Lama Chime Tulku Rinpoche is a

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 ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Tulku A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is an individual recognized as the reincarnation of a previous spiritual master (lama), and expected to be reincarnated, in turn, after death. The tulku is a distinctive and significant aspect of Tibet ...

and

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

teacher. Chime Rinpoche was born in 1941 in Kham,

. In 1959, due to the annexation of Tibet, he was forced to flee to

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 ...

via

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

into exile. Gaining

British citizenship The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nor ...

in 1965, he taught extensively throughout Europe and established Marpa House, the first Tibetan Buddhist Centre in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. His students include American author and Buddhist nun

Pema Chödrön Pema Chödrön (; born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown, July 14, 1936) is an American-born Tibetan Buddhist. She is an ordained nun, former acharya of Shambhala Buddhism and disciple of Chögyam Trungpa . Chödrön has written several dozen books and aud ...

and musicians

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single " Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists to be sign ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

and

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

Early life in Tibet

Chime Rinpoche was born in Jyekundo, Kham, East Tibet,

, into a family that were direct descendants of the

chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

Rardha Pontsong, who was inspired to give his land to the 4th Sangye Nyenpa so that Benchen Monastery could be built (in the 14th century). He was not the only

in his family, as both

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 9th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche were his maternal uncles. He was educated at Benchen Monastery, where he completed academic studies as well as a traditional three-year, three-month retreat. Chime Rinpoche studied and combined the practices of

Mahamudra Mahāmudrā (Sanskrit: महामुद्रा, , contraction of ) literally means "great seal" or "great imprint" and refers to the fact that "all phenomena inevitably are stamped by the fact of wisdom and emptiness inseparable". Mahāmud ...

and

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

(Atiyoga) through receiving instructions in Mahamudra from Kabje Sangye Nyenpa and Dzogchen from Dilgo Khentse Rinpoche.

Escape from Tibet

Due to the invasion of Tibet and subsequent occupation by the Chinese army, the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa indicated that Chime Rinpoche should flee Tibet. In 1959, Chime Rinpoche reached

via

alongside his Root Gurus and maternal uncles,

and 9th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche.

Life in Britain

In 1965, Lama Chime was invited to live in the UK. He shared a small apartment with

Chögyam Trungpa Chögyam Trungpa (Wylie transliteration, Wylie: ''Chos rgyam Drung pa''; March 5, 1939 – April 4, 1987), formally named the 11th Zurmang Trungpa, Chokyi Gyatso, was a Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist master and holder of both Kagyu and Nyingm ...

Rinpoche and

Akong Rinpoche Chöje Akong Tulku Rinpoche (, 25 December 1939 – 8 October 2013) was a tulku in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and co-founder of the Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland, Tara Rokpa Therapy and charity ROKPA International. Early lif ...

in Oxford. He later gained British citizenship, registered 22 October 1970 and has lived in Britain ever since. As Akong Rinpoche was the first one to find paid employment, becoming a hospital orderly, Akong supported both Chime Rinpoche and Trungpa Rinpoche.

Marpa House

In 1973, Chime Rinpoche founded Kham House in

Ashdon Ashdon, is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is about northeast of Saffron Walden and northwest from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Uttlesford and the parliamentary constituency of Saffron Wal ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, UK the first Tibetan Buddhist Centre in England. The building was purchased with the help of sponsors. Previously an orphanage for homeless children called All Saints' Home, it was built by the rector of Ashdon

Henry Barclay Swete Henry Barclay Swete (14 March 1835 in Bristol – 10 May 1917 in Hitchin) was an English biblical scholar. He became Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge in 1890. He is known for his 1906 commentary on the Book of Revelation, and other wor ...

. In 1975, just two years after Kham House was established, the

16th Karmapa The 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (; August 14, 1924 – November 5, 1981) is the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He is of the oldest line of reincarnate lamas in Vajrayana Buddhi ...

visited this centre after visiting the

Kagyu Samyé Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre is a Tibetan Buddhist complex associated with the Karma Kagyu school located at Eskdalemuir, Scotland. History Before the present Temple complex was built, Samye Ling centred on just one building, a ...

earlier in the year. Kham House was later renamed Marpa House and is run by the charity The Dharma Trust. Although presently in poor health, Chime Rinpoche still teaches at Marpa House on occasion.

Status as a Tulku

During his 1975 visit, the

identified Chime Rinpoche as Radha Tulku, the incarnation of

Radha Phuntsok Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Mūl ...

, one of the four Tulkus (incarnate Lamas) of Benchen Monastery. The Four Benchen Tulkus are: * Chime Tulku (born 1991, not to be confused with the subject of this article) *Radha Tulku (Chime Rinpoche, the subject of this article) *Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche *

Tenga Rinpoche Tenga Rinpoche (; 1932 – 30 March 2012) was a Tibetan teacher (lama) in the Karma Kagyu tradition.

Personal life

In England, Chime Rinpoche chose to stop being a monk and married. He and his English wife had three daughters, all of whom are now adults. In Britain, Chime Rinpoche is the President of the Tibetan Terrier Association, a club that is dedicated to preserve and promote the

Tibetan Terrier The Tibetan Terrier is a medium-sized dog breed, breed of dog that originated in Tibet. Despite its name, it is not a member of the terrier group. The breed was given its English name by European travelers due to its resemblance to known terrier ...

breed of dog. The club was established in 1967. Rinpoche still teaches occasionally at Marpa House when his health permits and annually leads a ten-day Summer School retreat in Baerenthal in northeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In a video message to his students on the passing of Tenga Rinpoche, Chime Rinpoche stated that he is preparing for his own visit to the '

Pure Lands Pure Land is a Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places without the sufferings of samsar ...

' by praying and meditating more but assures his students that it is 'a very nice place, very nice'.

Work at the British Library

Rinpoche was employed by the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

as Curator for Ancient Tibetan Manuscripts for 16 years.

Notable students

- Before becoming a novice nun, Pema Chödrön studied

in London with Chime Rinpoche for several years. After taking her novice vows in 1974, Chime Rinpoche advised Chödrön to seek training with

Rinpoche, who later became Chödrön's root guru. David-Bowie Chicago 2002-08-08 photoby Adam-Bielawski

- Chime Rinpoche also tutored David Bowie for a number of months at

Tibet House Tibet Houses are an international, loosely affiliated group of nonprofit cultural preservation organizations established at the request of the Dalai Lama. They work to preserve, present, and protect Tibet's ancient traditions in philosophy, mi ...

in London. During an interview in 2001, Bowie relates the time of his first meeting with Chime Rinpoche,

"One day, I walked into the office and it was empty," Bowie said, calling from his New York office. "I went down the stairs and saw a man in saffron robes. He said, in very broken English, 'You are looking for me.' I realized years later that it was a question, but as a 16-year-old, I took it as a statement: 'You are looking for me.'" The man in the saffron robes, Chime Yong Dong Rinpoche, became Jones' guru for several months. "After a few months of study, he told me, 'You don't want to be Buddhist ..You should follow music."

:Later, on his first album ''

'', Bowie wrote and recorded the song " Silly Boy Blue" about a young Tibetan Monk who broke the rules as a tribute to his teacher. *

- Bowie later recorded the track live at the BBC with Tony Visconti, another student of Chime Rinpoche. Later, whilst recording Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps), Visconti invited Chime Rinpoche to speak with Bowie about his idea to stage a

rock concert A rock concert is a performance of rock music. During the 1950s, several American musical groups experimented with new musical forms that fused country music, blues, and swing genre to produce the earliest examples of "rock and roll." The coi ...

at the

Potala Palace Potala Palace ( Tibetan: པོ་ཏ་ལ་ཕོ་བྲང Chinese: 布达拉宫) is the name of a museum in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, built in the ''dzong''-style. It was previously a palace of t ...

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

, Tibet; however, nothing materialised.''Strange Fascination: David Bowie: The Definitive Story'', 2005, p.47 (Virgin) *

- In 2010, the singer Mary Hopkin, with her son Morgan Visconti, dedicated the song "Chime" on their 2010 album, ''You Look Familiar'', to Chime Rinpoche.

Bibliography

*Chime Radha Rinpoche (1981) 'Tibet', in M. Loewe and C. Blacker (eds) Divination and Oracles, London: George Allen & Unwin, pp. 3–37.

References

External links

Marpa HouseDVD: Lama Chime Rinpoche Old Lady's Finger and Other Mahamudra Teachings (Wisdom Books)David Bowie, Carnegie Hall, speaking of his teacher Chime Rinpoche then sings Silly Boy Blue (YouTube)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chime Rinpoche 1941 births Living people 20th-century lamas British people of Tibetan descent Employees of the British Library Karma Kagyu lamas Karma Kagyu tulkus People from Uttlesford (district) Tibetan Buddhists from Tibet Tulkus Tibetan emigrants to India