Light of Fearless Indestructible Wisdom: The Life and Legacy of H. H. Dudjom Rinpoche

353 Pages·2008·6.26 MB·English

by  Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal

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Light of Fearless
Indestructible Wisdom
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Light of Fearless
Indestructible Wisdom
The Life and Legacy of
His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche
by
Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche
Samye Translation Group
Prose Translation and Annotation
Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal & Carl Stuendel
Verse and Song Translation
Toy-Fung Tung & Marie-Louise Friquegnon
Snow Lion Publications
Ithaca, New York
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SNOW LION PUBLICATIONS
P. O. Box 6483
Ithaca, NY 14851 USA
[phone]
www.snowlionpub.com
Copyright © 2008 Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche
The original Tibetan version of the poetry verses is available for downloading
at www.padmasambhava.org.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without prior
written permission from the publisher.
Printed in USA on acid-free recycled paper.
Paper—ISBN-10: 1-55939-304-1; ISBN-13: 978-1-55939-304-1
Cloth—ISBN-10: 1-55939-324-6; ISBN-13: 978-1-55939-324-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tsewang Dongyal, Khenpo, 1950-
[Gter chen Bdud ’joms ’jigs bral ye s´es rdo rje gar dban˙ ’gro ’dul glin˙ pa
rtsal gyi rnam thar ye s´es rdo rje’i ’od zer. English]
Light of fearless indestructible wisdom : the life and legacy of His
Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche / by Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal ; prose
translation and annotation, Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal & Carl Stuendel ;
verse and song translation, Toy-Fung Tung & Marie-Louise Friquegnon.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-55939-304-1 (alk. paper) (paper)
ISBN-10: 1-55939-304-1 (alk. paper) (paper)
ISBN-13: 978-1-55939-324-9 (alk. paper) (cloth)
ISBN-10: 1-55939-324-6 (alk. paper) (cloth)
1. Bdud-’joms ’Jigs-bral-ye-s´es-rdo-rje, 1904-1987. 2. Rñin˙ -ma-pa
lamas--Biography. I. Title.
BQ942.D87T76 2008
294.3'923092--dc22
[B]
2008020559
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Contents
Foreword by Her Eminence the Dudjom Sangyum Kuzhok Rigdzin Wangmo 7
Author’s Introduction 11
Spelling and Other Conventions 37
Light of Fearless Indestructible Wisdom
Introductory Verses: homage to the masters of the Nyingma lineage
and a pledge to bring this biography to completion 41
The First Heap of Lightbeams: Kyabje Dudjom’s previous incarnations 47
The Second Heap of Lightbeams: a brief account in Kyabje’s own words
of his birthplace and parents 57
The Third Heap of Lightbeams: as predicted by the second buddha,
Guru Padmasambhava, His Holiness takes birth in the royal clan
of Kanam Depa 65
The Fourth Heap of Lightbeams: early signs, recognition as the
reincarnation of Dudjom Lingpa, and Kyabje Dudjom’s enthronement 73
The Fifth Heap of Lightbeams: Kyabje’s exposure from an early age
to the great teachers who bestowed the teachings, empowerments,
and instructions 79
The Sixth Heap of Lightbeams: Kyabje Dudjom’s impartial, beneficial
activities for the teachings and beings 99
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6 Light of Fearless Indestructible Wisdom
The Seventh Heap of Lightbeams: a brief explanation of Kyabje’s
enthronement as a great tertön and regent of Guru Padmasambhava
and of how Guru Rinpoche and wisdom dakini Yeshe Tsogyal
entrusted him with terma 179
The Eighth Heap of Lightbeams: an enumeration of how he preserved
and spread the teachings of the ancient great tertöns through
empowerment, transmission, and pith instruction, and by emending
texts that had been annotated incorrectly 197
The Ninth Heap of Lightbeams: the final activities of the precious
nirmanakaya that terminate where all phenomena are exhausted
in the true nature 207
The Tenth Heap of Lightbeams: H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche’s
dharmakaya mind enters the dharmadhatu, the beneficial effects
of his kudung, and its installation in the golden stupa for the
benefit of generations to come 217
Eleventh Heap of Lightbeams: a brief list of his disciples 231
Verses Dedicating the Merit of This Composition 235
Colophon 243
Appendix 1: About the Chronology 247
Appendix 2: An Essay on Tibetan Poetry 249
Notes 265
Glossary 301
Index of Text Titles 317
Index of Personal and Place Names 327
Individuals Referred to in the Text by Multiple Names 339
List of Photographs and Illustrations 343
Padmasambhava Buddhist Center 347
Other Books by the Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches 349
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Foreword
by
Her Eminence the Dudjom Sangyum Kuzhok Rigdzin Wangmo
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His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche and Dudjom Sangyum Rigdzin Wangmo
in the 1950s in Kalimpong, West Bengal, India
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