Mipham

མི་ཕམ།
mi pham
Mipham Gyatso
མི་ཕམ་རྒྱ་མཚོ།
mi pham rgya mtsho
Mipham Namgyal
མི་ཕམ་རྣམ་རྒྱལ།
mi pham rnam rgyal
Jamgon Mipham
འཇམ་མགོན་མི་ཕམ།
'jam mgon mi pham
Jamgon Ju Mipham Namgyal
འཇམ་མགོན་འཇུ་མི་ཕམ་རྣམ་རྒྱལ།
'jam mgon 'ju mi pham rnam rgyal

Short Biography

Ju Mipham 91846-1912) ranks alongside Longchen Rabjam and Tsongkhapa as one of Tibet's most prolific and influential masters. His presentation of the Nyingma School's unique approach to the view and practice of Buddhism, and in particular the relationship between Madhyamaka and the Great Perfection, has had an enormous impact on the past few generations of Tibetan Buddhist scholars and practitioners. Namdrolling Monastic College, currently the largest functioning Nyingma educational institution, includes twenty of his texts in its curriculum. By comparison, only five texts by Longchenpa are included and only one by Rongzom Mahapandita.

Mipham's primary teachers were Patrul Rinpoche and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, both incarnations of the tertön Jigme Lingpa. Khyentsé Rinpoche requested Mipham to preserve the Nyingma teachings through teaching, debate, and composition—a task in which he admirably succeeded. About his remarkable student, Khyentsé remarked: “In this time, there is no one else on earth more learned than lama Mipham.”

He excelled not only in study and teaching, however, but in practice as well. The numerous retreats he completed were always accompanied by miraculous signs of accomplishment.

Mipham Rinpoche’s collected writings comprise twenty-seven volumes and cover a vast array of topics. Among his most influential writings are The Speech of Delight—a commentary on Shantarakshita's Ornament of the Middle Way, Gateway to Knowledge—which provides an overview of the Buddha’s teachings, and Beacon of Certainty—an elucidation of the view of the Great Perfection and its relationship to the Middle Way teachings.

• Mipham’s most important students were Dodrupchen Rinpoche, the Fifth Dzogchen Rinpoche, Gemang Kyab Gon, Khenpo Padmavajra, Palyul Gyaltrul, Karma Yangtrul, Palpung Situ Rinpoche, Ling Jetrung, Adzom Drukpa, Tokden Shakya Shri, Ngor Ponlob, and others. The great tulkus of Sechen, Dzogchen, Katog, Palyul, Palpung, Dege Gonchen, Repkong and others of all lineages, Sakya, Gelug, Kagyu, and Nyingma, all became his disciples.

Mipham Rinpoche was also instrumental in training some of last century’s most important Nyingma teachers. His most prominent students include Khenpo Künpal, Katok Situ, Sechen Rabjam, Khenpo Pema Dorjé, and the tertön Lerab Lingpa.

Literary Works

See Writings of Mipham

Main Teachers

• Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
  
• Patrul Rinpoche

Main Students

• Khenpo Kunpal
  
• Kathok Situ Rinpoche
  
• Sechen Gyaltsab
  
• Sechen Rabjam
  
• Lerab Lingpa
  

Main Lineages

• Longchen Nyingthig
  

Alternate Names & Spellings

• Ju Mipham
• Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche
• Mipham Gyamtso
• Lama Mipham
• Jampal Gyepe Dorje
• Jampal Dorje
• Jñanasara
• Mipham Jamyang Gyamtso
• Ajita

Other Reference Sources

• Fill in the blanks
  

Internal Links

• The Buddha's 80 Minor Marks explained by Mipham Rinpoche
• Commentary on the "Seven-lined Supplication to the Guru" Wylie text
• Commentary to "The Supplication of the Vajra Verse" Wylie text

External Links

• Cataloged Writings of Mipham at TBRC
• Mipham Rinpoche Series on Lotsawa House
• homepage of the 3rd Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche
• Mipham Yahoo group
• Outline: Ju Mipham Sungbum / Mipham Karchag

This page was developed by the Rimé Foundation