Dilgo Khyentse et al. - The Life and Times of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö: The Great Biography by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Other Stories

T HERE IS A particularly revealing episode in Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoches biography of his teacher, Jamyang Khyentse Chkyi Lodr (18931959). It tells of the arrival of Chkyi Lodr, in his fifteenth year, at Dzongsar Monastery, the home of his previous incarnation, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (18201892). His future residence, known as The Garden of Immortality, was not large but had a special sanctity, for it was there that Khyentse Wangpo had remained throughout the latter part of his life, meditating, imparting instructions, and bestowing empowerments. As the young incarnation looked about the room, his teacher, Katok Situ (18801925), gestured towards Khyentse Wangpos seat and then to a cushion he had placed beside it. It would not be right, Situ told him, for you to sit in the great Khyentse Wangpos own seat just yet. That would be like a dog sleeping in the bed of a human being.

The seat itself was unadorned and unassuming, but it was effectively a thronea symbol of Khyentse Wangpos enduring presence and imposing authority. Simply to be recognized as his reincarnation, then, would not be sufficient: Chkyi Lodr would still have to earn the right to occupy such prestigious, sacred space. That he did soswiftly, and with such resounding successshould not blind us to the enormity of the challenge he first faced.

Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo was a visionary leader who guided and inspired an entire generation of influential followers. Together with Jamgn Kongtrul Lodr Taye (18131899) and other close collaborators, he transformed religious life in the Kham region of eastern Tibet, initiating a nonsectarian, or Rime, movement, which Gene Smith called the finest flower of a nineteenth-century renaissance. Recognized as a minor incarnation in the Sakya schoolone of its very first, as it was late in adopting the tulku systemKhyentse Wangpo studied with some 150 teachers from all traditions. In his youth, he traveled throughout Tibet, seeking and receiving as many rare, endangered teachings as he possibly could. Later, he arranged and oversaw the compilation of these and other teachings in vast literary collections, helping to ensure their survival. A prolific author in his own right, he is known today for his inspirational prayers, liturgies, and meditation manuals, as well as his encyclopedic commentaries and sweeping surveys of Tibets religious history, sacred sites, and monastic institutions. His extensive treasure (terma) revelations, including those discovered in tandem with others, especially Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa (18291870), form the basis of popular rituals and led to his inclusion among the five sovereign treasure revealers of Tibet.

By the end of his life, Khyentse Wangpo had amassed scores of senior disciples from all traditions. And, following his parinirvana, no fewer than seven reincarnations were recognizeda clear sign of his immediate impact. This unprecedented number was partly a result of the masters leading students each identifying a tulku of their own. Understandably, the child chosen to remain at Dzongsar, Khyentse Wangpos principal seat, was accorded special status. But the situation was complicated when, in 1908 (or 1909, according to some sources), the original Dzongsar incarnation, Jamyang Chkyi Wangpo, died suddenly while visiting Dzogchen Monastery.

It was this tragic turn of events that first brought Khyentse Chkyi Lodr, who had originally been identified as the incarnation associated with the nearby Nyingma monastery of Katok, to Dzongsar. For some, the move would prove controversial, and Katok Situ apparently hesitated before he was eventually persuaded by his own cousin, Kalzang Dorje, who had been Khyentse Wangpos treasurer. Ailing and close to death, Kalzang Dorje wrote to Katok Situ, expressing his fear that with their tulku gone and his own life almost at an end, the presence of Khyentse Wangpo at Dzongsar would soon be much diminished. By invoking their shared commitment (samaya) to their late teacher, he left Katok Situ with little choice but to agree. And so it was that Khyentse Chkyi Lodr found himself facing the dual challenge of proving himself to be a worthy successor and having to do so as an outsider.

But prove himself he certainly didand remarkably quickly too. The training that all the Khyentse incarnations received was thorough enoughit had to bebut Khyentse Chkyi Lodrs was especially effective. The biography charts his remarkable rise to maturity, noting, in particular, the dedication, diligence, and humility with which he served, and later cared for, his aged tutor, Khenchen Thubten Rigdzin Gyatso. Almost as soon as he arrived at Dzongsar, he was ready to fulfill his role, and before too long, he literally took the place of his predecessor.