His Holiness Dudjom Sangye Pema Shepa Rinpoche

Written by Lama Rangbar Nyimai Özer

Namo Guru Vidyadharaye

Salutations to the Holder of Awareness

Here we are as Buddhist practitioners believing that Dharma has penetrated the depths of our beings and yet we are not only devastated to hear the news about the passing of Yangsi Dudjom Sangye Pema Shepa Rinpoche into Parinirvana, but we are also shocked that impermanence has shown its inevitable face to us in a timing that we cannot really accept, let alone comprehend.

Within a very short period of time, two great masters have passed away. His Holiness Dodrup Chen Rinpoche who culminated his unfathomable activities at a ripe old age is plausibly acceptable, while the sudden passing of His Holiness Yangsi Dudjom Rinpoche leaves us dumbfounded no mater how much we pay lip service to the word impermanence. We know that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas arise based on the interdependent origination of compassion and being’s need for guidance out of cyclic existence. Why then, did his shining countenance depart at our time of most dire need? We may even search for conspiracies even though finding one wouldn’t help us at all. This was not a warning shot from the enemy across the bow of our ship; rather, it is a direct hit that has penetrated our hearts. Now, as Katok Situ Rinpoche has also reminded us, we must regard this last act as a profound teaching born from Rinpoche’s ultimate kindness.

We have received teachings on impermanence in tangible ways from the pervious Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, Kyabje Chadral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche, Dungse Trinlay Norbu Rinpoche, and HH Dungse Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche as they departed for other Buddha fields in front of our eyes. But our pain at those times was somehow softened by our acceptance of their not insignificant seniority and long list of accomplishments. This news is even hard to digest for the most accomplished Lamas who were connected with His Holiness.

Many of us who try our best to uphold the lineage have lived with the apparently stable hope that whatever might happen to us old folks doesn't matter much, because a fully empowered, fully trained, experienced, and unerring Dudjom lineage holder would be present to assure the lineage remains while we stay or depart. This past week, as I exited from a retreat, I thought to myself, We are so fortunate, we can still receive teachings and instructions from His Holiness Yangsi Dudjom Sangye Pema Shepa Rinpoche. And then, the phone call came with the news. Certainly I had fallen asleep and was having a nightmare, I thought.

As we spin from this blow to all his students and anyone in the Dudjom Tersar lineage, although feeling unable to take full stock of the situation as of yet, this is not a time for figuring anything out, let alone laying plans. Still, my mind cannot help but turn toward the future generations and their lives. The great masters who have blessed us, such as His Holiness Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, the Lord of Refuge Chadral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche, Lord of Refuge Dodrup Chen Rinpoche, and other great Nirmanakaya Lamas of our time were here with us and spent time teaching us, planting seeds for future generations. Unlike us, these great beings each had the capacity to actually empty samsara and were therefore known as Korwa Dong Druk Gyi Lama. They planted seeds within each of us and, as they ripen, along with my bewilderment at hearing this news, I can only think about the occasion we must all rise to.

Now, more than ever, we must look inside to assure our own capacities we have inherited are put into action and that we take the teachings we all have received deeply to heart, ending the charades of only practicing to be practitioners. The Dudjom Tersar, wherever it has been planted in all its branches, must come together as one voice and increase our efforts to preserve the lineage by study and practice. It all brings home the non-theistic message that the merit to retain the shining countenance of his face with us reached its limit and our fates depend on our actions. Moreover, considering the reality of the teachings, we are not really able to gauge the logic of this event with the intellect that clings mostly to form and less to essence. Why would an accomplished Lama in perfect health depart so suddenly? We have been told by the previous Dudjom Rinpoche that when great Lamas pass away, they can solved or at least mitigate huge calamities such as war, famine and plagues through the action of their meditative equipoise while still being slightly tethered to their forms during the dissolution process. Having recently spoken to several accomplished masters including the great Oracle Tsimar, it appears that Shambhala called him back. The Oracle said that we must fervently pray for Yangsi Rinpoche’s swift return right away. Perhaps a looming war explains this and perhaps it only matters that there is nothing more than a challenge to assure the entire Sangha makes more effort like in time before the internet and amazon were there as distractions.

It is said that we are already in the time of what is known as the Lung Ten Kalpa, or the era when an actual Buddha no longer appears in front of us, but instead arises as the written Dharma, syllables, and practice supports such as stupas, statues, and blessed places of refuge and practice.

To some extent, I write this now to make sense of what seems not to make any sense and to console myself and to remind myself and friends that this is no time to sink down into grief but instead to increase our practice for the benefit of ourselves and others in this small world system. To sink into depression would be to succumb to the demon of death, one of the four demons or concepts which our tantric vows demand we should subjugate and transcend. We should recite prayers such as “Recognizing Our Own Faults” by Dudjom Rinpoche or the prayer “Heart Nectar of the Saints” also by His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche and prayers for his swift return by several great Lamas. If we are not brave enough to look at our own shortcomings, how can we expect to support a golden rooftop of sublime qualities on top of a rotting foundation? Most importantly we should continuously practice Guru Yoga in the form of Vajrasattva or Guru Rinpoche, recognizing that there is actually no basis for any gap between the Lama’s mind and our own. Understanding Dudjom Rinpoche’s relation with Shambala in the past and in the future, we should also practice Gesar’s Guru Yoga, fervently praying for war to be immediately pacified. We must also understand that If the body of the Lama is the Sangha, then it follows that the Sangha is the body of the Lama and that our vajra brothers and sisters from all sects should be seen with pure vision. Venerating the Sangha at this time is equal to prayers for Rinpoche’s swift rebirth. If we cannot create functioning harmony within Sangha members, of what benefit would it be to invite a pure being into a sewer of intrigue and strife?

We must recognize the jewels we have in hand, given to us by great sustained efforts of our teachers and do whatever we can to support those around us who struggle by generating Bodhicitta deeply within our own continuums.

Some personal notes:

On a personal level, Rinpoche’s passing also strikes deep for me. I was present when the two giants, Kyabje Chadral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche and Yangsi Dudjom Sangye Pema Shepa Rinpoche, met at Yangle Shod in Nepal. On this precious occasion, the Lord of Refuge, Chadral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche, after offering three prostrations to Yangsi Rinpoche and exchanging katags with great focus, proclaimed, “That is how Dudjom Rinpoche’s reincarnation should be.”

I looked into the eyes of Yangsi Rinpoche hoping I would once again see the same essence of my root Lama, Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche in his eyes.