Enthronement: The Ongoing Incarnation Heritage of Guru Rinpoche
For the past two years, the life and dharma activities of Chagdud Rinpoche have been brightened by the presence of a two-year-old boy named Kunzang. Even without knowing the child's identity, one is immediately struck by the intimate rapport between him and Rinpoche–a bond that seems to reach far deeper than their brief relationship in this lifetime. The profundity of this connection was confirmed on July 10, 1994 at Rigdzin Ling when, in front of a large gathering, Kunzang was enthroned as Orgyan Jigmed Namgyal, the tulku of the 20th-century terton, or treasure discoverer, Padgyal Lingpa.
Padgyal Lingpa was a very well-known treasure discoverer who revealed Padmasambhava's Kusum Gongdu cycle (Union of the Enlightened Intent of the Three Kayas). He discovered five main treasure cycles, though only one, the Kusum Gongdu, remains accessible. Padgyal Lingpa revealed this cycle in the hidden valley of Padma Kod on his way out of Tibet during the Chinese invasion. The protector of the treasure prophesied in a dream that it could be located in a certain lake, and gave him a special pill to rub on his skin so that the lake's caustic waters would not harm him.
Although the sky was overcast the next day, above this lake the clouds broke and clusters of rainbows appeared. Led by Padgyal Lingpa, a large procession chanting the Vajra Guru mantra gathered at its shores and performed a tsog offering, during which the terton leapt up on his throne and assumed the stance of Dorje Drolod. He then threw down his meditation shawl, jumped off the throne and began to dance. Stripping off the rest of his clothes so no one would suspect that he carried the treasure into the lake, he dove in. The water started swirling and for five or six minutes he remained submerged. He surfaced holding a rock, too hot for others to touch, which contained a casket with the hidden treasures of the mother consort, or feminine, aspect of the practice.
The father consort, or masculine, aspect was revealed at another time and place, late at night, before only a few witnesses, who said later that when they approached the place where the treasure was hidden they could see sparks and lights radiating from it. Three people dug it out. The place of concealment was sealed with butter, the revealed objects were placed in a row and Padgyal Lingpa immediately gave an empowerment. Within a day, the butter used to seal the entrance had turned to stone and the rock could not be removed again.
Padgyal Lingpa imposed a seal of secrecy on these teachings for 24 years, during which time he did not impart them to anybody. In the final years of his life he undertook a three-year retreat during which he codified them. At the end of his retreat he held a large drubchen and offered the empowerments to those present.
Although Chagdud Rinpoche, who is named in the terma, or treasure, as the custodian of this cycle, received part of the Kusum Gongdu transmission, Padgyal Lingpa died in 1987 before terton and custodian had the opportunity to meet again.
Orgyan Jigmed Namgyal was born in Seattle in October 1991 to Tsokye Mehlberg, one of Rinpoche's Western students, and Pema Wangyal, a Tibetan student. In April 1992 the family moved to Rigdzin Ling to help prepare an elaborate drubchen ceremony. Pema, a well-known thangka painter, was skilled in many aspects of ritual, particularly musical instrumentation. During that summer he became very ill with liver cancer. Before his death, he asked Chagdud Rinpoche to take care of Tsokye and the child. Rinpoche promised to do all he could to help them.
From early on, Chagdud Rinpoche knew that Kunzang was someone very special, and he prayed to his root and lineage lamas for indications concerning the child's identity. In a vision, the dharma protector Ekadzati told him that Kunzang was the incarnation of three of the twenty-five intimate students of Padmasambhava: the body emanation of Nub Sang-gyay Yeshe, whose 20th-century incarnation was known as Padgyal Lingpa; the speech emanation of Gyalwa Chhogyang, whose current emanations include Chagdud Rinpoche and Tulku Sang-ngag; and the mind emanation of the great Tibetan Dharma King Trisong Detsen. This was confirmed by H.H. Penor Rinpoche and H.E. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, who recognized Kunzang as the rebirth of the terton Padgyal Lingpa.
The enthronement of a tulku is of great import in Vajrayana Buddhism in that it is the formal recognition of the continuity of the enlightened intent of a master who has consciously directed his or her rebirth for the benefit of sentient beings. Chagdud Rinpoche has emphasized the importance of recognizing and training these individuals to ensure the spread of the authentic teachings of the Vajrayana, and he himself has worked tirelessly to that end.
That Kunzang is the tulku of a terton implies an even weightier responsibility for his training because of his intimate connection to Guru Rinpoche. According to Tulku Sang-ngag, "Tertons are not ordinary people and terma teachings are not ordinary teachings. They carry the direct blessing of Guru Rinpoche for these times of spiritual degeneration. The lineage of the Kusum Gongdu cycle is extremely direct, from Guru Rinpoche to Yeshe Tsogyal to Padgyal Lingpa to Chagdud Rinpoche. These relationships are not arbitrary but derive from a shared aspiration from past lifetimes. This means that when a terma such as this is revealed, the store of blessings that it carries is unimpaired and incredibly powerful in its enlightened intent."
With the relatively recent arrival of Vajrayana Buddhism in the United States, it is most auspicious that such a practitioner as Padgyal Lingpa has taken rebirth here and that we have had the fortune to meet a number of excellent lamas with whom he was closely connected. Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche, who attended our first Red Vajrasattva drubchen (part of the Kusum Gongdu) and offered the entire Padgyal Lingpa terma cycle, was entrusted by Padgyal Lingpa to transmit the lineage to Chagdud Rinpoche. Tulku Kunga Rinpoche, the reincarnation of Padgyal Lingpa's maternal uncle (who was responsible for his early training), came for Kunzang's enthronement and is now undertaking a project in Nepal to translate the entire Kusum Gongdu into English. Pema Tenzin, resident artist at Rigdzin Ling, was fortunate to have studied directly with Padgyal Lingpa in Bhutan.
Rinpoche and Orgyan Jigmed Namgyal.
The enthronement of Orgyan Jigmed Namgyal took place at the end of the Red Vajrasattva drubchen in the context of a Red Vajrasattva tsog. During the elaborate ceremony, traditional offerings were presented to the young tulku by the lamas and guests present. Many ceremonies at Chagdud Gonpa have been enriched by the often humorous play of this child, bumping people on the head with texts, offering blessing water from vases or chanting unfamiliar sadhanas while the main ceremony continues. He has also spent many hours on a throne beside Chagdud Rinpoche. But this time he sat alone and the offerings were given directly to him. It was his ceremony. Through the power of the lineage blessings, his gestures and words ceased to be the play of a child and became, throughout the ritual, the mature expression of the unbounded intention to benefit others.
In just two short years he has touched the hearts of many with his joyous presence. May the life of Orgyan Jigmed Namgyal be long and without obstacle, that all beings may benefit from his activities.
[[1]]
