Garje Khamtrul Rinpoche

Garje Khamtrul Rinpoche Jamyang Döndrup (Tib. སྒ་རྗེ་ཁམས་སྤྲུལ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་འཇམ་དབྱངས་དོན་གྲུབ་, Wyl. sga rje khams sprul rin po che 'jam dbyangs don grub) (1928-2019^[1]) was a Nyingma and Dzogchen teacher, and the incarnation of the third Khamtrul, Gyurme Trinle Namgyal (1879-1926).

He was born in Lithang, in the Kham province of Tibet. At the age of 8, Rinpoche was recognised as the reincarnation of his predecessor. In 1959, Rinpoche came to exile in India along with tens of thousand Tibetan refugees. In 1962 Rinpoche, at the age of 34, was summoned to Dharamsala by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama to assist in efforts to establish the Tibetan community in exile.^[2]

Khamtrul Rinpoche then served as the General Secretary of the Council for Cultural and Religious Affairs, before he retired in 1987. After that, Rinpoche remained His Holiness the Dalai Lama's consultant on Nyingma affairs but also travelled extensively around the world, promoting the interests of the Tibetan people and giving teachings in Asia, Europe and North America.

In 1991, Rinpoche established Lhundrup Chime Gatsal Ling Nyinmapa Monastery in in Mcleod Ganj, India, under the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to provide a place for students of all backgrounds to pursue their study and practice of Buddhism. In 2005, Rinpoche opened a second Chime Gatsa Ling in Sidhpur, India, for his growing community of monks.

Khamtrul Rinpoche received certain teachings and transmissions of Tertön Sogyal's lineage from Tulku Apen, a direct disciple of Tertön Sogyal. He transmitted some of them to the Rigpa sangha on several occasions, especially Tendrel Nyesel in Lerab Ling in 1992, and Yang Nying Pudri in Dzogchen Beara in 2000.

Khamtrul Rinpoche passed into parinirvana on December 30, 2019 and remained in tukdam for more than a week.^[3]

Teachings Given to the Rigpa Sangha

1992, Lerab Ling, the life of Tertön Sogyal, Tendrel Nyesel
14 April 1995, London
5-7 September 1997, San Francisco
13-14 September 1997, San Diego
26-28 September 1997, New York
22 October 1999, San Francisco
2-7 October 2000, Dzogchen Beara, Yang Nying Pudri

Publications

Garje Khamtrul Rinpoche, Memories of Lost and Hidden Lands: The Life Story of Garje Khamtrul Rinpoche, translated by Lozang Zopa, Chime Gatsel Ling, 2009
Garje Khamtrul Jamyang Dhondup, 'The Eight Practice-Instructions of Sugatas in the Nyingma Lineage' in Tibet Journal, Vol. XV No. 2, Summer 1990
Minling Terchen Gyurme Dorjee, The Jewel Ladder: A Preliminary Nyingma Lamrim, Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1990
The Lama's Heart Advice which Dispels all Obstacles: A Concise Guide to the Hidden Land of Pemakö, translated by Brian Gregor, 2002 (unpublished)

Notes

↑ On the December 30, 2019, which was the fourth day of the 11th lunar month in the Tibetan calendar. Source: Lhundrup Chime Gatsal Ling Nyingmapa Monastery statement.
↑ Source: Central Tibetan Administration website.
↑ Source: Lhundrup Chime Gatsal Ling Nyingmapa Monastery statement.

Internal Links

External Links

The Light of Wisdom, a short biopic about Khamtrul Rinpoche

[1] On the December 30, 2019, which was the fourth day of the 11th lunar month in the Tibetan calendar. Source: Lhundrup Chime Gatsal Ling Nyingmapa Monastery statement.

[2] Source: Central Tibetan Administration website.

[3] Source: Lhundrup Chime Gatsal Ling Nyingmapa Monastery statement.

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