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Rainstorm claims the lives of Rolpa Dorje Rinpoche and his wife
Rolpa Dorje, one of the abbots of Surmang Dutsi Tel, died along with his wife Gerga on August 17 when their home in Jyekundo collapsed under the weight of torrential rain. The couple is survived by two young sons, one of whom was injured slightly in the incident. Rinpoche was 47 years old, his wife was 29.* Rolpa Dorje was discovered when Tai Situ Rinpoche visited Kham (the eastern region of Tibet) approximately twenty years ago and named a number of tulkus, including the 12th Trungpa. After his discovery, Rolpa Dorje become one of the abbots of Surmang Dutsi Tel, a post which he held until his death.
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After the accident, Rolpa Dorje Rinpoche's body was taken from Jyekundo to Dutsi Tel in a procession which included some 30 motorcycles, several trucks, and five or more cars, one of which bore his upright casket. His body, which was traditionally preserved in salts, was cremated on August 27 in a ceremony attended by many lamas, including Damchu Rinpoche, Chetsong Rinpoche (also known as Aten Rinpoche), Nyima Tulku, and Karma Senge Rinpoche. In addition, many hundreds of monastics and lay devotees gathered at Dutsi Tel for the ceremonies. Chokyi Senge, the 12th Trungpa, was unable to attend.
Photos by Lee Weingrad
The procession arrives at Dutsi Tel
The casket is carried into the monastery
Rooftop ceremony
Chetsong Rinpoche (right), an abbot of Dutsi Tel
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The previous Rolpa Dorje was
Chögyam Trungpa's first teacher
From Born in Tibet by Chögyam Trungpa
Since I was now eleven years old I had to spend my time on more advanced work. I was called back to Dutsi Tel to take the Bodhisattva vow although I had already taken it informally at the time of the wangkur. The vow is as follows:
In the presence of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas and of my teacher Rolpa Dorje, I vow to proceed toward enlightenment. I accept all creatures as my father and mother with infinite compassion. Henceforth for their benefit I will practice the transcendental virtues (paramitas) of liberality, discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, wisdom (prajna), skillful means (upaya), spiritual power, aspiration, gnosis (jnana). Let my master accept me as a future buddha, but as remaining a bodhisattva without entering nirvana so long as a single blade of grass remains unenlightened.
Instead of returning to Dorje Khyung Dzong, Apho Karma took me to Dechen Choling, Rolpa Dorje's retreat center, for I was now to study directly under him. His appearance was unusual, for he was quite bald with a trimly pointed beard. He was very strict on keeping all rules and insisted about the need for scholasitc acccuracy; at rites he officiated with the greatest competence, and he had exceptional knowledge about the art of chanting. But with all this strictness, he was very gentle and understanding and always seemed to be happy in his retreat surrounded by bird and animal life; much of his time was spent in writing.
The center for retreats stood on the slope of a mountain looking over the valley below and the mountains beyond it. Willows and scented juniper were dotted about the grass-covered hillside. The retreat was at a high altitude, and nearly every morning the mists would wreath the slopes, obscuring the valley below; Tulku Rolpa Dorje sometimes called it the Garden of the Mists. I very much enjoyed this change, and so did Apho Karma, who had himself studied under the regent abbot.
Rolpa Dorje lived by himself in a beautiful cave with the front walled in to form a cell; he had painted the inside a soft orange color, and had stuck small pictures cut out of books or small woodprints on some of the surfaces, and had hewed cupboards in the walls; at one side there was a shrine of sculptured stone. Among his ornaments was a collection of small religious pieces which he would allow me to play with. The cave was complete with its own little kitchen, for Rolpa Dorje preferred to look after himself. Stone steps led steeply down from the cave to the retreat center which was some way down.
Usually, only four monks lived in the center for their four-year period of retreat, but there were houses nearby from which some fifteen other monks could attend the course, while at the back of the mountain, in another small valley, a nunnery had been established, mainly used as a retreat center for some forty nuns, but also serving a number of lay disciples.
At Dechen Choling Apho Karma put me to more advanced general studies and also gave me some lessons in the art of poetry; Rolpa Dorje took over my instruction in primary Buddhist metaphysics. He thought that I should now begin ngondro (the "prelude"), as an introduction for further understanding of vajrayana.
From Born in Tibet. © Diana J. Mukpo. Used with permission of Diana J. Mukpo, and Shambhala Publications.
Please note that the transliterated spelling of certain Tibetan words, such as Dutsi Tel, have changed since the publication of Born in Tibet.
*Ages are calculated according to the Tibetan system in which all children turn one year old on the first losar (New Year's day) following their birth.
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