His Eminence the Third Drubwang Tsoknyi Rinpoche is an important lama of both the Drukpa and Nyingma lineages. He was born in 1966 in Kathmandu, Nepal, to the family of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, who holds the Tsangsar Family Lineage, a special family lineage of tantric yogis. Tsoknyi Rinpoche's great great grandfather was the treasure revealer Chokgyur Lingpa and Rinpoche has been trained in that family tradition by his father from an early age.
The First Tsoknyi Rinpoche (1828-1904) was an emanation of Milarepa's disciple, Rechungpa, and the Nyingmapa Terton Ratna Lingpa. He was born in Nangchen, Eastern Tibet, in the first half of the 19th Century and was a contemporary of the three great lamas of the time, Jamyang Khyentse, Jamgon Kongtrul, and Chokgyur Lingpa. He fully mastered the practices of the Six Dharmas of Naropa and became the principal guru in those practices for the Sixth Khamtrul Rinpoche Tenpai Nyima and the renowned master Shakya Shri. He also practiced the Nyingma tradition of Ratna Lingpa, with its special yogas, as well as his own Nyingmapa practices. He established many centers for the practice of the Dharma in Tibet.
The Second Drubwang Tsoknyi Rinpoche was born into the family of the king of Nangchen in the first half of this century and received the teachings of Naropa from the Seventh Khamtrul Rinpoche. He was expert in the Six Yogas of Naropa and Mahamudra as well as his own Nyingmapa lineages.
The present Drubwang Tsoknyi Rinpoche was recognized by His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa at the age of eight. When he was thirteen he was brought to Khampagar Monastery in Tashi Jong, North India, the seat of Khamtrul Rinpoche. Tsoknyi Rinpoche's principal teachers have been His Eminence the Eighth Khamtrul Rinpoche Dongyu Nyima, His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, and His Eminence the Eighth Adeu Rinpoche.
Drubwang Tsoknyi Rinpoche completed his formal studies and returned from India to Nepal in 1990. He established his seat in Kathmandu at Ngedon Osel Ling Monastery which he planned and built in consultation with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. Ngedon Osel Ling is the site of on-going, traditional Tibetan three-year retreats and an International Buddhist Meditation Centre. It is the headquarters for the Drukpa Heritage Foundation which is working to preserve the written texts of the Drukpa Lineage. In addition Tsoknyi Rinpoche is the spiritual head of the largest nunnery in Tibet, located in Kham, Eastern Tibet; and the abbot of Chumig Gyatsa Abbey, a nunnery at Muktinath in Western Nepal and Parphing Gechak nunnery. He is widely recognized as a brilliant meditation teacher and is the author of Carefree Dignity and Fearless Simplicity from Rangjung Yeshe Publications.
For more information on Drubwang Tsoknyi Rinpoche, please visit his official website: www.pundarika.org
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
