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Dudjom Rinpoche
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H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
Chagdud Rinpoche, Padma Gargyi Wangchuk, the fourteenth recognized Chagdud incarnation, was born in the T'hromtar region of Kham, Tibet in 1930. His father was Sera Khato Tulku, a Gelugpa lama. His mother, Dawa Drolma, widely considered to be an emanation of Tara, had a profound influence on her son's spiritual life. At the age of three he was recognized as the incarnation of Chagdud Tenpai Gyaltsen, a Nyingmapa siddha from Chagdud Gonpa in Nyarong.
Following his recognition, Chagdud Rinpoche was taken to Temp'hel Gonpa where he received his early training, in the Drukpa Kagyu tradition. At the age of eleven entered his first three-year retreat, following which he received numerous teachings, empowerments, and oral transmissions from various spiritual masters. Just a few years later he entered his second three-year retreat under Tromge Trungpa Rinpoche, who told him that Tara practice would be a primary source of accomplishment in his life. Sometime following this retreat, Chagdud Rinpoche made a pilgrimage to Lhasa, where he met his root teacher, Polu Khenpo Dorje. In 1959, upon the Communist Chinese occupation of Tibet, he fled to India, along with Khenpo Dorje, enduring many hardships and difficulties. During the arduous flight, Chagdud Rinpoche expressed to his root guru his aspiration to re-enter extended retreat, but Khenpo Dorje admonished him to support the Tibetan exiles through his teaching. For the rest of his life, Chagdud Rinpoche would tirelessly serve as a teacher, first to Tibetans and then, later, also to Westerners. In 1979 Chagdud Rinpoche fulfilled the aspirations of some Western students by travelling to the United States. After several years, at the request of his U.S. sangha he established the Chagdud Gonpa Foundation, which has become a dynamic network of centers and activities, including Padma Publishing. Chagdud Rinpoche first taught in Brazil in 1991. Impressed by the natural faith and interest in the dharma he found among the Brazilian students, he relocated to Brazil in 1995. Over the next seven years, until his parinirvana, he established more than twenty centers in Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile. He built the first traditional Tibetan at Khadro Ling, the seat of Chagdud Gonpa Brasil, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. He supervised the work of translating sadhanas and books into Portuguese, sculpted numerous statues, and oversaw the construction of many sacred monuments, including the replica of Zangdog Palri, Padmasambhava's Pureland, the culminant aspiration of his life.
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Excerpts of stories about H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche by his students:
That day, Rinpoche stayed longer than usual. He gave teachings; he explained in detail the most difficult teachings; he answered questions; he told stories; he played with us… and we wanted more! It was dark when he left and his car disappeared slowly into the darkness. We stood still at the gate, watching, watching. November 14 dawned promising a sunny, beautiful day. Time was racing toward the end of 2002 and our retreat was ripening after eight hundred days of constant practice, learning to tame the mind. Perhaps our master, Chagdud Rinpoche, would visit us today! The bamboo fence that kept us from the world was not enough to contain our gaze as we looked out toward the road, longing for our master.
He did come! It was late in the afternoon and we hastened to welcome him. Smiling and with loving words he went into the meditation room. Rinpoche was so beautiful, shining intensely; he looked like a groom who had painstakingly prepared himself to visit his bride. His red hat made him look even more gallant and his braided beard gave an elegant touch to his face. Everything was perfect! We sat at his feet anxious to hear him, look at him, and be close to him. “Stay with us!” was my heart’s desire. His visit was sealed in our minds by a message that came the following morning: “Even if I’m not here, my blessings will be with you!” Rinpoche died in the early hours of November 17. My Precious Master, I praise your life and your death! As told by Leda Volino |
On another occasion, we were at the end of the Tara puja, early in the morning, when Rinpoche quickly entered the room and sat on his throne, making signs for us not to get up. Andréia translated: “Rinpoche said that if you make prostrations, you will be prostrating to a ball of fire, because he is very angry.” And he went on, saying he was up at two o’clock and wasn’t able to fall asleep again because he was so angry. He had learned there was a dispute with the construction workers. I don’t remember his exact words, but he said we were not building any ordinary house, a hotel or a store, but that it was a temple, and you cannot build a temple with only bricks and cement, but with everything we think and feel and express. . . and he went on and on and on. I had never seen Rinpoche so mad! After that, we behaved as actual saints for a couple of weeks.
As told by Flávia Pellanda 
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Read more stories about H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche by his students here
Source of student stories: http://lordofthedance.chagdud.org
Biographical sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagdud_Tulku_Rinpoche http://www.odsalling.org/us/lamas/biography |
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