The Treasury of Lives

The Third Penor, Lekshe Chokyi Drayang (pad nor 03 legs bshad chos kyi sgra dbyangs) was born on January 30, 1933, the fifth day of the twelfth month of the male water-monkey year.^[1] His parents were named Sonam Gyurme (bsod nams 'gyur med) and Dzomkyi ('dzoms skyid). The family belonged to the bloodline of the famed tantric master Traktung Dudul Dorje (khrag 'thung bdud 'dul rdo rje, 1615–1672). His birth region was Powo, traditionally part of Kham, but since 1965 included in the Nyingtri Autonomous Prefecture in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. His birth name was Tenzin (bstan 'dzin). 

When the Second Penor, Rigdzin Pelchen Dupa (pad nor 02 rig 'dzin dpal chen 'dus pa, 1887–1932) died at the age of forty-five, the Fifth Dzogchen, Tubten Chokyi Dorje (rdzogs chen 05 thub bstan chos kyi rdo rje, 1872–1935), is said to have prophesied his reincarnation by revealing the place, the year of birth, and the parent's names. A search group led by Rakchab Tsultrim (rag chab tshul khrims) and Samdrub (bsam grub), the aide and the treasurer of the deceased master, found a potential match in the child Tenzin. Two other potential candidates, who were identified as the body, speech, and mind embodiments of the Second Penor together with Tenzin, died young.^[2]

Education and Life in Tibet

At the age of three, in the fire-rat year 1936, the young reincarnate was brought to Pelyul Monastery (pdal yul dgon), where Khenchen Ngawang Pelzang (mkhan chen ngag dbang dpal bzang, 1879–1940) conducted his hair-cutting ceremony and bestowed upon him the Mañjuśrī Jñānasattva initiation to foster wisdom and intelligence. He spent most of his early childhood at Kunzik Tubwang Khang (kung zigs thub dbang khang), the private residence built by his previous incarnation at Dago Monastery (brda go dgon) near Pelyul.

In the water-sheep year, 1943,^[3] he received the refuge-based layperson's vow (skyabs gsum 'dzin pa'i dge bsnyen, triśaraṇa-gṛhaka-upāsaka) from the Second Pelyul Choktrul, Jampel Gyepai Dorje (dpal yul mchog sprul 02 'jam dpal dgyes pa'i rdo rje, 1894–1958), the seventh throne holder of Dartang Monastery (dar thang dgon), who was then at Pelyul. Choktrul, the most influential master in the life of the Third Penor, gave him the name Tubten Lekshe Chokyi Drayang .

In the same year, he was enthroned in a ceremony attended by the Fourth Karma Kuchen, Tekchok Nyingpo (kar+ma sku chen 04 theg mchog snying po, 1908–1960), who was then serving as the tenth throne holder of Pelyul, as well as by Pelyul Choktrul and representatives from about twenty branch monasteries and lay communities.

In the wood-monkey year, 1944, Penor Rinpoche received novice monastic (dge tshul, śrāmaṇera) ordination in a ceremony presided over by Pelyul Choktrul and co-officiated by Katok Khenpo Lekshe Jorden (legs bshad 'byor ldan).^[4] Choktrul Rinpoche gave him the monastic name Dongak Shedrub Tenzin Chokle Namgyel Pel Zangpo (mdo sngags bshad sgrub bstan 'dzin phyogs las rnam rgyal dpal bzang po).^[5]  Becoming a novice also marked the beginning of his inheritance of the transmissions of the canonical and revealed texts, the sūtra, tantra and mind-specific treatises (mdo rgyud sems gsum), and the instructional cycle of Dzogchen such as the Heart Essence (snying thig).

Also in the wood-monkey year 1944, the young lama received teachings, initiations, and transmissions related to the Treasury of Revelations (rin chen gter mdzod) from Choktrul Rinpoche at Pelyul. When Choktrul returned to Dartang Monastery that year, Penor Rinpoche accompanied him and received transmission of the revelations of Namcho Mingyur Dorje (gnam chos mi 'gyur rdo rje, 1645–1667), known as the Sky Teachings (gnam chos gter ma), The Rapid Progression of the Clear Light ('od gsal thod rgal), and other cycles. Pelyul Choktrul also bestowed various initiations and instructions relating to The Eight-Fold Sādhana Instructions (bka' brgyad), the sixty-two-volume Treasury of Revelations, and other collections. From the Fourth Karma Kuchen he received teachings and transmissions from the Sky Teachings, the revelations of Ratna Lingpa (ratna gling pa, 1403–1479), the Sūtra that Gathers all Intentions (dgongs pa 'dus pa'i mdo), Karma Lingpa's (karma gling pa) Peaceful and Wrathful Deities (kar gling zhi khro), and various "received teachings" (bka' ma)—those Nyingma scriptures not classified as revelation.

He then undertook his preliminary practices at his residence at Dago Monastery. Khenpo Lekshe Jorden imparted the cycle of teachings and initiations that had passed through the great seventeenth-century Katok lama Mokton Dorje Pel (rmog ston rdo rje dpal). He also transmitted additional initiations and teachings of Dorje Lingpa (rdo rje gling pa, 1346–1405), Ratna Lingpa, Namcho Mingyur Dorje, Karma Chakme (kar+ma chags med, 1631–1678), and Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye ('jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha' yas, 1813–1899). Horshul Khenpo Pema Jigme (hor shul pad ma 'jigs med), gave Penor Rinpoche the transmission of the Kangyur and Tengyur.

In 1947, Penor Rinpoche left for Dartang. He stayed at a hermitage named Tarpa Tse (thar pa rtse ri khrod) and did a three-year meditation retreat with Choktrul. There, Pelyul Choktrul Rinpoche gave him initiations, transmissions, and instructions on additional scriptures, basic rituals, tsa lung (rtsa rlung) and tummo (gtum mo) practices, and various cycles of Dzogchen teachings that Choktrul himself had received from the Second Penor, thereby maintaining the transmission of the corpus of teachings that constitute the Pelyul tradition.

In the iron-hare year, 1951, under the tutelage of Muksang Gelong Jampel Zangpo (rmugs sangs dge slong 'jam dpal bzang po, b.1900/1), who later became his biographer, he studied grammar, orthography, poetry, and Chinese astrology (nag rtsis). He received sūtra teachings from Khyentse Lodro Nuden Dorje (mkhyen brtse'i blo gros nus ldan rdo rje, 1907–1958) and Khenpo Sonam Dondrub (bsod nams don grub).

In 1951, he returned to Pelyul Monastery and undertook a one-year retreat. He then made his first teaching trip, to Gyelrong, during which he is said to have displayed his first miraculous deed by recollecting liturgical texts that he had not previously studied. His disciples attributed to him about thirty miraculous feats over the years, such as remembering his past lives, leaving footprints on rocks, revealing divine visions, and giving an impromptu performance of a Vajrakīla dance unique to the Sakya school.^[6]

In 1953,^[7] Penor Rinpoche traveled to Dartang Monastery, where he received full monastic vows (dge slong, bhikṣu) at an ordination ceremony presided over by Choktrul Rinpoche as the chief preceptor and other masters including the Third Dartang abbot Dong-nge Khenpo Jigme Konchok (gdong nge mkhan po 'jigs med dkon mchog, 1876–1958) and the Fourth Dartang abbot Akyong Tubten Gyurme Trinle (ar skung thub bstan 'gyur med 'phrin las, 1893–1983).^[8] After the ordination, Pelyul Choktrul was said to have removed his saffron robe and offered it to Penor Rinpoche, in a ritual designating the recipient as a favored disciple or successor.

Around 1953, having received numerous tantric and treasure teachings, Penor Rinpoche began his training in other fields of Buddhist studies—logic, philosophy, metaphysics, and ethics—under Haja Sonam Dondrub (ha 'ja' bsod nams don grub) and Khenpo Gondrub (mkhan po mgon grub), the sixth and twelfth abbots of Pelyul, respectively, and other resident lamas of the monastery.

In 1955, he undertook a pilgrimage to central Tibet, visiting sacred places and monastic institutions, including the Jokhang (jo khang), Ramoche (ra mo che), Samye (bsam yas), Ganden (dga' ldan), Drepung ('bras spungs), Sera (se ra), Tashilhunpo (bkra shis lhun po), and Drak Yerpa (brag yer pa). He performed rituals and meditated at these places and did a seven-day fasting meditation at Samye. On the way to Lhasa, he also visited Dorje Drak (rdo rje brag) and Mindroling (smin grol gling), two of the six Nyingma "mother" monasteries located in central Tibet.

In Lhasa, Penor Rinpoche celebrated the start of the fire-monkey year, which fell in early 1956, and made extensive offerings to the monks during the Great Prayer Festival (smon lam chen mo). He had an audience with the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (tA la'i bla ma 14 bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho, b. 1935) at Norbulingka Palace (nor bu gling ka) and formed a connection with him by receiving a long-life initiation. In the coming decades, he would receive teachings from the Dalai Lama on the Kālachakra Tantra and the Guhyasamāja Tantra.

Upon returning to Pelyul early in 1956, he studied under Lungtok Lodro Shedrub Nyima (lung rtogs blo gros bshad sgrub nyi ma) and Khyentse Lodro Nuden Dorje at Dago Monastery. For the next seven months, he oversaw the observance of a series of rituals, and participated in the reading of the Kangyur collection thirteen times.

After the Chinese Communist Party came to power in China in October 1949, they began to invade Tibet on its eastern borders of Kham and Amdo. In 1955, the CCP invited the Fourth Karma Kuchen, then serving as the tenth throne holder of Pelyul, to Beijing in order to seek monastic support and participation in their annexation of Tibet. Around the same time, the CCP aggressively enforced its so-called democratic reforms, confiscating land and arms and regulating monastic institutions. This tumultuous decade, and the intermittent absence of the Fourth Karma Kuchen from Pelyul Monastery, prompted Penor Rinpoche to assume interim leadership of the monastery.

In 1957, at the time of the increased Communist intervention in the lives of Tibetans across the eastern region, and its penetration into central Tibet, Penor Rinpoche left for Lhasa and planned his escape to India. However, the Chinese arrested the Fourth Karma Kuchen, compelling Penor Rinpoche to abort his plans and return to the monastery. Karma Kuchen died due to torture a year later. The restrictions enforced on the monastic and lay communities exacerbated the difficult conditions of life at Pelyul, prompting a divination to favor immediate departure from Tibet.

Life in Exile

In March 1959 the Dalai Lama and many Tibetans fled Tibet. Penor Rinpoche, his family, and a few followers left Pelyul the same year for India. They initially headed towards central Tibet, then turned south at Chumdo (chu mdo) in Powo and trekked further through Pemako (pad ma bkod) into India. Finally in early 1960, via Tuting in Assam, they reached the rehabilitation camp at Bhalukpong in western India.  

The state of Mysore (renamed Karnataka in 1973) agreed to lease agricultural lands to Tibetans in two districts on December 16, 1960, and the Dalai Lama and the exile government then settled lay and monastic communities there. In 1961, Penor Rinpoche and monks from Pelyul Monastery relocated to the settlement site in Bylakuppe, later named Lukzung Samdrub Ling (lugs zung bsam grub gling), and continued as a monastic community.

On June 10, 1963, Penor Rinpoche initiated a construction project that burgeoned into a multi-institutional monastic base serving as a principal seat for the preservation of the Nyingma Pelyul tradition in exile. During his visit to the resettlement camps in September 1965, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama laid the foundation stone of the monastery, consecrated the site, and gave the name Namdroling (rnam grol gling).^[9] The name was later augmented to include Tekchok (theg mchog), Shedrub (bshad grub), and Dargye (dar rgyas) by Chatral Sanggye Dorje (bya bral sangs rgyas rdo rje, 1913–2015), Nyoshul Khenpo Jamyang Dorje (smyo shul 'jam dbyangs rdo rje, 1931–1999), and Penor Rinpoche respectively. Thus, the monastery is now formally named Tekchok Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling, which may be loosely translated as "Institute for Preservation and Dissemination of the Liberating Teachings and Practices of the Higher Tradition."

The building of monastic institutions in India during the Tibetan exile community's early years was challenging on all fronts. With only a few monks, human and material resources were limited, although Tibetan refugees volunteered in the construction. Penor Rinpoche maintained a cordial relationship of mutual help and support with the nearby Sera Monastery (se ra), which, though somewhat better financially, was undergoing the same challenge in those years.

Until 1979, Penor Rinpoche largely gathered funds from within the lay and monastic communities, and did not pursue any major fund-raising efforts outside of India.

Penor Rinpoche was assisted in his building projects by several remarkable lamas who taught at the monastic college. These include the Fourth Gyangkhang Tubten Pelzang (gyang khang 04 thub bstan dpal bzang, b. 1936) and Khenchen Pema Sherab (mkhan chen pad ma shes rab, b.1936). Other important lamas and incarnations who have taught at Namdroling include Khenchen Namdrol Tsering (mkhan chen rnam grol tshe ring, b. 1953), Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso (mkhan chen tshe dbang rgya mtsho, b. 1954), the Fourth Choktrul Gyangkhang Jigme Sengge (gyang khang mchog sprul 04 'jigs med seng+ge, b. 1971), and the Third Muksang Kuchen Jigme Kunzang (rmugs bzang sku chen 03 'jigs med kun bzang, b. 1974).

Remembering the early years of monastic establishment in India, Khenzur Ngawang Lekden (mkhan zur ngag dbang legs ldan 1914–2000), a former abbot of Sera Jey Monastery and a close friend of Penor Rinpoche, extolled Penor Rinpoche's commitment, endurance of hardship, and dealing with adversaries as comparable to Milarepa's (mi la ras pa, 1040–1123) building of the nine-storied tower at Sekhar Gutok (sras mkhar dgu thog)s.^[10] Penor Rinpoche did not hesitate to work alongside Tibetan volunteer laborers and Indian masons at the construction sites, "carrying bags of sand and cement, breaking stones into slabs and macadams, bending iron rods, etc."^[11] His work was recognized with citations and awards, including the 2005 Karnataka Social Service Award. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama wrote: "Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche, the great master of Ngagyur Nyingma School, had, through his boundless aspiration and determination, endured hundreds of hardships and adversities for the welfare of the precious Buddha-dharma and people of Tibet in general, and for the preservation of the teachings and the practice of the Nyingma tradition in particular."^[12]

The religious, educational, health, and cultural institutions Penor Rinpoche founded under the umbrella of the Namdroling monastic institution are numerous. They include a monastic college, Dongak Rikpai Jungne Ling (mdo sngags rig pa'i 'byung gnas gling), founded in 1978, known as the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute; and a nunnery, Tsogyel Shedrub Dargye Ling (mtsho rgyal bshad grub dar rgyas gling), opened in 1993. There are two practice centers: Ngagyur Samten Wosel Ling (snga 'gyur bsam gtan 'od gsal gling/sgrub sde khang), built in 1985, and Namdak Trimkhang Ling (rnam dag khrims khang gling). The leadership at Namdroling also oversees a junior school, Yeshe Wosel Sherab Reltri Ling (ye shes 'od gsal shes rab ral gri gling, an elderly people's home, Geso Khang (rgas gso khang) built in 1975, a hospital built in 2003, and a publishing house founded in 1991.

Penor Rinpoche also funded the construction of libraries, debate halls, classrooms, monks' and nuns' quarters, stūpas, and prayer wheels, and provided for the acquisition of statues, giant appliques, ritual implements, upholsteries, musical instruments, cham masks and costumes, and other religious necessities, for Namdroling and branch monasteries across India and Nepal.

By 2011 the monastic college, which had begun with fourteen students, had grown to more than 1500, drawing students from India, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, and Taiwan. More than 8,000 monks and nuns had by then passed through the monastery.^[13]

Rebuilding Pelyul

The ending of the Cultural Revolution and loosening of restrictions inside Tibet in the late 1970s, allowed Penor Rinpoche to begin rebuilding Pelyul Monastery there, which had been destroyed in the late 1950s. Penor Rinpoche returned to Pelyul in 1983 and gave teachings, initiations, and monastic ordinations. In 1984, he sent a group of monks to Tibet to learn from surviving masters all aspects of arts and rituals, such as the root, wrathful, and performative cham dances (rtsa khro gar sum), the chants, maṇḍala drawings, and musical instruments (dbyangs thig rol gsum), and the hand gestures, percussion instrument, and trumpets (bca' brdung 'bud gsum). He returned again to Pelyul in 1987, and also visited the sacred sites of central Tibet. By 1989, Namdroling monks were performing all the traditional rituals, including fire and cham rituals, during festivals and at the Tibetan New Year.

Upon his return from Tibet in 1983, Penor Rinpoche represented the Nyingma school in the performance of a long-life (brtan bzhugs) offering for the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, serving as the chief officiant (rdo rje slob dpon) for Dudjom Jigrel Yeshe Dorje (bdud 'joms 'jigs bral ye shes rdo rje, 1904–1987), then head of the Nyingma school.^[14]

Beginning in 1985 with a visit to the United States, Penor Rinpoche traveled frequently to the West, making many visits to France, Canada, England, Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, and the Philippines. His initial visit to the United States was at the invitation of Gyatrul Rinpoche, (rgya sprul rin po che, 1925–1923) to his center in Ashland Oregon, Tashi Choling. Two years later he recognized the American-born Catharine Burroughs (b. 1949) as the reincarnation of Genyenma Akon Lhamo (dge bsnyan ma a kham lha mo), the sister of Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab (rig 'dzin kun bzang shes rab, 1636–1698). She is known as Jetsuna Akhon Lhamo, and opened a center in Poolesville, Maryland in the mid 1980s known as Kunzang Odsal Palyul Changchub Choling (kun bzang 'od gsal dpal yul byang chub chos gling), where Penor Rinpoche taught multiple times in subsequent years. Penor Rinpoche recognized actor Steven Seagal (b. 1952) as a reincarnation of the seventeenth-century treasure revealer Khyungdrak Dorje (khyung brag rdo rje), which caused a minor media sensation.^[15]

In 1998, Penor Rinpoche sent Khenpo Tsewang Gyatso to open the Palyul Retreat Center in McDonough, New York. The annual summer Namcho Dzogchen retreat at the center was a major component of Rinpoche's teaching intention in this world. Rinpoche placed as much importance on this center as he did on his monasteries in India and Tibet. Penor Rinpoche attended the retreat every year from the beginning until his passing away and emphasized the great importance he placed in the New York State retreat in spreading the dharma in the West.

He again visited Tibet in 1992 and 1994, primarily travelling to Pelyul, Dartang, and Larung Gar (bla rung sgar) monasteries, and conferred initiations from the Treasury of Revelations at Pelyul and Dartang. During these visits he toured many other Nyingma monasteries, including Katok (kaH thog), Dzogchen (rdzog chen dgon), Shechen (zhe chen dgon), Muksang (rmugs gsang dgon), and Dago. He gave teachings, conferred ordinations, funded constructions, and made monetary contributions at Pelyul and at over a hundred branch monasteries. He also sent funds and donations of religious objects such as statues, texts, and musical instruments.^[16]

In 1990, at the behest of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Penor Rinpoche invited Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok (mkhan po 'jigs med phun tshogs, 1933–2004) to India.

In 1993, with the unanimous support of the Nyingma community in exile, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama formally appointed Penor Rinpoche the head of Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism at a ceremony in Dharamsala. For ten years, he led the Nyingma community in exile. 

End of Life

In August 2000 Penor Rinpoche appointed his student the Fifth Karma Kuchen, Tubten Tsultrim Norbu (karma sku chen 05 thub bstan tshul khrims nor bu, b. 1970), as the twelfth throne holder of Pelyul. In 2005 Penor Rinpoche's health began to deteriorate, yet he continued his overseas visits and religious activities. His condition slowly worsened, and on March 24, 2009, he was admitted to Columbia Asia Hospital in Bengaluru.  

On March 27 Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse (rdzong gsar 'jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse, b. 1961), Shechen Rabjam Jigme Chokyi Sengge (zhe chen rab 'byams 'jigs med chos kyi seng ge, b. 1967), and Dzogchen Pema Rigzin (rdzogs chen pad+ma rig 'dzin, b. 1964) conducted longevity rituals, attended by religious leaders and officials of the Tibetan government in exile and from Bhutan. That same day, Rinpoche left the hospital and returned to his monastery. He briefly met with religious leaders and disciples and then passed away a few minutes past eight in the evening. He remained in tukdam (thugs dam) for one week, finally entering the clear light of death ('chi ba 'od gsal), the actual demise according to Vajrayāna Buddhism, on April 3, 2009.

His body was preserved as an object of worship for three years, and was finally cremated on May 23, 2013. The ceremony was conducted by Taklung Tsetrul Shedrub Nyinje (stag lung rtse sprul bshad sgrub nyin byed, 1926–2015) and attended by Nyingma lamas, the abbots of Sera Jey, Sera Mey, and other monasteries, and monks, nuns, and lay devotees. The relics and remains were interred into "myriad doors of auspiciousness" reliquaries (bkra shis sgo mang mchod rten) at Namdroling and Pelyul.

The Fourth Penor Rinpoche, Mingyur Dechen Garwang Zilnon Dorje (mi 'gyur bde chen gar dbang zil gnon rdo rje, b. 2011) was enthroned at Pelyul in 2014.

 

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