The Seed of Faith (4-1)

The Seed of Faith (4-1)

By Khenpo Tamdin Gyalpo & Translated by Dr. Gyurme Dorje

Studies, Meditations & Pilgrimages

Studies

Then with regard to his studies, at first the lord of refuges Chatral Rinpoche began by instructing him in writing and reading, preceded by the transmission of the Eulogy to Venerable Manjughosa which starts with the words He Whose Intelligence… (rje btsun ‘jam pa’i dbyangs kyi bstod pa gang gi blo ma) since this has the function of developing higher discriminative awareness.

Then in succession he offered Yangsi the instructions in their entirety, including the complete maturational empowerments, liberating guidance and supporting instructions associated with the graduated path of the preliminaries and main practices of the Three Roots, which accord with his own lineage (rang lugs rtsa gsum).


Moreover, Yangsi also studied and continues to study the general Buddhist teachings and all the stages of the maturational empowerments, liberating guidance and supporting instructions associated with the oceanic teachings of the ancient translation school, including sutras and tantras, the distant oral lineage and the short revelatory lineages, under many genuine learned and accomplished masters including the lord of refuges Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche, the lord of refuges Dungse Trinle Norbu Rinpoche, the great monastic preceptor Jigme Phuntsok, Dodrubchen Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, the supreme Orgyan Tulku, the great monastic preceptor Akhyung Rinpoche, Katok Moktrul Rinpoche, Luding Khen Rinpoche of Ngor, Tare Khandro, Gurong Gyelse Rinpoche who is the supreme emanation of Mipham, and Khandro Kunga Wangmo. In addition, he has also studied the ordinary classical sciences and the uncommon exegetical texts of the sutra and mantra traditions under Bakha Tulku, Lopon Jigme, Yongdzin Kunzang Wangdu, Khentrul Tendzin Gyatso and others; and he continues to make efforts to comprehend them, scrutinising the texts through his enlightened intention.

Meditations

With regard to the sequence of his experiential cultivation of meditation and spiritual attainments, Yangsi took the lord of refuges Chatral Rinpoche as the inner and uncommon lord of his enlightened family, and starting with the initial preliminaries of the path, he received in the manner of a vase being filled to the brim, all the maturational empowerments and liberating guidance adorned by the detailed pith instructions, which are associated with the two stages of generation and perfection, as well as the Great Perfection, and which form the main practice (dngos gzhi).

Consequently, at his hermitage in Lhasa the supreme power place of Tibet, he effectively completed the full number of recitations required for the experiential cultivation of all the common and uncommon preliminaries, based on the Extensive Preliminary Practices: Chariot of the Path of Coalesence (sngon ‘gro rgyas pa zung ‘jug lam gyi shing rta), which is an earth treasure of Dudjom Rinpoche.

Furthermore, in the great power places of India, China, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and so forth, including Yanglesho, Maratika, and Paro Taktsang, he obtained the signs of successful spiritual attainment by practising the various sequences of symbolic ritual service (mtshan ma’i bsnyen pa) for the requisite number of years, months, and days, in association with the experiential cultivation of the generation and perfection stages of the Three Roots according to his own lineage. Visible to all, at Maratika he caused a stream of the water of life to flow out completely. Such events occurred in the common perception of all those who were present. Moreover, through continuous and unbiased experiential cultivation of the preliminaries and main practices, in all different circumstances, he is still engaged in mastering in rotation all the appropriate deeds associated with study, reflection and meditation.