| The following article is from the Spring, 1996 issue of the Snow Lion Newsletter and is for historical reference only. You can see this in context of the original newsletter here. |
The Reincarnation of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche:
Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche
Also know as Ugyen Tenzin Jigme Lhundrup
Above left: Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who passed away in 1991. Above right: Ugyen Tenzin Jigme Lhundrup, confirmed try His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.
The reincarnation of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who passed away in 1991, has been found in Nepal.
The late Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (born in Tibet in 1910) was a unique Buddhist meditation master who was universally recognized by all traditions as one of the greatest realized masters. He was the head of the Nyingmapa School of Tibetan Buddhism since 1988, and was the most eminent modern day proponent of the non-sectarian or Rimed tradition.
Khyentse Rinpoche was a teacher of the Dalai Lama, and the religious advisor to the King and Royal Family of Bhutan. His students included teachers from the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and he traveled throughout the world teaching. He spent over 20 years in retreat, and also wrote 25 volumes on Buddhist philosophy and practice. He passed away at the age of 81.
Trulshik Rinpoche, who lives in the Everest region of Nepal, is Khyentse Rinpoche's most senior and realized disciple. It was prophesied in Khyentse Rinpoche's Termas (visionary teachings) that Trulshik Rinpoche would be the spiritual heir to these teachings, and Khyentse Rinpoche had often stated that in his absence Trulshik Rinpoche should be consulted on all important matters. When Khyentse Rinpoche passed away in 1991, his close students requested Trulshik Rinpoche to discover his reincarnation.
In 1993 during the second anniversary commemorative ceremony of Rinpoche's passing, this request to Trulshik Rinpoche was renewed. He said that he would announce the identity of the reincarnation after the next annual anniversary ceremony.
Trulshik Rinpoche had numerous visions that gave him a clear indication of who the reincarnation was. The visions included a four-line poem revealing the year of the reincarnation's birth, the names of his parents, and the location where he would be found.
On April 5, 1995, he sent a letter to Rabjam Rinpoche with the details of the verse which, when it was decoded, revealed that the name of the father was Tsikey Chogling Rinpoche Mingyur Dewai Dorje, the third embodiment of Chogyur Dechen Lingpa, the son of Tulku Ugyen Rinpoche, and that the mother was Dechen Paldron, the daughter of the Gahtsel Tadey family of Gyantse. Their son, born on Guru Padmasambhava's birthday, the 10th day of the fifth month of the bird year (June 30, 1993), was the unmistakable reincarnation of Tashi Paljor, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. His Holiness the Dalai Lama also confirmed that this child was Khyentse Rinpoche's reincarnation.
On December 29, 1995, at Maratika cave in Nepal where Guru Rinpoche attained immortal life, Trulshik Rinpoche performed the ceremony of offering a name, Ugyen Tenzin Jigme Lhundrup, and robes to the reincarnation. After the Tibetan New Year, the young Tulku traveled to Dharamsala to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama who performed the hair-cutting ceremony. The enthronement will take place after two years.
