The well known Ngakpa, Kunzang Dorje Rinpoche, passed away in Nepal this week. His funeral arrangements are now being personally managed by Trulshik Rinpoche, Supreme Head of the Nyingma School, and Chatral Rinpoche.
Kunzang Dorje Rinpoche was one who exhibited open friendship with everyone, and was not at all prejudiced with respect to Westerners. He gave of his extensive knowledge quite freely, so when one looks back, one can say he had quite an influence in the West. Personally, I want to say that I thought very highly of him -- he had done divinations and so forth for me in the past, always with great accuracy.
You can read his biography, here.
Here is the official release:
"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."
Here is the official release:
"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."
Cremation is Sept. 13 5AM Nepal time
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