The Longchen Nyingthig Tradition and Kyabje Dodrupchen Rinpoche
Guru Padmasambhava, also called Guru Rinpoche, was the miraculously born re-manifestation of Shakyamuni Buddha who revealed the Vajrayana, or tantric, Buddhist teachings. He could see far into the future and hid special teachings called, “Terma” in order preserve teachings and practices appropriate for different times. He created auspicious connections for his main disciples to be reborn as special lamas (gurus) called, “Tertons” who would re-discover the hidden teachings and propagate them at the appropriate time. The Terton Jigmed Lingpa re-discovered the Terma called, “Longchen Nyingthig” which is currently one of the foremost traditions in the Nyingma sect. Jigmed Lingpa’s main disciple, Dodrup Chen, vowed to preserve and protect the Longchen Nyingthig tradition in his successive incarnations.
The 4th Dodrup Chen Rinpoche, Kyabje Dodrup Chen Thubten Thinley Palbar, was the head of the Longchen Nyingthig tradition. Much was lost when Tibet was conquered In the 1950’s including monasteries, books, sacred art and artifacts. Dodrup Chen, Rinpoche went to Sikkim as a refugee and eventually established the Chorten Gonpa Monastery in Sikkim as his main seat. Several other monasteries of the Longchen Nyingthig tradition in Nepal, India, Tibet, Golog and other places follow Dodrup Chen Rinpoche as their root spiritual leader. Dodrup Chen Rinpoche worked feverishly throughout his life to rebuild what was lost and to create facilities to train monks, yogis and lamas (gurus) and to re-publish books, re-create sacred art, and generally to do everything possible to build and preserve the Nyingma religion especially the Longchen Nyingthig tradition. In the US, he established the Maha Siddha Nyingma Center for those of us here who wish to practice this tradition.
Kyabje Dodrupchen Rinpoche attained Mahaparinirvana in the afternoon of January 25, 2022, correpsonding to the 23rd day of the 11th month of the Tibetan Lunar Calendar: Female Ox year, at his retreat residence in Lukshama, Sikkim, India.
for Rinpoche’s swift reincarnation
A book of Rinpoche’s teachings was recently published by Wisdom Publications: Liberation from Samsara
Jigmed Lingpa
