May/June Heart of Glastonbury - Magazine - Page 20
Venerable Gyakong Padma Tenzin Rinpoche:
A Modern Tibetan Guru in an Ancient Tradition of Buddhism
The Ven. Gyakong Padma Tenzin
Rinpoche (་ཀོང་བ་བན་འ ན།) is a
Tibetan Buddhist Guru, who was
recognized as the fourth
reincarnation of Jigme Gyalwai
Nyugu, a renowned Dzogchen
master in Nyingma lineage. He
was recognized by Venerable
Padma Drodul Rinpoche and
enthroned[1] in 1985 at ZheRan
Monastery.
Tell us about yourself and who
you
are?
From
a young age, Gyakong
Padma Tenzin Rinpoche
embarked on a dedicated path
of Buddhist Dharma learning,
with a particular focus on the
profound teachings of the
Nyingma[2] lineage, especially
the practice of Dzogchen[3]
Longchen Nyingtik[4]. He
received most transmissions and
empowerments of Dzogchen from
one of his most important
Gurus, Padma Drodul Rinpoche
(ཤར་ ་མཆོག་ ལ་པ་འགོ་འ ལ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།), who
was enthroned by H.E. 9th
Panchen Rinpoche in 1940s at
Dzogchen Monastery.
[1] 'Enthronement' is a
ceremony that formally bestows
the title of 'Living Buddha'
upon an individual.
[2] 'Nyingma' is the oldest of
the four major schools of
Tibetan Buddhism.
[3] 'Dzogchen' is the name of a
specific practice in Nyingma
lineage, and it is also the name
of a lineage within the Nyingma
sect.
[4] 'Longchen Nyingtik' is the
name of a series of specific
teachings.
Additionally, Gyakong Padma
Tenzin Rinpoche also received
transmissions and empowerments
from the Ven. Togden Lodro
Gyatso Rinpoche (བེ་རོ་ཡང་ ལ་རོགས་ན་བོ་
གོས་་མ ལ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།) and Tenpey
Wangchuk Rinpoche (ཁང་སར་བན་པའི་
དབང་ ག་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།), including the
profound Khandro Nyingtik and
Yeshe Lama. He has successfully
completed Yidam and Dzogchen
retreats, and his profound
realization was confirmed and
acknowledged by his root
Gurus.
Apart from the Nyingma
tradition, he also received
teachings from the Kagyu and
Gelug[1]lineages, including
various practices such as
Kalachakra and Yamantaka[2].
[1] Kagyu and Gelug are two of
the four major schools of
Tibetan Buddhism.
[2] Kalachakra and Yamantaka
are names of some specific
practices.
He also received the
empowerment of the Medicine
Buddha and took the retreat at
the age of eighteen. He has an
extraordinary Tibetan Medicine
lineage from the prestigious
Tibetan
Medicine master, Khenpo
Tsogru Tselang (1928-2004), and
he has been providing free
medical treatment for the local
Tibetan people for many years.
Since 2006, Rinpoche has
warmly accepted students from
mainland China, guiding them on
a transformative journey into
the world of Buddhist Dharma.
In April 2013, Rinpoche took a
significant step by formally
teaching 'The Preliminary
Practice of the Dzogchen
Longchen Nyingtik' combined
with the guidebook Words of My
Perfect Teacher, which is a
world-renowned Buddhist book
on this topic.
While he possesses lots of
precious Dharma lineages, he
places particular emphasis on
the fundamental yet profound
teachings of Buddha, such as
impermanence, cause and
effect, the suffering of
samsara and the importance of
compassion and Bodhicitta. As a
traditional Guru of Tibetan
Vajrayana, he has a unique
approach to guide disciples
through profound
transformation.
With infinite compassion and
unwavering will, Rinpoche has
dedicated himself to bringing
the pure and authentic
teachings of Vajrayana and
Dzogchen to all beings who seek
liberation from samsara.
[1] 'Enthronement' is a ceremony that formally bestows the title of 'Living Buddha' upon an individual. [1] 'Nyingma' is the oldest of
the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. [1] 'Dzogchen' is the name of a specific practice in Nyingma lineage, and it is also the name
of a lineage within the Nyingma sect. [1]'Longchen Nyingtik' is the name of a series of specific teachings. [1] Kagyu and Gelug are two
of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. [1] Kalachakra and Yamantaka are names of some specific practices.