Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso was born in 1954. In 1962, he enrolled in the Central School for Tibetans in Darjeeling. In 1969, he attended the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies in Varanasi and studied Buddhist philosophy and other higher studies under Khenchen Palden Sherab and many other scholars. He studied different languages, such as Sanskrit, English and Hindi, as well as undergoing a thorough study of Tibetan literature, including poetry, grammar, Buddhist philosophy, and religious history. In 1978, he was first in his class among the representatives of all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and received a silver medal from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama as a mark of recognition. Khenchen has received numerous Nyingma teachings from many great Nyingma masters. Following the wishes of H.H. Penor Rinpoche, Khenchen came to Namdroling Monastery in 1979. Since then, with the sincere thought of preserving and spreading the Buddhadharma and the Nyingma doctrine, he has taught at the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, as well as abroad. In 1983, Penor Rinpoche bestowed upon him the title of khenpo. Currently, according to the wishes of H.H. Penor Rinpoche, he is teaching and taking the major responsibility for Palyul Dharma Centres around the world.
Palyul Times (PT): Would you please shed some light on the relationship you had with H.H. Drubwang Penor Rinpoche, when you first met him?
Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso (KTG): When I arrived at Balingpur as a refugee in 1960, I heard that there was a lama from Kham, Tibet. We went to see him all together. When I first met him, he gave me chagwang (giving blessing by touching the head) and said, “Ya! Be careful. We will meet later.” Then, in 1971, when I had a summer holiday at the Central University for Tibetan Studies (CUTS), Varanasi, I came to South India to meet my mother. At that time, His Holiness was residing in Namdroling Monastery, Tibetan 4th camp, and I went to see him. After that, I and my friend Rigzin Dorje went to see His Holiness annually. His Holiness used to say, “It is very important for you to listen to teachings, analyse and practise them simultaneously. There is no advantage in having ego thinking that you are a college student.”
At that time, the present monastery was only half completed. When I went to see him, sometimes I would meet him at Rani Gate (a place near the monastery), where he would be supervising the work in the maize field. In 1978, I again came to meet my mother after completing my course from the university. I also went to see His Holiness and my friend Khenpo Rigzin Dorje. I had a severe brain disease from taking the wrong medicines for tuberculosis at that time. His Holiness admitted me to a doctor in Kushalnagar (then a small market place near the monastery) and I gradually healed. At that time, a great devotion and feeling of joy arose in me thinking how loving and kind a bodhisattva can be to everyone.
In 1979, I took the responsibility as a member of the officiating committee of Namdroling Monastery according to the wish of His Holiness. I served as a teacher in the junior school of the monastery and taught handwriting, spelling, grammar and English to the juniors. Gradually, we finalised the routine of the classes and conducted examinations according to the instructions of His Holiness. At that time, there was only Lopon Tashi Chophel who was teaching reading techniques. Later, Lopon Pema Tsewang took on some responsibility too. There were about fifty junior monks at that time. In brief, Rinpoche was loving and kind to everybody, were they good, bad or mediocre. Everybody would go to him seeking help. He has actually benefitted others more than a wish-fulfilling jewel.
PT: What is your perspective on His Holiness? Would you please tell us about his distinctive nature as a person and his daily activities?
KTG: Generally, it is said, “A great person knows about ordinary people,” but it is very difficult for ordinary people to understand a great person. So, for a normal person like me, how would I be able to read the minds of great people, especially His Holiness, who is a realised master, noble, and a perfect spiritual teacher? I don’t even dare to.
However, it is said that all phenomena are the display of one’s mind, so if I share my feelings in brief according to your question, His Holiness was very gentle, loving and kind. Especially, he was a man of few words and was very courageous. When we saw him, he looked very powerful and majestic like a statue. For instance, when people went to see him, though everybody had devotion and were glad to meet him, everybody would be a little bit afraid, be it the higher officials or lower. Moreover, when Rinpoche became serious, we would not dare look at him.
In 1970, when I first met him, I explained to him about the environment and system at CUTS, Varanasi. At that time, Rinpoche just replied, “Oh! I see.” At that time, I thought, “It is said that realised masters are said to be free of conceptual fabrications and maybe they are like His Holiness,” and devotion arose in me.
If I tell about how he worked, he would not talk much about the plan and schedule like other lamas and lopons; rather, he would command directly when nearing the deadline. It was Rinpoche’s unique way and the most amazing thing was, later, when I looked into his work, all of it was in very good shape. At that time, I thought, “It is the nature of Dzogchen masters to do what they feel and they don’t need to ponder about plans.”
PT: In 1963, when the foundation of Namdroling Monastery was being laid, people say that His Holiness faced big financial problems. Would you please say something on the hardships that Rinpoche underwent for this monastery?
KTG: His Holiness had an aspiration to establish Namdroling Monastery as a place for cultivating merit with a goal to uphold the Buddhadharma in general and shower peace and happiness on beings. However, he did not have the financial background as we were all refugees. So, he went to Dharamshala and consulted the community which was organised for reviving Dharma. He got an official letter sanctioning his proposal for collecting donations. So, he went to the Tibetan camps and Indian settlements like Mysore to solicit donations but he could not collect enough for the monastery. He tried many other alternatives like harvesting crops, dairy farming, manufacturing traditional Tibetan carpets, selling small items and so forth. Moreover, he engaged in sand and stone work, and making bricks. He even personally worked in mud-cementing the walls along with his students for a few years enduring tremendous hardship in harsh weather. He underwent many hurdles like the great master Milarepa and built the monastery of about sixty arm-spans as an object to please the buddhas. Gradually, he established the sadhana practice of the Nyingma Kama and Terma including Kagyed and others which have continued to be practised till now. He actually revived the Dharma from its ashes in India.
PT: Though the institute was established in 1978, it is said that even when His Holiness was staying in a bamboo hut in the 4th Tibetan camp, he had a great concern to spread the Buddhist teachings. Moreover, in His Holiness’ advice, he says that his main goal was to establish the institute. So, would you please tell us why His Holiness had a great concern about the institute?
KTG: As all compounded phenomena are impermanent, the earth in general and especially the Buddhadharma-practising countries like India and Tibet have gone through great changes along with their people. However, in the Land of Snow (Tibet), at the time of Khen-Lob-Choe Sum (Shantarakshita, Padmasambhava, and Trisong Deutsen in the eighth century), the Buddhadharma, which is the source of all happiness and benefits, was spread in every corner of the nation like the rays of the sun. But later, as the strong vicious clouds and wind of time approached, the light of Buddhadharma gradually weakened. The oral transmissions and practice of the Dharma neared extinction and on top of that many great masters passed away. However, the last remains of beings’ merit was still alive since His Holiness the Dalai Lama with many other masters were able to arrive safe and sound in India.
But, at that time, the Buddhadharma was at the verge of its final downfall. Knowing the situation, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche could not ignore it, as he expressed in his speeches like, “I have a responsibility as the throneholder of the Palyul tradition. I am thinking of shouldering this responsibility by establishing a Dharma centre for studying and practising the Buddhadharma.” He thought that if one is to preserve the Buddhadharma, there is no other way than establishing a Dharma centre because in order to spread the Dharma, oral transmissions should be given, its meaning should be taught, listened to, and analysed, and should be blended with one’s mindstream in the actual practice. And for accomplishing these and other related activities, a Dharma centre was necessary.
So, taking this duty to heart and bearing the abovementioned intentions, he established Namdroling Monastery. At first, Dzogchen Khenpo Tsondru was invited to the monastery as a teacher. He started the initial teaching classes, but unfortunately he passed away in the midst of a long course of teaching. Rinpoche was very disheartened at that time and Khenpo Khedrub (one of the other foremost teachers) halted his classes too. After that, Khenpo Rinchen of Sakya was invited at the end of the year in 1978. He established the educational foundation by setting up classes for teaching, and organising annual written, teaching and debate examinations. Later, Khenpo Dazer, an upholder of the three baskets, was invited from Tibet. He stabilised the flow of teaching by giving extensive teachings and clearing doubts on the works of Rongzom Mahapandita, Longchen Rabjam and Mipham Rinpoche. It is solely because of their kindness and those latter khenpos, that the reputation of the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute increased. Moreover, the institute became a centre of learning the Buddhadharma in general, and especially the Dzogpachenpo teachings of the Nyingma along with its commentaries and literature. It has become like second Nalanda University in preserving and spreading the Buddhadharma.
PT: It is said that when His Holiness was young, he used to ride a bicycle and drive his own vehicle, and also provided television and playground facilities to the small monks. These were some of his lesser known ordinary activities. Would you please say something about them and his passion?
KTG: His Holiness Drubwang Rinpoche was a person who deliberately took birth in this world to benefit the Buddhadharma and beings. We can understand this from the words of other great masters and his life story. Moreover, he knew the changing of the times and situation that would occur in the future: the electronic evolution, the number of monks, the spread of the Dharma, and so on. So, from what we can see today, it is clear that he possessed the wisdom of seeing the future. According to the industrial evolution at that time and his financial background, he bought a bicycle which was necessary then, and later, he bought a car and other stuff. At that time, people were very eager to watch television, so he arranged television shows and games for the small monks and nuns. It is needless to mention that he was inseparable from the practice of a bodhisattva as he showed great love and kindness to his students, probably more than their parents. In brief,
You are a father and teacher to some,
A doctor and guide to others,
A companion and advisor to some,
A spiritual master and leader to others.
You are the guru to everyone,
Who fulfils every wish with various methods.
You completed all the important work—
Social, related to the monastery or serving the Buddhadharma—be it small or big.
Moreover, with the leaders and officials of India and Tibet,
You tied a strong knot of friendship.
With equal kindness to all the Tibetans,
You gave your best in supplying provisions with different ideas,
And became a great companion to all strangers.
You showed the activities according to the perspective of ordinary people,
And your passion was to benefit others.
PT: Looking at how His Holiness upheld, preserved and spread the Buddhadharma, we know that he was extraordinary. Did you ever notice any extra important points from his advice to his disciples? Please give us some account of this from his actual life story.
KTG: In this 21st century, there are many noble beings who uphold, preserve and spread the Buddhadharma. Especially, His Holiness came to India and was outstanding in reviving the Buddhadharma from its ashes and this became a distinguished service of a noble man to the Buddhadharma in this century. Time and again, His Holiness used to advise relating to Dharma and worldly activities, “In general, it is very important to be diligent in studying and preserving Tibetan Buddhism—its literature, culture and tradition. Not only lhacho (the sublime tradition of spiritual practice) and micho (the teachings on social affairs) but also Tibetan literature and other subjects including common and unique Tibetan courses of study. Moreover, if one is a college student at the institute, then, there is no limit to study and analysis. One must study Indian and Tibetan texts, and works of other learned masters, but should not let one’s knowledge go astray. One should understand and stick to the unique views and philosophies of the Ngagyur Nyingma. There is the possibility of misunderstanding the works of Nagarjuna and others if one just goes through the commentaries of other masters thinking them to be easy. There is the danger of misinterpreting the philosophies of Nagarjuna and Aryadeva if the right explanation isn’t given. So, don’t get filled with pride when you just know a little thinking you are learned. One must learn till one attains Buddhahood; other than that there is nothing to call ‘learned’.”
In his other advice, he said, “Through this institute, in general I mainly intend to preserve the Buddhadharma without deterioration, and particularly, I wish to make it possible for you all to understand the unique tradition of the Ngagyur Nyingma, mainly Do-Gyu-Sem Sum (Do Gongpa Düpa of Anuyoga, Gyu Sangwa Nyingpa of Mahayoga, and Semde Ma-Bu Chogye of Atiyoga) along with the treatises of Rongzom, Longchen and Mipham on the Zhi-Lam-Dre Sum (the nature of the ground, the path and the fruition), Ta-Gom-Chyod Sum (view, meditation and conduct), and the other important points of the views and philosophies of the Nyingma. As a result of listening to and analysing the Dharma texts, one should be able to defeat the three poisons of the mind. Therefore, it is very important to practise listening, analysing and meditation all together. The most important thing is like it is said in texts: one must adopt love, kindness and bodhichitta, and have an intention like, ‘I will lead myself and other beings to liberation and Buddhahood.’ ”
PT: We would request Khenchen to tell us about important points that we have missed to ask in the questions and those important activities which are unclear from his life story.
KTG: Other than these, I don’t remember other things to say. However, if one praises noble masters in general and one’s root master in particular, it will be a cause of merit for oneself and others too. Generally, in the outer and inner classes of tantra, it is said that the main path of the secret vehicle of tantra is the practice of visualising all phenomena as pure and having devotion to one’s master. And especially in Dzogpachenpo, if one has strong devotion to one’s root master, considering him as a real Buddha then there is no doubt that the blessing of the master will flow into oneself. I heard this from His Holiness time and again. Therefore, I felt that I should share some of his extraordinary qualities. Other than that, how can an ordinary person like me comprehend his secret extraordinary qualities? To say anything about his inconceivable activities of body, speech and mind, his realization, and his quality of being undefiled by afflictive emotions is like a blind man who cannot see a Buddha endowed with all the qualities just in front of him. It is just like an ordinary person unable to comprehend the realisation and undefiled qualities of a bodhisattva.
However, with much devotion and respect, if I have to say something about the extraordinary qualities of His Holiness Drubwang Rinpoche from what I have heard from him and other masters, it is better to know beforehand what can be revealed and what should not. If one shares the extraordinary activities of one’s master when he is still alive, there is the possibility of accumulating non-virtue and creating obstacles for oneself. This is because if people who are unfit to listen hear them, then there is the chance they will misinterpret them with their afflictive emotions of desire, anger, ego and ignorance. They would then engage in committing immense non-virtuous deeds. For instance, tirthikas were jealous of the qualities and miracles displayed by the Buddha. They slandered and tried to harm the Buddha. Finally, they suffered due to their karma. Likewise, from the history of Tibetan Buddhism, we come to know that when Guru Padmasambhava displayed incredible miracles, people with negative karma and less fortune slandered Guru Padmasambhava with wrong views. Therefore, one should conceal the profound view, behaviour and teachings of one’s root master.
However, since my guru has passed away, if I, with an intention to remember his kindness, explain his magnificent qualities of body, speech and mind, and his activities which were apparent to everyone, then it would become like a land for cultivating merit for oneself and others. It would cause devotion to arise in others too. So, feeling like that, if I just say a little bit on his extraordinary activities―like showing the signs of accomplishment as a child and so forth―relating them to what I heard from other masters: Once, when a vajra got broken into two pieces, he glued it with his own saliva and made it like before. When a porcelain cup filled with tea slipped from his hand from the top of a house to the stone ground, the cup was not broken and the tea also stayed inside the cup without spilling. When he was in retreat, he clearly saw the mandala of the deities of Phurpa in space. Later, he said that he did not have any doubt or clinging towards it. Likewise, he said that when he focused his mind on the pristine nature of Dharmakaya, almost all the people who had connection with him got liberated to the higher realms when they were in the intermediate state. He later said that it did not happen for some of them. When His Holiness was in Canada, a Tibetan girl had died there and her body was brought before Rinpoche to perform phowa. When he did it, as a sign of phowa, tufts of hair fell from her head in front of her family and the other people there. These are some of the things that he showed, which are the signs of being endowed with perfect realisation and the qualities of being undefiled by afflictive emotions.
PT: Would you please tell us about how the Ngagyur Rigzod Editorial Committee was established according to the wish of His Holiness and about how the current system functions?
KTG: To tell about how the Ngagyur Rigzod Editorial Committee was established, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche advised us that it would be good if we could publish an annual magazine according to the modern times. So, a committee was formed and was initially named ‘Ngagyur Wodsal’ but instead that became the name of the magazine it first published. So, the khenpos along with other committee members approached His Holiness with three possible names, ‘Ngagyur Rigzod’ and two others, and requested him to name the committee. Rinpoche picked the name ‘Ngagyur Rigzod’ and finalised it. Since then, the editorial committee has had the name “Ngagyur Rigzod Editorial Committee” and has been publishing its series of magazines.
The main contents of the magazine wanted by His Holiness were: a succinct life story of Buddha Shakyamuni, articles on the heart essence of the Buddhadharma such as kindness, compassion, bodhichitta, the four immeasurables, taking refuge and advice about that, the four seals that determine a Buddhist, and methods for an easy understanding of what to accept and what to avoid pertaining to the four noble truths.
It is because of the kindness of Khen-Lob-Choe Sum that the Buddhadharma could prevail in the Land of Snow. So, especially the life story of Guru Padmasambhava, the second Buddha, had to be included, relating to his majestic power, and how he, out of compassion for benefitting the beings in Tibet and the Dharma, spread the teachings by bestowing empowerments, oral transmissions and explanations of the teachings of secret mantra in general and the luminous teachings of the Ngagyur Nyingma, the Dzogpachenpo, in particular. He also concealed many treasures in order to benefit beings of the degenerated time in the future.
Simple life stories of throneholders of Palyul—one of the six major divisions of the Nyingma—were also to be included without any complications like idiom or anything else, in such a way that everyone could understand, from a kid who can just read and write to great scholars. We thought that the Ngagyur Rigzod Editorial Committee could publish a magazine series aimed at making the contents simple and understandable to both oneself and others, and improving people’s knowledge about the Buddhadharma and Tibetan literature. Accordingly, a magazine was published at last.
The Ngagyur Rigzod Editorial Committee, which is under the domain of the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, has been publishing magazines like Padmai Rangdang, Palyul Times and others annually. I would like to express my appreciation to the members of the editorial committee for the good fruits you all have yielded according to the wish of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche. In the future, if you could include the life stories of masters who are less known, write essays on the important points of the texts which are not clear, relating to the present environment of knowledge and modern perspectives, then this would improve one’s knowledge and others’ too. Moreover, it would enhance one’s intellectual level and I feel it would be a great act of virtue. Therefore, I would like to request the editorial committee members to publish the standard articles as well as essays written by scholars, teachers and students. I feel this would be good.
Finally, I would like to thank the Ngagyur Rigzod Editorial Committee for including me in the interview section where I had the opportunity to share my feelings and knowledge on the life story of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche. I, Tsewang Gyatso, bearing the title of Khenpo just in name, has written this to you.
PT: Finally, we the editorial committee would like to thank Khenchen for sparing your valuable time for this interview for the sake of His Holiness’ followers. We pray for your long life and spread of your activity. Thank you once again.
Translated by the Ngagyur Rigzod Editorial Committee
