Friday, September 10, 2010

Parinirvana of Kunzang Dorje




Kunzang Dorje - one of the most powerful magicians to walk the face of the planet, has passed.

I lived with him for a month in 1999 and will have more to say about this later. Below is the press release from Lama Dawa's organization.



The Parinirvana of
Kunzang Dorje Rinpoche
With great sadness, we inform our greater Sangha of the passing and parinirvana of our precious Guru, our lineage Master and protector, Kunzang Dorje Rinpoche.

Rinpoche began the process of 'tugdam' (samadhi of pure mind) in the morning of Sept, 7, at his residence in Saraswati Bhawan, Nepal. Lamas are currently performing the necessary pujas under the direction of His Holiness, Trulshik Rinpoche and Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche. A cremation stupa is being constructed and the cremation will begin according to H.H. Trulshik Rinpoche's instruction. The cremation ceremonies will occur on the rooftop of Saraswati Bhawan upon the completion of Kunzang Dorje Rinpoche's samadhi.

Lama Dawa Rinpoche is sending his consort, Kunzang Dechen Chodron, to Nepal on his behalf. Kunzang will keep you updated on the progress of the funeral services.

Lama Dawa Rinpoche requests that all our practice groups and students remove Rinpoche's long-life prayer from their closing prayers. Please do not recite this now. Instead, to take advantage of the great blessings of Rinpoche's parinirvana, Lama Dawa recommends that we all recite the prayer "Yeshe Tsogyal's Prayer to Guru Rinpoche as He Left Tibet", which can be found at the end of the 'Shower of Blessings' tsog sadhana. You can download an English translation of the prayer, and a Spanish translation of the prayer.


As Lama Dawa Rinpoche says, there is nothing we need to do to help Kunzang Dorje Rinpoche - he has full confidence and ability to transform his elemental body into the three kayas. There is no need for practices such as sur offerings, mantras, etc. Instead, we should take this opportunity to connect with the tremendous blessings that he is now radiating throughout all the realms. The best way to do this is through aspiration prayers, such as the prayer the Yeshe Tsogyal spontaneously recited as Guru Rinpoche left this world. In addition, you can put extra effort in your current practices and dedicate the merit too all beings.

For those of you who are unable to come to Nepal to attend the funeral services in person, you can make connections by helping to sponsor some the expenses of hosting Lamas and making all the preparations. For example, there will be extensive butterlamp offerings to be made - called 'chomi zhaldeb'. You can sponsor some of these offerings, or offerings to the Lamas by making your donation directly to Saraswati Bhawan's PayPal account. Kunzang will distrubute those donations during the ceremonies.
This is a very special and precious time, and we request each one of you to take some time from your busy lives to connect with Rinpoche's vast mindstream. Although his passing is a great loss, it is also a time of great celebration and inspiration as he shows us the way beyond samsara.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Yeshe Tsogyal’s Prayer to Guru Rinpoche as He Left Tibet

NAMO GURU

When the master Padmasambhava was leaving for the land of rakshas at the summit of Mang Yul pass, Yeshe Tsogyal, having done many prostrations and circumambulations, bowed down to his feet and made this prayer.

By the blessing of the Maha Guru,
Through all of my lifetimes,
In the palace of the pure land,
May I become inseparable with the lama.
By my stable faith
May I please him by perfect service.
May I be able to receive his blessing and the nectar of his instructions,
The essence of his profound realization.
By the blessing of his body, speech, and mind,
May my three doors, (body, speech and mind) ripen, and
Through the two profound stages of generation and completion,
May I obtain power and spiritual accomplishments.
May all the demons of incorrect thinking and their assemblies,
As well as illness, malevolent spirits, and obstacles, be pacified, and
May (my) endowments and retinues increase
So that all my thoughts are wish-fulfillingly accomplished.
In cemeteries, high in the snow mountains, and other secluded places,
In prosperous and favorable places,
May I be able to constantly practice
The nectar of Buddha mind, the profound Samadhi.
By the results of practicing,
May I be able to accomplish the four supreme activities.
May all the guardians come under my control
And thus enable me to guard the Buddha’s teachings.
May the meaning of the Buddha’s teachings
Arise spontaneously within my mind.
May I possess supreme knowledge
And thus be able to attain the highest realization.
Through the interdependence of bodhicitta
May I be able to control all beings,
And by the power of wish-fulfilling, unobstructed bodhicitta,
May all the connections I make be purposeful.
May the Buddha’s teaching increase
And may its followers flourish in the teaching.
May all beings achieve happiness
And may all the Buddha realms be perfect.
Through my body, speech and mind,
According to the needs of beings to be tamed,
May there appear measureless nirmanakaya embodiments
In whatever manifestation is the most beneficial.
In short, may all of samsara and nirvana
Become inseparable with the guru.
May I immediately attain buddhahood,
The state of the three kayas, indistinguishable,
May the beings pray to me.
May the guru bless me.
May the yidam grant me siddhi.
May the dakinis give me prophecy,
May the dharma protectors removemy obstacles.
May the Buddha’s teaching ever increase.
May all beings be happy.
May I practice dharma day and night.
May I spontaneously fulfill the two aims (of self and others).
By this perfect virtue
May I be able to root out suffering from samsara.
May I never fall into the samsaric ocean again.
May I be able to reveal the three kayas.
The great secret treasury of all buddhas,
The supreme teaching of Vajrayana –
May it spread everywhere
Like the sun rising into the sky.
Through this and other virtuous deeds which I will accumulate,
May the qualities and causes which fulfill the wishes of the spiritual teachers arise.
May I have the strength to develop and spread the precious teaching of Buddha.
May my knowledge, compassion and ability reach the ultimate state and may I become a Buddha.
May I be able to carry all the beings who are suffering in the six realms across the ocean of samsara, so they may attain buddhahood immediately.

I, Pema Lingpa, found this prayer from the lion-faced rock of Lho-Drag Mendo.

Translated by Bhakha Tulku, Pema Tenzin, at Kunzang Palyul Choling, Poolesville, Maryland in February, 1990.