positive qualities increase like the waxing moon. They say that when we rely on a teacher, we take on all of his or her positive qualities in the same way that clay pressed into a tsatsa mold reflects the contours of the mold.
But we have to make sure that the teacher is authentic. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she sits on a high throne, is famous, or is wealthy—a teacher’s authenticity isn’t determined by outer appearance. The teachings say, “Don’t rely on the individual, rely on the dharma.” It is the dharma in the teacher’s mind and heart that we rely on. That someone can teach the dharma doesn’t mean that he or she is truly practicing or has developed positive qualities. The most important thing is that a teacher’s motivation be that of bodhichitta, that the teacher teach and act in harmony with the dharma. It takes time to know whether a teacher has these qualities. If you find a teacher who has them, then you have found someone you can rely on.
When I was a young monk, I had a teacher who was a very unassuming and helpful khenpo. At the time, I did not recognize his qualities. It was only later, when I began to travel, that I came to understand how excellent a teacher he was. Subsequently, I returned and was able to receive the most profound transmissions from him. Although he has since passed away, I will always remember him as a teacher with the right qualities.
Whether we meet a good teacher completely depends on our merit. If a teacher is truly a Great Perfection master, it will be reflected in the teacher’s conduct—he or she won’t be like ordinary people. Some lamas say that you don’t need to practice the preliminaries to accumulate merit or purify obscurations. This kind of thinking can create obstacles to the dharma. When the dharma first came to Tibet, some teachers told people that they didn’t need to study, engage in virtuous activities, gather the accumulations, or refine away obscurations; rather they could just focus on the Great Perfection. To rectify this, panditas (accomplished scholars) were invited from India to clarify the teachings. They taught in the traditional way, presenting the dharma step-by-step. That dharma has flourished in Tibet is due in part to these masters’ great kindness.
There are two kinds of individuals, with differing capacities. The first, a sudden (or spontaneous) realizer, is someone who has accumulated merit and refined away obscurations to the extent that he or she is ready for the highest practices. The second is a gradual realizer, someone who trains his or her mind step by step, gradually traversing the stages of the path toward realization. Sudden realizers don’t have to follow all the steps of working with their minds because theirs have already changed. They can become completely liberated with just one teaching or empowerment.
In my travels, I have met students who thought for years that Great Perfection practice was all they needed to do. But now they realize that their minds haven’t changed. They lack enthusiasm for virtuous activities, and their faith, com passion, and loving kindness have not increased. Nor have their negative emotions lessened. They want to start from the beginning, training their minds step by step.
We each need to be our own mind’s witness. There is a saying that if we are honest with ourselves and do our very best to develop a kind heart and work with our mind, even were we to meet Guru Rinpoche today, there would be no need for embarrassment.
Khentrul Rinpoche has been in the United States for more than a year, traveling and teaching at Chagdud Gonpa centers and other places throughout the country. Lama Dorje and Lama Trinley interviewed him for the Wind Horse in Cottage Grove last November with Paloma Lopez translating.
Wind Horse: What first brought you to the United States?
Khentrul Rinpoche: I had been away from Tibet for more than five years, studying and teaching at Kyabjé Penor Rinpoche’s monastery in India. On my way back to Tibet, I received a phone call from H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, who asked me to come to the United States to teach at his centers and help him start a shedra, or dharma school. He had requested that Kyabjé Moktsa Rinpoche and Kyabjé Drimed Zhingkyong, both of Katok Monastery, find him a khenpo (professor of Buddhism) who met his criterion—someone from the Katok lineage who could teach anything. He said that Moktsa Rinpoche had then referred him to me.
I didn’t want to be away from my monastery, Katok Mardo Tashi Choling in Tibet, any longer. I felt a responsibility toward the monks and lamas there. So I told Chagdud Rinpoche that I needed to go back to check on them; if it seemed as though I could leave, I would consider coming to Rigdzin Ling.
When I returned to Mardo Tashi Choling, the lamas and monks were so happy to see me. Although Moktsa Rinpoche had already told them that I was going to America, they begged me not to leave again. I then went to visit Moktsa Rinpoche, who said, “It is wonderful you came. It is nice to see you. Now you have to go to America.” I told him how much my monks relied on me as a teacher. He replied, “That’s no problem. I can give them fifteen teachers if you want.” Then he wrote a long letter of explanation to my monastery.
Moktsa Rinpoche had cared for me since I was a very young child, and I am very grateful to him. Moreover, he is the head of all of the Katok monasteries, and I have received from him transmissions of the kama and terma traditions, as well as all the empowerments of the Katok lineage. So I agreed to go.
Chagdud Rinpoche passed away soon after I arrived in the United States; I was extremely disappointed, because I had met him only twice. Despite Rinpoche’s passing, a shedra was convened last summer, taking place for more than a month at Rigdzin Ling. The Chagdud Gonpa sanghas that I have visited are very enthusiastic about the teachings, and I aspire to do my best to help them. When I spoke with Mok tsa Rinpoche recently, his instructions to me were very clear: “Now that Chagdud Rinpoche has died, you will not return to Tibet. You have to help the centers in America.” So that is what I’m doing.
WH: What is a shedra?
KR: A shedra is a dharma school that emphasizes study and contemplation. In Tibet we study many different texts over many years, but in America I think we can focus on the essentials— just enough contemplation and study to learn how to practice. These essentials include such texts as The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva and Shantideva’s The Way of the Bodhisattva, as well as teachings on the six perfections, emptiness, and buddha nature, and some teachings on tantra.
WH: Rinpoche, you have mentioned that Westerners tend to have strong intellects and sharp minds but maybe not so much faith.
KR: Often when they begin to study dharma, Westerners don’t have so much faith. But slowly, through reasoning, confident faith arises. That is the best kind of faith; it can’t be lost, because it is based on knowing. In America you are well educated. When I teach calm abiding practice here, even those who haven’t received many teachings understand. If I were to teach this to new people in Tibet, they wouldn’t grasp it because most people haven’t learned how to study.
WH: In the last few years of his life, it seemed that Chagdud Rinpoche’s connection with the Katok lineage was very important to him.
KR: In the Katok lineage is a cycle called Triyik Norbu Melong, or The Jeweled Mirror of Advice, which includes everything from the preliminary practices to the Great Perfection. Compiled by Getsé Pandita, it comprises all the works of the Katok lineage. There are five Golden Throne holders of Katok and one of them, Getsé Rinpoche, is a reincarnation of Getsé Pandita. Moktsa Rinpoche gave the transmission of this cycle privately to Chagdud Rinpoche at Katok Bero Gonpa in Nepal. There are about two hundred branch monasteries of Katok; Chagdud Rinpoche’s monastery in Kham and Katok Mardo Choling are two of the larger ones. So we have those connections. Another is that my monastery was Dudjom Lingpa’s first residence—he lived there for about sixteen years. Dudjom Lingpa’s tulku, Ky abjé Dudjom Rinpoche, was one of Chagdud Rinpoche’s root teachers. In addition, there were two great tertons at Katok: Rigdzin Duddul Dorje and Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo. Rigdzin Duddul Dorje’s fifth emanation was Dudjom Rinpoche. In these ways, the interdependent connections between Katok, Chagdud Rinpoche, and my monastery are very good.
WH: At this time, what do you think is most important for us to focus on in our practice?
KR: We need to pray that the identity of Chagdud Rinpoche’s tulku is unquestionable. Doubt about it can create many obstacles to the dharma. For this reason, everyone should focus on the aspiration that Rinpoche’s indisputable tulku return. The interdependence of such aspirations and prayers at this time is crucial. Because his tulku hasn’t yet taken birth, there isn’t a specific child to focus on. Once the tulku is born and recognized, we will have someone to rely on.
WH: How do we know if a teacher is someone we can rely on?
KR: To practice dharma, we need to rely on a qualified teacher. When we do all of our negativity—anger, attachment, and ignorance—begins to decrease; at the same time, our positive qualities increase like the waxing moon. They say that when we rely on a teacher, we take on all of his or her positive qualities in the same way that clay pressed into a tsatsa mold reflects the contours of the mold.
But we have to make sure that the teacher is authentic. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she sits on a high throne, is famous, or is wealthy—a teacher’s authenticity isn’t determined by outer appearance. The teachings say, “Don’t rely on the individual, rely on the dharma.” It is the dharma in the teacher’s mind and heart that we rely on. That someone can teach the dharma doesn’t mean that he or she is truly practicing or has developed positive qualities. The most important thing is that a teacher’s motivation be that of bodhichitta, that the teacher teach and act in harmony with the dharma. It takes time to know whether a teacher has these qualities. If you find a teacher who has them, then you have found someone you can rely on.
When I was a young monk, I had a teacher who was a very unassuming and helpful khenpo. At the time, I did not recognize his qualities. It was only later, when I began to travel, that I came to understand how excellent a teacher he was. Subsequently, I returned and was able to receive the most profound transmissions from him. Although he has since passed away, I will always remember him as a teacher with the right qualities.
Whether we meet a good teacher completely depends on our merit. If a teacher is truly a Great Perfection master, it will be reflected in the teacher’s conduct—he or she won’t be like ordinary people. Some lamas say that you don’t need to practice the preliminaries to accumulate merit or purify obscurations. This kind of thinking can create obstacles to the dharma. When the dharma first came to Tibet, some teachers told people that they didn’t need to study, engage in virtuous activities, gather the accumulations, or refine away obscurations; rather they could just focus on the Great Perfection. To rectify this, panditas (accomplished scholars) were invited from India to clarify the teachings. They taught in the traditional way, presenting the dharma step-by-step. That dharma has flourished in Tibet is due in part to these masters’ great kindness.
There are two kinds of individuals, with differing capacities. The first, a sudden (or spontaneous) realizer, is someone who has accumulated merit and refined away obscurations to the extent that he or she is ready for the highest practices. The second is a gradual realizer, someone who trains his or her mind step by step, gradually traversing the stages of the path toward realization. Sudden realizers don’t have to follow all the steps of working with their minds because theirs have already changed. They can become completely liberated with just one teaching or empowerment.
In my travels, I have met students who thought for years that Great Perfection practice was all they needed to do. But now they realize that their minds haven’t changed. They lack enthusiasm for virtuous activities, and their faith, com passion, and loving kindness have not increased. Nor have their negative emotions lessened. They want to start from the beginning, training their minds step by step.
We each need to be our own mind’s witness. There is a saying that if we are honest with ourselves and do our very best to develop a kind heart and work with our mind, even were we to meet Guru Rinpoche today, there would be no need for embarrassment.
Khentrul Rinpoche has been in the United States for more than a year, traveling and teaching at Chagdud Gonpa centers and other places throughout the country. Lama Dorje and Lama Trinley interviewed him for the Wind Horse in Cottage Grove last November with Paloma Lopez translating.
Wind Horse: What first brought you to the United States?
Khentrul Rinpoche: I had been away from Tibet for more than five years, studying and teaching at Kyabjé Penor Rinpoche’s monastery in India. On my way back to Tibet, I received a phone call from H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, who asked me to come to the United States to teach at his centers and help him start a shedra, or dharma school. He had requested that Kyabjé Moktsa Rinpoche and Kyabjé Drimed Zhingkyong, both of Katok Monastery, find him a khenpo (professor of Buddhism) who met his criterion—someone from the Katok lineage who could teach anything. He said that Moktsa Rinpoche had then referred him to me.
I didn’t want to be away from my monastery, Katok Mardo Tashi Choling in Tibet, any longer. I felt a responsibility toward the monks and lamas there. So I told Chagdud Rinpoche that I needed to go back to check on them; if it seemed as though I could leave, I would consider coming to Rigdzin Ling.
When I returned to Mardo Tashi Choling, the lamas and monks were so happy to see me. Although Moktsa Rinpoche had already told them that I was going to America, they begged me not to leave again. I then went to visit Moktsa Rinpoche, who said, “It is wonderful you came. It is nice to see you. Now you have to go to America.” I told him how much my monks relied on me as a teacher. He replied, “That’s no problem. I can give them fifteen teachers if you want.” Then he wrote a long letter of explanation to my monastery.
Moktsa Rinpoche had cared for me since I was a very young child, and I am very grateful to him. Moreover, he is the head of all of the Katok monasteries, and I have received from him transmissions of the kama and terma traditions, as well as all the empowerments of the Katok lineage. So I agreed to go.
Chagdud Rinpoche passed away soon after I arrived in the United States; I was extremely disappointed, because I had met him only twice. Despite Rinpoche’s passing, a shedra was convened last summer, taking place for more than a month at Rigdzin Ling. The Chagdud Gonpa sanghas that I have visited are very enthusiastic about the teachings, and I aspire to do my best to help them. When I spoke with Mok tsa Rinpoche recently, his instructions to me were very clear: “Now that Chagdud Rinpoche has died, you will not return to Tibet. You have to help the centers in America.” So that is what I’m doing.
WH: What is a shedra?
KR: A shedra is a dharma school that emphasizes study and contemplation. In Tibet we study many different texts over many years, but in America I think we can focus on the essentials— just enough contemplation and study to learn how to practice. These essentials include such texts as The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva and Shantideva’s The Way of the Bodhisattva, as well as teachings on the six perfections, emptiness, and buddha nature, and some teachings on tantra.
WH: Rinpoche, you have mentioned that Westerners tend to have strong intellects and sharp minds but maybe not so much faith.
KR: Often when they begin to study dharma, Westerners don’t have so much faith. But slowly, through reasoning, confident faith arises. That is the best kind of faith; it can’t be lost, because it is based on knowing. In America you are well educated. When I teach calm abiding practice here, even those who haven’t received many teachings understand. If I were to teach this to new people in Tibet, they wouldn’t grasp it because most people haven’t learned how to study.
WH: In the last few years of his life, it seemed that Chagdud Rinpoche’s connection with the Katok lineage was very important to him.
KR: In the Katok lineage is a cycle called Triyik Norbu Melong, or The Jeweled Mirror of Advice, which includes everything from the preliminary practices to the Great Perfection. Compiled by Getsé Pandita, it comprises all the works of the Katok lineage. There are five Golden Throne holders of Katok and one of them, Getsé Rinpoche, is a reincarnation of Getsé Pandita. Moktsa Rinpoche gave the transmission of this cycle privately to Chagdud Rinpoche at Katok Bero Gonpa in Nepal. There are about two hundred branch monasteries of Katok; Chagdud Rinpoche’s monastery in Kham and Katok Mardo Choling are two of the larger ones. So we have those connections. Another is that my monastery was Dudjom Lingpa’s first residence—he lived there for about sixteen years. Dudjom Lingpa’s tulku, Ky abjé Dudjom Rinpoche, was one of Chagdud Rinpoche’s root teachers. In addition, there were two great tertons at Katok: Rigdzin Duddul Dorje and Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo. Rigdzin Duddul Dorje’s fifth emanation was Dudjom Rinpoche. In these ways, the interdependent connections between Katok, Chagdud Rinpoche, and my monastery are very good.
WH: At this time, what do you think is most important for us to focus on in our practice?
KR: We need to pray that the identity of Chagdud Rinpoche’s tulku is unquestionable. Doubt about it can create many obstacles to the dharma. For this reason, everyone should focus on the aspiration that Rinpoche’s indisputable tulku return. The interdependence of such aspirations and prayers at this time is crucial. Because his tulku hasn’t yet taken birth, there isn’t a specific child to focus on. Once the tulku is born and recognized, we will have someone to rely on.
WH: How do we know if a teacher is someone we can rely on?
KR: To practice dharma, we need to rely on a qualified teacher. When we do all of our negativity—anger, attachment, and ignorance—begins to decrease; at the same time, our positive qualities increase like the waxing moon. They say that when we rely on a teacher, we take on all of his or her positive qualities in the same way that clay pressed into a tsatsa mold reflects the contours of the mold.
But we have to make sure that the teacher is authentic. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she sits on a high throne, is famous, or is wealthy—a teacher’s authenticity isn’t determined by outer appearance. The teachings say, “Don’t rely on the individual, rely on the dharma.” It is the dharma in the teacher’s mind and heart that we rely on. That someone can teach the dharma doesn’t mean that he or she is truly practicing or has developed positive qualities. The most important thing is that a teacher’s motivation be that of bodhichitta, that the teacher teach and act in harmony with the dharma. It takes time to know whether a teacher has these qualities. If you find a teacher who has them, then you have found someone you can rely on.
When I was a young monk, I had a teacher who was a very unassuming and helpful khenpo. At the time, I did not recognize his qualities. It was only later, when I began to travel, that I came to understand how excellent a teacher he was. Subsequently, I returned and was able to receive the most profound transmissions from him. Although he has since passed away, I will always remember him as a teacher with the right qualities.
Whether we meet a good teacher completely depends on our merit. If a teacher is truly a Great Perfection master, it will be reflected in the teacher’s conduct—he or she won’t be like ordinary people. Some lamas say that you don’t need to practice the preliminaries to accumulate merit or purify obscurations. This kind of thinking can create obstacles to the dharma. When the dharma first came to Tibet, some teachers told people that they didn’t need to study, engage in virtuous activities, gather the accumulations, or refine away obscurations; rather they could just focus on the Great Perfection. To rectify this, panditas (accomplished scholars) were invited from India to clarify the teachings. They taught in the traditional way, presenting the dharma step-by-step. That dharma has flourished in Tibet is due in part to these masters’ great kindness.
There are two kinds of individuals, with differing capacities. The first, a sudden (or spontaneous) realizer, is someone who has accumulated merit and refined away obscurations to the extent that he or she is ready for the highest practices. The second is a gradual realizer, someone who trains his or her mind step by step, gradually traversing the stages of the path toward realization. Sudden realizers don’t have to follow all the steps of working with their minds because theirs have already changed. They can become completely liberated with just one teaching or empowerment.
In my travels, I have met students who thought for years that Great Perfection practice was all they needed to do. But now they realize that their minds haven’t changed. They lack enthusiasm for virtuous activities, and their faith, com passion, and loving kindness have not increased. Nor have their negative emotions lessened. They want to start from the beginning, training their minds step by step.
We each need to be our own mind’s witness. There is a saying that if we are honest with ourselves and do our very best to develop a kind heart and work with our mind, even were we to meet Guru Rinpoche today, there would be no need for embarrassment.
Khentrul Rinpoche has been in the United States for more than a year, traveling and teaching at Chagdud Gonpa centers and other places throughout the country. Lama Dorje and Lama Trinley interviewed him for the Wind Horse in Cottage Grove last November with Paloma Lopez translating.
Wind Horse: What first brought you to the United States?
Khentrul Rinpoche: I had been away from Tibet for more than five years, studying and teaching at Kyabjé Penor Rinpoche’s monastery in India. On my way back to Tibet, I received a phone call from H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, who asked me to come to the United States to teach at his centers and help him start a shedra, or dharma school. He had requested that Kyabjé Moktsa Rinpoche and Kyabjé Drimed Zhingkyong, both of Katok Monastery, find him a khenpo (professor of Buddhism) who met his criterion—someone from the Katok lineage who could teach anything. He said that Moktsa Rinpoche had then referred him to me.
I didn’t want to be away from my monastery, Katok Mardo Tashi Choling in Tibet, any longer. I felt a responsibility toward the monks and lamas there. So I told Chagdud Rinpoche that I needed to go back to check on them; if it seemed as though I could leave, I would consider coming to Rigdzin Ling.
When I returned to Mardo Tashi Choling, the lamas and monks were so happy to see me. Although Moktsa Rinpoche had already told them that I was going to America, they begged me not to leave again. I then went to visit Moktsa Rinpoche, who said, “It is wonderful you came. It is nice to see you. Now you have to go to America.” I told him how much my monks relied on me as a teacher. He replied, “That’s no problem. I can give them fifteen teachers if you want.” Then he wrote a long letter of explanation to my monastery.
Moktsa Rinpoche had cared for me since I was a very young child, and I am very grateful to him. Moreover, he is the head of all of the Katok monasteries, and I have received from him transmissions of the kama and terma traditions, as well as all the empowerments of the Katok lineage. So I agreed to go.
Chagdud Rinpoche passed away soon after I arrived in the United States; I was extremely disappointed, because I had met him only twice. Despite Rinpoche’s passing, a shedra was convened last summer, taking place for more than a month at Rigdzin Ling. The Chagdud Gonpa sanghas that I have visited are very enthusiastic about the teachings, and I aspire to do my best to help them. When I spoke with Mok tsa Rinpoche recently, his instructions to me were very clear: “Now that Chagdud Rinpoche has died, you will not return to Tibet. You have to help the centers in America.” So that is what I’m doing.
WH: What is a shedra?
KR: A shedra is a dharma school that emphasizes study and contemplation. In Tibet we study many different texts over many years, but in America I think we can focus on the essentials— just enough contemplation and study to learn how to practice. These essentials include such texts as The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva and Shantideva’s The Way of the Bodhisattva, as well as teachings on the six perfections, emptiness, and buddha nature, and some teachings on tantra.
WH: Rinpoche, you have mentioned that Westerners tend to have strong intellects and sharp minds but maybe not so much faith.
KR: Often when they begin to study dharma, Westerners don’t have so much faith. But slowly, through reasoning, confident faith arises. That is the best kind of faith; it can’t be lost, because it is based on knowing. In America you are well educated. When I teach calm abiding practice here, even those who haven’t received many teachings understand. If I were to teach this to new people in Tibet, they wouldn’t grasp it because most people haven’t learned how to study.
WH: In the last few years of his life, it seemed that Chagdud Rinpoche’s connection with the Katok lineage was very important to him.
KR: In the Katok lineage is a cycle called Triyik Norbu Melong, or The Jeweled Mirror of Advice, which includes everything from the preliminary practices to the Great Perfection. Compiled by Getsé Pandita, it comprises all the works of the Katok lineage. There are five Golden Throne holders of Katok and one of them, Getsé Rinpoche, is a reincarnation of Getsé Pandita. Moktsa Rinpoche gave the transmission of this cycle privately to Chagdud Rinpoche at Katok Bero Gonpa in Nepal. There are about two hundred branch monasteries of Katok; Chagdud Rinpoche’s monastery in Kham and Katok Mardo Choling are two of the larger ones. So we have those connections. Another is that my monastery was Dudjom Lingpa’s first residence—he lived there for about sixteen years. Dudjom Lingpa’s tulku, Ky abjé Dudjom Rinpoche, was one of Chagdud Rinpoche’s root teachers. In addition, there were two great tertons at Katok: Rigdzin Duddul Dorje and Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo. Rigdzin Duddul Dorje’s fifth emanation was Dudjom Rinpoche. In these ways, the interdependent connections between Katok, Chagdud Rinpoche, and my monastery are very good.
WH: At this time, what do you think is most important for us to focus on in our practice?
KR: We need to pray that the identity of Chagdud Rinpoche’s tulku is unquestionable. Doubt about it can create many obstacles to the dharma. For this reason, everyone should focus on the aspiration that Rinpoche’s indisputable tulku return. The interdependence of such aspirations and prayers at this time is crucial. Because his tulku hasn’t yet taken birth, there isn’t a specific child to focus on. Once the tulku is born and recognized, we will have someone to rely on.
WH: How do we know if a teacher is someone we can rely on?
KR: To practice dharma, we need to rely on a qualified teacher. When we do all of our negativity—anger, attachment, and ignorance—begins to decrease; at the same time, our positive qualities increase like the waxing moon. They say that when we rely on a teacher, we take on all of his or her positive qualities in the same way that clay pressed into a tsatsa mold reflects the contours of the mold.
But we have to make sure that the teacher is authentic. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she sits on a high throne, is famous, or is wealthy—a teacher’s authenticity isn’t determined by outer appearance. The teachings say, “Don’t rely on the individual, rely on the dharma.” It is the dharma in the teacher’s mind and heart that we rely on. That someone can teach the dharma doesn’t mean that he or she is truly practicing or has developed positive qualities. The most important thing is that a teacher’s motivation be that of bodhichitta, that the teacher teach and act in harmony with the dharma. It takes time to know whether a teacher has these qualities. If you find a teacher who has them, then you have found someone you can rely on.
When I was a young monk, I had a teacher who was a very unassuming and helpful khenpo. At the time, I did not recognize his qualities. It was only later, when I began to travel, that I came to understand how excellent a teacher he was. Subsequently, I returned and was able to receive the most profound transmissions from him. Although he has since passed away, I will always remember him as a teacher with the right qualities.
Whether we meet a good teacher completely depends on our merit. If a teacher is truly a Great Perfection master, it will be reflected in the teacher’s conduct—he or she won’t be like ordinary people. Some lamas say that you don’t need to practice the preliminaries to accumulate merit or purify obscurations. This kind of thinking can create obstacles to the dharma. When the dharma first came to Tibet, some teachers told people that they didn’t need to study, engage in virtuous activities, gather the accumulations, or refine away obscurations; rather they could just focus on the Great Perfection. To rectify this, panditas (accomplished scholars) were invited from India to clarify the teachings. They taught in the traditional way, presenting the dharma step-by-step. That dharma has flourished in Tibet is due in part to these masters’ great kindness.
There are two kinds of individuals, with differing capacities. The first, a sudden (or spontaneous) realizer, is someone who has accumulated merit and refined away obscurations to the extent that he or she is ready for the highest practices. The second is a gradual realizer, someone who trains his or her mind step by step, gradually traversing the stages of the path toward realization. Sudden realizers don’t have to follow all the steps of working with their minds because theirs have already changed. They can become completely liberated with just one teaching or empowerment.
In my travels, I have met students who thought for years that Great Perfection practice was all they needed to do. But now they realize that their minds haven’t changed. They lack enthusiasm for virtuous activities, and their faith, com passion, and loving kindness have not increased. Nor have their negative emotions lessened. They want to start from the beginning, training their minds step by step.
We each need to be our own mind’s witness. There is a saying that if we are honest with ourselves and do our very best to develop a kind heart and work with our mind, even were we to meet Guru Rinpoche today, there would be no need for embarrassment.
