I have consolidated and closed the separate Buddhist News topics created by Nahahwu into a single one for better referencing.
Instructions to construct a new monastery and temple for the
monastic community in this area were revealed to
Kunzang Dechen
Lingpa Rinpoche in a dream, along with an exact
vision of where the
structure should be placed. After a short
search, Rinpoche located
the land for the temple as described in his
dream, including its
relationship to four major mountains, local
caves located in the
four directions, and additional environmental
and geographical
details http://www.zangdokpalri.org/map.html.
With his own
limited resources, Rinpoche acquired the land
and started work on
building Zangdokpalri Monastery as a future
oasis of Buddhist
scholarship, sacred art and meditation.
Kunsang Rinpoche was born in the Earth Snake
Year 1928, in Southern
Tibet in Lhodrak (map). He is the13th
reincarnation of the Buddha
Rinchen Tsug Tor Gyen. From childhood he was
only interested in
spiritual things. At 16 he went into full time
spiritual retreat,
and studied with Dudjom Rinpoche for 10 years.It
was prophesized,
and he became a terton or treasure revealer at
age 20. Rinpoche was
recognized by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche as the Lodhak
Terton, the
reincarnation of Terton Longsel Nyingpo, of the
Drubchen Melong
Dorje lineage.
Based on premonitions of the ensuing diaspora,
Kunzang Dechen
Rinpoche left Tibet for the famous "hidden land"
of Pemakod in
1955, 4 years before the Chinese takeover of
Tibet. After 7 years
in meditation retreat there he eventually
settled in Assam, the
northeastern extremity of India. There he
received prophecies in
his dreams from Guru Padmasambhava that two
gonpas or monasteries
should be built in that area. Acting on his
vision, Rinpoche first
built Tashi Choling nunnery in Assam. Over a
decade later, in the
neighboring state of Arunachal Pradesh Rinpoche
discovered the
exact location as depicted in his previous dream
for the
Zangdokpalri Temple. The local people have
donated this mountaintop
and the temple is now under construction to
precise specifications,
according to Rinpoche’s vision of Guru
Rinpoche’s palace in the
Copper Colored Mountain pure land.
Rinpoche is renowned for his "pure vision"
treasure revelations of
Dorje Drollo, Throma Nagmo and many others he
directly received
from Padmasambhava. His unique Healing Chö
practice has brought
healing and relief from suffering to countless
beings around the
world. In these times of rampant degeneration
Rinpoche's teachings
illuminate and dispel the darkness of ignorance,
delusion and
suffering. Ven. Kunsang Dechen Lingpa
personifies wisdom,
compassion, spiritual power, integrity and
delight in life.
http://www.zangdokpalri.org/art/teacherlineage.jpg
About a month before he passed Rinpoche spoke to
the monks close to
him that there would be specifically 5
incarnations. On occasions
when traveling in the past he had indicated that
his incarnations
would be reborn even in different countries.
Rinpoche had often
expressed his wish to pass in the presense of
his monks and nuns at
the Zangdolpalri Temple site.
All indications are that he passed at will,
having finished the
drupchens at both the nunnery and the monastery
and having given
the Longevity Buddha Initiation (Tse Wang) to
nearly 10,000 people.
Afterwards he was not feeling well but refused
to go to the
hospital. Dungse and Ani Tsering Paldron
determined that his
condition seemed dire and took him anyway to the
local military
hospital; before leaving the temple project
grounds his last words
to his senior administrator monk, Tsewang Dondup
were “ you go on
putting the mantras in the statues and I will
return.” Rinpoche’s
vital signs ceased about an hour after arriving
at the hospital. He
was then returned to his room at the gompa
(monastery) where
Rinpoche remained in a state of deep
meditational awareness sitting
upright unassisted for 2 and half days (Tib:
TUKDOM) When I asked
the monks how they knew he had left tukdom they
explained that
Dungse (his son) wrote him a letter requesting
him to leave tukdom
as there were many students and sponsors waiting
to pay respects to
his body and that he knew it was not good to
stay in that state of
deep meditation too long. Dungse placed the
letter before him and a
storm rolled in during this particularly dry
period. A bolt of
lightening struck the pray flag pole in the
center of the court
yard and a down pour of rain began, and then a
rainbow appeared
just above his room. . His body had than lost
its luster. Now the
body is packed in dry salt and puja is to be
constantly performed
for 49 days. The salt is changed every 5 or 6
days and distributed
to the faithful. A special stupa is being
constructed which will
contain the body in perpetuity. Rinpoche
instructed the monks in
this process during the last few months.
Rinpoche passed away while preparing for another
tour to the west
with a group of his most accomplished nuns and
monks. His goal of
obtaining donations to finish the Zangdokpalri
temple that the
Buddha Guru Rinpoche had specifically directed
him in a dream to
construct in order to bring peace to these
troubled times drove him
to leave his Himalayan meditation retreat and
travel. Now that goal
is just a thought.
http://www.zangdokpalri.org/rebirth2.pdf
