This praise of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche was originally
published in the Rigpa Tibetan Calendar for the year 1992 - 1993.
Copyright - Rigpa Fellowship 1992
 
 
HIS HOLINESS DILGO KHYENTSE RINPOCHE
(1910- 1991)
 
   His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Head of the Nyingma School of
Tibetan Buddhism,passed away in Bhutan on September 28, 1991.
Universally revered as the most outstanding master of the Dzogchen
teachings and foremost upholder of the unbiased (Rime) spirit within
the Buddhist tradition of Tibet, he was one of the principal lineage
holders of the Dzogchen Longchen Nyingtik tradition and a highly
acclaimed "terton", a discoverer of spiritual treasures concealed by
Padmasambhava.  As such, he became the teacher of many of the
important Lamas of today, and for several years had been giving
teachings from the Nyingma and Dzogchen tradition to His Holiness the
Dalai Lama. He was spiritual adviser to the royal family of Bhutan,
and has thousands of disciples in India, the Himalayas, Tibet and the
West.
 
   Born in l910 in Kham Derge, Eastern Tibet, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
was recognised as an incarnation whilst still in his mother's womb by
the great master, Mipham Rinpoche, who foresaw his exceptional
destiny.  At the age of eleven he entered Shechen Monastery, one of
the six principal monasteries of the Nyingma tradition, and was
formally recognised and enthroned by his teacher, Shechen Gyaltsap
Rinpoche, as the wisdom-mind emanation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
(1820-92), the extraordinary visionary master who, alongside Jamgon
Kongtrul and Chogyur Lingpa, spearheaded the spiritual and cultural
renaissance in Tibet which became known as the Rime movement.
 
   Khyentse Rinpoche spent many years at Shechen with his teacher,
Shechen Gyaltsap, who imparted to him all the essential instructions
and empowerments of the Nyingma tradition. Studying with
over fifty great masters and scholars, including the renowned Khenpo
Shyenga, and practising for years in remote caves and solitary
hermitages, his understanding and realisation matured and blossomed.
From an early age, Khyentse Rinpoche had received visions of Guru
Rinpoche and he began now to reveal his terma teachings. He became on
of the closest disciples of Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro (1896-1959),
the activity emanation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, who granted him a
vast number of teachings, and prepared him to be his lineage holder in
a period when he knew the survival of the teaching of Buddha, and
especially the Dzogchen teachings, would be in jeopardy.
 
   Khyentse Rinpoche devoted his entire life to worhng for the benefit
of others. He travelled tirelessly throughout India, the Himalayas,
South East Asia and the West, transmitting the pure essence of the
teachings to his countless disciples. He composed many commentaries,
meditation texts and poems, and became famous for his outstanding
scholarship and wisdom. He played an enormous part in preserving
Tibet's rich spintual heritage by collffting and publishing many rare
Buddhist texts which otherwise would have been lost forever in the
systematic destruction of the monastic universtities and libraries in
Tibet during the Chinese occupation.
 
   Khyentse Rinpoche established the great living tradition of Shechen
in Baudhanath, Nepal, constructing a new monastery, Shechen Tennyi
Dargyeling, which looks out onto the great stupa, and personally
supervising the education and training of the young Lamas destined to
continue the tradition there.  The abbot of the monastery is Khyentse
Rinpoche's grandson and spiritual heir, the VII Rabjam Rinpoche.  In
India, he built a new stupa at Bodhgaya, the site of Buddha
Shaykamuni's enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree, and prepared plans
for the construction of seven other stupas in each of the great
pilgrimage places associated with the life of the Buddha, according to
the prediction of Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. This project carries
immense significance for the continuity of the Buddhist teachings in
the East, the aversion of war and famine, and promotion of world peace
and harmony.
 
In this way, Khyentse Rinpoche spent his whole life in complete and
selfless dedication helping others and continuing the unbroken
transmission of the teachings.  Not a single minute in his day was
wasted from the moment he woke, early before dawn, to perform his
prayers and meditation practice, until late at night in an
uninterrupted stream of teachings, empowerments, instructions,
interviews, and supervision of Dharma projects, all of which were
accomplished with his charactenstic sense of spaciousness, humour and
ease.
 
   Khyentse Rinpoche was a master who was larger than life, in a
category entirely of his own. It would be no exaggeration to say that
within recent times in the Buddhist tradition of Tibet, there was no
other meditation master or scholar of his calibre.  With more that
twenty years in retreat, his poetic and inspired writings, his vast
learning, his tremendous achievements in the fields of building and
publishing, his inexhaustible energy and the unique and effortless
manner in which he continuously taught and passed on the transmission,
he epitomised the image of the greatest Lamas of the past
 
   Over the years, Khyentse Rinpoche has shown tremendous kindness to
Sogyal Rinpoche and the RIGPA sangha, confernng teachings and
empowerments on numerous occasions, both in the East and the West. He
was the principal 'object of refuge' for the whole sangha and inspired
in them all a natural devotion and a heartfelt conviction that he was
none other than Padmasambhava himself. It was in August 1990 during
Rigpa's summer retreat in the French Alps that this long and deep
connection matured in a glorious way when Khyentse Rinpoche bestowed
the most profound transmissions from the Dzogchen Longchen Nyintik
cycle.  Radiant and in excellent health, day after day the blessings
of his wisdom mind flowed effortlessly in an unbroken stream of
empowerments, teachings and transmissions which created a foundation
and sowed the seeds for the complete practice of the Nyingma path and
Dzogpachenpo . This was to be one of his last major teachings and one
of the very rare occasions he gave a complete transmission of the
Dzogchen teachings to a large group. The significance of this
unprecedented and auspicious meeting is apparent now more than ever,
and will remain a constant source of inspiration in our hearts and in
our practice.
 
   The passing away of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche marks the end of an
era, and is a tremendous loss both for the Nyingma tradition and
Tibetan Buddhism as a whole.  It is impossible to express in words the
full measure of our sadness and how greatly we will miss him. He has
given us now the ultimate teaching on impermanence to urge us to
spiritual practice. As His Holiness the Dalai Lama said recently,"We
all, his disciples, should repay his kindness with our practice."
 
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The Rigpa Calendar is a wonderful pocket size calendar Tibetan/Western
calendar which includes Buddhist Anniversaries & Special Practice
Days.
 
It begins with the first day of Losar - Tibetan New Year, with each
day cross referenced to it's western counterpart.
 
All the Buddha days, the Great Festival Days, the Dakini days,
Dharmapala days, New moon and Full moon days are clearly noted.
 
You can obtain it from RIGPA centers, or many stores which cary
Buddhist texts.