His Holiness Sakya Trizin
Biography of His Holiness Sakya Trizin
His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche
Biography of His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche
His Eminence Ludhing Khenchen Rinpoche
Biography of His Eminence Ludhing Khenchen Rinpoche
His Holiness Sakya Trizin
His Holiness, the 41st Sakya Trizin (meaning Throne-holder of Sakya) Ngawang Kunga Thekchen Palbar Samphel Wangi Gyalpo is the supreme head of the Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism. His Holiness is the most senior member of the Dolma Phodrang of Khön family, which has a long and esteemed history dating back to pre-Buddhist Tibet . Many famous masters have appeared in this royal family lineage including Sakya Pandita and Drogon Choegyal Phakpa. One of His Holiness' ancestors, Könchog Gyalpo founded the Sakya monastery in 1073 CE in Upper Tibet as prophesised by the famous Indian sage Atisha.
His Holiness' father, Vajradara Ngawang Kunga Rinchin, was also a highly revered Khön patriarch. He married Thrinley Paljor Sangmo, who was the sister of a minister in the Tibetan Government. After 16 years when the couple still had no children, His Holiness' father married his wife's younger sister, Sonam Drolkar.
The couple first had a girl, Chime Thrinley Luding, who now lives in Canada . Then they had a son, followed by another daughter. This first son, Jigdral Dutdul, died as a child. It was important to uphold the family lineage and traditions but His Holiness' mother had almost given up hope of having a male heir. She went with others on a long pilgrimage to sacred places in Tibet and Nepal for help. Towards the end of her trip she came to the Nalendra Monastery in Tibet . There the monks offered their Abbot, the famous Ngaglo Rinpoche to assist her.
Ngaglo Rinpoche performed special rites and rituals to assist Dagmo to conceive. His Holiness was born in Tibet in 1945 and given the name, Ayu Vajra until his first initiation. When he was born, there were many auspicious signs; for example, the sky was filled with extraordinary rainbows. The great spiritual master and abbot of the time, Shenphen Nyingpo said to the Ngaglo Rinpoche, “In bringing about the birth of this child, you have performed a great deed. Now the future of the doctrine of the Sakya Order is well assured. I am an old monk. Now, even if I die, I shall have no regrets.”
Both His Holiness' parents died when he was young and he was raised by his mother's sister, Dakmo Kusho Trinley Paljor Zangmo. She was an important influence in his life, choosing his first tutor and supervising the overall running of the Sakya tradition. There were signs that His Holiness was the reincarnation of the great teacher, Apam Terton. From a young age His Holiness studied extensively and received extensive teachings and important initiations from Zhenphen Nyingpo, his late father and Khenchen Jampal Sangpo. He also performed many duties as the head of the Khon family tradition.
When he was 14, in 1959, His Holiness was enthroned as the head of the Sakya tradition and became formally known as His Holiness the Sakya Trizin. More than 1000 monks attended. Later that year, His Holiness and his entourage left Tibet for India . In exile, His Holiness received extensive teachings on Buddhist philosophical texts under the tutelage of the Most Venerable Khenchen Appey Rinpoche and the late Khenpo Rinchen. His Holiness received the complete Collection of Tantras (Gyude Kuntu) and Lamdre Lobshe from His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche in the early 1970s. His Holiness founded Sakya Centre in Rajpur and Sakya Settlement in Puruwala in 1960s; Sakya College and Sakya Institute in 1970s and Sakya nunnery in 1990s. As the patron and spiritual head of many centers, His Holiness directly supports the establishment of Buddhist centres and monasteries all around the world. In 2003, His Holiness founded and inaugurated Sakya Kunchab Ling, as his seat in the USA .
His Holiness has worked ceaselessly for the preservation of Sakya's rich and profound heritage. In addition to these weighty responsibilities, he has undertaken major and minor retreats, given numerous initiations, written a large amount of texts and given the vast Lam Dre teachings at least 11 times.
As well as teaching in Tibet and India , His Holiness has visited and taught in countries all over the world. When he is not teaching, His Holiness lives at Sakya Dolma Phodrang in Rajpur, Dehradun, UA, India . He lives with his wife and their two sons, Ratna Vajra and Gyana Vajra, who have both received a thorough Buddhist education to preserve the traditions of the Khon family.
His Holiness is an unsurpassed and profound teacher. He has been prepared for his teaching role by receiving deep, broad and thorough teachings in an unbroken lineage dating right back to the Lord Buddha himself. His Holiness has traveled many countries and taught widely throughout the whole world.
His Holiness has visited Australia three times and given Lamdre Tshogshe, Lamdre Lobshe, Vajrayogini teachings and the Thirteen Golden Dharmas. During His first visit to Australia in 1988, His Holiness dedicated the forming of Sakya Losal Choe Dzong in Canberra and conducted a Lamdre Lineage Guru Puja. During His last visit in 2003, His Holiness blessed Jamchen Buddhist Centre in Balwyn. Now there are at least sixteen Sakya centers around Australia including, Jamchen Buddhist Centre and Sakya Choekhor Lhunpo in Melbourne . These are founded under the guidance and inspiration of His Holiness Sakya Trizin and His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche. His Holiness is able to explain and communicate complex teachings in ways that can be easily understood by students of all levels of understanding. We are fortunate indeed to be blessed with his presence in the world during these difficult times.
For more information,
Please visit The Office of His Holiness the Sakya Trizin official website
His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche
His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche is head of the Tsarpa branch of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism and the most senior Sakya Lama living today. The Tsarpa school was founded by Tsarchen Losal Gyatso in early sixteen hundred. For more than five hundred years the Tsarpa lineage holders have nurtured and maintained a truly unique combination of advanced yogic and scholarly Buddhist practice.
His Eminence was born in Shigatse in the Tsang province of central Tibet in 1919. At the age of nine he was recognised as the Eighteenth Chogye Trichen by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, who later also gave Rinpoche his novice monastic ordination. During his childhood, His Eminence completed various retreats and studied under such great masters as Zhenphen Nyingpo, Zimog Rinpoche and Ngaglo Rinpoche, a close disciple of the previous Chogye Trichen. Until the age of thirty nine His Eminence remained at Nalendra monastery where he mastered all the monastic disciplines, as well as all the major meditation practice lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, completing meditation retreats of all the major deities of the four classes of Buddhist tantra. Rinpoche also pursued extensive studies of literature, history and metaphysics and he is an accomplished master of traditional Tibetan Poetry. Hie Eminence has received rare and precious “whispered instructions” from some of the great masters of modern times.
After the communist invasion of Tibet in 1959, His Eminence and his Guru Zimog Rinpoche and others escaped to Mustang in Nepal. Rinpoche eventually established Monasteries,at Lumbini the birth place of the Buddha and at the famous Bhoudanath stupa in Kathmandu. During his time in exile His Eminence has worked tirelessly to preserve the teachings and practices passed down to him from his teachers. As well as his major building projects, and continuously giving teachings and intitations, Rinpoche worked as General Secretary of the Council of Religious Affairs for the Tibetan Government in Exile for seven years. Rinpoche has also organised a series of three year retreats of Hevajra under his personal guidance and observation and has given major empowerments and teachings around the world. Lama Choedak Rinpoche is a graduate of the first of these retreats.
Considered by many as one of the greatest Buddhist masters of the twentieth century, His Eminence is a renowned Tantric yogi, an outstanding scholar, an eloquent poet, and an unsurpassed practitioner. Already in his eighties Rinpoche is a respected teacher of both His Holiness the Dalai Lama and His Holiness Sakya Trizin. After many decades of devoted service to the Buddhadharma he is revered and cherished in the Tibetan world as a living jewel of the Tibetan tradition.
(For those who are inspired by this life story, a more detailed biography compiled by Rinpoche's close disciple John Deweese can be found in Rinpoche's latest book, “Parting from the Four Attachments,” 2003, Snow Lion Publications)
His Eminence Ludhing Khenchen Rinpoche
His Eminence Kyabje Dorje Chang Ludhing Khenchen Rinpoche is the 75th Head of the Ngor sub-sect of the Sakya tradition in Tibetan Buddhism. A most highly respected teacher, His Eminence is believed to be the emanation of Vajrapani.
His Eminence was born to the clan of Shang (also called Sharchen, or Ludingpa) in 1931 near the great seat of Ngor Ewam monastery called Pangshal. This clan is renowned for producing scholars and siddhas of different Buddhist sects. The position of the head abbot of Ngor was traditionally held for a three-year period in which extensive teachings are given almost non-stop. The three-year periods alternate between the four monastic Houses (ladrangs); Luding, Khangsar, Thartse and Phende.
Due to the Chinese take-over of Tibet in 1959 and the disruption to the Ngor monastic system, His Eminence has effectively lead and maintained the Ngor School up to 16th March 2000. His nephew (Her Eminence Jetsun Kushok Chimey Luding's son), His Eminence Luding Shabdrung Rinpoche, was enthroned at Ngor Pal Ewam Choden Monastery, Manduwalla, India, as the 76th abbot of the line. So therefore, his nephew is known as His Eminence Luding Khen Rinpoche, while we address His Eminence as 'Luding Khenchen Rinpoche'.
As the eldest in this family, His Eminence was ordained as a monk at the age of ten by his uncle, the most gracious Khenchen Sharchen Jamyang Thupten Lungtok Gyaltsen Palsangpo. For the next thirteen years, His Eminence was blessed with pith instructions of Lamdre, several initiations, oral transmissions, advice, grammar, poetry and so on from Khenchen Sharchen. His Eminence' other teachers include the two Khenchens of Ewam Khangsar Ladrang, His Holiness Sakya Trizin and His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche.
For almost four continuous years from the age of seventeen, His Eminence was in retreat, practicing mainly on sadhanas of Hevajra and other deities. In 1954 at the age of twenty-four, His Eminence was enthroned as the abbot of the Ngor Ewam Choden Monastery.
In 1959, after the change of circumstances in Tibet, His Eminence left Tibet and fled to Darjeeling, India. In 1961, His Eminence established the Ngor center in Gangtok, Sikkim. In 1978, His Eminence also re-established the Ngor Pal Ewam Choden Monastery in Mandawala, North India.
His Eminence has contributed greatly to the Dharma by giving continuous teachings, empowerments, oral transmissions and re-establishing summer retreats in various Sakya monasteries in India, Nepal and other Sakya centers overseas. His Eminence have given the precious Lamdre teachings fifteen times, initations and instructions mainly on the Thirteen Golden Dharmas of Sakya tradition, the Seven Mandalas of Ngor tradition, and other deities, and has ordained more than ten thousand monks.
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