Tenga Rinpoche
Tenga Rinpoche of Benchen, Benchen Tenga Rinpoche (bstan dga' rin po che)
A brief biography of Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche of Benchen monastery (1932-2012)
[Translator's note: This is not a word-by-word translation of Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche's narrative. It is rather a re-telling of the events of Rinpoche's life, presented in such a way as to make it easier to understand for non-Tibetan readers, based upon Rinpoche's own words and writings. This whole narrative is a combination of the re-telling of events which Tenga Rinpoche related in the early and mid-eighties to Edward Henning and then to myself, and of some which he wrote down himself just a few years ago. A few events which he did not wish to become public knowledge are omitted here. This is not to keep anything secret, but to honour Rinpoche's explicit wish! Sherab Drime (Thomas Roth)]
Ven. Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche was born in eastern Tibet, the northern snow-enclosure, the cool land of the dharma valleys, the segment of the mandala field known as "the six ranges of lower Dokham" [...] , on the fourth day of the sixth lunar month in the Water-Monkey year of 1932. To be more specific, Rinpoche was born in the region of Dokham known as Ga. His father was descended from the upper eastern clan of the miraculously born Magyal Pomra known as Drong Sekar Gyalpo and their descendants. Rinpoche's father was Gönpo Tobgyal, one of the sons of the then Drong district official. His mothers name was Rigdzin Drölma, who came from the Gegyal Barma family clan. While the baby was in her womb, she dreamed one night of Drongpa Lama Tendzin Chögyal (Rinpoche's previous incarnation) who gave her a turquoise and told her to wear it around her neck. After that she was in high spirits and experienced no physical discomfort whatsoever. Other than that, said Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche, there were no special signs. So he was told by his mother.
The previous 9th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche had gone to see the 11th Tai Situpa Rinpoche Pema Wangchok Gyalpo, in order to request the details of the rebirth of the tulku. With his totally unobscured wisdom eye, Situ Rinpoche clearly beheld the family into which the tulku had been born, which was the same family clan as the previous incarnation's, the fathers name as being Gönpo, and the mothers name as Drölma. He stated the year of the tulkus birth as the Monkey year, that there were wondrous signs acompanying the birth, and said that if one were to search in the eastern direction, but not very far from Benchen monastery, the rebirth would surely be found. The 15th Karmapa Kakhyab Dorje had also had visions and provided a letter with his predictions concerning the precious rebirth, the names of the parents, drawings of the family's house etc., which were in total agreement with Situ Rinpoche's pronouncements. Thus the incarnation was unanimously agreed upon.
At around age six and seven Rinpoche learned reading and writing from his father. With Lama Pesam, Rinpoche studied a special type of calligraphy according to the Karma Gadri school of painting and writing. He also learned the "Four Session" Guru Yoga practice, as well the "Confession of Misdeeds" etc. by heart. At age 11 to 12, together with relatives, he engaged in a pilgrimage in order to go and behold the Jowo in Lhasa. At age 14, on the seventh day of the tenth month, Rinpoche finally arrived in Benchen. On the next day, the eighth, he was enthroned by Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche upon the golden throne of his predecessor, as the authentic rebirth of Drongpa Lama Tendzin Chögyal.
From the Benchen Khenpo Karma Guru, Rinpoche received extensive explanations on the drawing and construction of mandalas. From Benchen Khenpo Söpa Tharchin, he received the "Fivefold Mahamudra" in a most perfect way, and auspicious experiences and occurances were all-pervading. At this time, one of the main statues in the shrine-hall at Benchen was a statue that was said be a good likeness of the 13th Karmapa Düdül Dorje. It took off its crown, that liberates by sight, when Rinpoche came in front of it, at the time of which the skies filled with rainbows of many different colours and shapes, such as eight-petalled lotusses and other special designs.
(A little background information is in order here: this statue was known to occasionally "take off" its hat and place it in front of itself. No one would ever see how it did so. The hat would just appear to rest on the table in front instead of on the statues head. Thus the lamas, monks and people of Benchen would always know that something highly auspicious was about to occur. This particular event here is said to have occured on the eve before Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche's formal enthronement.)
Then, staying at the monastery, Rinpoche studied under Khenpo Söpa Tharchin, who was a student of Rinpoches previous incarnation. He took him as his spiritual friend and began to initially study the teachings and practices of Cakrasamvara, Vajravarahi and Jinasagara according to the KArma Kagyu tradition. This was followed by Sarvavid Vairocana, Akshobya, Amitayus, the tenth day rituals of Guru Padmasambhava and Shing Kyong Kunga Zhonnu (the special protector of Benchen). Then followed various collections of liturgical texts and the extensive protector rituals, all of which he commited to memory without any difficulties whatsoever.
In the same way Rinpoche continued to study the mandalas of Cakrasamvara, Vajravarahi, Jinasagara, Sarvavid Vairocana, Akshobya and the protector Mahakala Dorje Bernagchen. He studied the design and construction, as well as the consecration rituals of the eight types of stupas and the design of the fire-hearths for the four activities, [sa bdag lho 'phyo?]. From his uncle (Lama) Lodrö Rabsal, he studied the science of medicine. He memorized its tantras and studied the various branches of medical knowledge for a long time.
From the old shrine master of Benchen, Chöpön Sönam Lhayag, Rinpoche learned how to make the tormas of our tradition, their shapes, colours and how to prepare their many different intricate butter ornaments. From the same master, he also learned the art of drawing and painting deities. So until Tenga Rinpoche was sixteen years old, he was taught by his tutors the teachings and practices of the main yidam deities of our tradition, their various rituals such as the preparatory and main empowerments and burnt-offerings, the consecration ceremonies according to various tantras, etc. During this time he was also fortunate to receive the oral transmissions for the collected commentarial literature of Indian masters of old, the Tengyur, the Collected Works of Dza Paltrul Rinpoche in its entirety, and many other transmissions.
With the monk Paljor, Rinpoche studied the main philosophical scriptures as well as poetry with great energy. He also learned from him the Abhidharma-kosa and the commentaries of Khenpo Shenga on the 13 great treatises. In the same way, he studied various subjects under Benchen Khenpo Karma Guru. Then, at this relatively young age, Rinpoche became weary of worldly ways and took the truth of impermanence to heart. He realized that it was time to begin practicing and went into the presence of Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche in order to request a yidam meditation practice from him. Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche replied that the yidam deity of Rinpoche's previous lives had always been White Tara, and kindly bestowed the empowerment of White Tara upon him one day.
From his teacher and spiritual friend Khenpo Söpa Tharchin, Rinpoche received the oral transmissions and full instructions on White Tara. He was then advised to enter into a 12 week retreat of continous White Tara recitation. At age 19, Tenga Rinpoche travelled to Palpung, the seat of the Tai Situ Rinpoches in Derge, and received both novice and full monastic ordination in the presence of the 11th Tai Situ Rinpoche Pema Wangchok Gyalpo. At this occasion he was given the name Karma Tendzin Thrinle Namgyal Pal Sangpo. As an auspicious connection for his succesful life-long keeping of these ordinations as well as for the perfection of his studies and subsequent teaching activities, Situ Rinpoche also presented him with an old Indian statue of the Buddha, made from precious Li-metal. After this, Tenga Rinpoche eventually returned to his own Benchen monastery.
One night Rinpoche dreamed of an extremely clear and blue sky, in the centre of which appeared a garland of Guru Padmasambhava mantras of golden colour which radiated light to all beings. Several month later, Rinpoche travelled to the monastery of Surmang Namgyal Tse, in order to receive the empowerments and reading transmissions of the Rinchen Terdzö collection of terma literature from the 2nd Jamgön Kongtrul Palden Khyentse Öser, aka Karsey Kongtrul. At this time Rinpoche understood his previous dream to mean that at age 25 he should enter into a three-year meditation retreat. With this intention he went into the presence of Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche and asked for permission to do so.
Correspondingly, Tenga Rinpoche entered into retreat and first trained in the four preliminary practices. Then, for the duration of a whole year, he trained mainly in White Tara practice. He dreamed that he arrived at the far shore of a great body of water and was completely freed of the fears and terrors of treacherous paths and the like. In another dream a nun came to visit him. She introduced herself as Ani Döndrub Chötso and presented Rinpoche with a crystal rosary, which he considered a very auspicious sign for his White Tara practice. The nun then urged him to count the number of beads on the rosary and there turned out to be eighty one or eighty two. This was indicative of how many years Tenga Rinpoche would live approximately. In this way many positive signs occured. In the second year of the retreat, he trained mainly in the outer, inner and innermost practice of Vajrayogini, including the self-empowerment, the accumulation of a hundred thousand tshog offerings and the burnt-offerings, all of which he accomplished extremely well.
At that time the winters in this part of Eastern Tibet were rather harsh, with very low temperatures and lots of snow. The water in the offering bowls of the retreatants would regularly freeze into solid lumps of ice. During that particular winter, while Tenga Rinpoche was training in Vajrayogini practice, the water in his offering bowls was observed to never freeze. Also, the snow on top of the roof of Rinpoche's retreat house was observed to be melting all the time. This was considered a sign that some heat or warmth had occured in his meditation, generally considered a sign of successful practice.
At that time, Tenga Rinpoche dreamed of a girl dressed in red who gave him a triangular red crystal, of great outer and inner luminosity, in the centre of which one could see extremely clearly, the fully developed mandala of Vajrayogini, along with all seed-syllables and mantra-garlands etc. Together with Vajrayogini practice, Tenga Rinpoche also trained in the meditations and yogic exercises of the Six Doctrines of Naropa. While being so engaged, he dreamed of one of the Indian Mahasiddhas of old, who introduced himself as Lawapa. Rinpoche received many instructions from him. While practicing dream-yoga, he trained in the transformation exercises and thus travelled to the pure realm of White Tara many times.
This was followed by six months of intensive Cakrasamvara practice. However, said Tenga Rinpoche, he does not remember whether or not any particular signs occured. After this, he trained in the meditations of Vajrakila according to the revelations of the great treasure revealer Ratna Lingpa. At this time Rinpoche owned a small wooden phurpa which he used as his practice support. When the practice was concluded and the time for the "taking of the attainment" had come, this phurpa was observed to shake vigorously. It continued to shake even after Rinpoche took it into his hands. A phurpa shaking, the sound of laughter emitting from it, or the phurpa even flying around the room, are considered to be signs of accomplishment of the corresponding practice.
At around that time, Drubwang Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche had something akin to a prophesy by his yidam deity, which instructed him to travel to Central Tibet. Not allowing himself to be dissuaded by anyone, he quickly undertook the journey. He let both Benchen Chime Tulku and Tenga Rinpoche know that they should remain at the monastery for the time being. Whatever further teachings and advice they required, would be forthcoming in the future. At this time it would also be wise not to be attached to food or wealth. At the time of great fear and indecision, they should use the divination method of the ARAPATSA-Mo (a method based upon a dice inscribed with the syllables of the Manjushri mantra). [.....] Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche could thus just barely finish his three-year retreat. Upon its conclusion he had to flee for the relative safety of Central Tibet immediately.
Not having travelled the roads to Lhasa much, there often was great insecurity when their party had to decide whether to take this road or that. But it always became apparent very quickly and their choices always turned out to be the right ones. This, said Rinpoche, was due to two facts. First, it was clearly due to the kindness and activity of the protectors. Secondly, it was a result of having practised development- and perfection-process meditations for a long time. These practices have the power to cleanse the subtle obscurations in one's mind-stream and thus bring about a certain degree of clairvoyance.
One night, Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche appeared to Tenga Rinpoche in a dream. He was crossing a mountain ridge with a few attendants, showing a secret path, and when it would be the time to travel that path. Upon waking up, great fear arose all by itself. However, whenever they were beset by great fear or insecurity, they refered to the divination method advised by Sangye Nyenpa, and eventually reached Lhasa and beheld the golden face of Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche once more. Sangye Nyenpa's attendants then proceeded to Tshurpu, whereas Tenga Rinpoche himself went to the Jokhang (in Lhasa) where he completed 5500 circumambulations. After this he also went to Tshurpu, where he beheld the golden face of the Buddha Karmapa, the previous 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje.
In 1959, the Buddha Karmapa travelled to India, via the indirect route of Bhutan. H.H. was then invited by the king of Sikkim to come and make his residence there. At that time Tenga Rinpoche went to Kalimpong where he met with H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and received from him the empowerments and oral transmissions of the Nyingthig Yabshi and Nyingthig Tsapö, the oral transmission for the 32 volumes of Ju Mipham Rinpoche's Collected Works as well as the Collected Works of Terchen Gyurme Dorje. While in Kalimpong, Tenga Rinpoche also entered a retreat for the practice of the special protector of Benchen monastery, Shingkyong Kunga Zhönnu. Many signs of success occured during that time, both in dreams and in actuality, and the protector actually appeared and promised to always lend his help and support.
In Sikkim, he then attended the maturing and liberating empowerments and oral transmissions of both the Kagyü Ngagdzö and Damngag Dzö, as well as the collections of writings of the first Jamgön Kontrul known as the Gyachen Khadzö, given by H.H. the Karmapa in his Rumtek monastery, in a most perfect way, free of any errors or omissions. During that time Rinpoche experienced great blessing and inspiration and dreamed of a rain of small red Karmapakshi forms, made of stone, descending upon him. Furthermore, Rinpoche received from H.H. the complete transmissions of the 9th Karmapa's Chikshe Kündrol collection of empowerments, the Chökyong Logtreng (a collection of protector empowerments), the oral transmission of the Collected Works of the Incomparable Je Gampopa, a complete set of Mahamudra instructions and much more. While in Rumtek, Tenga Rinpoche also received the full transmission of empowerments and readings for the teachings and practices of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage from Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche, a transmission that has always been close to Rinpoche's heart, since the time of his predecessor Tendzin Chögyal.
While in Rumtek, Rinpoche developed arthritis and couldn't walk around much for some time. However, he did not consider this an obstacle but rather a blessing. It gave him, he said, the opportunity to do a three-month retreat in which he concentrated on the practice of Mahakala Dorje Bernagchen and the accumulation of large numbers of mantras of the same. Of the 17 years which Rinpoche spent in Rumtek, he served as H.H. the Karmapa's Vajra Master, or Dorje Lobpön, for nine years. Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche also accompanied H.H. the Karmapa on his first trip to the West in 1974.
One day Rinpoche found himself in the presence of H.H. the Karmapa, who advised him lovingly not to go to many different places at this time, but to remain with him in Rumtek, as some excellent teachings were about to be given. At this time Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche also resided at Rumtek, and was indeed approached to bestow various teachings upon the monastic community, which he graciously accepted to do. At this time Tenga Rinpoche was 29 years old. From then, until he was 33, he attended daily classes which were extended to the students with great kindness. First they studied teachings by the great Mipham Rinpoche, then the Five Treatises of Lord Maitreya, then the Mula-madhyamika-karika by Lord Nagarjuna and the Madhyamika-vatara by Chandrakirti. Finally they were fortunate to hear explanations on the Madhyamaka-lamkara by the Mahapandita Shantarakshita. This was followed by the Bodhicarya-vatara by Lord Shantideva which was given twice, and by teachings on the Three Precepts, also given twice.
Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche says of himself that, "it is due to the kindness of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche that I myself, being like a foolish ox, have understood a little of the dharma." From the Sakya Khenpo Khedrub, Tenga Rinpoche received teachings on Karika, the root text of the Pratimoksha-sutra together with Khenpo Shenga's commentary and teachings on Tsema Rigter, the Treasury of the Science of Epistemology by Sakya Pandita.
In the presence of Salje Rinpoche he received Madhyamaka-catu-shataka-shastra-karika together with Khenpo Shenga's commentary, the Profound Inner Meaning by the 3rd Karmapa Rangjung Dorje, Mahayana-uttara-tantra-shastra and Hevajra-tantra, all three with Jamgön Kongtrul's commentaries. This lineage of Salje Rinpoche's comes through his own teacher, Palpung Khyentse Rinpoche, who was a student of the 15th Karmapa Khakyab Dorje, who received these teachings from the 1st Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye himself.
Also while at Rumtek monastery, Rinpoche often had signs of sickness and other obstacles for his life occuring in his dreams. At times he would then actually grasp the dream and travel to the pure realm of Tara, his personal yidam deity. One such dream he described like this: "It occured to me that this was a dream and that I could use it to transform it. I did so and decided to visit Tara's pure realm, called 'Arrayed in Turquoise Petals.' I flew through the sky, seeing all sorts of lands and oceans, and eventually landed at the foot of a mountain where there was a beautiful meadow with huge flowers. Walking along a small path, the flowers were taller than me and their scent was all-pervading! Continuing along that trail, I came to a pass on top of which I found a very large crystal stupa with four doors. Inside it was a lotus-flower. Upon that lotus sat a figure which said 'I am Noble Tara.' But the figure did not look like Tara to me at all, rather like an old lama. She then blessed me with the words of prayer to Tara, spoken first by Jowoje Palden Atisha, the famous six lines:
I bow before her who protects from the eight terrors.
I bow before her who is radiant splendour and kindness.
I bow before her who closes the gates to the lower realms.
I bow before her who leads the way to the higher realms.
Protect me at all times!
Always protect me with your compassion!
I then asked, 'I am experiencing many signs of obstacles for my life. What can I do about that?' Tara instructed me to always continue to pray to her, and especially to do a strict retreat when I reached the age of 49. At that time a big obstacle would occur and it would be essential to remain in seclusion at that time. If I did so, then I would be able to fulfil the full length and purpose of my life."
At around this time Tenga Rinpoche began to have dreams which indicated that he should move to Nepal and establish his residence there. In a particular dream four dark people, of very strong appearance and with swords and knives came to him and advised him to move to the Tatopani area, an area in Nepal, not far from Kathmandu. In particular they recommended a place called "The lesser Ramadoli." Ramadoli is an ancient charnel ground in Nepal where many great siddhas of the past have practised, including Naropa, Maitripa and Marpa the Translator. If he went there, they said, his activity would develop and increase greatly. Accordingly, when Rinpoche moved to Nepal, without any funds whatsoever, he was soon offered the use of a small house by a man named Ratna. Both places, Tatopani and Ramadoli, are not far from the Benchen monastery in Svayambunath.
At this point in his narrative, refering to his frequent use of dreams as indicators, Tenga Rinpoche stressed the importance of stable tummo practice. Among all the Six Doctrines of either Naropa or Niguma, tummo is the very foundation. Only with a stable practice of tummo, can one hope to be successful in the other practices such as dream or illusory form, etc.!
Having established himself there, Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche had another dream. In it, it became apparent that he would establish a retreat place near a sacred cave in the future. This turned out to be the retreat centres near the Asura cave of Guru Padmasambhava in Pharping, near Kathmandu. Also, a person appeared in this dream, who presented Rinpoche with three volumes of texts. He was told that he had already read the first and the middle one. Now, he would have to get started with the third one. Rinpoche later interpreted this as refering to his having lived at Benchen monastery in Tibet and at Rumtek monastery in Sikkim. These parts of his life were over. Now the third was about to begin: the establishing of his seat in Nepal.
Since 1976, Tenga Rinpoche has then established the Benchen monastery in exile at the foot of the Glorious Svayambunath Stupa in Nepal. This is the seat of both the present 10th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche and Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche. In the vicinity of Kathmandu, in Pharping, a sacred place blessed by the presence of Guru Padmasambhava and many other Siddhas of the past, both Rinpoches have established both a three-year retreat centre as well as a Shedra, or monastic university. Another three-year retreat centre, for the practices of the Shangpa Kagyü lineage, is under construction and is hoped to be operational soon.
In 1977, Rinpoche was fortunate to receive the complete transmission of the Collected Rediscovered Termas of Terchen Dudjom Lingpa from his authentic incarnation, the then head of the Nyingmapa school, H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, in his monastery in Boudhanath, Kathmandu. In the same year, Rinpoche received the transmission of the Damngag Dzö again, this time from the present 12th Tai Situpa. In 1987, H.H. the Dalai Lama asked Rinpoche to give the parts of the oral transmission of the Tengyur to Trehor Pangor Rinpoche which he was missing, in his Benchen monastery in Nepal.
From H.H. the Sakya Tridzin, Tenga Rinpoche received the transmission of the Drubthab Küntü, a collection of the sadhanas of the eight practice lineages of Tibet, compiled by the incomparable Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. From the great Sakyapa master Chobgye Tri Rinpoche, Tenga Rinpoche received Kalacakra. Other lineages of Kalacakra transmission Rinpoche received from H.H. the Dalai Lama, H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche. Having already received the transmission of various of the rediscovered termas of Chokgyur Lingpa from Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Tenga Rinpoche hosted the transmission of the entire Chokling Tersar, or Collected Termas of Terchen Chokgyur Lingpa, by Tsike Chokling Rinpoche, the authentic incarnation of Terchen Chokgyur Lingpa himself, in Svayambunath in 1996. Thus Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche has received countless transmissions from masters of all traditions.
In 1978, Rinpoche was asked by H.H. the 16th Karmapa to go to Denmark in order to help the dharma centres there. From there, Rinpoche accepted many invitations and travelled to other centres in Denmark, as well as Germany, France, Greece, etc. In particular, H.H. advised how it would be very beneficial for the future of the transmission of Dharma to Europe if Tenga Rinpoche would establish a large centre in the middle of Germany. Accordingly, Rinpoche established Benchen Phüntsok Ling in 1999. He traveled there every year and held his main summer seminar there, visited by large numbers of students from all over Europe.
In previous years, Tenga Rinpoche has also visited South-East Asia, particularly Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong and Taiwan. While not going there as frequently as to Europe, Rinpoche still visits there occasionally. Since the early nineties, it has been possible to reconstruct the original Benchen monastery in Tibet. Both Drubwang Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche and Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche have put considerable effort into this project. Accordingly, the fully reconstructed Benchen monastery was inaugurated a few years back by the present Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche.
Despite Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche's advanced years, he still continued to travel tirelessly, with the sole aim of benefitting his many students around the world. Suffering from prolonged illness, which did not at all keep him from constantly acting for the benefit of others to the very last, Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche then passed away at age 81, in the early hours of 30 March, 2012. He remained in the state called "Tukdam," the deep meditative composure that some realized masters enter into after their physical bodies have expired, for four and a half days. As H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche put it, "He passed away in the way of all great Kagyu masters, in deep meditation, sitting in the upright position, his body remaining like that even after it had expired." For a detailed account of Rinpoche's passing, check the Benchen Monastery website.
Of course there are many more details about the life of Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche and also the lives of his two previous incarnations, but - to quote Jonang Taranatha, "...as an overly lengthy sacred biography might become a hindrance for one’s understanding, I prefer not to write about these details here..." [TSD]
Main Teachers[edit]
- The 9th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche
- The 11th Tai Situpa
- The 2nd Jamgon Kongtrul
- H.H. the 16th Karmapa
- H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
- H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche
- H.H. the Sakya Tridzin
- Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
- Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche
Main Lineages[edit]
Information about the activities of the Benchen lamas can be found at Benchen.org
[TSD]
See also Surmang Tenga Rinpoche alias Surmang Tentrul