Gyatrul Rinpoche - The Generation Stage in Buddhist Tantra

The Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche was born in the year of the Wood Ox, 1925, in Szechuan Province, China. Born into a noble family, he spent a happy childhood with parents and family members for his first eight years. In his eighth year Rinpoche was formally discovered as the reincarnation of Gyatrul Rinpoche, taken to Dhomang Monastery (an important branch Payul Monastery), enthroned and placed under the strict care of his root guru Tulku Natsog Rangdrol and other tutors. Gyatrul Rinpoche was formally discovered by Dzongzar Khentsey Rinpoche who issued a statement detailing the young tulkus whereabouts, name of parents, place of birth and further particulars. This information was identical to the statement issued by Tulku Natsog Rangdrol.

Once enthroned at Dhomang Monastery, Rinpoche began many years of formal study and training. As a young man he maintained constant company with his root guru Tulku Natsog, spending many years with him in solitary retreat, moving from one isolated location to another. Rinpoche has studied under some of the greatest Nyingmapa mahasiddhas of this century and carries with him all the blessings and knowledge that he received directly from his teachers. Due to the onset of the Chinese invasion of Tibet, Rinpoche was told to flee his homeland, and his principal teachers even fore-told the details of his future work propagating the Dharma in foreign lands.

Tulku Natsog Rangdrol, who was one of the five emanations of Dudjom Rinpoche (that of concerned activity), stayed behind, explaining that it was his karma to remain. After one year of tremendous hardship on the road to freedom, Rinpoche, who originally departed with a crowd of 20,000, crossed over the Nepalese border to safety with only 200 survivors.

In the years that followed he worked in the service of H.H. the Dalai Lama as well as H.H. the Karmapa. Later, in 1972, H.H. the Dalai Lama and H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche chose Rinpoche as the Nyingmapa representative to accompany the first group of Tibetans to be sent to resettle in Canada. After arriving in the West, Rinpoche travelled extensively around the U.S.A. and Canada at the invitation of Tibetan and Western disciples alike. In 1976 Rinpoche was asked by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche, during His Holiness second visit to the West, to be his spiritual representative. Rinpoche accepted this position out of devotion and, since that time, has maintained his loyal devotion to H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche by establishing many Yeshe Nyingpo centers in the U.S., including a beautiful retreat center in the Siskiyou mountain range near the border of California and Oregon. The site was consecrated by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche and has hosted many great lamas as well as two wangchens (major lineage empowerments) given by H.H. Penor Rinpoche. The retreat center presently consists of 65 acres of isolated forest land and a four-story traditional temple. The temple is also the site of Rinpoches residence when he is in the U.S.A. Since 1984 Rinpoche has been making regular visits to the Republic of China, Taiwan, where he has hundreds of devoted disciples. His skillful ability to explain the Vajrayana path in simple terms and his unfailing humor and compassion are the noble qualities for which he is most loved.