traleg rinpoche tribute

The Wheel of Times • 1

Special Edition 2012

YESHE NYIMA TRIBUTE NEWSLETTER

Our treasured and beloved teacher, Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche IX passed intoparinirvana at 12.10 am on 24 July 2012, being the fourth day of the sixth monthof the Tibetan calendar in the Year of the Water Dragon. Rinpoche, who was devoted

to maintaining the essence and purity and of the dharma, passed away on the auspicious dayof Chokhor Duchen, the observance of Lord Buddha's first teaching. Rinpoche’s ability tocommunicate the dharma and his wide range of dharmic activity benefitted thousands ofpeople around the world. We pray for Rinpoche’swift return. n

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

• Rinpoche’s Last Days

• The Life of Traleg Rinpoche IX

• The Cremation of Traleg Rinpoche IX

• The Relationship between Relative and Absolute Bodhicitta

• Nyima Tashi

• Refuge and Bodhisattva Vows

• Prayers for the Swift Return of Traleg Rinpoche

• Traleg Rinpoche's Centres

Commemoration of the life of

Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche IX

2 • The Wheel of Times

health incident so they can be monitoredclosely to ensure their condition remainssufficiently stable for it to be safe for thepatient to return home. Rinpocheappeared to be relaxed and peaceful andsaid the bed was very comfortable. Wetalked a little, but after such a long dayRinpoche was understandably tired andwas drifting in and out of sleep. The staffallowed me to stay past visiting hours,but were making gentle hints I should beleaving soon. Rinpoche insisted I agreeto a time to leave that evening so as not todisturb the hospital routine so we decidedthat I would leave at 9.00pm. I kissed mydearest Rinpoche good-bye and weshared loving remarks with one another.He settled back to sleep almostimmediately.

I returned home somewhat exhaustedbut glad that somehow that the worst hadbeen averted. It had been a very close calland I was shaken. I felt that it was timefor Rinpoche to retire, though I knew hewould never stop working for the benefitof others. For all the time I had knownRinpoche, he had worked tirelessly and

Iunderstand the importance ofsharing with everyone thecircumstances that led to the

passing of Traleg Kyabgon RinpocheIX and will attempt to explain this tothe best of my ability. Rinpoche was athis Melbourne home in Australia on23rd July 2012 having returned fromhis centre in New Zealand around aweek earlier. Despite being unwell, hehad led the opening ceremony at thenew premises for his Nyima TashiKagyu Buddhist Centre, in Auckland.As events were to transpire, theteaching Rinpoche gave at Nyima Tashiwas to be his last as the 9th incarnationof the line of Traleg tulkus. For anumber of weeks prior to Rinpoche’strip to Auckland he fatigued very easily.Despite his ill health, Rinpoche wishedhis health would improve enough toenable him to travel and teach aspreviously planned at his beloved E-Vam Buddhist Centre in upstate NewYork.

Around 1.00 am on 23rd July 2012,Rinpoche awoke in some discomfort,and looked extremely pale and unwell.He was unwell enough for me toimmediately call for an ambulance,which arrived within five minutes.Rinpoche was calm and composed butthere was no doubt something wasterribly wrong. The ambulance officersestablished that Rinpoche’s bloodpressure was extremely low and that hecould have been at risk of cardiacdistress. He was then quickly taken onthe short trip to the emergencydepartment of a nearby hospital and wasattended to by specialist cardiac staff.Over a period of around 13 hours, thedoctors and nurses using intravenousdrips and some drug therapy worked tonormalize Rinpoche’s blood pressure. Byaround 3.00pm that day the staff hadsuccessfully achieved this and allRinpoche’s vital signs were then at asatisfactory level. Beside some momentsof arrhythmia, the doctors were satisfiedthat Rinpoche was out of immediatedanger.

Around 5.00pm, Rinpoche was movedinto a lovely private room in an“observation ward”. Patients are taken tothe observation ward after a significant

endlessly for all beings. His dedicationto benefitting others was complete andenduring. He was never off duty!

I packed a bag for Rinpoche ready totake to hospital the next morning. I wasonly at home for a short time when Ireceived a terrifying call from one ofthe doctors at the hospital telling me toreturn to the hospital as Rinpoche hadhad some kind of a turn. I knew it wasnot good and I remember thinking oursweet good-bye may have been ourlast. Then I decided to be both realisticand optimistic. I arrived at the hospitalsometime after 10.00pm. I wentstraight to the Intensive Care Unit asthe doctor had instructed. I was notallowed in to see Rinpocheimmediately. As I understand thetiming now, Rinpoche’s heart stoppedat 10.30pm on 23rd July 2012. I wasgiven the briefest of moments withRinpoche. When I saw Rinpoche lyingso still, and with many staffsurrounding him, it seemed clear to mehe would not make it, but still I hopedwith every piece of my heart for amiracle. I was then ushered out of theunit and the medical staff worked

tirelessly to try and restart Rinpoche’sheart. Rinpoche was declared deceased at12.10am on 24th July 2012.

Kal Kingi, Rinpoche’s personalassistant who now runs Rinpoche’sMelbourne Centre and Maitripa Centreand his wife Jennie had joined me in thehospital that evening. We weredevastated beyond belief when the doctorbroke the news to me that Rinpoche’sheart could not be restarted. Kal andJennie’s support and care wasremarkable.

After the doctor delivered the news, atmy request she let me sit with Rinpocheand I watched his peaceful body at rest.As I was sitting with Rinpoche itappeared to me that I observed the finaldescent of his chest as if I had witnessedthe release of his final breath. To this day,I question whether that is what I saw or ifthat was an illusion I created to help mebelieve Rinpoche waited for me to bethere before he released his final breath.

The attending doctor came to me againand said how sorry she was. Sheexplained that she was bewildered as to

Rinpoche’s Last Days

Traleg Rinpoche with His Holiness 17th Karmapa


why Rinpoche’s heart wouldn’t restart asthe normal conditions that accompany aheart attack were not present. As far as Icould tell, it seemed Rinpoche hadsuddenly but quietly slipped away withthe same type of calmness, dignity andstability of mind with which he lived. Iwas able to stay with Rinpoche in aprivate area in the unit until the morning.

The Forty Nine days

Kal and I had begun to contact seniormembers of the Kagyu Sangha and thenthe wider dharma world and began tomake arrangements for the appropriateactivities in the 49 days following a highlama’s paranirvana. Messages of shock,sorrow and condolences flooded in fromaround the world. We heard that a doublerainbow had appeared at Thrangumonastery in Tibet at the time ofRinpoche’s passing but before the monkshad received the actual news andrainbows were sighted by students overthe Carlton centre and at MaitirpaContemplative Centre at Healesville overthe following days. Double rainbows alsoappeared at Evam Institute in New Yorkand at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra onthe day they performed Karma Pakshipuja for Traleg Rinpoche.

The blessings of the Kudung

Upon hearing the news, Sam andAmi Bercholz who werestudents of Thinley Norbu

Rinpoche and close friends of TralegKyabgon Rinpoche, took the first planeto Australia from America as didRinpoche’s monk assistant, Nyima Gelekwho had been working on renovations atE-Vam Institute, New York. Togetherwith Kal and Jennie, we received thekudung, the precious body of TralegKyabgon Rinpoche home with greatreverence. The staff member from thefuneral home who was assisting with thearrangements was a student of TibetanBuddhism and showed a depth ofconcern, skill and sensitivity beyond herprofessional responsibility and ensuredthe kudung was as undisturbed aspossible. Rinpoche’s kudung was placedon an appropriate platform in hispersonal shrine room at home.

I was then asked to check the heartregion for warmth. I prepared myself as Iknew that when facing medical

intervention in hospital that Rinpochemight have selected to eject hisconsciousness and thus the heart regionmight already be cold. My breath wastaken away when I felt a strong vibrantwarmth at Rinpoche’s heart region. Ourteacher was residing in the kudung andthose present all spontaneously began toprostrate, pray and recite mantras. Thewarmth remained in Rinpoche’s heartregion for many many days. ThatRinpoche chose to come home was anextraordinarily compassionate andgenerous act and reflected how Rinpochealways thought of the well being ofothers. We were profoundly blessed tocare for the kudung of Traleg Kyabgonwhile his consciousness was still residingwith us in this world.

Once the heart region cooled, thusindicating Rinpoche’s consciousness hadleft, it was time to prepare for the nextstage. The skin was covered in the

traditional manner and the kudungenshrined appropriately as we awaitedthe auspicious date for cremation.

Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche from KarmaTriyana Dharmachakra in New York wasremarkably caring and generous: givingmany details regarding appropriateprayers; providing instructions regardingmanagement of Rinpoche’s kudung; andgiving ongoing support throughout the49 days. Sam Bercholz’s son, Ivan, whohad cared for Thinley Norbu Rinpoche’skudung after he passed into parinirvanajust months earlier, was able to giveextremely helpful advice too.

Heart offerings of the Sangha

So many people across the worldoffered prayers, support and assistance inmany forms during this period.

All of Traleg Rinpoche’s Centrescommenced pujas for 49 days within aday of Rinpoche’s passing. TheAmitabha, Calling the Guru from Afarand Chenrezig pujas and Vajrasattvamantras were performed over the period.His Holiness, the Gyalwa Karmapa andthe Very Venerable Khenchen ThranguRinpoche forwarded profound andbeautiful “swift return” prayers withindays of Rinpoche’s passing so we couldpray from the depths of our hearts for theswift return of our precious teacher.

Traleg Rinpoche’s students undergoingtraining in the practices of the traditionalthree year retreat, in particular BelindaKelly and Lyn Hutchinson, took care ofall details regarding the daily pujas at theMelbourne Centre and all the retreatantsparticipated in the Vajrayogini Puja priorto and during the cremation day. Theretreatants put in a tremendous effort ona daily basis with every puja beingprepared with love and care. With equaldevotion and care, Daniel Blaze andMarianne Mustrand co-ordinated allpujas in Chatham and New York City.Jasper Eames led pujas at MaitripaCentre in Healesville, Victoria; AniZangmo, and Garry Gadsby led pujas inSydney; and Ani Jangchub and the NewZealand Shedra students led pujas inNew Zealand. Lena Vizzone managedthe Melbourne E-Vam staff who workedextraordinary hours daily to support allaspects of the 49 days activities andpreparation for the cremation. A specialthanks must also go out to Lyn

“We heard that a doublerainbow had appeared at

Thrangu monastery in Tibetat the time of Rinpoche’s

passing but before the monkshad received the actual newsand rainbows were sighted

by students over the Carltoncentre and at Maitirpa

Contemplative Centre atHealesville over the followingdays. Double rainbows alsoappeared at Evam Institutein New York and at KarmaTriyana Dharmachakra on

the day they performedKarma Pakshi puja for

Traleg Rinpoche”

ritual master and headof Palpung Centre inAuckland and LamaTenzin from PalpungCentre in Gisborne,New Zealand. LamaDorjey assumed theleadership position tomanage all aspects ofpreparation leadingup to and after thecremation day. LamaDorjey’s efforts andenergy appearedendless, with himmanaging all aspectsof the preparations

from the construction of the cremationstupa to the fine detail required todecorate tormas. Lama Tenzin was awonderful support to Lama Dorjey andthey were soon joined by Lama TsewangLhakpa of Palpung Centre, Tasmania.

As we moved closer to the day of thecremation, lamas and rinpochescontinued to arrive. Drupen Rinchen, theretreat master from Thrangu Monasterywith whom local students had establisheda close relationship over many previousvisits to Melbourne then arrived fromTibet. His spiritual guidance and purityfurther enriched our daily offering ofprayers and activities. Many of ThranguRinpoche’s lamas began to arrive fromdifferent parts of the world: Lama PemaTsewang of Vancouver; Lama TashiDhundup of Toronto; Lama Lodro fromMalaysia; Lama Kunchen from Taiwan;and Lama Sonam and Lama Dawa fromHong Kong. Importantly, despite theirextraordinary responsibilities and


Hutchison’s sister, Barb, who workedaround the clock for days with a handfulof Rinpoche’s students to fashion themost beautiful brocade and silk styledTibetan flags, banners and curtains todecorate the cremation environment atMaitrepa.

While awaiting the confirmation of theauspicious date for the cremation,Margaret Hassett began the complex taskof securing approval from appropriategovernment departments to hold atraditional cremation ceremony at TralegRinpoche’s Maitrepa Centre. Margaretwas successful in her efforts. It was thefirst time such approval had been givenin Australia and this cleared the way forall the necessary arrangements toproceed. David Bennett constructed abeautifully detailed traditionalenshrinement for the kudung. AniJangchub made her way over fromAuckland providing me and so manySangha members with support and care.She also provided indispensible supportin looking after the needs of the manylamas who came from across the world,as did Ani Zangmo from the SydneyCentre.

The leadership of the Lamas

Lodro Nyima Rinpoche and DrupenRinchen provided the auspicious date ofSeptember 2 for the cremation while stillin Tibet and then went through thedifficult process to secure passports andvisas to attend the ceremony.

The first lamas to arrive in Australia toassist with the preparations wereVenerable Lama Karma Dorjey, senior

challenging schedules the MostVenerable Zuri Rinpoche and LodroNyima Rinpoche, two of the fourRinpoches of Thrangu Monastery, Kham,Tibet arrived days before the cremation.They provided further spiritual supportand invaluable advice. The preciousnessof the presence of these two rinpochescannot easily be put into words. Theybought a strength, compassion and clearmindedness to our despair and remindedus all of the invaluable lessons we mustas Buddhist practitioners learn from sucha potent experience of impermanence.

On the day of cremation, ZuriRinpoche led the Red Chenrezig puja andLodro Nyima Rinpoche led theVajrayogini puja. These were performedsimultaneously as the cremation began,40 days after our supreme Nirmanakayaentered parinirvana.

From the day Rinpoche’s parinirvanacommenced we were blessed with theopportunity to express our deep devotion,appreciation and love for our teacher. Hispassing created a collision of despair forour loss, appreciation for the pureofferings of the teachings he gave sofreely, and the joy of celebrating andreflecting upon his magnificent life. Torealize the gift of his presence in our livesbecome overwhelming as we knew anera had ended.

I witnessed the beauty and reverenceof a sangha in mourning. It is beautiful tosee your teacher and his teachings livingand breathing within each devotedsangha member’s being. Nothing wasmore important than for each of us tohonour our teacher in any way we could.Every single sangha member conductedthemselves with kindness, thoughtfulnessand generosity. They supported oneanother and dignified one another’s grief.People conducted themselves in a waythat Rinpoche would have wished and Ihave no doubt he would have been proudof his students.

I want to assure everybody that AniJangchub, Kal and I are fully committedto the ongoing fostering of Rinpoche’steachings, centres and activities. We praywith all our hearts and minds for the swiftreturn of our beloved Traleg Kyabgon. n

Traleg Khandro

“His passing created acollision of despair for ourloss, appreciation for the

pure offerings of theteachings he gave so freely,and the joy of celebrating

and reflecting upon hismagnificent life. To realizethe gift of his presence in

our lives becomeoverwhelming as we knew

an era had ended.”

Traleg Rinpoche with His Holiness the Dalai Lama


The child who was to becomeTraleg Rinpoche IX was born inthe wood sheep year of 1955 in

the independent pastoral kingdom ofKham Nangchen, where his fathercollected taxes for the principality. Hewas given the name Tenpa RabgyeTrinley Nyima which can be translated assun that melts the ice of confused mind,whose enlightened activity propagatesthe teachings.

He was recognised as the ninthincarnation of the Traleg Kyabgonlineage and enthroned at the age of twoas abbot of Thrangu Monastery, close tothe upper Yangtze River. When the smallchild was put on a high throne otherlamas said he looked so happy, he smiled,looked around, was totally fearless, andat the end he fell asleep, all of which wasregarded as auspicious.

At Thrangu Monastery he began theintensive education that prepares a childreincarnate to resume the work of thelineage, under the tutelage of great lamas.However, the times were changing,monasteries in Kham suffered aerialbombardment, and precious teachers,young and old, fled across Tibet to thesafety of the monastery of the sixteenthGyalwa Karmapa, near Lhasa. This toobecame exposed to the political violenceof the times, leaving no choice but to fleesouth, through the Himalayan mountains,to seek refuge in another country.

Although Traleg Rinpoche was underfour years old, the group of almost 100people fleeing had faith in his ability toprotect. He sensed when the guns were

closing in on them, saying, “the wolvesare coming.” Sometimes they fled sohastily many precious things had to beleft. In unfamiliar mountains far fromhome, sometimes they were unsurewhere to go, but the three-year olddiscerned the direction, and they hadlearned to trust him.

Finally, they were able to enter theDrukpa Kagyu kingdom of Bhutan. Inthe lowlands at the foot of the Himalayasan old army camp at Buxaduar was madeavailable to the refugees, who had noprevious exposure to heat, humidity andinfectious diseases. Traleg Rinpoche’smother died there.

His father was determined that, nomatter what, his son should have the fulltraining of a high tulku, not easily done in

the chaos of exile and arefugee camp. His Holiness,Gyalwa Karmapa madeRumtek monastery, inSikkim, his new seat. Theyoung Traleg Rinpoche wentthere, as did other younglamas including Tai SituRinpoche, Jamgon KongtrulRinpoche, Sharma Rinpocheand Gyaltsap Rinpoche. Allwere educated by HisHoliness. At nine he went toSang-ngak Cholingmonastery near Darjeelingand studied under theguidance of His Eminence,Thugsey Rinpoche. While

there, he was taught by Khenpo Noryangand Khenpo Sodar who devotedthemselves solely to his education formany years. In order for Rinpoche toreceive training in Karma Kagyu tantricritual practice, His Holiness Karmapasent Lama Ganga. Thus Rinpochereceived both Drukpa Kagyu and KarmaKagyu training at Thugsey Rinpoche'smonastery.

At sixteen, His Holiness Karmapa sentTraleg Rinpoche to study at the Instituteof Higher Tibetan Studies at Varanasiclose by the place of the Buddha’senlightenment, where he studied withkhenpos and geshes of all four schools ofTibetan Buddhism until he was nineteen.During this time Rinpoche was underpersonal care of Khenpo Chodar, ofSang-ngak Choling monastery. He wassubsequently put in charge of the hiddenland copper-coloured mountain ZangdogPalri Monastery in remote easternBhutan with monks from his ownThrangu Monastery, including KhenpoKarthar Rinpoche. After KhenpoKarthar’s departure, Rinpoche wasplaced under the private tutelage ofDregung Khenpo by His HolinessKarmapa in order to continue his studyof sutra and tantra. When Rinpoche wastwenty-two he returned to Rumtek to bewith His Holiness Karmapa, and astranslator for international visitors andfilm crews.

His intention that Buddhist practiceshould take root in the West manifested at

The Life of Traleg Rinpoche IX

Traleg Rinpoche (left front) with His Holiness 16th Karmapa and young Kagyu tulkus at Rumtek Monastery

Enthronement of Traleg Rinpoche IX


people to awaken always used multipleperspectives, switching from path tofruition, relative to absolute. He createdthe motto emblazoned on the logo of theKagyu Evam Buddhist Institute: ethics,concentration, wisdom.

To those inclined to see Buddhism onlyas a philosophy, he emphasised theimportance of practice, and the power offaith to effect transformation. To those ofdevotional inclination, he emphasised thevalue of cultivating right view andknowledge of the path so as to be alert todead ends and minor alleviations ofdistress appearing to be major spiritualaccomplishments. To those inclined tosee Buddhism as purely mental training,he emphasised physicality, embodiment,with practical yoga exercises, especiallypranayam postures and breathing.

He called his approach IntegralBuddhism. Ground, path and fruition;body, speech and mind; ethics,concentration and wisdom were allemphasised.

As his Australian students graduallydiscovered integral Buddhism to betransformative, a batch of nine undertookthe three-year retreat, in annualinstalments of three winter months, anexperiment in adapting intensive practiceto a country with no tradition ofcommunity support or even appreciationof monasticism. He was able to travelmore frequently, responding to the flowof invitations to teach in Europe and theUnited States.

He returned to Thrangu monastery in1998 and 2004, providing protection andblessings to thousands of monks, nomadsand townfolk who, though they couldseldom see him, always held him in theirhearts. He had firm conviction that theplace of your birth is part of you, that youare actually made from the materials ofthat physical space and physicalsubstances. This enabled him toeventually return and fulfil the wishes ofthose he met.

Turning to a younger generation ofpractitioners, he was able to instigate amore structured approach, and establish ashedra for intensive study of the greattexts. He established Yeshe NyimaCentre in Sydney, Nyima Tashi Centre inAuckland, New Zealand, and E-vamBuddhist Institute at Chatham in upstateNew York. In 1996 he established a ruralretreat centre in bushland at Healesville,Australia, named after the mahasiddha

an early age, by learning English inremote Himalayan mountains where, inthe 1960s, there were almost no Englishspeakers. He learned through airportnovels, and a Canadian Jesuit missionaryin Bhutan.

On reaching Australia in 1980,he took time to dress and mixcasually with anyone, to gauge

the minds of the times, but not as anobserver, rather as a participant. Hetaught companionably, taking care not toappear as an authority. This modestysuited an individualistic and rebelliousgeneration, who mistrusted authority. Hewas so low key, or self-effacing, that hesigned himself simply as “T.K.Rinpoche.” Only gradually did it dawnon his students that he was not onlyexplaining, simply and clearly, what issaid in root texts and commentaries, butwas a living embodiment of theteachings.

Having already mastered Tibetan,Hindi, Sanskrit and English, he plungedinto the great texts of Hinduism and earlyBuddhism, and of Christianity,discovering in them depths and subtletiesnot emphasised in the classical educationof a young tulku. He developed a stronginterest in Western understandings ofmind, and how to help mental distress.

With extraordinary patience, heworked with those who gathered round

him and subtly encouraged openmindedness and learning. He taught theentire spectrum of Buddhism, usually asa spontaneous translator of a specifictext, whether the subject was meditativeconcentration, awareness and insight, orthe tantras, but always inflected with aDzogchen or Mahamudra perspective.

He returned to key texts and retranslated,in his determination to find acontemporary language that effectivelyturns minds. For decades, teachingtranscripts piled up, until he was surethey were ready to be published. Hisemphasis was always on clarity, makinginner meaning accessible. His Englishwas better than any of his students.

Making Buddhism accessible,meaningful and effectively transform-ative, for a culture new to the dharma,was his vocation, as it was for theoriginal hearers of the Buddha, amongthem Ananda, to whom the Traleglineage of incarnate lamas traces its

lineage roots.His openness to

other faiths, and thehelping professions,manifested in theestablishment of aBuddhist SummerSchool, held everyyear since 1984, atwhich a wide rangeof teachers, therapistsand artists wereoffered a platform,enabling the curiousa taste of varioustraditions. Opennessplus clarity made foran approach that

discerned differences as well ascommonalities. He was, for example,critical of the fashion forpsychotherapeutic cultivation ofmindfulness, as a stand alone pathdivorced from the main body of Buddhistpractice.

His own approach to encouraging

Traleg Rinpoche at Rumtek Monastery, Sikkim, 1978

Traleg Rinpoche and Drukpa Thugsey Rinpoche at Sangnog Monastery,Darjeeling, West Bengal, 1981

Maitripa. He also instigated multi faithactivities and conferences relating toBuddhism and psychotherapy as well aspublishing several books, covering thespectrum of Buddhist teachings.

This flourishing of activity reflectedthe growing number of people whoappreciated the luminous clear colours ofhis teachings and translations, enablinghim to mobilise the energies of many, tomore firmly establish the BuddhaDharma in several countries.

These accomplishments mirror thoseof his predecessors, who were similarlydedicated to doing everything asperfectly as possible, so as to makeBuddhism as useful as possible.

Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, alsooriginally from Thrangu monasterydescribes the Traleg lineage:

“When Buddha Sakyamuni turned thewheel of Dharma in this world, this beingknown to us as Traleg Rinpoche wasborn as Ananda. Perfecting Buddhahood,he worked to develop the BuddhaDharma.

He next incarnated as Tulku TsermedOden, inseparable with glorious SangwaiDagpo, lord of tantrayana, and taughttantrayana in the unsurpassable dakinirealm. Having developed such teachingsin all directions through endless times,his next rebirth was as the mahayogiThogmed Yonten, skilled in all miracu-lous powers. This mahayogi was the dis-ciple of Saraha and lord Nagarjuna. He


benefited beings bydeveloping Bud-dhism in general,and the tantrayana inparticular, in all theten directions of theworld.

His next rebirthwas as the mahasid-dha Dapa Sherab,principle disciple ofmahasiddha Tilopa.Having firmly sta-bilised the verytransmission andteaching of mahasiddha Tilopa, his nextrebirth was as Siddha Dogon Lotsawa,

disciple of glorious Naropa. Hetranslated many unavailableteachings of the lesser and highervehicles, particularly the Va-jrayana teachings.

His next incarnation was as adisciple of Lotsawa Marpa,named Ngod Choku Dorje, whotranslated tantric teachings fromSanskrit into Tibetan language.He was skilled at both learningand meditation, and carried outthe sedgyerd (learning) transmission.

His next incarnation was as adisciple of Gampopa, SaltongShogom, one of the ‘Three Menfrom Kham’. Likewise, his nextincarnation, Pandit WangchuckDorje, was famous and skilled inboth sutrayana and tantrayana.His next rebirth was during thetime of the third Karmapa,Rangjung Dorje, as TodenTachug. He developed and taught

Kagyu teachings. Later, for many gener-ations, he incarnated as a bhikshu (a fullyordained monk)called Chokyi Wang-chuk, who enrichedand liberated limitlessliving beings.

Then Chokyi Drag-pa incarnated in thesecond seat of theKagyu order in Kar-mai Gon where hetaught and developedthe Buddha Dharma.Then, in order to de-velop and carry onthe Buddha dharma,he was requested tobe head of the

Thrangu Monastery. His name wasNyima Tashi.”

Eight successive incarnations in theTraleg line bearing the name of Nyimabenefited beings and taught in alldirections as a fully ordained monkfulfilling the prophecy of GuruPadmasambhava.

The ninth incarnation of the TralegRinpoche line passed into parinirvana inthe water dragon year of 2012, on theauspicious day of Chokhor Duchen, theobservance of Lord Buddha's firstteaching. n

Gabriel Lafitte

Thrangu Rinpoche, Traleg Rinpoche and Khenpo Kharta Rinpoche at Woodstock,Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, 2003

H.H. Khyentse Rinpoche and Traleg Rinpoche, 1981

H.H. Drukchen and Traleg Rinpoche at E-Vam Institutein Melbourne


constructed on the formal lawn area.Beyond is a view to the tall trees of thestate forest and falling away to the right,the soft folds of the valley and hillsabove the township.

The white vase-like purkhang richlydecorated with Tibetan iconography alsosymbolised a throne supported by imagesof two fearless snow lions in each of thefour directions. Rinpoche’s kudung wascarefully placed inside the centre of thestupa in the middle of two paintedmandalas, one of Vajrayogini, and theother of Gyalwa Gyatso, Red Chenrezig.Members of the sangha and guests filedpast the front of the purkhang to pay theirrespects to Rinpoche, with many making

offerings of khatas which they threw intoa small upper window- like opening, inthe hope of making a connection withRinpoche in future lives.

Two pujas ensued on either side of thepurkhang: the Vajrayogini puja presidedover by Lodro Nyima Rinpoche; and theGyalwa Gyatso puja presided over byZuri Rinpoche. These two yidampractices along with that of Chakra-samvara have been performed by theKagyu masters from the time of Marpaand Milarepa, and in an unbroken linefrom the time of Gampopa in the 11thcentury to the present day. Vajrayoginifire puja is performed for high tulkus ontheir cremation and for the ceremony for

Tibetan horns sounded through thevalley that is home to theMaitripa Contemplative Centre

near Healesville, Australia on the crispspring morning of September 2nd. Thesky was clear blue as members of thesangha began the proceedings for thecremation ceremony for Traleg KyabgonRinpoche IX. The precious body relic orkudung of Traleg Rinpoche was carriedaloft in a silken palanquin for its lastearthly journey from the gompa, a sitesymbolising how Rinpoche hadpracticed and taught gatherings of hisstudents in this lifetime. The processionmade its way slowly up the hill to thepurkhang, the crematorium stupa

The Cremation of Traleg Rinpoche IX


Traleg Rinpoche IX there was the specialsignificance of honouring the relationshipof Rinpoche’s earlier incarnation, SaltongShogom, as a disciple of Gampopa.

As the pujas proceeded, the cremationfire was lit, as is customary, by someonewho had no karmic links with Rinpoche.Deep resonate chanting, the ringing ofbells and cymbals mingled in the air asthe smoke rose. Inner and outer offeringsof all kinds of beautiful things were madeto the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas andamongst those offered physically werevarious grains, oils, flowers, fruit andwater. Auspicious woods of juniper,sandalwood and argha were added to thewood fuelling the cremation fire over

several hours. The drupen, at certainpoints, poured oils onto the fire ignitinggreat whooshes of rising flames andsmoke.

There were sightings by studentsduring the pujas of auspicious cloudformations including one that wassimilar in shape to that of the body ofGuru Rinpoche that is imprinted in arock in Bhutan, a scorpion symbol ofVajrakalaya tantra or Kongchuk Chiduas well as a perfectly formed Zen circle.A group of dancing dakinis was alsoseen. All of these remained for quitesome minutes before they simply fadedaway.

After the sealing of the stupa to

extinguish the fire, the whole assemblyparticipated in a beautiful chanting of‘Calling the Guru’ from afar, the pujacomposed by Jamgon Kongtrul the Great,which gives voice to the longing for theteacher’s presence, blessings and forliberation.

Several days later, following furtherprayers and practice, the stupa wasopened so that the precious relics ofTraleg Rinpoche IX could be collected.They were then placed onto Rinpoche’sthrone in the gompa. Even thoughRinpoche is no longer in this life,prayers were said that Rinpoche willonce again sit on this throne in his nextincarnation. n


actually end up shoving our own versionof social justice down the throat of thosewhom we think we are helping. Theymay not want it, but we insist, “Youshould have this. This is a good thing.”

When we talk about bodhicitta then,you have to think of bodhicitta in thatcontext: both bodhi and citta. So bodhirepresents, if you like, the absolute aspectof bodhicitta, and citta represents therelative aspect of bodhicitta. Bodhimeans enlightened. So in MahayanaBuddhism, it is said that our owninherent nature is awakened, but it isshrouded over by all kinds of superfluousand adventitious defilements. So for thatreason, even if we care and we want todo the best we can in life, we end updoing the wrong thing, because thatbodhi aspect has not yet been cultivated,or has not been found. So that is theabsolute aspect.

Citta is the heart, the compassionaspect. So wisdom and compassion, inother words, must go together. Bodhi iswisdom and citta is compassion, theheart. So wisdom and compassion mustbe in balance. It is not helpful simply to

Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche presided withgreat joy over the opening ceremony ofthe new Nyima Tashi Centre in NewZealand on June 30, 2012 but wasunable to teach as scheduled on thefollowing day due to ill health and thestrain on his back from the previousday’s activity. However, despite his painand discomfort, Rinpoche wasdetermined to meet his commitment toteach on the relationship betweenrelative and absolute bodhicitta anddelivered this talk, which was to becomeRinpoche’s final public teaching on thefollowing Sunday, July 8.

Bodhicitta, as you know, isessential, not just as an essentialconcept of Mahayana Buddhism,

but as an integral part of MahayanaBuddhist practice. Bodhicitta should notjust be thought of as some kind ofmetaphysical thing, but as a kind ofmoral compass that will guide us throughlife and as the principle that we canactually live by. That is what bodhicittareally should mean because sometimeswe may think bodhicitta simply meansyou should have a kind heart or lovingkindness and that if you have that, thenyou have bodhicitta. Actually it is notlike that. There are many kind-heartedpeople in this world, as you would know,but not every kind-hearted person hasbodhicitta.

So what would be lacking in thesepeople, who actually care about theworld and have concerns about socialjustice and things of that kind, and yetthey do not possess bodhicitta? What islacking is the bodhi part, the enlightenedquality. It is one thing to be kind-hearted,loving, caring, doing good work for thebetterment of other people's lives andeven trying to sort of improve socialconditions, to bring about politicalchanges and things of that kind. But if wedo not have bodhi (we can have the cittaas such), but if we do not have the bodhielement then we could be misguided interms of how we are expressing our loveand compassion, how we are trying toliberate or emancipate other people frombondage or whatever and we may

be guided by wisdom or by compassion,they must be brought together. And inMahayana literature, it is said that it islike a bird needing two wings to fly. Youneed wisdom and you need compassionto fly, or to sail through life. To basicallystay afloat you need wisdom andcompassion.

In other words, mentally you have tobe insightful and also you need to havesome kind of richness in terms of youremotional life. In Buddhism, the cittaaspect, the compassion aspect does notsimply mean feeling pity for others. It isnot as simplistic as that. It actually coversall aspects of positive emotions. So if wehave that, then we will have compassion.Compassion is not just feeling sorry forsomebody's miserable life, butcompassion has to do with learning abouthow to deal with one's own suffering andpain in such a way that the positiveemotions that one is able to generate thenallow us to overcome the pain and miserythat we feel within ourselves. Socompassion should be seen as atransformative emotion rather thanseeing compassion as sharing otherpeople's misery. Somebody has becomedivorced, let’s say, and you have beendivorced ten times. You can relate to that,“Oh you poor thing, I've been throughthat many times. This is a horrible thing.”But that is not real compassion.

Real compassion is powerful, and I donot like to use the word, but it isproactive. Otherwise you think ofcompassion as a passive thing, somethingthat you share and people feel helpless,you feel helpless and so you then sharethat feeling of helplessness together andcelebrate that over a bottle of wine orsomething. So that sense of feelingdesperation, frustration, despair, sharingthat is not compassion. Compassionshould have an element of joy, shouldhave an element of willfulness, and itshould have an element of hope andvision. So when you have those thingsthen the compassion you feel will beempowering instead of disempowering.You know, often it is not like that, thecompassionate person is supposed to besomeone who just feels sorry for

The Relationship between Relative and Absolute Bodhicitta

Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche IX


we do not have compassion, then nothingwould grow. So he said, compassion isthe root of all the virtues. It is that whichallows all the things that we want in lifeto grow. If we do not have it, it won’thappen and we will live a miserable life.So I think that is a very important thing tothink about and contemplate on becauseit is the root of all the things that we needin life.

You see, in Buddhism the virtuousqualities and the moral principles and soforth are not laid down as something tobe obeyed, but to be cultivated. Why?Because they are useful for us, they helpus to live our life more fully. We don'tabide by the moral principles thatBuddha spoke about simply becauseBuddha said, “You should abide by theserules.” Those rules and moral principlesare helpful, not to be followed

dogmatically. And also in Buddhism, asyou know, it depends on what sort ofindividual you are, what you want to dowith your life, whether you want to becelibate or not celibate, all kinds of thingslike that. Buddhism does not have onesingle rule for everybody. It has to dowith what that particular person'sobjective is in life; what that personwants to do with his or her life. Forexample, somebody wants to be celibatethen Buddhism has rules for thosepeople. If somebody doesn't want to becelibate then it’s a different thing. But Ithink sometimes, even on that levelpeople can get confused by all of thatbecause sometimes people think thatalmost every single Buddhist should be acelibate monk or nun, or something likethat, which is absurd, it’s never been like

everybody, and if somebody is feelingdispossessed, oppressed, trodden on,treated with disdain, all kinds of thingslike that, then a compassionate person issupposed to say something like, “Youshould feel those things. You know thoseidiots or whoever are responsible forwhat you are feeling... so you have everyright to feel that way.” As if that isempowering. It is not empowering. Whatis empowering is to say that yes, life’scircumstances have been really dreadfulfor you, and I myself too haveexperienced such and such a thing, but Ihave learned to overcome these adversecircumstances and situations, so Ibecame more empowered. If you are ableto share that experience with other peoplethen you'll be compassionate. See, whenyou do that you are bringing the bodhiaspect into what you are doing, in otherwords, the wisdom aspect. Otherwisethere is no wisdom, all you have is justthis overwhelming feeling of wanting tohelp people and you yourself feel verypained by everything that has happenedin the course of your life, your familysituation, your employmentcircumstances, how the bosses havetreated you, and in terms of politicalsystems that you may have to liveunder... the list goes on and on, which isnot to say that you should grin and bareit.

Actually, what I am saying is theopposite, when you are empowered thenyou do not feel like a victim and whenyou are not feeling like a victim, then youare able to look after yourself more andthen you are able to look after otherpeople better as well. Otherwise theblame game, as it were, can go onforever. It is always somebody else'sfault. My misery is caused by somebodyelse. It does not mean other peoplecannot make you miserable. That weknow. But just simply thinking that otherpeople are to be blamed for our miserydoes not empower us, that is what I amsaying.

So compassion should be seen as anempowering force, the power whichnurtures us, as Shantideva has said inBodhicaryavatara, compassion should beseen as water that we need like irrigationwhen we are cultivating something. Ifyou want to grow vegetables, if you wantto grow wheat or barley or whatever, youneed irrigation. So he says, if you havecompassion then everything, all thethings that we want in life will grow. If

that in Buddhist countries. “If you’reBuddhist you should not eat meat… ifyou’re a Buddhist you should not smokecigarettes…if you’re a Buddhist...ah...whatever!” But anyway I’m not sayingthat people should be smoking or eatingmeat or anything like that, all I’m sayingis that Buddhism sets different kinds ofmoral guidelines.

The Buddha set different kinds ofmoral guidelines for differentkinds of people. And this goes

with what I was saying about compassionbecause you know, whatever moralguidelines and principles that we live byhave to be in relation to compassion,either compassion for oneself orcompassion for others. And even in termsof restraint, to not do harm to oneself andnot to do harm to others or to benefitothers. So in Buddhism again, we make adistinction in that regard as well. Torefrain is one thing and then activelyengaging in beneficial activity is aseparate thing. So for instance, if you donot take life then that means you do notwant to harm another sentient creaturebut if you try to save somebody's life thatis a different form of moral action. Youare not just restraining yourself fromharming others but you are actuallyactively engaged in wanting to save livesof others. So compassion has to bepracticed in that way; seeing the ways inwhich we can be compassionate. It is notjust one thing so that is where the bodhiaspect comes in. You need wisdom; it isnot just enough that you care about otherpeople or that you do not want to doharm. What does it really mean? What itmeans is that you have to really study,you have to go into the teachings moredeeply. And I think that part is lostsometimes in the West.

Wisdom and knowledge are related butwisdom and knowledge are not the same.Knowledge leads you to wisdom.Wisdom you already possess. Youalready possess wisdom. But if you haveno knowledge, you do not know how toexploit or explore or discover thatwisdom that you already possess. Soprajna and jnana, they go together:prajna means knowledge and jnanameans wisdom. So via accumulation ofknowledge you discover wisdom. But thewisdom never increases like yourknowledge does. You will learn more ifyou study more, if you cultivate yourmind, if you learn how to become more

“Compassion shouldhave an element ofjoy, should have an

element of willfulness,and it should have anelement of hope andvision. So when you

have those things thenthe compassion you

feel will beempowering instead of

disempowering.”


alert with your mind, use your intellect and so forth.But as the Buddhist teachings say, wisdom does notincrease or decrease. The fact that we are confused,lost, doesn't mean our wisdom mind has now becomedoomed or that we have lost it or something. It’salways there. So what Buddhism then says that it isbecause we have wisdom in ourselves, we can eventhink of cultivating our mind and becoming moreknowledgeable about such and such subject matterand so on. Knowledge would not be there if we didnot have wisdom. This is the Buddhist view. Withoutwisdom we would have no knowledge. Any kind ofpursuit of knowledge is based on the fact that wehave this inherent sense of knowingness, if you like,wakefulness, alertness. It's some kind of intuitive wayof understanding the world around us, and knowingsomething about oneself as well. So knowledge thenis used to activate that wisdom, as it is said inBuddhist teachings, and compassion is a way ofdoing that.

Compassion also is part of that activity ofbringing wisdom into effect. Because whenwe are using compassion with intelligence, as

I was saying before, when we do that then we becomemore knowledgeable about ourselves and about otherpeople. If we use compassion in the right way, whatdoes it generate? It generates understanding, youunderstand yourself more, you understand otherpeople more, you understand your feelings more, youunderstand other peoples’ opinions more, youunderstand your needs more, and you understandother peoples' needs more. So you understand more,that's knowledge. Right, so that's the thing. Sounderstanding and compassion, they go together ifyou like; knowledge, understanding, all these thingshave to go together with compassion. That’s therelative aspect of bodhicitta.

So that’s why in Mahayana Buddhism, relativebodhicitta is presented in the form of the sixparamitas, six transcendental actions as it were:generosity; moral precepts; patience; vigour;meditative concentration; and wisdom. In this case,wisdom is more like knowledge not jnana (wisdom),it’s prajna (knowledge). So you have to bring all ofthese things together to practice compassion becauseif you do that then you develop understanding. Youknow how to be generous, how to interact withpeople in relation to moral principles, when to bepatient, when not to be patient, when you shouldfocus your mind and when you should not befocusing your mind, and what sort of things yourmind should be focusing on and not on, that's alsovery important; and what sort of things you shouldbe pursuing in terms of knowledge and not pursuingthings that are not helpful. So it’s also calleddiscrimination, discriminating mind, which inBuddhism is encouraged. Sometimes people say, “OhBuddhism teaches you to be totally indifferent tothings and not discriminate and be sort of at ease witheverything,” or something like that; that’s not at alltrue. Buddhism says you should discriminate but you

should discriminate in the right way, and that’s how you accumulateknowledge, because knowledge is about knowing. So... that's a truism tosay that. But when you want to know then you have to know. Just knowingabout all kinds of facts and figures and things like that, well that could behelpful but that's not the main thing. What is the main thing is what isreally beneficial or not. So it’s called discriminating mind.

You learn to discriminate what really would help you in your life, ifyou like, practical knowledge; and what is really not going to be helpfuleven if you know so much. If it’s not going to help your life then it isuseful but not all that helpful. I hope that makes sense. There are a lot ofthings that we should know and if we do know those things, like generalknowledge, you know like, “Who’s got the biggest moustache?” If youknow that, it is part of having general knowledge, that’s a good thing butit’s not going to help your life. Knowing that is not going to help you. Butif you knew other things like: what is the cause of people's sadness; orwhy things in the world in terms of political systems could be causing allthe disturbances, that may be more helpful. Anyway I don’t want to gointo that sort of thing too much, but it’s true, really.

So knowledge, having knowledge will lead to having wisdom. Withoutknowledge, you cannot have wisdom. We have wisdom but as I said, wedon't have the key. It’s like, this is actually the classic Buddhist exampleused in the Uttara Tantra, it’s like a poor person living in poverty in a hutbut underneath is a huge nugget of gold covered up. But he doesn’t know,so that’s the thing. If he knew that it was there then he could get to it. Ina similar way, we are in possession of the treasure but we do not have the


emotions in an intelligent fashion is agood thing. If we don’t do that then weget lost, confused but if we experienceemotions with intelligence then we don’tget confused. Actually, emotions willenrich us. That’s the fundamental thingso when we express compassion it shouldbe the same way: compassion isexpressed with intelligence.

As Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche usedto say, ‘Idiot Compassion is no use toanybody’. So it’s really like that. Idiotcompassion – by that, what he meant wasthat you just feel sorry for every TomDick and Harry and try to do all kinds ofhelpful things but the outcome is oftennot very beneficial. So it’s very important

key. Now what is the key? The key iscompassion, that’s what I'm saying. If wehave compassion and if we usecompassion in an intelligent fashion, byexperiment, by learning, by using ourmind and not just simply feelingcompassion and things like that thenwe’ve got the key, then we'll havewisdom. That’s how it is. Wisdom is notsomething to be cultivated but to bediscovered. Knowledge on the other handhas to be cultivated.

Knowledge and compassion, as I'vebeen saying, should go together and weshould not think they're different.Because I think often, even in that regard,we have a very dualistic attitude thatemotions and intellect do not go togetheror that emotions are one thing, intellectis something different. It doesn't have tobe like that. It can be like that but simplybecause it can be like that does not meanit has to be like that. So if we use ouremotions in an intelligent fashion, wewill flourish and be more useful to otherpeople. And when we do that then wehave bodhicitta. Bodhi and citta havecome together. Otherwise, we don’t havebodhicitta you know. That’s really true.So absolute bodhicitta and relativebodhicitta then have come together. As Isaid absolute bodhicitta is the wisdomaspect and relative bodhicitta is thecompassion, feeling aspect. Not justfeelings but feelings and emotions guidedby understanding and knowledge. Andwe should not think about knowledgeand understanding purely in intellectualterms. There is another thing thatBuddhism has taught us: how to bringthose two together. Experiencing

to use one’s own mind … again using lifeexperiences and knowledge to really dothat. That’s very important.

So that’s all I have to say really. So wepractise generosity, moral precepts,patience, vigor, meditative concentrationor transcendental knowledge. When wepractice those things as part of ourcompassionate activities then we shoulddo that with a sense of understanding andintelligence because that would behelpful. If not, then we can be generousand not be patient. We could be vigorousor energetic but not generous. And wecould be very focused and all that but notpatient, not generous and so on. Sobringing all these ingredients togetherwould allow us to be compassionate in anintelligent fashion. So that’s the relativebodhicitta aspect: to be generous; to bepatient; to be vigorous; to be attentive; touse one’s own mind and to have somebiding moral principles. Bringing allthose things together will then help us.That’s the relative bodhicitta aspect. Andif we have that then we have the key todiscover the absolute bodhicitta. You justcan’t realize absolute bodhicitta withoutthe key. You have it but you don’t knowhow to have it. It’s like your grandmotherhas left you a fortune but you don’t knowwhich room it’s in so you’re still poor.But anyway thank you so much forcoming today. I really am happy I coulddo this. I really wanted to last Sunday butcouldn’t and I was very disappointed soI’m really happy to be able to do this.Thank you for being here. I appreciate it. n

“Without wisdom wewould have no

knowledge. Any kind ofpursuit of knowledge isbased on the fact thatwe have this inherentsense of knowingness,

if you like, wakefulness,alertness. It's some

kind of intuitive way ofunderstanding the

world around us, andknowing something

about oneself as wel1.”

NYIMA TASHI CENTRE

The new Nyima Tashi Centrecame about with an air ofurgency. Rinpoche’s directness

was the catalyst that propelled us froma rather complacent comfortability toone of engaging vigour. Rinpochesimply awoke one morning earlier inthe year with the view that the newcentre needed to be found in the nextfew weeks and we achieved this justtwo weeks after beginning the search.

The new Nyima Tashi is one ofstylish beauty, simple in its accent onspace, warming with an understatedelegance which seems comparable to

Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche’s nobledemeanour. Rinpoche presided overthe centre’s opening on June 30 andgave a teaching,”Absolute andRelative Bodhicitta” on the followingSunday, July 8.

In this time of profound, incom-parable loss there is also joy in theacknowledgement that the new NyimaTashi Centre is everything thatRinpoche had asked for and that wehave been undeniably fortunate to havebeen able to achieve this.

We were so glad to have been able tooffer Rinpoche a centre that he simply

loved. He said that it was more than hehad expected.

As with all of Rinpoche’s centres, wealso held the various pujas perinstructions from Khenpo KhartharRinpoche. As Traleg Rinpoche’svision is extremely vast, it is thereforeour responsibility to ensure that hisinstructions relating to Nyima Tashi areupheld in accordance with Rinpoche’sview for the centres growth andprosperity under Rinpoche’s direction.We hold these instructions to beundeniably clear. n

Ani Jangchub


REFUGE AND BODHISATTVA VOWS

Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche IX gave refuge in the Three Jewels and bestowed Bodhisattva vows to a group of around 50people on Wednesday, June 6 2012. Rinpoche’s great happiness at performing these rites was evident to all present. This

was to be Rinpoche’s final public engagement at Evam, Melbourne before his passing into parinirvana. n

HIS HOLINESS 17TH GYALWANG KARMAPA


TRALEG RINPOCHE'S CENTRES

Yeshe Nyima, Sydney, Australia: [email protected]

E-Vam Buddhist Institute, New York: www.evam.org

Evam Institute, Melbourne, Australia and Maitripa Centre:www.evaminstitute.org

Nyima Tashi Centre, Auckland, New Zealand: www.nyima-tashi.org.nz

Thrangu Monastery, Tibet: www.thrangu.net n

traleg rinpoche tribute

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