Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (1920A Brief Biography of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
– February 13, 1996) () ( ne, टुल्कु उर्ग्येन् रिन्पोचे) was a Buddhist master of the

Kagyü The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...

and

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and trans ...

lineages who lived at

Nagi Gompa Nagi may refer to: Places *Nagi, Okayama, a town in Japan * Nagi Station, a railway station * Nagi, Nepal (disambiguation), several places * Nagi, Panchthar *Nagi, an island in the Torres Strait island group more commonly (but incorrectly) spelle ...

hermitage in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. Urgyen Rinpoche was considered one of the greatest

Dzogchen Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. ...

masters of his time.

Life

Born in

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...

in Eastern

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

Interview for Vajradhatu Sun, 1985
/ref> in 1920, he was recognized by

Khakyab Dorje, 15th Karmapa Lama Khakhyap Dorjé, 15th Karmapa Lama (; 1871–1922 or 1870–1921) was born in Sheikor village in Tsang, Tibet. It's said at birth he spoke the Chenrezig mantra, and at five he was able to read scriptures. He was recognized as the Karmapa reinca ...

as the reincarnation of both the Chowang Tulku and Nubchen Sangye Yeshe, one of the 25 principal students of

Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...

. Urgyen's father was Tsangsar Chimey Dorje, a

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 ...

instructor who began giving Urgyen transmission for the Kangyur, the Buddha, and "The New Treasures of Chokgyur Lingpa." As he grew older, he studied

with Samten Gyatso. He had four sons, each of whom is now an important Buddhist teacher in his own right ( Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche,

Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche was a teacher, writer, religious ritual master, and meditation master of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche has been recognized by the 16th Karmapa as the fourth reincarnation of the 19th- ...

Tsoknyi Rinpoche Tsoknyi Rinpoche ( Wylie ''tshogs gnyis rin po che'') or Ngawang Tsoknyi Gyatso (born 13 March 1966) is a Nepalese Tibetan Buddhist teacher and author, and the founder of the Pundarika Foundation. He is the third Tsoknyi Rinpoche, having been reco ...

and

Mingyur Rinpoche Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (Tibet: ཡོངས་དགེ་མི་འགྱུར་རིན་པོ་ཆེ། Wylie: yongs dge mi 'gyur rin po che) is a Tibetan teacher and master of the Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhis ...

); one of his grandsons is

Kyabgön Phakchok Rinpoche Phakchok Rinpoche (born 1981) is a teacher of the Nyingma lineage and chief lineage holder of the Taklung Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He is Vajra Master of Ka-Nying Shedrup Ling monastery, abbot of several monasteries in Nepal, and assis ...

. Urgyen spent 33 years at Nagi Gompa Hermitage, where he spent two decades in retreat, and eventually established six

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and retreat centers in Nepal. This included a monastery close to the Great Jarung Khashor Stupa in

Boudhanath Bouddha ( ne, बौद्धनाथ; ; , ), also known as Boudhanath, Khasti Chaitya and Khāsa Chaitya is a stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal.Snellgrove, David. ''Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: Indian Buddhists and Their Tibetan Successors'', 2 vols., p. 3 ...

(

Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery near Boudhanath, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal. It has ties to both the Kagyu and Nyingma schools, hence the combined ''Ka-Nying in the name''. Shedrub Ling means “sanctuary for lear ...

monastery). Another is the

Tergar Osel Ling Monastery Tergar Osel Ling Monastery or Tergar Lungrik Osel Targyé Ling Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal of the Tergar Meditation Community. History The Tergar Osel Ling Monastery was founded in Kathmandu, Nepal by Tulku Ur ...

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, Nepal. Urgyen Rinpoche died on the morning of February 13, 1996.

Teaching

Tulku Urgyen was the author of the two-volume ''As It Is'', which deals with the subject of emptiness. His main transmissions were the Chokling Tersar and the

pointing-out instruction The pointing-out instruction () is an introduction to the nature of mind in the Tibetan Buddhist lineages of Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen. In these traditions, a lama gives the pointing-out instruction in such a way that the disciple successfully ...

. Buddhist teacher and writer Marcia Binder Schmidt wrote of him: Author and neuroscientist

Sam Harris Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics ...

was a student of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. Describing the

instruction he received, Harris wrote: UrgyenYangsy

References

External links

Peer Reviewed Biography of Tulku Urgyen by Dr. Alexander Gardner on The Treasury of Lives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urgyen Rinpoche 1920 births 1996 deaths 20th-century lamas Dzogchen lamas Kagyu lamas Kagyu tulkus Nyingma lamas Nyingma tulkus Rinpoches Tibetan Buddhism writers Tibetan Buddhists from Nepal Tibetan Buddhists from Tibet Tulkus