The Treasury of Lives

The Fourth Katok Getse, Gyurme Tenpa Gyeltsen (kaH thog dge rtse 04 'gyur med bstan pa rgyal mtshan) was born in Golok in 1954 and spent his youth during a time in which tulkus could not be trained in Tibet and the teaching and practice of Buddhism were largely forbidden. He would not be identified until his late teens, and lived in obscurity in his home region, tending animals and avoiding Chinese authorities. People in his area were not even allowed to possess prayer beads, and they were subjected to intense indoctrination into Communist ideology.[1] His father was named Loden Puntsok (blo ldan phun tshogs) and his mother was Chopak Dronma (chos 'phags sgron ma).[2] His given name was Sampai Dondrub (bsam pa'i don grub), but he was simply known by the common nickname Buchung (bu chung), meaning "young son."[3]

Around 1959, when he was only five, his mother died, after which he often went hungry.[4] It is not clear if his father then raised him or if the responsibility was shared by the extended community. As he describes his youth in his autobiography, despite having no formal training, he was naturally drawn to the dharma and saw nothing to be gained from a life participating in saṃsāra. Accordingly, he followed his intuitions in practicing the way of the bodhisattvas, and he was deeply upset seeing the suffering beings had to always bear. He resolved that even at the cost of his life, he would never break three vows: (1) he would never denounce the dharma or its teachers and would never do anything to harm the Buddha's teachings, such as destroying sacred items and structures; (2) he would never kill any being, large or small; and (3) he would never get trapped in the life of a family man.[5]

These vows would prove challenging to uphold during the Cultural Revolution. Around 1969, when he was fifteen, the local Communist office ordered locals to destroy stūpas and slaughter animals. When Getse Tulku refused to do so they beat him severely. This happened on several occasions.[6]

According to Tenzin Weigyal, one of Getse Rinpoche's Chinese and English interpreters later in his life, Getse Rinpoche said of his early life,

I have no qualities of a tulku. So, I doubt if I am the reincarnation of the previous Getse. However, even though I didn’t learn much about dharma, I was not willing to destroy dharma and harm other beings even at the cost of being beaten nearly to death... This kind of habitual tendency could be a sign of me being a tulku.[7]

Tenzin Weigyal also reports that Getse Rinpoche spoke openly about having seen a dragon during his teenage years while out tending animals in the mountains. After bringing the herd to a lake, he claimed that a magnificent dark dragon emerged from the waters, bounded onto the clouds, and bolted out of sight with a clap of thunder.[8]

Recognition and Search

On his death bed in 1952, the Third Katok Getse, Gyurme Tenpa Namgyel (P4782 kaH thog dge rtse 'gyur med bstan pa rnam rgyal, 1886–1952), had asked Adzom Gyelse Gyurme Dorje (a 'dzoms rgyal sras 'gyur med rdo rje, 1895–1969) to take responsibility for finding his rebirth. Adzom Gyelse attempted to locate the reincarnation, but after consulting his dreams and divinations, was unable to find promising candidates. He therefore requested the Sixteenth Karmapa (karma pa 16, 1924–1981) and Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse chos kyi blo gros, 1893–1959) to identify the reincarnation.

When those two eminent masters agreed on the reincarnation, they sent a letter to Adzom Gyelse telling him he would find the child near the Karnang Gongma Temple (G1795 mkhar nang gong ma) in the Doyul (rdo yul lha mkha') region on the border of Serta (gser thar) and Golok (mgo log). They also told him that the names of the child's parents.[9] Prophecies about the conditions of the child's birth and physical features like moles and white hairs were adduced from the writings of Getse Mahāpaṇḍita (dge rtse paN Di ta, 1761–1829), an unspecified Dodrubchen incarnation (rdo grub chen), Dudjom Lingpa (bdud 'joms gling pa, 1835–1904), Tsangpa Drubchen Jampa Chodzin (gtsang pa grub chen byams pa chos 'dzin, 1830–1945), Dzongter Kunzang Nyima (rdzong gter kun bzang nyi ma, 1904-1958), and the Third Katok Getse.[10]

It was at that time not safe to be a tulku in Tibet, as the Chinese Communists were ramping up their anti-Buddhist purges. Therefore, Adzom Gyelse did not publicize the child's recognition. Hoping conditions would improve, he kept the papers describing the child's identity in a reliquary box while the boy remained with his family, tending animals, and receiving little education. Conditions only deteriorated during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) when thousands of monasteries were destroyed, and thousands of lamas were killed and imprisoned.

Before Adzom Gyelse died in 1969, he told the Fifth Katok Moktsa Tulku (kaH thog mog rtsa sprul sku 05, 1930–2022) that he had identified the Fourth Katok Getse, but that he had kept it secret and that the details were contained in his reliquary box. When Adzom died, Moktsa went to perform funerary rituals for him and gained access to his reliquary box. Inside, he found the paper about Getse Tulku, whom he intended to find and train. Before this could happen, however, Communist agents came to Moktsa Tulku's house and confiscated all his belongings, including this crucial paper.[11]

In the years that followed, Moktsa Tulku was compelled to work in Chinese government offices in Horpo, the village closest to the Katok, which was had been completely destroyed. One day, presumably in the early 1970s, he claims to have seen a random piece of paper blowing in the wind above his office grounds. When he snatched and read it, he saw it contained the lost information about the young Getse Tulku.[12] Later, together with a senior Katok Khenpo named Gyeltsen Wozer (rgyal mtshan 'od zer), they stepped up their efforts to find the child. They discretely sent a messenger to Lhasa to ask advice from Minling Chung Rinpoche (sming gling chung rin po che, 1908–1980), who had somehow managed to survive in central Tibet under Communist occupation. Minling Chung told them they should send a message to the Sixteenth Karmapa to locate the tulku again.[13] They also identified more prophecies about him by a Yonru Terchen (g.yon ru gter chen) and a Gyarong Ternyon (rgya rong gter myon).[14]

Their investigations uncovered that during the Third Katok Getse's life, Tsangpa Drubchen told him that he was, in fact, an incipient treasure revealer and that if he took a wife and followed the life of a tantric yogi, countless beings would benefit from the treasures he would discover. However, the Third Getse told him that because he held the title of an important tulku and had so many responsibilities at Katok, he would not be able to follow his advice in that life. He said, however, that his reincarnation would live the life of a hidden yogi.[15]

Finding His Teachers

In the winter of 1974, when there was less forced labor and surveillance, at twenty years old and still having not received identification as the Getse Tulku, he managed to surreptitiously visit the Golok-based Tulku Nyida (sprul sku nyi zla, 1929–1985), a grandson of Dudjom Lingpa and a son of Tulku Lhatob (sprul sku lha stobs). For the next several years, he would slip away for short periods to receive teachings in secret from Tulku Nyida and Khenpo Jigme Puntsok (mkhan po 'jigs med phun tshogs, 1933–2004) in the Serta and Golok regions. Under Tulku Nyida's guidance, he completed the Dudjom Tersar preliminary practices and received extensive instructions in Dudjom Lingpa's Black Troma (khros ma nag mo) treasure and his famous Dzogchen meditation manual, Refining Perception (snang sbyang).

One day, Tulku Nyida told him, "Your nature is good and your understanding clear. The future is bright for you. I have given you all my instructions, and I don't know how much longer I will be around." He then cited the great Geluk master Guntang Tenpai Dronme (P298 gung thang bstan pa'i sgron me, 1762–1823) who said,

Even if you have all you need, you'll be upset because it's running out fast.
If you don't have what you need, you'll be upset because you can't pay your bills.
Whatever you do, it gets in the way dharma.
It's a terrible thing to be surrounded by toxic company,
So keep to yourself, like a rhinoceros.[16]

After hearing this from his guru, Getse Tulku gave up everything else in his life and stayed in remote retreats living on whatever meager provisions were occasionally donated to him.[17] This is the model he would follow for the rest of his life—an attitude reflected in his later poem, An Ode Aspiring to the Joys of Solitude, which contains verses such as,

Looking there, there is no master.
Looking here, there are no servants.
My power my own,
may I be able to remain alone in solitude![18]

In 1976, with the death of the Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong (1893–1976) the Cultural Revolution ended and anti-Buddhist policies in Tibet relaxed significantly. Finally, under unspecified circumstances, Getse Tulku was able to meet with Katok Khenchen Gyeltsen Wozer. It seems possible that this was the first time Getse was informed of his identity as a tulku, although rumors may have circulated about the recognition, and Getse Tulku's initial teachers may have been informed of the identity. This meeting, however, appears to have been Getse's first formal discussion of the topic.

Khenchen Gyeltsen Wozer told him that because of the details provided in Adzom Gyelse's previous recognition he had no doubts about him and that it would be excellent if he took his rightful throne at Katok once the monastery could be rebuilt. Despite Katok's destruction, Khenpo Gyeltsen assured him that since many lineage holders had survived, Katok's immense wealth of empowerments, transmissions, and instructions had not been lost and that Getse Tulku should continue his training in the Katok tradition, having in his youth focused on the Dudjom Tersar. He then trained him in Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang's (mkhan po ngag dbang dpal bzang, 1879–1941) rare Dzogchen instruction lineage descended from Patrul Rinpoche (dpal sprul rin po che, 1808–1887) as well as the important compendium of Dzogchen teachings called the Fourfold Heart Essence, or Nyingtik Yabzhi (snying thig ya bzhi).[19]

From Khenpo Jigme Puntsok, he received many empowerments, transmissions, and instructions, especially in the Dzogchen teachings descended from Padmasambhava called the Heart Drop of the Ḍākinīs (mkha 'gro snying thig). From one of Khenpo Jigme Puntsok's close disciples named Khenpo Jigme Wangpo (mkhan po 'jigs med dbang po) he received transmissions and instructions for Longchenpa's (klong chen pa, 1303–1364) Seven Treasuries (mdzod bdun). 

He also traveled to the Tromtar (khrom thar) region of Kham to train with the Second Adzom Drukpa, Tubten Pema Trinle (a 'dzom 'brug pa 02 thub bstan pad+ma phrin las, 1926–2001) who had been a close teacher and student of the Third Katok Getse. From Adzom Drukpa he received transmissions for Mipam Gyatso's (mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846–1912) collected works and Jigme Lingpa's ('jigs med gling pa, 1730–1798) Longchen Nyingtik (klong chen snying thig) treasure cycle.

From Tekchok Tenpai Gyeltsen (theg mchog bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan, b.1944/1945), the reincarnation of Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang, he received the full transmission for the Treasury of Revelations (rin chen gter mdzod). The immense scale of this transmission indicates the degree to which Buddhist practice in Kham was enjoying a resurgence in the 1980s, and the considerable effort lamas were making to preserve transmission lineages. From Tsopu Dorlo Rinpoche (mtsho 'phu rdor lo rin po che, 1930s–2004), he received transmission for the Third Katok Getse's Jeweled Mirror of Guiding Instructions (khrid yig nor bu me long), a compendium of Dzogchen instructions based on the treasures of Longsel Nyingpo (klong gsal snying po, 1625–1692), as well as the collected works of Nyakla Pema Dudul (nyag bla pad+ma bdud 'dul, 1816–1872). From Khenpo Munsel (mkhan po mun sel, 1916–1993), he received extensive pith instructions, including those related to Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang's oral lineage.[20]

Thus, throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Getse Tulku received comprehensive transmissions and spent most of the periods in between in remote retreats. He also contributed to the reconstruction of Getse Dralek Monastery (dge rtse bkra legs/gra lag dgon), the historical seat of the Getse Tulkus that had been destroyed by the Communists.[21]

At some point he received the vows of a novice monk (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul), although his autobiography does not mention when and from whom he took ordination. He never received full ordination vows, although neither did he live as a ngakpa, or noncelibate tantric lama.

Leaving Tibet and Receiving Further Transmissions

In the eighteenth century, the predecessor to the Katok Getse Tulkus, Rigdzin Tsewang Norbu (rig 'dzin tshe dbang nor bu, 1698–1755) had established close ties with the Seventh Dalai Lama Kelzang Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 07 skal bzang rgya mtsho, 1708–1757). In 1787, his reincarnation, Getse Paṇḍita Gyurme Tsewang Chokdrub (dge rtse paN Di ta 'gyur med tshe dbang mchog grub, 1761–1829) visited Lhasa and exchanged teachings with the Eighth Dalai Lama, Jampel Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 08 'jam dpal rgya mtsho, 1758–1804). In the early twentieth century, the Third Katok Getse Gyurme Tenpa Namgyel visited Lhasa and exchanged teachings with the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 13 thub bstan rgya mtsho, 1876–1933).[22] Based on this history, the Fourth Katok Getse felt a strong desire to rekindle this connection with the Fourteenth Dalai Lama (ta la'i bla ma 14, b. 1935). Therefore, in 1997, he left Tibet for the Dalai Lama's headquarters in Dharamsala, India.[23]

From the Dalai Lama, he received transmissions for the Kālacakra, Guḥyasamāja, Cakrasaṃvara, and Vajrabhairava tantras. He also received teachings in Madhyamaka philosophy, Śāntideva's (685–763) Bodhicaryāvatāra, as well as the Graduated Path (lam rim) teachings of Atiśa (a ti sha, 972/982–1054/1055) and Tsongkhapa (tsong kha pa, 1357–1419). In return, Getse Tulku offered the Dalai Lama Nyingma transmissions and Dzogchen instructions. The Dalai Lama seems to have granted him a guest room at Namgyel Monastery (rnam rgyal dgon) in Dharamsala,[24] but he maintained no fixed residence there.

In India, he also received the collected treasures of Jatson Nyingpo ('ja' tshon snying po, 1585–1656) from the Third Penor Rinpoche (pad nor rin po che 03, 1932–2009), and from Taklung Tsetrul (stag lung rtse sprul, 1926–2015) he received Dudjom Rinpoche Jikdrel Yeshe Dorje's (bdud 'joms rin po che 'jigs bral ye shes rdo rje, 1904–1987) collected writings and Vajrakīlaya treasure The Meteoric Iron Razor, the peaceful and wrathful deities of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, the Gathered Great Assembly (tshogs chen 'dus pa), the Translucid Enlightened Perspective (dgongs pa zang thal) of Rigdzin Godem (rig 'dzin rgod ldem, 1337–1409) and other transmissions.

From Trulzhik Ngawang Chokyi Lodro ('khrul zhig ngag dbang chos kyi blo gros, 1924–2011) he received the Wish-Fulfilling Vase ('dod 'jo'i bum bzang) of Terdak Lingpa (gter bdag gling pa, 1646–1714) and many other empowerments and transmissions, particularly those of Vajrakīlaya and Hayagrīva. He also received empowerments and transmissions from Chatral Sangye Dorje (bya bral sangs rgyas rdo rje, 1913–2015), the Fourth Dodrubchen Rinpoche (rdo grub chen 04, 1927–2022), Zhichen Bairo Rinpoche (gzhi chen bai ro rin po che, 1933–2017), and Katok Moktsa Tulku, who bestowed on him the treasures of Dudul Dorje (bdud 'dul rdo rje, 1615–1672) and Longsel Nyingpo, which are central to the Katok tradition.

During these first years in India, after spending most of his twenties and thirties in retreat, he began accepting the role of a teacher, gaining followers from Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, Bhutan, and Malaysia, where he was offered leadership of the Nyingma Kathok Buddhist Center in Kuala Lumpur. He traveled to those countries to teach and grant empowerments; he also spoke of having gone on pilgrimage to Buddhist sites in Pakistan during this time.[25]

Retreat Master

In 2001, Chagdud Tulku Pema Gargyi Wangchuk (lcags mdud sprul sku pad+ma gar gyi dbang phyug, 1930–2002) opened Katok Ritrö retreat center (TOL1729 kaH thog ri khrod) in the hills above the village of Pharping, Nepal, and requested Getse Tulku to serve as its inaugural retreat master. For the next decade, Getse Tulku led at least two five-year retreat cycles while continuing to teach, travel, and pursue his own practice, often at the Dudjom Namdrol Choling (bdud 'joms rnam grol chos gling) center near Pharping. Around 2003–2004, while descending from the Katok retreat center on the back of a motorcycle driven by an attendant, Getse Rinpoche suffered a broken femur and had to spend the better part of the year immobilized.

Besides the Chagdud and Dudjom hermitages near Pharping, in the early 2000s, one of his other primary residences was a tiny caretaker's room above the assembly hall of Bairo Ling Monastery (bai ro gling dgon) in the Tinchulli section of Boudhanath. There, he could often be found practicing quietly alone or hosting visitors. In addition to having no fixed home, he had no permanent attendant. When he needed to travel or make arrangements, he was helped mostly by a small group of devoted monks from the Katok and Dudjom hermitages or Bairo and Adzom monasteries. His "Ode Aspiring to the Joys of Solitude," which he wrote in these years, describes his lifestyle to that point:

With no family nor friends to maintain,
nor enemies to be subdued,
free from all places of attachment or aversion,
may I be able to remain alone in solitude!...

Though I haven't built a delightful lama's palace,
without carrying the weight of evil karma,
nor bound by carrying attachment and grasping,
may I be able to remain alone in solitude![26]

Sogan Tulku Pema Lodro (bsod rgan sprul sku pad+ma blo gros, b. 1964) tells a story of how, around this time in Nepal, he and Getse Tulku spent one day ransoming the life of a goat from a butcher, bringing it to Trulkzhik Rinpoche's monastery where it could live out the rest of its days in peace.[27]

One devotee has shared a story, probably from around this time in the early 2000s, of Getse Rinpoche one day wandering unannounced into the strict retreat grounds of Chatral Rinpoche's center in Godavari, Nepal. Although almost no one else would dream of risking Chatral Rinpoche's displeasure in such a way, Getse Rinpoche, always carefree, wandered in, walked around, exchanged pleasantries with the retreatants, and wandered back out, making quite an impression on those who met him.[28]

Increased Traveling and Teaching

In 2003, a new phase of Getse Tulku's life began. Despite having no centers of his own that he needed to fund and administer, he began spending more time and energy sharing his teachings with those who requested them in the West, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

That year, he first visited North America at the invitation of the late Chagdud Tulku's centers and Katok lamas such as Lingtrul Rinpoche, Kadak Choying Dorje (gling sprul ka dag chos dbyings rdo rje, b. 1955) and Khentrul Lodrö T’hayé Rinpoche (mkhan sprul blo gros mtha' yas rin po che b. 1965).

He again toured North America and Brazil in 2006–2007, visiting Chagdud Tulku-affiliates and other Nyingma centers. He made an especially close connection with Lama Shenpen Drolma's Iron Knot Ranch in remote southern New Mexico. There, on several occasions over the years, he gave extensive teachings on the treasures of Dudjom Lingpa.

In November 2007, he gave empowerments and teachings for Dudjom Vajrakīlaya, Dorje Drollo, and Black Troma. He also gave the oral transmission for Dudjom Lingpa's Refining Perception at the Nyingma Kathok Buddhist Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[29]

For most of the next decade, his general routine was to tour the Americas, East Asia, and Southeast Asia during the summer and fall before returning to India by winter to meet with the Dalai Lama and attend the Nyingma Monlam. He would then usually return to Nepal for miscellaneous activities and a few months of retreat, usually at the Dudjom hermitage in Pharping. During these years, he typically traveled with only a translator; local devotees would look after him at his destinations.

In 2009, he returned to the United States and blessed the Katok-affiliated Lama Lakshey Zangpo's (bla ma legs bshad bzang po) center in Spokane, WA, Tsinta Mani Choling.[30] He returned again in 2010, during which time he also joined members of the indigenous Spokane Tribe for prayer services and a discussion of their ancestral spirits.[31]

In the summer of 2010 at Iron Knot Ranch in New Mexico, Getse gave extensive teachings for more than a month on Dudjom Lingpa's Dzogchen instruction manual, Refining Perception, as well as Dudjom Lingpa's Black Troma treasure cycle. According to his translator at the time, Tenzin Weigyal, Getse kept a grueling teaching schedule in spite of the desert heat. When he was not teaching in the main hall, he received a stream of students in his room for private instruction and interviews, or else he practiced on his bed. It is customary, at the end of such intensive teachings, for disciples to offer the master generous gifts of thanks for sacrificing so much time and energy to teach them. This is, in fact, how many monasteries in South Asia are funded. It is reported, however, that Getse Rinpoche returned all the money that was offered to him—reminiscent of Patrul Rinpoche who was known for leaving offered bars of gold in fireplaces and other acts of renunciation.[32] Several disciples reported that in their parting interviews with Getse Tulku at this time, he handed them envelopes containing cash, insisting that they take it, much to their embarrassment.[33]

On that trip, one day, during a break in the teachings, he turned to Lama Shenpen Drolma and told her he would like his reliquary stupa to be built there. He said it should be "Not too small, not too big, outdoors, in a suitable location," and that it should bear a simple plaque saying, "In memory of HH Getse Rinpoche, who walked this land and gave transmission from September 2006 to [December 2017]."[34] He was only fifty-six at the time, but according to Tenzin Weigyal, it was not uncommon for him to mention that he did not expect to live a long life.[35]

In September 2010, he offered a Medicine Buddha empowerment and teachings on Gyelse Tokme's (rgyal sras thogs med) Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva (rgyal sras lag len so bdun ma) at an Episcopal church in Utah at the invitation of students of Khentrul Lodro T'haye Rinpoche.[36] He gave this same empowerment and teaching at Katog Tingdzin Ling in Miami, Florida.[37] In October, he traveled to Khentrul Lodrö T’hayé's recently acquired property in Parthenon, Arkansas—Katog Rit'hröd —where he blessed the land and gave empowerments for Green Tārā, Padmasambhava, Avalokiteśvara, and Black Troma.[38]

In 2011, from June 3 to 20, he returned to Iron Knot Ranch where he again taught Black Troma and Dzogchen.[39] Then, at the end of the month, he led a powa ('pho ba), or transference of consciousness retreat at Lama Lakshey Zangpo Rinpoche's center near Spokane.[40] In July, he traveled to Washington DC to receive the Kālacakra empowerment from the Dalai Lama before returning to Spokane to lead a Kālacakra retreat. He also visited Sravasti Abbey, a Geluk nunnery in northeastern Washington founded by Thubten Chodron (thub bstan chos sgron).[41]

In August 2011, at Tashi Choling, Gyatrul Rinpoche's (rgya sprul rin po che, 1924–2023) center near Ashland, Oregon, he taught Dudjom Rinpoche's Vajrakīlaya treasure, The Razor that Destroys on Touch (spu khri reg phung); the four Dzogchen samayas; the Dzogchen preliminaries called "Distinguishing Saṃsāra from Nirvāṇa" ('khor 'das ru shan); Dzogchen trekcho (khregs chod) or "cutting through"; and Jigme Lingpa's Yeshe Lama (ye shes bla ma). He returned there in July 2012 to teach Parting from the Four Attachments (zhen pa bzhi bral) and to lead a drubchen ceremony (grub chen) on Dudjom Rinpoche's Vajrasattva treasure.

From July 27–30, 2012, he taught Dudjom Lingpa's Refining Perception at Dorje Ling (rdo rje gling) in Portland, Oregon, followed by the same teachings, from August 1–8, at Orgyen Dorje Den in Alameda, CA. On August 10 and 11, he taught the Six Bardo Aspiration Prayer for the Tsinta Mani Choling community in Santa Cruz, CA; and from August 15–22, he taught refuge, bodhicitta, the Three Roots, Vajrasattva, and the Seven Line Prayer at Kathok Centre in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia.

In August 2012, he returned to Iron Knot Ranch. From August 29 to September 1, he gave empowerments for Dudjom Vajrasattva, Guru Rinpoche, Vajrakīlaya, Yeshe Tsogyel, Lion-faced Ḍākinī, and Black Troma. He then led three days of intensive practice on Vajrakīlaya. From September 5–27, he taught the preliminary practices for Dudjom Rinpoche's treasure, the Heart Essence of the Ḍākinīs (mkha' 'gro thugs thig). On September 28, he gave Medicine Buddha, Akṣobhya, and Amitabha empowerments, as well as the transmission for Longsel Nyingpo's powa liturgy.

In early October 2012, at the Pelyul-affiliated center Palri Pema Od Ling in Austin, Texas, he taught Gyelse Tokme's Thirty-Seven Practices of the Bodhisattva. He also gave empowerments for the Longchen Nyingtik's Assembly of Vidyādharas (rig 'dzin 'dus pa) and Dudjom Rinpoche's Vajrakīlaya treasure Razor That Destroys on Touch.[42] He also taught Parting from the Four Attachments at Katog Ratna Ling in Lafayette, Louisiana.

From October 13–28, 2012, at Khentrul Lodrö T’hayé's Katok Rit'hröd Mountain Retreat Center in Parthenon, Arkansas, he gave the transmission for the Jeweled Mirror of Guiding Instructions (khrid yig nor bu me long)—the Third Katok Getse's compendium of Dzogchen instructions based on the Longsel Dorje Nyingpo (klong gsal rdo rje snying po) treasure cycle. He also conducted an elaborate consecration of the land with fire rituals in the four directions led by himself, Khentrul Lodrö T’hayé Rinpoche, Lingtrul Rinpoche, and Sungtrul Rinpoche.[43]   

On his way back to Asia in November 2012, he returned to the Nyingma Kathok Buddhist Center in Kuala Lumpur where he gave a Lion-faced Ḍākinī empowerment and other teachings.

In April 2015, at the Adzom lineage-affiliated center, Ngagyur Shedrup Choling, in Kuala Lumpur, he bestowed a Vajrasattva empowerment and conducted a smoke ritual together with the center's resident lama, Sonam Rinpoche (bsod nams rin po che).[44] In July that year, he visited Russia and gave unspecified teachings and transmissions.[45]

On March 11, 2016, he presided over the inauguration of a new monastic college at Adzom Wosel Do-ngag Chokorling Monastery (a 'dzom 'od gsal mdo sngags chos 'khor gling), in Pharping, Nepal, a branch of Adzom Monastery (a 'dzom dgon) in exile.[46]

Becoming the Nyingma Leader

Despite having kept a low profile throughout his life, and likely largely because of his closeness with the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, in January 2018, when he was sixty-four years old, during the twenty-ninth Nyingma Monlam gathering in Bodh Gaya, the Fourth Katok Getse was appointed head of the Nyingma lineage for a three-year term. The position had been vacant since the passing of Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche in 2015.

From March 10–19, 2018, he gave empowerments and teachings for Longsel Nyingpo's Amitābha and Powa, Medicine Buddha, and Amitāyus at the Nyingma Kathok Buddhist Center in Kuala Lumpur,[47] which was the only center in the world that nominally belonged to him. One day, the center's secretary asked if Getse Rinpoche had any new teaching plans now that he was the official head of the Nyingma tradition. He reportedly replied,

I don’t have a house that I can call mine. I don’t have any family left. I don’t have a car of my own either. Now, the only thing of mine is this, "my center," so I am going to make that disappear too.

He then instructed the center's members to offer it back to Katok Monastery, which would make sure it was looked after properly.[48]

From March 22–25, 2018, at the Tibetan Buddhist Studies Society in Singapore, he taught on bodhicitta and gave the bodhisattva vows, a Kṣitigarbha empowerment, and other transmissions[49] ending with a day-long Tārā maṇḍala offering practice.[50] During the day on March 24, he consecrated Gangteng Tulku's (sgang steng sprul sku) Yeshe Khorlo Singapore center and gave an Amitāyus empowerment and teachings.[51] On March 26, he gave an empowerment for the eight manifestations of Padmasambhava at the Nyingma Kathok Buddhist.[52] He then returned to Malaysia, where he gave empowerments and teachings at several centers from March 28—April 3, concluding with a Lion-faced Ḍākinī empowerment, bodhisattva vows, and Gesar prayers at Kun Jung Norbu Vajrayana Buddhist Association Malaysia.[53]

In April 2018, at Adzom Monastery in Pharping, Nepal, he conferred the empowerments and transmissions for Longsel Nyingpo's collected treasures.[54] In July, he blessed the opening of the Dzarong Tubten Choling School at Trulzhik Rinpoche's monastery in the Everest region, which had been destroyed in an earthquake in 2015.

In August, he traveled to teach in Taiwan where, at the request of a disciple, he composed a nonsectarian "Prayer of Aspiration for the Buddhist Teachings to Flourish in Taiwan."[55]

Untimely Passing

On November 19, 2018, at the age of sixty-four, Katok Getse passed away as the result of an accident. His close friends Lingtrul Rinpoche and Lama Chonam (bla ma chos rnam) compiled a reliable account of what happened, which was written down by the translator Sangye Khandro, clarifying earlier erroneous reports.[56]

At the time, he was staying at the Dudjom retreat center in Pharping, Nepal, a few minutes up the same dirt road leading to the well-known Hattiban Resort. He was scheduled to soon travel to Dharamsala to attend an important meeting, from November 29 to December 1, with the Central Tibetan Administration, the Dalai Lama, the Forty-First Sakya Trizin (sa skya khri 'dzin 41 ngag dbang kun dga' theg chen dpal 'bar), the Seventeenth Karmapa Orgyen Trinle Dorje (o rgyan 'phrin las rdo rje, b. 1985), and other dignitaries.[57]

According to this account, on November 18, the day before his accident, he told a small group of his close disciples and attendants that, should he die, they should not disturb his body. In another account, he told two of his closest disciples, "If I die tomorrow, you may not find enough wood, so you two should purchase oil and then burn me up there on the hill."[58]

The next day, he had an appointment at Adzom Monastery just below the bluff on which the Dudjom center stands. By car, the trip would take about fifteen or twenty minutes, but Getse Rinpoche said that he wanted to walk down the dastardly shortcut trail on the steep traverse between the two sites. Despite his monks' protests, he insisted, setting out with one attendant. When they reached a particularly dangerous section of the path, the attendant begged him to turn back, to which Getse Rinpoche replied, "You are so attached to your body." The attendant then went ahead of him to try to find the safest footing, but when he turned around, he saw Getse Rinpoche tumbling down the steep hillside. After coming to a stop, with some struggle, Getse Rinpoche managed to briefly sit up straight before slumping back down and passing away. The attendant then went for help. By the afternoon, they hoisted his body back up the bluff and placed it in the "lion's posture" covered with his monastic robes.[59]

Forty-nine days of mourning and prayer were observed at Adzom Monastery before his remains were cremated up the hill at Dudjom Namdrol Choling on December 25, 2018. The cremation ceremonies were overseen by lamas from the six main branches of the Nyingma tradition: Khentrul Gyankhang Rinpoche (mkhan sprul gyang khan rin po che, b.1971) from Pelyul, the Ninth Minling Khenchen Rinpoche (sming gling mkhan chen 09, b.1970) from Mindroling, Adzom Gyelse Tulku (a 'dzoms rgyal sras sprul sku) from Shechen, and the Fifth Katok Situ Rinpoche (kaH thog sit u rin po cheb. b.1978) representing Katok.

Adzom Monastery now has a stupa in its temple housing Getse Rinpoche's relics. Another larger reliquary stupa stands at Iron Knot Ranch in New Mexico, in accordance with Getse Tulku's wishes.

Before Getse Rinpoche completed a more detailed autobiography, he offered the following concise summary of his life:

From birth to the age of twenty I only had slight happiness from within extreme suffering. From the age of twenty until forty I experienced a mixture of happiness and suffering. Then from the age of forty until sixty my experience of happiness was great and suffering less. Now, until I die, who knows how it will be?

Like Mipam Gyatso, Chatral Sangye Dorje, and some other great masters, Getse Rinpoche told those close to him that he would not return as a tulku to be found and trained.[60]