Gangshar Wangpo
Encyclopedia
Khenpo Gangshar Wangpo was a highly respected lama in Eastern Tibet and one of the primary teachers of Chögyam Trungpa
Rinpoche and Thrangu Rinpoche
. Khenpo Gangshar was trained in Shechen Monastery
, a monastic center established in the end of the sixteenth century and part of the Mindröling lineage within the Nyingma
tradition of Tibetan Buddhism
.
Khenpo Gangshar was a primary teacher for Trungpa Rinpoche from the age of 13 until presiding over Trungpa Rinpoche's kyorpön and khenpo degree examinations at the end of 1957. He was also referred to as a "crazy saint". Multiple accounts refer to a serious illness which transformed him from a more quiet monk to an unconventional teacher who renounced his vows, entered into a romantic relationship, and often acted strangely or outrageously. Pema Chödrön
credits Khenpo Gangshar with her teachings to "lean into the sharp points" and to "meditate on whatever provokes resentment".
the second of Shechen Monastery. This began when Gangshar's father died and his mother became a nun. Kongtrul then raised him as his spiritual son, and he became one of six senior professors at Shechen Monastery. Trungpa Rinpoche describes first visiting them both when he was 13 years old, when his studies were to begin in Sechen and a six month Rinchen Terzod transmission began. Khenpo Gangshar was assigned as his first tutor there, and after the Rinchen Terzod completed Trungpa Rinpoche joined a seminary program with about 100 other monks that Khenpo Gangshar was leading assisted by five kyorpöns.
When Trungpa had to return to Surmang early to take on responsibilities — because of a death of a senior lama there — he asked if Gangshar could come to Surmang as his tutor and to lead the Surmang seminary program, which he did in late 1956. In the fall of 1957, according to Trungpa and in light of the changing times in Tibet, Khenpo Gangshar instituted radical changes to the seminary. He opened the instruction to any and all laypeople including women and he asked the hermits with life long vows of seclusion to return to the monastery to help teach.
Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, the eleventh Trungpa tülku, a tertön, supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and originator of a radical re-presentation of Shambhala vision.Recognized...
Rinpoche and Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu Rinpoche was born in 1933 in Kham, Tibet. He is a prominent tulku in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, the ninth reincarnation in his particular line. His full name and title is the Very Venerable Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Tulku, Karma Lodrö Lungrik Mahamadarchod Maway Senge...
. Khenpo Gangshar was trained in Shechen Monastery
Shechen Monastery
The Shechen Monastery is one of the primary monasteries of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, in Tibet. It is located in Derge between Nangdo and Dzogchen Monastery...
, a monastic center established in the end of the sixteenth century and part of the Mindröling lineage within the 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...
tradition 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...
.
Khenpo Gangshar was a primary teacher for Trungpa Rinpoche from the age of 13 until presiding over Trungpa Rinpoche's kyorpön and khenpo degree examinations at the end of 1957. He was also referred to as a "crazy saint". Multiple accounts refer to a serious illness which transformed him from a more quiet monk to an unconventional teacher who renounced his vows, entered into a romantic relationship, and often acted strangely or outrageously. Pema Chödrön
Pema Chödrön
Pema Chödrön is a notable American figure in Tibetan Buddhism. A disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, she is an ordained nun, author, and teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage which Trungpa founded....
credits Khenpo Gangshar with her teachings to "lean into the sharp points" and to "meditate on whatever provokes resentment".
History
According to Chögyam Trungpa, in his account in Born in Tibet, Gangshar was tutored by Jamgon KongtrulJamgon Kongtrul
Jamgön Kongtrül is a name of a prominent line of Tibetan Buddhist teachers , primarily identified with the first Jamgon Kongtrul, but also the name shared by members of a lineage held by tradition to be his subsequent reincarnations , to date....
the second of Shechen Monastery. This began when Gangshar's father died and his mother became a nun. Kongtrul then raised him as his spiritual son, and he became one of six senior professors at Shechen Monastery. Trungpa Rinpoche describes first visiting them both when he was 13 years old, when his studies were to begin in Sechen and a six month Rinchen Terzod transmission began. Khenpo Gangshar was assigned as his first tutor there, and after the Rinchen Terzod completed Trungpa Rinpoche joined a seminary program with about 100 other monks that Khenpo Gangshar was leading assisted by five kyorpöns.
When Trungpa had to return to Surmang early to take on responsibilities — because of a death of a senior lama there — he asked if Gangshar could come to Surmang as his tutor and to lead the Surmang seminary program, which he did in late 1956. In the fall of 1957, according to Trungpa and in light of the changing times in Tibet, Khenpo Gangshar instituted radical changes to the seminary. He opened the instruction to any and all laypeople including women and he asked the hermits with life long vows of seclusion to return to the monastery to help teach.
External links
- Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche's web site - includes multiple talks between March and April of 2009 on Khenpo Gangshar's writing, requires free registration
- Collected Works by Khenpo Gangshar - a compilation of his writing translated into English by tsadra.org