Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
Encyclopedia
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (born 1961), also known as Khyentse Norbu, is a Bhutan
ese lama
, filmmaker, and writer. His two major films are The Cup (1999) and Travellers and Magicians
(2003). He is the author of the book What Makes You Not a Buddhist (Shambhala, 2007). He is also a prominent tulku
associated with Dzongsar Monastery
in Derge
, Eastern Tibet.
in 1961. At the age of seven he was recognized as the third 'mindstream
emanation' (Wylie sprul sku
) of the founder of Khyentse lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.
The first incarnation was Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
(1820–1892), who helped found the Rimé
or ecumenical school of Tibetan Buddhism, centred in Dzongsar Monastery
in Sichuan. Followers of this non-sectarian school sought to identify and make use of the best methods from the various long-competing and isolated schools of Tibetan Buddhism
. This approach led to a blossoming of scholarship and writing beginning in the 1880s.
The second incarnation was the renowned lama Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro
(1893–1959), who figured prominently in the export of Tantric Buddhism to the West as the root-teacher of a generation of influential and forward-thinking lamas.
A biographical portrait of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche exists in documentary feature film form. The film came out in 2003, and is called Words of My Perfect Teacher after the English rendering of a famed work by Patrul Rinpoche
. It is a portrait of the Vajrayana Buddhist student-teacher relationship.
. Reflecting the unusual non-sectarian tradition of the Khyentse lineage, he counts as his root-masters teachers from all four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism
(cf. Sakya
, Geluk, Nyingma
, Kagyu
). He has studied with some of the greatest contemporary masters, particularly H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. After leaving Sikkim he studied at Sakya College in Rajpur
, and later attended London's School of Oriental and African Studies
.
From a young age he has been active in the preservation of the Buddhist teaching, establishing centres of learning, supporting practitioners, publishing books and teaching all over the world. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche supervises his traditional seat of Dzongsar Monastery
and its retreat centers in Eastern Tibet, as well as his new colleges in India (in Bir
and Chowntra (Himachal Pradesh)) and Bhutan. He has also established centres in Australia, North America and the Far East.
In 1989, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche founded Siddhartha's Intent, an international Buddhist association of non-profit centres, most of which are nationally registered societies and charities, with the principal intention of preserving the Buddhist teachings, as well as increasing an awareness and understanding of the many aspects of the Buddhist teaching beyond the limits of cultures and traditions.
While working with Tibetan refugees in northern India, Khyentse Norbu was struck by the absence of media attention to the abject suffering of thousands of children. In 1993, he founded the secular White Lotus Charitable Trust, dedicated to serving the most neglected and forgotten children through education.
Volunteering his own time and resources to establish the initial infrastructure, Khyentse Norbu inspired others around the world, regardless of spiritual traditions, to help White Lotus become a global volunteer network of like-minded humanists. International followers of his work and his vision founded their own networks the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Taiwan with a view to supporting LO programs in India and Cambodia.
In 2002, Lotus Outreach was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in southern California to create an American center of infrastructure, dedicated to ensuring the education, health and safety of at-risk and exploited women and children in India and Cambodia. Its all-volunteer International Board of Directors continues to raise funds and increase awareness in their home countries on issues surrounding poverty and exploitation in Asia.
In 2001 Khyentse Foundation was founded by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. It is a non-profit organization with the stated goal "to act as a system of patronage for institutions and individuals engaged in the practice and study of Buddha's wisdom and compassion."
. He studied filmmaking with Bernardo Bertolucci
, after serving as consultant on the Italian director’s 1993 film Little Buddha
.
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
ese lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
, filmmaker, and writer. His two major films are The Cup (1999) and Travellers and Magicians
Travellers and Magicians
Travellers and Magicians is a 2003 Bhutanese Dzongkha language film written and directed by Khyentse Norbu, a reincarnate lama of Tibetan Buddhism, who is also known as Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. The movie is the first feature film shot entirely in the kingdom of Bhutan...
(2003). He is the author of the book What Makes You Not a Buddhist (Shambhala, 2007). He is also a prominent tulku
Tulku
In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...
associated with Dzongsar Monastery
Dzongsar Monastery
Dzongsar Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in Dêgê County in the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan, China, southeast of the town of Derge and east of Palpung Monastery. Historically it lay in the Kham region of Tibet...
in Derge
Dergé
Dêgê County is a county in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in China's Sichuan province. Its county seat is the town of Dêgê. It was once the location of the Kingdom of Dêgê.-External links:*...
, Eastern Tibet.
Lineage
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche was born in BhutanBhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
in 1961. At the age of seven he was recognized as the third 'mindstream
Mindstream
Mindstream in Buddhist philosophy is the moment-to-moment "continuum" of awareness. There are a number of terms in the Buddhist literature that may well be rendered "mindstream"...
emanation' (Wylie sprul sku
Tulku
In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...
) of the founder of Khyentse lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.
The first incarnation was Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo , also known as Pema Ösal Do-ngak Lingpa, was a renowned teacher, scholar and tertön of 19th century Tibet. He was a leading figure in the nonsectarian Rime movement.-Biography:...
(1820–1892), who helped found the Rimé
Rime
Rime is a coating of ice:*Hard rime, white ice that forms when water droplets in fog freeze to the outer surfaces of objects, such as trees*Soft rime, similar to hard rime, but feathery and milky in appearance...
or ecumenical school of Tibetan Buddhism, centred in Dzongsar Monastery
Dzongsar Monastery
Dzongsar Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in Dêgê County in the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan, China, southeast of the town of Derge and east of Palpung Monastery. Historically it lay in the Kham region of Tibet...
in Sichuan. Followers of this non-sectarian school sought to identify and make use of the best methods from the various long-competing and isolated schools of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
. This approach led to a blossoming of scholarship and writing beginning in the 1880s.
The second incarnation was the renowned lama Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro
Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro
Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö was a Tibetan lama, a master of many lineages, and a teacher of many of the major figures in 20th century Tibetan Buddhism...
(1893–1959), who figured prominently in the export of Tantric Buddhism to the West as the root-teacher of a generation of influential and forward-thinking lamas.
A biographical portrait of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche exists in documentary feature film form. The film came out in 2003, and is called Words of My Perfect Teacher after the English rendering of a famed work by Patrul Rinpoche
Patrul Rinpoche
Patrul Rinpoche was a prominent teacher and author of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.-Biography:...
. It is a portrait of the Vajrayana Buddhist student-teacher relationship.
Education
Until the age of twelve Khyentse Norbu studied at the Palace Monastery of the King of SikkimSikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
. Reflecting the unusual non-sectarian tradition of the Khyentse lineage, he counts as his root-masters teachers from all four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
(cf. Sakya
Sakya
The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...
, Geluk, Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
, Kagyu
Kagyu
The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...
). He has studied with some of the greatest contemporary masters, particularly H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. After leaving Sikkim he studied at Sakya College in Rajpur
Rajpur
Rajpur is a town and a nagar panchayat in Barwani district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.-Geography:Rajpur is located at . It has an average elevation of 225 metres .-Demographics:...
, and later attended London's School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
.
From a young age he has been active in the preservation of the Buddhist teaching, establishing centres of learning, supporting practitioners, publishing books and teaching all over the world. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche supervises his traditional seat of Dzongsar Monastery
Dzongsar Monastery
Dzongsar Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in Dêgê County in the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan, China, southeast of the town of Derge and east of Palpung Monastery. Historically it lay in the Kham region of Tibet...
and its retreat centers in Eastern Tibet, as well as his new colleges in India (in Bir
Bir, Himachal Pradesh
Bir is a village located in the west of the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India.Bir is a noted centre for spiritual studies and meditation and a popular destination for adventure sports such as paragliding and trekking...
and Chowntra (Himachal Pradesh)) and Bhutan. He has also established centres in Australia, North America and the Far East.
In 1989, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche founded Siddhartha's Intent, an international Buddhist association of non-profit centres, most of which are nationally registered societies and charities, with the principal intention of preserving the Buddhist teachings, as well as increasing an awareness and understanding of the many aspects of the Buddhist teaching beyond the limits of cultures and traditions.
While working with Tibetan refugees in northern India, Khyentse Norbu was struck by the absence of media attention to the abject suffering of thousands of children. In 1993, he founded the secular White Lotus Charitable Trust, dedicated to serving the most neglected and forgotten children through education.
Volunteering his own time and resources to establish the initial infrastructure, Khyentse Norbu inspired others around the world, regardless of spiritual traditions, to help White Lotus become a global volunteer network of like-minded humanists. International followers of his work and his vision founded their own networks the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Taiwan with a view to supporting LO programs in India and Cambodia.
In 2002, Lotus Outreach was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in southern California to create an American center of infrastructure, dedicated to ensuring the education, health and safety of at-risk and exploited women and children in India and Cambodia. Its all-volunteer International Board of Directors continues to raise funds and increase awareness in their home countries on issues surrounding poverty and exploitation in Asia.
In 2001 Khyentse Foundation was founded by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. It is a non-profit organization with the stated goal "to act as a system of patronage for institutions and individuals engaged in the practice and study of Buddha's wisdom and compassion."
Filmmaking
Khyentse Norbu wrote and directed two award-winning films, The Cup (1999) and Travelers and Magicians (2003). Travelers and Magicians was the first feature film to be produced in BhutanBhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
. He studied filmmaking with Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
, after serving as consultant on the Italian director’s 1993 film Little Buddha
Little Buddha
Little Buddha is a 1994 feature film by Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Bridget Fonda and Keanu Reeves. Made by Bertolucci's regular partner, British producer Jeremy Thomas, it marked the team's return to the East after The Last Emperor....
.
External links
- Siddhartha´s Intent: Dzongsar Khyentse's teaching schedule and some media
- Gentle Voice current online Newsletter starting 1st Sep 2010
- Gentle Voice archive of interviews and teachings 1994 - 2008
- Khyentse Foundation
- Interview im deutschen Magazin What is Enlightenment?
- Deer Park Institute, India
- Interview in Shambhala Sun Magazine
- Lotus Outreach
- Discussion of article in Kuensel Online
- An interview with Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche