Dear Dharma Friends,
If you have a minute to spare, please join us in praying for the long life and health of the great Nyingma master Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche. A special prayer has been composed for him, as follows:
LONGLIFE PRAYER FOR VENERABLE KHENCHEN PALDEN SHERAB RINPOCHE
OM GURU A YU SIDDHI HUNG HRI A MARANI JI VAN TE YE SWA HA
gdod nas khyab bdal ‘od gsal rdzogs pa che/
The primordial, all-pervading clear light nature of the great perfection,
ngo bo rang bzhin thugs rje’i dkyil ‘khor gzugs/
Mandala of authentic nature, clarity, and compassionate manifestation,
sku gsum rtsa gsum sangs rgyas pad+ma’i mthus/
Inseperable from the three kayas, three roots, Buddha and Guru Padmasambhava
mkhan po dpal ldan shes rab mchog gi sku/
By the power of this may the life of the Venerable Khenpo Palden Sherab remain firm,
bstan ‘gro’i dpal du bskal brgyar zhabs brtan shog/
Benifitting the Buddhadharma and sentient beings for one hundred aeons.
(Written with sublime best wishes by Tarthang Tulku at Pema Ling on the 18th day of the 2nd month of the Iron Monkey Year. Sarwa vi dza yentu)
#1 by Spencer on June 18, 2010 - 12:19 PM
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Such a beautiful long life prayer. Could you tell me a little bit about Khenchen Palden Sherab, maybe a little about his qualities, life, lineage?
Thanks
#2 by Bill on June 18, 2010 - 12:42 PM
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Here’s his bio.
http://www.padmasambhava.org/teach/longkhenchen.html
Is Khenchen Rinpoche ill?
#3 by Anyen Rinpoche on June 18, 2010 - 1:22 PM
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The short answer is yes, but I’ll let Yontan give any other information that he wants to share…
Allison
#4 by Yontan on June 18, 2010 - 2:34 PM
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Well, I’ll share what I know, which isn’t much at the moment. Khen Rinpoche was not doing well physically last winter, losing color and moving slowly. At nearly 70 years old, no one knew what to expect. He basically seemed to recover and conducted a number of public ceremonies and retreats this spring, but in the last few days has apparently become quite ill. I do know that those students nearby are changing plans to stay nearby, and a longlife ceremony was held on his behalf yesterday afternoon.
He is among other things a treasure of the scholarly tradition of Old Tibet and many of us still have much to gain from his presence, so any prayers are very appreciated.
I will update as I hear more.
Regardless, by our awareness of impermanence and our own precious situation, may the true dharma take root in our minds and make the lives of these wonderful beings actually meaningful.
#5 by Yontan on June 18, 2010 - 7:39 PM
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Spencer, I’ll tell you about some of the qualities I’ve seen in him:
First and last you see that he exudes exemplary compassion, equanimity, love and joy for every being; He makes no distinction as to rank and prestige. Each person who calls him “teacher” feels like they are special to him. [It is said - though I wasn't there - that after a lengthy meeting with Dalai Lama Khen Rinpoche remarked that he (HHDL) seemed like a very good person. LOL!]
Almost every young tulku and khenpo that came through Mysore had him as their teacher in the 60′s, as the head of the philosophy dept appt’ed by Kyabje Dudjom. It was here that he was able to spread the word of his desire to collect the writings of crazy-wisdom yogi Tsasum Lingpa, the founder of the monastary where Khen was to be head abbot before the diaspora (and where Khen Rinpoche’s younger brother’s previous incarnation had been abbot.)
Among the terma were a short, medium and long kilaya sadhana, the short and long of which had been collected. Feeling that the medium may have been lost for good, he and his father Lama Chimed wrote down the sadhana from memory. Sometime later (a few years I think it was) the great Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso of Bylakuppe (then “khenpo”) had passed the word on to his students, one of whom discovered this sadhana on his parents’ shrine at home. Once it got into Khen Rinpoche’s hands, he and his father found that their version was virtually identical (except that they were able to correct some misspellings in the student’s copy!)
In all he and his brother Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal have been able to collect and publish some 17 volumes of Tsasum Lingpa’s collected works. Besides being one of the few lineage holders of Tsasum Lingpa, he received countless teachings from many great masters, and is especially reknowned for his understanding of guhyagarbha and Mipham’s teachings. Also he has an uncanny wealth of memorized scripture, packing his teachings with quotations from memory. I remember being on retreat with the Khenpos, and Sarah Harding (oral translator) was sitting near me, just slack-jawed at how many quotations he was able to recall, much of which his brother didn’t even bother to translate!
(He claims his English – all of some seventy words tops – has reached the “unchanging state,” despite having lived in the US for more than thirty years.)
He is known to break into spontaneous lama dancing when given half a chance, and will often express his Khampa cowboy nature if left in the woods for more than fifteen minutes, building a fire amid a downpour, or brushing his teeth with the twisted fibers from a tree branch.
I guess that’s enough for now.
#6 by Yontan on June 20, 2010 - 12:28 PM
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https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:10315.6707174925/rid:3983682e5df099bde7dfd82f43a06510
#7 by Yontan on June 20, 2010 - 7:36 PM
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A Father’s Day song to the trikaya guru:
Father Guru, think of me.
You plant the seed of confused appearance mind in the undetermined womb of basic space, giving birth to innate unborn wisdom.
You teach the union of Great Madhyamaka and Dzogchen, the perfect completeness of the centerless mandala.
If I grasp onto you with longing, is it because I haven’t heard your teaching?
Your magical appearance upon my crown is due to my unimaginable fortune meeting your boundless aspiration, two forces echoing ceaselessly throughout the fourth time.
What has ever been lost? Your hook has caught my nose-ring.
What more is there to gain? You placed my mind in my hand.
Aside from gossiping and skipping stones, You haven’t withheld a single thing from your son.
This sadness, affirmation of dukkha, inspiration.
Even Your absence makes Your presence burn brighter.
May Your mind and my mind never be separate.
May my every thought word and deed resonate with your limitless blessing.
May this opportunity You’ve given fill my sails and carry me fully across effortlessly, to complete exhaustion.
May the fire of Your teachings continue to burn in this world for a long, long, long time.