Gönpo Tseten Rinpoche

Gonpo Tseten Rinpoche, (1906 – 1991), Dzogchen master, author, painter, sculptor, and teacher of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Gonpo Tseten was born in 1906 in Amdo, the eastern province of Tibet into a family heritage of tantric yogis. At the age of seven he was sent to Sangchen Mingye Ling, a Ningmapa monastery. At the age of 15, having shown great promise as a future teacher, he studied with Kargi Terton and accomplished the preliminary practices of Tibetan Buddhism.

At Sangchen Mingye Ling, Gonpo Tseten continued his Dharma studies and the traditional Tibetan arts and sciences. It was at this time that he began to display great skill in drawing, painting, and sculpture. In 1925, at the age of 18, he completed two images of Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara, each standing over six feet high.

He then undertook a journey of twenty days in order to study with the Terton Choling Tuching Dorje. After this for four months he received the transmission and empowerments of the 62 volume Rinchen Ter Dzod, the vast collection of rediscovered Terma teachings compiled by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, from the 5th Dzogchen Rinpoche Thubten Chokyi Dorje. Later, the Ngagpa Gonpo Tsering taught him Tu, the art of overcoming enemies. This was essential since his gompa in Amdo needed protection from surrounding afflictions, including ruthless bandits and wild animals. After this, he studied more Sutra and Tantra including Yonten Tso at Sukchen Tago Gompa in Golok, Sikkim, which was established by the 1st Dodrupchen Rinpoche in 1799.

In 1932 he met his root guru, Patrul Rinpoche Kunzang Shenpen Ozer of Tso, the tulku of Patrul Rinpoche Chokyi Wangpo, who was himself a heart-son of Adzom Drupa Drodul Pawo Dorje. According to the late Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, in his autobiography Brilliant Moon, Patrul Rinpoche of Tso was an emanation of Avalokitesvara and a very unusual person who would feed hundreds of beggers at his monastery upon condition that they enter the gate of the Dharma and undertake Ngondro preliminary practices.

Under his guru's direction he did Richo, a solitary mountain retreat, for four years including Ngondro, Tsa Lung, and Dzogchen progressing through the stages of the path to the realization of the supreme state. At the end of his retreat Patrul Rinpoche asked him to teach others and, in 1936, he was given the role of Vajra Acharya to teach Patrul Rinpoche's disciples in the master's absence. As well, he was given the knowledge-holder name Rigdzin Trinley Ozer.

For two years he taught Tsalung and Dzogchen at Patrul Rinpoche's monastery at Tso. He then did further retreat for one year to deepen his realization before going to Dzogchen Monastery in 1939 and 1940. Lama Gonpo then returned to his own gompa, Sangchen Mingye Ling, bringing with him with him the Kanjur, Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa's Ton Bum, Yonden Subdon, and other profound texts totaling 1552 pages. At Sangchen Mingye Ling he became Khenpo, and also did another several years in retreat. Converting his monastery to one which concentrated on the Longchen Nyingtig teachings of Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa he would teach the Kunzang Lamai Shyelung of Patrul Chokyi Wangpo. In the winter the Lama taught Tsa Lung and the Yeshe Lama in the summer. His fame spread far and wide like the rays of the sun.

Numerous lamas asked him to teach at their gompas. He taught at eight monasteries throughout Amdo, teaching twice a year at each. From 1957 to 1959 he taught at the renowned Tsering Jong Monastery near Lhasa.

In 1959, like HH the Dalai Lama and his teachers Khyentse Chokyi Lodro and Dilgo Khyentse, Lama Gonpo managed to escape from Tibet. Having arrived in India, Lama Gonpo steadfastly continued to teach the Dharma far and wide, and received numerous teachings from other exiled teachers. To dispel obstacles, he did a three month retreat on Dorje Phurba (Vajrakilaya) at the residence of HH the Dalai Lama. At the end of his retreat the Dalai Lama presented Lama Gonpo with an offering of a Phurba hidden as a Terma treasure by Padmasambhava, Guru Rinpoche, and discoverd by the Nyang Ral Nyima Ozer in the 12th century.

From 1967 to 1978 Lama Gonpo taught at the Nyingmapa Lamas College at Clement Town, Dehra Dun, India, teaching both the entire range of preliminary and advanced practices. From 1979 to early 1982, accompanied by his consort Pema Lhanzam, he taught in the United States, mainly in California. In 1982, at the age of 76, Lama Gonpo courageously returned to Amdo, Tibet, and gathered a dedicated community of practitioners. After visiting America once more for a brief period, Lama Gonpo remained in Tibet until his passing at the age of 85.

Although he had planned to depart this world on the tenth day of the sixth Tibetan month, that day being a day special to Guru Rinpoche, Lama Gonpo kindly acceded to his students' request and delayed his departure three days. Like Kunzang Sherab, the 1st Throneholder of Palyul, just before his parinirvana the Vidydhara Trinley Ozer saw the Dakinis coming to convey his consciousness, as he himself had predicted, to the Copper Colored Mountain, Guru Rinpoche's Pure Land. Lama Gonpo made beautiful inviting Mudras as he was dying, and passed into the sphere of ultimate truth on the 13th day of the sixth Tibetan month, 1991.

Lama Gonpo Tsetan was deeply humble man and comfortable in all situations, both high and low. Although he himself possessed unimpeded insight and had the power to authoritatively to recognize and enthrone Tulkus, which he occasionally did as he foresaw would be helpful, Lama Gonpo did not consider his own enthronement as a reincarnate master to be necessary and so dispensed with that formality. However, he was widely known and declared by the other great Lamas of his time to be an emanation of Panchen Vimalamitra. This fact is reflected in his Long Life Prayer, written by HE Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche of Pemako, himself the recognized emanation of Kunkhyen Longchen Rabjam Drimed Ozer, and the eldest son of HH the late Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdral Yeshe Dorje:

              Of the millions of knowledge-holders
              The chief is the Supreme Vimalamitra,
              Whose light-ray sunlike activity you invite as guests
              Into the lotus-like Wisdom Mansion of your heart,
              Glorious teacher Rigdzin Trinley Ozer, may you live long.
              The Dzogpa Chenpo is the Dakinis' luminous heart-essence,
              The Supreme Dharma's excellent activity spread widely like pollen.
              May your fortunate disciples gathering like bees to honey,
              Fly in the Dharmakaya's sky.

Lama Gonpo had previously declared that he would not reincarnate as a conventional Tulku, but would send emanations directly from the Copper Colored Mountain.

Some writings of Lama Gonpo Tseten Rinpoche: Dorje Phurba: Developing and Completion Stage Practice (1962), Preliminary Practices of the Longchen Nyingtig: a Commentary (1964), Tsa-Lung: Completion Stage Practice (1966), Life History of the Longchen Nyingtig Lamas: Longchenpa and Jigme Lingpa (1979), In Praise of Longchenpa (1979), The Life of Guru Rinpoche and the Meaning of the Tsog Offering (1981), Kye Rim: A Developing Stage Practice of Rigdzin Dupa, and Yonten Tso: a Comprehensive Nyingtig Text.

In addition to his own writings, in 1977 Lama Gonpo Tseten Rinpoche also published the following texts by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo: Immortal Celebration: the Empowerment Liturgy of the Text “Extracting the Essence for Prolongling Longevity (a terma of the 5th Dalai Lama), A Rough List of Scholars and Translators of Tibet, the Land of Snow, A Brief Account of the Throneholders of Both New and Old Tantric Schools of the Land of Snow: The Wondrous Lotus Garden.

Among Lama Gonpo Tseten's many artistic accomplishments are two major murals in Clement Town, Dhera Dun, India: “Amitaba in Dewachen” at Tashi Gommo Gelugpa Monastery, and “Mount Meru and the Universe System” at the Nyingmapa Lama's College. He also painted a large thangka of the Longchen Nyingtig Refuge Tree and smaller thangkas of Padmasambhava and Dorje Phurba, some of which he gave to Thinley Norbu Rinpoche.

References: Immortal Protector of Beings: A Brief Biography of Lama Gonpo Tseten, 1992; Lama Gonpo's published Curriculum Vitae, 1979 and 1980; A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage by Nyoshul Khen Jamyang Dorje Rinpoche, Padma Publishing, 2005; Dilgo Khyentse's autobiography 'Brilliant Moon', Shambhala Books, 2008; Long Life Prayer of Rigdzin Trinley Ozer (Lama Gonpo Tseten) by Thinley Norbu Rinpoche1979; Booklet on the Vajrakilaya Empowerment which includes a Biography of Lama Gonpo Tseten, 1980; various remembrances of Lama Gonpo's disciples, including that of his long-time translator Choying Palmo.