| The following article is from the Autumn, 2011 issue of the Snow Lion Newsletter and is for historical reference only. You can see this in context of the original newsletter here. |
Honoring
ONE OF THE GREAT MASTERS of Tibetan Buddhism,
His Eminence Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche Ngawang Chokyi Lodoe (1923-2011)
ONE OE THE GREAT MASTERS OF Tibetan Buddhism, His Eminence Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, passed away on September 2, 2011. Most recently he served as head of the Nyingma School, but was known as a leading proponent of the Rime (non-sectarian) approach.
The heart son of both Dudjom Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, he also gave rare Nyingma and Dzogchen teachings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche Ngawang Chokyi Lodoe was born in Tibet in 1923. He was recognized at the age of four as the reincarnation of his own heart lama, Trulshik Tendru Dorje, a famous discoverer of hidden treasures (terma). He was also considered to be the manifestation of Lord Buddha's disciple Ananda, as well as of Aryadeva and other key figures in Buddhism.
Thupten Choling Monastery (Photographer: Sergey Pashko)
In 1959, when His Holiness the Dalai Lama went into exile in India, Trulshik Rinpoche also fled across the Himalayas into the Everest region of Nepal. Later, he and his followers established Thupten Choling monastery, now the largest monastery in Nepal with 150 monks and 350 nuns studying and meditating there.
His direction of the annual Mani Rimdu festival of masked dance-drama is documented in Richard Kohn's film Lord of the Dance, Destroyer of Illusion (1986), the title of which is in part derived from his name, Trulshik Rinpoche, the Precious Destroyer of Illusion.
