Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche (1955–2012) was the ninth incarnation of the Traleg tulku line, a line of high lamas in the
Kagyu lineage of
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
. He was a pioneer in bringing
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
to
Australia.
Biography
Traleg Rinpoche was born in 1955 in
Kham (Eastern Tibet), and two years later was recognized by HH
16th Gyalwa Karmapa as the ninth incarnation of the Traleg Tulkus and enthroned as the Abbot of the
Thrangu Monastery
Thrangu (or Trangu) Monastery is located about 7 km south of Jyekundo in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai province, China, or the traditional Tibetan cultural region of Kham.
Description
Prior to the huge earthquake on 1 ...
. He was taken to safety in India during the 1959
Chinese Communist
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
s invasion of Tibet. There he was given a traditional ''
tulku
A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is a reincarnate custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his or her predecessor.
High-profile examples ...
'' education, supplemented by five years of schooling at
Sanskrit University in
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. He lived and studied for several years at
Rumtek Monastery
Rumtek Monastery (), also called the Dharma Chakra Centre, is a gompa located in the Indian state of Sikkim near the capital Gangtok. It is the seat-in-exile of the Gyalwang Karmapa, inaugurated in 1966 by the 16th Karmapa. It is also a focal p ...
in
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Silig ...
, the main seat in exile of the Kagyu Lineage. He died on July 24, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia.
Teaching in the West
In 1980 Rinpoche transmitted the
Dharma in Australia where he established Kagyu E-vam Buddhist Institute in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. He relinquished his
monastic
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...
vows, became a lay teacher and married. He earned a master's degree in Comparative
Philosophy from
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...
. In 1989, he taught extensively at
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Woodstock, New York, United States, which serves as the North American seat of the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyu lineage. It was founded in 1976 by the 16th Gyalwa Kar ...
, visiting the North American affiliates of HH Gyalwa Karmapa. In 2004 he established the Evam Institute in New York in
Chatham, NY. He also taught extensively in the
Karma Thegsum Choling network of the Karmapa's centers and at
Shambhala Buddhist
Shambhala Training is a secular approach to meditation developed by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa and his students. It is based on what Trungpa calls Shambhala Vision, which sees enlightened society as not purely mythical, but as reali ...
centers. His wife, Felicity Lodro, is also an active dharma teacher.
See also
*
Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu Rinpoche ( ) was born in 1933 in Kham, Tibet. He is deemed to be a prominent tulku (reincarnate lama) in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, the ninth reincarnation in his particular line. His full name and title is the ''Very Venerabl ...
*
Nalandabodhi
Nalandabodhi is an international Buddhist organization founded in the United States by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche in 1997 and is named after the historic Nalanda university of India. "Nalanda" translates literally as "the place that confers the l ...
*
Shambhala Buddhism
Shambhala Training is a secular approach to meditation developed by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa and his students. It is based on what Trungpa calls Shambhala Vision, which sees enlightened society as not purely mythical, but as r ...
Bibliography
*''Luminous Bliss: self realisation through meditation'', by Traleg Kyabgon, Lothian Books (2003),
*''The Benevolent Mind'', by Traleg Kyabgon, Zhi-sil Cho-kyi Gha-Tsal Publications (2003),
*''The Essence of Buddhism'', by Traleg Kyabgon, Shambhala (2001),
*''Mind at Ease'', by Traleg Kyabgon, Shambhala (2004),
*''The Practice of Lojong'', by Traleg Kyabgon, Shambhala (2007),
*''The Influence of Yogacara on Mahamudra'', by Traleg Kyabgon, KTD Publications (2010),
*''The Ninth Karmapa, Wanchuk Dorje’s Ocean of Certainty'', by Traleg Kyabgon, KTD Publications (2011),
*''The Essence of Buddhism: An Introduction to Its Philosophy and Practice'', by Traleg Kyabgon, Shambhala; Reissue edition (2014),
*''Karma: What It Is, What It Isn't, Why It Matters'', by Traleg Kyabgon, Shambhala (2015),
*''Moonbeams of Mahamudra: The Classic Meditation Manual'', Traleg Kyabgon (translator), Shogam Publications (2016),
References
External links
Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche HomepageThe Evam Institute in New York homepageThe Kagyu E-Vam Institute in MelbourneAn introduction by Khenpo Karthar RinpocheAn Australian Buddhist magazine established by Traleg Rinpoche
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche
Lamas
Buddhism in Australia
Tibetan Buddhists from Tibet
Rinpoches
1955 births
2012 deaths
Chinese emigrants to Australia
20th-century Buddhists
21st-century Buddhists
Australian people of Tibetan descent