Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

, Trichen Jurme Kunzang Wangyal (January 1, 1930 – February 9, 2008) was the eleventh Mindrolling Trichen (pronunciation: Mìn-drolling). A lama of the

Nyingma Nyingma (, ), also referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma school was founded by PadmasambhavaClaude Arpi, ''A Glimpse of the History of Tibet'', Dharamsala: Tibet Museum, 2013. ...

school, he served as the ceremonial head of the lineage and oversaw its administrative affairs in exile in India.

Biography

Born in Lumo-ra in

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibet, Tibetan regions, the others being Domey also known as Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The official name of this Tibetan region/province is Dotoe (). The original residents of ...

(East-

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

), Trichen Jurme Kunzang Wangyal was the son of the tenth Mindrolling Trichen. After his father's death, the family relocated to Central Tibet where he began his monastic education. At the age of 18, he entered retreat, spending a total of fourteen years in solitary meditation during his studies. He continued his education with

Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö ( – 1959) was a Tibetan people, Tibetan lama, a master of many lineages, and a teacher of many of the major figures in 20th-century Tibetan Buddhism. Though he died in 1959 in Sikkim, and is not so well known ...

. During this period, he married; within Buddhism, celibacy is a requirement only for ordained monks and nuns, and some lamas of the Nyingma lineage are married. He excelled in his studies and discovered the terma (hidden treasure) of the Compassionate One, "Jigten Wangchuk Pema Garwang." As a

Tertön In Tibetan Buddhism, a Tertön () is a person who is a discoverer of ancient hidden texts or '' terma''. Many tertöns are considered to be incarnations of the twenty five main disciples of Padmasambhava ( Guru Rinpoche), who foresaw a dark time in ...

, he was instructed to transmit these teachings eleven times to qualified students. In 1959, he left

for

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where he was formally installed as the Eleventh Mindrolling Trichen in 1962. He collaborated with other lamas, including Dudjom Rinpoche,

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Tashi Paljor () (c. 1910 – 28 September 1991) was a Vajrayana master, Terton, scholar, poet, teacher, and recognized by Buddhists as one of the greatest realized masters. Head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism f ...

, and the 16th Karmapa, who had previously studied with his father. In 1976, he and his family moved to

Dehra Dun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, ...

to oversee the construction of the

Mindrolling Monastery Mindrolling Monastery (, English: "Sublime Island of Ripening Liberation"), is one of the "Six Mother Monasteries" of the Nyingma school in Tibet. It was founded by Rigzin Terdak Lingpa in 1676. Tendrak Lingpa's lineage is known as the ''Nyo'' ...

. Mindrolling Trichen was the father of

Khandro Rinpoche Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche (birth name Tsering Paldrön; born August 19, 1967) is a lama in Tibetan Buddhism. Born in Kalimpong, India and the daughter of the late Mindrolling Trichen, Khandro Rinpoche was recognized by Rangjung Rigpe D ...

, a female lama with a following in the West. Some consider him to be an emanation of

Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ('Born from a Lotus'), also known as Guru Rinpoche ('Precious Guru'), was a legendary tantric Buddhist Vajracharya, Vajra master from Oddiyana. who fully revealed the Vajrayana in Tibet, circa 8th – 9th centuries... He is consi ...

. On February 9, 2008 (the 3rd day of Chotrul Duchen), Mindrolling Trichen Jurme Kunzang Wangyal died at his home in India at the age of 78. The

reported that he passed "without the slightest discomfort."

Head of the Nyingma school

In 2003, the government of Tibet-in-exile requested that he assume responsibility for the administrative affairs of the

school as one of the main throne holders,simhas.org
Biography Mindrolling Trichen. (Retrieved: September 16, 2006) succeeding the retiring Penor Rinpoche. The Nyingma school has historically been decentralized, and the position of "head of the school" was established after the Tibetan diaspora. The lamas chosen for this role are highly regarded within the lineage.

References

External links

The Parinirvana of Kyabje Mindrolling Trichen RinpocheMindrolling Dedicated to Vajrayana Dharma Activities
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trichen, Mindrolling 1930 births 2008 deaths Nyingma lamas Tibetan Buddhists from Tibet Rinpoches Tertöns Tibetan Buddhists from India Tibetan emigrants to India People from Kham People from Dehradun

Biography

Head of the Nyingma school

See also

References

External links