Rigongpa Chökyi Sherab
adapted from "Shangpa Masters" on [1]
Rigongpa Chökyi Sherab (1175-1247), aka Sangye Nyentön and Nyentön Chöje, was born to a family in Yol. Much like Mokchokpa and Kyergangpa before him, he was named after the locality where he spent many years meditating and teaching, Rigong. He was naturally inclined to the dharma and sought at an early age to devote his life to benefiting others. He met his master and stayed with him in Kyergang. Lama Kyergangpa transmitted all of the secret instructions to Rigongpa, leaving nothing out. Lama Kyergangpa told Rigongpa about his past and future lives and advised Rigongpa to lead the life of a secret yogin, drinking beer, eating food offerings, wearing old rags and enjoying mixed company. Kyergangpa told Rigongpa that he would establish connections with many students and would have ten fully realized disciples who would hold his transmission and the lineage of the Shangpa lamas. Rigongpa had visions of many dakas and dakinis, especially of Sukhasiddhi, from whom he received the four complete empowerments and the main points of secret practices. Rigongpa could see face-to-face many deities including six-armed Mahakala, the special protector of the Shangpa Lineage. He had a particularly close relationship with the protector and was famous for having constructed a statue of the same. Actually it was an emanation of the protector who constructed and consecrated the statue, with Rigongpa in close attendance. In later centuries many great masters, including the previous Kalu Rinpoche, traveled there and remarked about the extraordinary blessings the statue and locality still retained even then. In his later years Rigongpa in his dreams traveled to buddha realms and was granted empowerments. Once a dakini appeared to him, of which Rigongpa asked her name. She replied "I am Sukhasiddhi which means Bliss-Accomplishment, bliss because my mind if filled with stainless wisdom; accomplishment because one can accomplish the extraordinary siddhis within a year or month by praying to me." The dakini proceeded to grant the four complete empowerments, the main points of practice and the supreme points on realizing the non-duality of bliss and emptiness. Then Sukhasiddhi told Rigongpa, "Yogin, since your body, speech and mind are liberated, those who receive empowerments from you will never again fall into the three lower realms." Rigongpa benefited many disciples, establishing them on the path to freedom and lived more than seventy years.
[TSD]