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Lotus Speech Australia

From Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia
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Lotus Speech Australia
LSA Logo.JPG

Lotus Speech Australia

Information
Tradition/Linage Tibetan, Nyingma
Main School Vajrayana
Founded Founded(when)::2006
People
Director(s) BUORG-Names::Names::Changling Rinpoche
Rinpoche(s) BUORG-Names::Names::Changling Rinpoche,
Contact Infotmation
Address
Heidelberg West
Victoria 3081
Australia
Country Australia
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{{#geocode:Heidelberg WestVictoriaAustralia|format=float|service=google}} service=google }}The "_geo" type of this property is invalid
Map {{#display_map:{{#geocode:Heidelberg WestVictoriaAustralia}}|height=250px|width=250px|zoom=18}}
Website Website::http://lotusspeech.org.au/ "Website" has not been listed as valid URI scheme.
Email Email::info@lotusspeech.org.auURIs of the form "Email::info@lotusspeech.org.au" are not allowed.


Lotus Speech Australia

Lotus Speech is an entirely volunteer based society formed with the intention of assisting Changling Rinpoche spread the Buddhist Dharma across Australia. In 2006, Lotus Speech Australia (Vic) Inc was incorporated in the state of Victoria as a not for profit organisation (No. A0049300H), ABN 77 121 520 615, under the spiritual direction of Changling Rinpoche.

Our goals are:

Lotus Speech Australia does not employ salaried staff.

Spiritual Director of Lotus Speech

Changling Rinpoche

Changling Rinpoche is a student of Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and is Spiritual Director of Lotus Speech Australia, and director of Lotus Speech worldwide. Changling Rinpoche teaches senior students at Shechen Monastery and those in the Shechen traditional three-year retreat. Rinpoche, as head of ritual at Shechen, protects the integrity of the Shechen ritual tradition and teaches ritual and Nyingma tantra to senior students. Rinpoche teaches worldwide, beginning in Australia in 2002, North America in 2004 and Europe in 2005. Rinpoche has established Lotus Speech organizations under his direction in Australia, Canada, and Hong Kong. All these fellow Lotus Speech organizations cooperate closely to further Rinpoche’s activities. We, as Rinpoche’s students, and members of Lotus Speech, strive to live and enact the Buddhist principles of compassion and wisdom, reflection and pure conduct that Rinpoche teaches everywhere.

As a child, Changling Rinpoche was recognized by Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Kyabje Penor Rinpoche in 1985 as the Changling Tulku of Changchub Ling Monastery in the Tsang region of Central Tibet. The news came to Rinpoche’s family in Kalimpong via a letter written by their Holinesses. Rinpoche’s grandmother, being surprised by the news, took it upon herself to look into the situation. She traced the source to an old yogi, Lama Trakden, a student of the previous Changling Lingpa. Lama Trakden had gone to see Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche who was giving teachings in Mysore at Penor Rinpoche’s monastery and requested Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche to recognize the tulku of his root teacher. This is how it came about that both Khyentse Rinpoche and Penor Rinpoche recognized Changling tulku together.

As an 11 year old boy, Rinpoche entered Shechen Monastery and was enthroned by Khyentse Rinpoche and ordained by Trulshik Rinpoche. For the first year Rinpoche learned how to read and write Tibetan. The following year Shechen opened its philosophical college and Khyentse Rinpoche put Changling Tulku into the program when he was twelve, an age considerably younger than usual. When Rinpoche was fifteen, his root teacher Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche passed away. At sixteen, Rinpoche began to give teachings to other students in college.

At eighteen, Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, abbot of Shechen Monastery, sent Changling Rinpoche to Penor Rinpoche’s college in Mysore to complete his studies of the Prajnaparamita (Heart Sutra) under the tutelage of the three great khenpos there. At twenty, Rinpoche took full monk’s ordination with Trulshik Rinpoche. Rinpoche graduated with a khenpo’s degree at the age of twenty-one. Since the passing of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Rinpoche’s main teachers are Kyabjes Trulshik Rinpoche, Dodrupchen Rinpoche, Penor Rinpoche, Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche and Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche. Currently Changling Rinpoche is in charge of a section of the Shechen Monastery called dratsang, which literally means “the collection of monks”.

Practices

Changling Rinpoche teaches Lotus Speech students practices drawn from several Nyingma and one specific Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. More information on these lineages and teachings:

Starting with the profound foundation teachings and practice, students practice progressively according to advice and teachings given to them by Changling Rinpoche, and their practice inclinations.

Northern Treasures

A Brief History of This Lineage

Northern history

The Northern Treasures originate from Guru Padmasambhava, or Guru Rinpoche as he was called in Tibet, the Indian Lotus-Born Guru who established the vajrayana teachings in Tibet at the invitation of the Tibetan King, Trisong Deutsen, in the 9th Century CE. On his arrival in Tibet, Guru Padmasambhava first empowered and taught his twenty five principle disciples the eight heruka sadhanas based on the eighteen mahayoga tantras he had received from his Indian gurus. This formed the basis for all sadhana practice within the Nyingma.

Having spread the Buddhist teaching in Tibet, Guru Padmasambhava concealed many spiritual treasures for individuals in the future. When the time was right, these spiritual treasures awoke within the minds of the reincarnations of Padmasambhava’s accomplished students to directly benefit later generations of students. One of these was Rigdzin Godem (1337-1408 CE), the Vulture Feather Master, the reincarnation of Nanam Dorje Dudjom, one of Guru Padmasambhava’s nine closest students.

Rigdzin Godem and The Northern Treasures Tradition

Rigdzin Godem

Rigdzin Godem withdrew the Northern Treasures from concealment in 1366 CE. This collection contains the extensive practice of the Eight Heruka Sadhanas, the Rigdzin Dungdrub, the sadhana of the Lineage of Vidyadharas, the instructions on Guru Dragpotsal, the Wrathful Guru, the instructions on Drowa Kundrol, Avaloketisvara, Tamdrin Dregpa Kundul, the practice of Hayagriva, the unique Northern Treasures Kilaya, a particularly powerful form of Vajrakilaya, and the dzogchen Kadak Rangjung Rangshar, Self-Existing and Self-Manifest Primordial Purity.

At the core of the Northern Treasures is the profound Gongpa Zangthal; Showing Directly The Realization of Samantabhadra, the primordial buddha. This is the dzogchen, the ultimate and highest teaching of the Nyingma tradition, passed from one qualified Northern Treasures master to another. Renowned for its profundity and clarity, it has been the source of realization for many practitioners over the centuries. Other renowned practices, familiar to many, such as the ‘The Prayer in Seven Chapters’ and the ‘Aspiration of Samantabhadra’, come from the Northern Treasures tradition.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s Treasures and Teachings

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche is known to have revealed many profound treasure teachings hidden by Guru Padmasmabhava and destined for fortunate practitioners in these present times. Within this vast array of treasures, there are three major cycles practiced by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s students and Lotus Speech Australia students.

Rechung Lineage

Like his predecessors, Changling Rinpoche has started teaching the Rechung lineage practices to interested students. These Rechungpa teachings are rare in the East and West. Thus, each year, Changling Rinpoche teaches further sepcific practice from the Rechung lineage at Rechung Gar, a practice retreat held at Shechen Changchub Ling, Lotus Speech Canada’s home and retreat centre near Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island, British Cloumbia. The retreat center is located in a beautiful park like setting. The shrine room, overlooking the property, is a serene and inspiring place to practice and visit, especially now with the addition of the Rechung Vajrayogini Sand Mandala made and consecrated by Chnagling Rinpoche in June 2009.

Brief History of the Rechung Lineage

Rechung Lineage

There are two main Kagyu lineages: the Marpa and Shangpa Kagyu. In the Marpa Kagyu, there exist two lineages: the Dagpo Kagyu from Gampopa and the Rechung Kagyu from Rechungpa. Rechungpa purposely took rebirth to collect the life stories and songs of Milarepa and restore the teachings of the formless dakinis. As Marpa could only translate two of the eight chapters of the eight dharmas of these teachings, he told Milarepa that one of Milarepadisciples would gather these teachings. Later, Milarepa said to his student Rechungpa that since he had a prophecy from his master that one of his students would go to India, he, Rechungpa, should go to India and get the rest of the formless dakini teachings. Rechungpa went to India and met Tipupa who was none other than Marpa’s first son Dharma Dode who was intended to be the blood lineage holder of Marpa’s oral instructions. Marpa gave his son Dharma Dode the exceptional and secret phowa empowerment and pith instructions to transfer consciousness into the recently expired body of an ordinary human being. Dharma Dode was critically wounded in an horrific horse riding accident. As Dharma Dode lay dying, Marpa gave him the pith instructions on the exceptional transference of consciousness.

No appropriate recently deceased human corpse could be found, so Dharma Dode transferred his consciousness into a newly deceased pigeon with the direct pith instructions from Marpa. Marpa’s other students present saw many miraculous signs and all saw Dharma Dode in the form Hevajra. Marpa sent the pigeon to India to a charnel ground where the recently deceased body of a 16-year-old boy was to be burned. Dharma Dode transferred his consciousness from the pigeon into the boy’s dead body and that boy appeared to come to life again. “Tipu” means pigeon. This phowa lineage was thus temporarily lost as the lineage could only be given once orally from guru to student and it had already been given the once to Dharma Dode.

Tipupa became a student of Naropa and Maitripa and received all of the formless dakini teachings from them. When Rechungpa came to India, Naropa had already gone to Khechara, so Rechungpa received the rest of the formless dakini teachings from Tipupa, brought them back to Tibet and gave them to Milarepa. This formless dakini lineage is thus Naro, Tipupa, Rechungpa and Milarepa.

The Rechung Formless Dakini lineage and practice

The Rechungpa practice extends from the preliminary practices to mahamudra. The ultimate teachings of mahamudra are the formless dakini teaching. Milarepa gave teachings to everyone equally, but his closest heart son was Rechungpa and so Milarepa wrote teachings in his own hand from the development to the completion stage for Rechungpa only. These teachings were thus transmitted not by singing, but by Milarepa composing them himself. Because of this, we have Milarepa’s extremely direct explanation from Milarepa himself – an explanation not passed from master to student, but rather the exact view of Milarepa himself.

The Rechung Kagyu and Changling Tulkus

As said, the Rechung Kagyu is mainly based on the formless dakini teaching and the teaching Rechungpa received from Naropa. Tsang Nyon Heruka was from Rechungpa’s lineage of students and is known as an emanation of Rechungpa. Tsang Nyon Heruka was the Kagyu master who collected Milarepa’s life story. Tsang Nyon Heruka’s second purpose was to restore the teachings of the formless dakini. This is a strict teaching lineage – the lineage holders do not give general public teachings, but teach only a few select students. Tsang Nyon Heruka had many students, but his heart student was Gotsang Repa Natsok Rangdrol.

Gotsang Repa in turn had many students – of his two main students, one was Gothukpa Sangye Dorje. He is regarded as the incarnation of Tsang Nyon Heruka, and was the first Changling Rinpoche, who Tibetans from Tsang called ‘Lama Rechungpa’. This first Changling Rinpoche and the first Dalai Lama were contemporaries. Some subsequent Changling incarnations died at a very young age. There have been fifteen incarnations altogether.

The Changling tulkus are regarded as the lineage holders of the Rechung Kagyu. The eleventh and twelfth Changling Rinpoches engaged more in the Nyingma Northern Treasure practices and established the Northern Treasure tradition in Changling monastery. The previous Changling Rinpoche wrote many commentaries on the Rechung Kagyu teachings – even the renowned Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo came to his monastery to receive the Rechung Kagyu lineage from him. The fourteenth Changling Rinpoche became more involved in the Nyingma and thus had two types of students: Kagyu and Nyingma. The fourteenth Changling incarnation died at around 50 years of age, and did not come to India. When the fourteenth Changling Rinpoche passed away, there were two incarnations. One is the present Changling Rinpoche at Shechen Monastery in Nepal, and the other is still in Tibet. There is still a Kagyu group and a Nyingma group of students: the current Changling Rinpoche was brought up by the Nyingma group.

In Tibet there were two main seats of the Rechungpa lineage. One was Rechung Phug and the other was Changling. Changling is in the Shigatze district, between Shigatze and Sakya. Sakya Ngor monastery and Changling monastery are separated by one big mountain. The Kagyu practiced in this lineage is the Rechung Kagyu tradition.

Source

Lotus Speech Australia