The Treasury of Lives

Tulku Urgyen Karma Orgyen Tsewang Chokdrub Pelbar (sprul sku o rgyan karma o rgyan tshe dbang mchog grub dpal 'bar) was born in 1920^[1] at Drakda (brag mda'), beside Yeshe Lhatso (ye shes lha mtsho) in Drakyul, on the north bank of the Tsangpo River between Dorje Drak (rdo rje brag) and Samye (bsam yas). 

Tulku Urgyen's father was Chime Dorje ('chi med rdo rje, d. 1948). As a child Chime Dorje had been identified as an incarnation but his mother refused to allow him to be raised by the monastery that claimed him, Tsangsar Namgon (gtsang sar rnam mgon), going so far as to rescue him from the monastery several years after the monks there had abducted him. Chime Dorje later fathered nine children with three women and became a renowned Chod practitioner.

Tulku Urgyen's mother was called Gaza Yuri (ga bza' g.yu ril/ris). Ga was her family name, while Yuri was likely a nickname for Yudron (g.yu sgron).^[2]

Chime Dorje's own father was from the Tsangsar family (gtsang sar), a noble house of Nangchen. His mother was Konchok Peldron (dkon mchog dpal sgron), the daughter of the great nineteenth-century treasure revealer Chokgyur Lingpa (mchog 'gyur gling pa, 1829-1870). Konchok Peldron's three other sons—Chime Dorje's brothers and Tulku Urgyen's maternal uncles—were all lamas and lineage holders of Chokgyur Lingpa's treasures: Samten Gyatso (bsam gtan rgya mtsho), Lama Sangngak (bla ma sangs sngags, d. 1949), and Tersey Tulku (gter sras sprul sku, d. 1956). Chime Dorje and his family were based in Kham, but were in central Tibet at the time of Tulku Urgyen's birth.

The reincarnation line and the familial line of Chokgyur Lingpa intertwined in several instances: Tersey Tulku was the reincarnation of his maternal uncle, Chokgyur Lingpa's eldest son Wangchuk Dorje (dbang phyug rdo rje). There were two recognized reincarnations of Chokgyur Lingpa: the Neten Chokling, Ngedon Drubpai Dorje (gnas brtan mchog gling ngas don grub pa'i rdo rje, 1873/1874-1927) and the Tsike Chokling, Konchok Gyurme (rtsi ke mchog gling dkon mchog 'gyur med, 1871–1939) also known as Kela Chokling (ke la mchog gling). One of Tulku Urgyen's younger brothers by the same mother, Kunzang Dorje (kun bzang rdo rje), who died at age fourteen, was identified as a reincarnation of the Neten Chokling, thereby making him the reincarnation of his and Tulku Urgyen's great-grandfather. A second incarnation of Neten Chokling, Pema Gyurme (gnas brtan mchog gling padma 'gyur med, 1927–1972) was identified by Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro (byam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i mchog gi blo gros, 1893–1959). The reincarnation and familial lines would again intersect in the person of Tulku Urgyen's second son, the Fourth Tsike Chokling, who was the reincarnation of his own great-great-grandfather.

As Tulku Urgyen described in his memoir, Blazing Splendor, from which most of the information in this essay is drawn, as an infant he was critically ill, and his parents took him to Samye Monastery in hopes of a miracle cure. They placed him, no longer breathing, in front of the famous "Looks Like Me" (nga 'dra) statue of Padmasambhava and made their prayers, at which point the infant opened his eyes and began breathing again.^[3]

Following his recovery the family took him to Sangngak Choling (gsang sngags chos gling), the seat of the Tenth Drukchen, Mipam Chokyi Wangpo (mi 'pham chos kyi dbang po, 1884–1930), a teacher of his father. In Blazing Splendor, Tulku Urgyen states that at the time the great meditation master Shākya Shrī (1853–1919), who was a master of Tulku Urgyen's uncle Tersey Tulku, was residing there on invitation from the Drukchen. The dates of Shākya Shrī's death and Tulku Urgyen's birth make this questionable, and it may be that he arrived only months after Shākya Shrī had passed away. Sources do not give the Tibetan year of Tulku Urgyen's birth, only the month and date; if he was born on the tenth day of the fourth month of the earth sheep year (March 3, 1919 to February 20, 1920), that is, June 8, 1919, then the encounter with Shākya Shrī would have been possible. If he was born on that day in the iron monkey year (February 20, 1920 to February 8, 1921), or May 27, 1920, then it would have been less likely.^[4]

From Sangngak Choling, Chime Dorje wrote to his elder brother Samten Gyatso, one of his generation's main propagators of the revelations of their grandfather, Chokgyur Lingpa. Samten Gyatso was then at Tsurpu Monastery (mtshur phu dgon) transmitting the revelations, known as the New Treasures of Chokgyur Lingpa (mchog gling gter gsar) to the Fifteenth Karmapa, Kakhyab Dorje (karma pa 15 bka' khyab rdo rje, 1870–1922). Chime Dorje requested his brother to ask the Karmapa to give his son a name. They received the name, written in the Karmapa's own hand and mounted on brocade: Karma Orgyen Tsewang Chokdrub Pelbar (karma o rgyan tshe dbang mchog grub dpal 'bar), together with several measures of red Chinese brocade which they never dared to cut up to make something. The Karmapa also communicated that the boy was a "genuine tulku," but of whom he did not say.^[5] In the meantime the Drukchen had identified Tulku Urgyen's younger brother, Tenga (bstan dga', 1923–1960) as a reincarnation of a man named Lama Anjam (bla ma a 'jam).^[6]

In 1923, when Tulku Urgyen was not yet three, the family returned to Kham. After attending the funeral of the Fifteenth Karmapa at Tsurpu, the family gathered at Drong Monastery ('brong dgon pa) north of Lhasa on the route to Kham. The lama there was Lama Tenzin Dorje (bla ma bstan 'dzin rdo rje), who was a close friend of Tersey Tulku and a fellow disciple of Shākya Shrī; his reincarnation is Tulku Urgyen's eldest son, Chokyi Nyima (chos kyi nyi ma, b. 1951). Konchok Peldron was also at the monastery with her third son, Lama Sangngak. They all made the trip to Nangchen together, Tulku Urgyen riding in a basket on the side of a horse out of which he fell one time and got quite hurt.^[7]

Education

In Nangchen Tulku Urgyen lived with his mother, elder sister, and younger brother Tenga. The two boys were taught reading and writing by an elderly tulku named Gargey Lama, whom Tulku Urgyen remembers as kind but stern. He was then sent to the famous Nangchen nunnery, Gechak (gad chags dgon), to continue his studies with his paternal uncle Samten Gyatso. In his memoir he describes himself as voraciously curious about all things, from the nature of mind to the reason the sky is blue.

At the age of nine he was sent to his father for training, although he continued to move between his mother's house and his father's hermitage, Dechen Ling (bde chen gling). He received multiple transmissions and empowerments while at Dechen Ling, both from his father, who gave reading transmissions from the Kangyur, and from other lamas who came through. At his brother's invitation a teacher named Khyungtrul Rinpoche ('khyung sprul rin po che) arrived at Dechen Ling to give the transmission of Jamgon Kongtrul's ('jam mgon kong sprul, 1813–1899) Treasury of Instruction (dam sngags mdzod). Other lamas gave Kongtrul's Treasury of Knowledge (shes bya kun khyab) and Kongtrul's Collected Works, all of which took many months to read through. He also engaged with Kīlaya practices, including the annual Kīla exorcism and the Secret Essence Kīlaya (gsang thig phur pa) from Chokgyur Lingpa's Three Cycles of Secret Essence revelation (gsang thig skor gsum).

During this period he was employed by the family to preside over village rituals, having the status of being both the son of an illustrious family and a reincarnation. Traveling between monasteries, mountain hermitages, and villages provided ample opportunity to stumble; he broke both arms over the course of about two years, first the right and then the left. In both instances he recalled that the doctors were reluctant to set the bones, afraid of the pain they would cause him, and he had to force them to perform their jobs.^[8]

At the age of eighteen he was sent to Lachab Monastery (bla khyab dgon) to study with Samten Gyatso, who would be his root teacher.^[9] This Tsangsar monastery was the seat of Samten Gyatso's and Tulku Urgyen's incarnation lines. His uncle formally enthroned him there as the reincarnation of his own root teacher, Chowang Tulku (chos dbang sprul sku), a lama from the Nangchen area who was in charge of Dzonggo Ling (rdzong mgo gling), the mountain hermitage network connected with Lachab.^[10] Chowang Tulku himself was said to have been the reincarnation of Guru Chowang (gu ru chos dbang, 1212–1270). Tulku Urgyen explained that the identity of his previous birth had been determined by the Sixteenth Karmapa, Rigpai Dorje (karma pa 16 rang byung rig pa'i rdo rje, 1921–1981).^[11] Lachab Monastery thus became Tulku Urgyen's responsibility, one that he was not entirely willing to accept.^[12] Because the monastery is officially Barom Kagyu, Tulku Urgyen's religious affiliation is often identified as Barom Kagyu.^[13]

In the late 1930s, while serving as his uncle's attendant, Tulku Urgyen met the young Sixteenth Karmapa for the first time, at the Yelpa Kagyu monastery Jang Tana (byang rta rna dgon). Samten Gyatso had just been assigned the Karmapa's tutor, a position from which he requested to be excused not long after he began; the Karmapa was by then known for his disinclination to study.^[14]

Around the year 1938 Tulku Urgyen spent six months with the Tsike Chokling. This eccentric reincarnation of Chokgyur Lingpa was also a disciple of Samten Gyatso, despite being his elder. He shared custody of Tsike Monastery with Tulku Urgyen's other uncle, Tersey Tulku. Tulku Urgyen left not long after arriving to attend the transmission of the New Revelations of Chokgyur Lingpa at Zurmang Dutsitil (zur mang bdud rtsi dil), given by Samten Gyatso. The Third Tsike Chokling (rtsi ke mchog gling 03, 1940–1952) lived only to the age of thirteen. There are two Fourth incarnations: one is Tulku Urgyen's son Lungtok Mingyur Dewey Dorje (lung rtogs mi 'gyur bde ba'i rdo rje, 1953–2020);^[15] the second lived at Tsike in Tibet and passed away in 2010.

The Zurmang transmission of Chokgyur Lingpa's treasures was sponsored by the Tenth Zurmang Tentrul, Karma Lodro Gyatso Drayang (zur mang bstan sprul 10 karma blo gros rgya mtsho'i sgra dbyangs). Samten Gyatso and Tulku Urgyen's father, Chime Dorje, presided, the first giving the empowerments and the other giving the reading transmission, over the course of three months. Although Tulku Urgyen began as a shrine assistant, he was relieved of the task and given permission to receive the transmission. Samten Gyatso declined to give the full transmission publicly, holding back the Three Cycles of Dzogchen from all but a handful of lamas.^[16]

Tulku Urgyen received the Light of Wisdom (ye shes snang ba), Jamgon Kongtrul's commentary on Chokgyur Lingpa's revelation Stages of the Path of the Wisdom Essence (lam rim ye shes snying po), from a master known as Jokhyab Pema Trinle Nyingpo (jo khyabs padma 'phrin las snying po). This teacher had received it from a lama named Jamyang Drakpa ('jam dbyangs grags pa), who had received it from Kongtrul and Khyentse and had been tasked by Khyentse to spread the teaching. Jokhyab taught Tulku Urgyen from the extensive notes he had made when Jamyang Drakpa had taught him, taking six months to go through the text twice; those notes have been published as the endnotes to the English translation of the commentary.^[17]

Tulku Urgyen chose not to take ordination, a decision he explains in his memoir. The subject had come up at Tsike Monastery (rtsi ke), while there in the presence of the Second Jamgon Kongtrul, Khyentse Wozer ('jam mgon kon sprul 02 mkhyen brtse 'od zer, 1904–1953)—popularly known as Karsey Kongtrul (kar sras kong sprul), as he was the son of the Fifteenth Karmapa— alongside his uncles Sangngak and Samten Gyatso. His uncles pressured him to become a monk, arguing that it was the only way to fully dedicate himself to the religious life, and that ordaining with Kongtrul was a rare opportunity. His uncle Sangngak even promised that were he to take robes he would leave him all his worldly possessions, which were considerable. Tulku Urgyen declined, explaining that he felt no urge to ordain, and that because he lacked conviction he would be unable to maintain his vows.^[18]

He began teaching around the age of twenty, around 1940, with the blessing of Samten Gyatso, who recognized his facility for pointing out instructions, for which he was later widely renowned. He became famous for his style of inquiry and advice that presented the realization of the nature of mind as a simple act, one that relies more on setting down complicated struggles and resting instead in the natural state of mind.^[19]

Samten Gyatso passed away in the early or mid-1940s, prompting Tulku Urgyen to make a journey to central Tibet to make offerings on his behalf at Tsurpu, the Jokhang (jo khang) and other monasteries and temples around Lhasa. While there he met his wife, Kunzang Dechen (kun bzang bde chen, 1926/7–1990), a dedicated Buddhist practitioner, who returned with him to Kham. Passing the administrative responsibility of Lachab Monastery to his father, he went into retreat for three years, focusing on Chokgyur Lingpa's treasure cycle known as Dispelling All Obstacles (bar chad kun gsal), which would be one of his main life-long practices. He also received transmissions and teachings from Kyungtrul during his retreat, including the Collected Nyingma Tantras (rnying ma rgyud 'bum) and the Light of Wisdom.^[20]

Tsurpu

In the summer of 1949 Karsey Kongtrul gave the transmission and empowerments of the Treasury of Revelations (rin chen gter mdzod) at Tsurpu. This was Jamgon Kongtrul's massive collection of the revelations of scores of treasure revealers. Tulku Urgyen secured from Kongtrul an order to attend, which he needed in order to be excused from his duties at Lachab. Although he was nominally the head lama of the monastery, in his memoir Tulku Urgyen describes the repeated difficulty he faced in leaving for teachings or retreats; the communities leaders demanded he stay close to the monastery to perform needed religious services. The transmission ceremonies lasted for seven months. Tulku Urgyen then received Kongtrul's permission to remain at Tsurpu to engage in another three-year retreat. He chose a cave hermitage high above the monastery known as Pema Khyung Dzong (padma khyung rdzong). The Karmapa provided him with a servant and supplied materials to build several new rooms. During the retreat, in 1951, Tulku Urgyen's eldest son, Chokyi Nyima was born, the child who would later be identified as the reincarnation of Tenzin Dorje of Drong Monastery.^[21]

On the conclusion of his retreat, Tulku Urgyen was called back to Lachab. The monastery was leaderless, as Tulku Urgyen's father had passed away in 1948, and the tulku of Samten Gyatso was not yet old enough to secure the necessary financial support from sponsors. The monks had pleaded with Karsey Kongtrul to order Tulku Urgyen back. Before he left, however, the Karmapa requested him to transmit a cycle of Chokyur Lingpa's revelations, the Three Sections of Dzogchen (rdzogs chen sde gsum). This was the sole remaining treasury cycle of Chokgyur Lingpa's that the Karmapa had yet to receive; Karsey Kongtrul and Zurmang Tentrul, who had given the Karmapa the transmission, had themselves not received six volumes of the Three Sections of Dzogchen, and thus the Karmapa had turned to Tulku Urgyen to acquire it.^[22] In his memoir Tulku Urgyen relates his dismay at being asked to give an empowerment to the Karmapa; to do so, in order to adopt the role of the master, he would need to sit on a higher seat than the Karmapa, which deeply troubled his feelings of devotion. Despite his resistance, for the next several months, and amid frequent interruptions, Tulku Urgyen gave multiple empowerments to the Karmapa. He would go on to give the Three Sections of Dzogchen nine times over the course of his life, including three times in Bhutan and five in Nepal.

In 1953 word came from Kham that Karsey Kongtrul had passed away. Tulku Urgyen was then with the Karmapa in Lhasa, where he was receiving the Kālacakra empowerment from the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (ta la'i bla ma 14 bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho, b, 1935). The Karmapa was staying at the home of Yum Rigden Ḍāki Dekyong (yum rig ldan DA ki bde skyong), the wife of the Fifteenth Karmapa and mother of Karsey Kongtrul. The Karmapa's attendants were so afraid of the Karmapa's reaction to the sad news that Tulku Urgyen had to insist that they inform him.^[23]

Following the Kālacakra, a ceremony that normally takes several weeks, Tulku Urgyen asked the Karmapa for permission to return to Kham. His intention was to go into long-term retreat at Dzonggo Ling. As he related in his memoir, however, the Karmapa informed him that he would be unable to remain there long, a warning that Tulku Urgyen did not then understand. Tibet was then undergoing assimilation into the Chinese Communist state, and refugees were already beginning to arrive in Lhasa from the eastern regions speaking of atrocities. Tulku Urgyen was adamant about returning to Kham, and so the Karmapa gave him twelve yaks and an invitation to return to Tsurpu as soon as possible.

Kham, 1954–1955

Tulku Urgyen returned to Lachab with the intention of remaining in retreat and leaving the family of Samten Gyatso's tulku in charge of the monastery. The child's father was a prominent governor, and Tulku Urgyen hoped that he would accept management of the monastery. However, the father insisted that Tulku Urgyen reside at Lachab while his son entered retreat at Dzonggo Ling. Tulku Urgyen conceded and instead of the mountain cave, he walled himself inside a room at Lachab.

In 1955 Tulku Urgyen met the Karmapa in Chamdo, where the Karmapa stopped over on his return from accompanying the Dalai Lama on his fateful meeting with Mao Tsedong in Beijing during which the Dalai Lama was forced to concede Chinese control of Tibet. The Karmapa repeated his invitation to Tsurpu, more forcefully this time, and with his hopes to live at Dzonggo Ling dashed, Tulku Urgyen accepted, asking the Karmapa to put his order in writing so that the monastery would release him. The Karmapa also gave him two horses and four more yaks to make the journey possible. Tulku Urgyen paid his uncle Tersey Tulku a visit before departing, the last time he would see his only remaining uncle. His uncle urged him to dedicate himself to the preservation and spread of Chokgyur Lingpa's revelations, as he was now one of the few remaining individuals who possessed the full transmission.^[24] Tersey Tulku died several months after Tulku Urgyen arrived at Tsurpu.

Tulku Urgyen borrowed a gun from one of his brothers to protect himself on his journey. He traveled in a party of only fourteen, since it was late summer and no caravans were traveling. His second son, who was later identified as the Fourth Tsike Chokling, had been born by that time, and he and Chokyi Nyima rode in baskets similar to how their father had on his first journey to Kham. On route they were accosted by four teenage bandits but Tulku Urgyen was able to intimidate them, and, as they had no goods to be stolen they were left in peace.^[25]

Before arriving at Tsurpu Tulku Urgyen stopped over at Drong to formally enthrone his eldest son as the head of the monastery, and at Nenang Monastery (gnas nang) the seat of the Tenth Pawo, Tsukla Nangwa Wangchuk (dpa' bo 10 gtsug lag snang pa dbang phyug, 1912–1991), a close friend of Tersey Tulku. Pawo suggested Tulku Urgyen invite his uncle to stay with him, and that he, Pawo, would cover the costs. Tulku Urgyen requested the Karmapa to send an invitation letter, which would be needed to release Tersey Tulku from his obligations at Tsike, but the Karmapa refused, insisting that there was no value to the effort—in his memoir Tulku Urgyen ascribes the Karmapa's refusal as evidence that he knew of Tersey Tulku's impending death.^[26]

In 1956 the Karmapa, together with the Dalai Lama and many other prominent lamas, went to India to participate in the celebration of the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha's birth. Tulku Urgyen took the opportunity of his absence from Tsurpu to visit Drak Yerpa (brag yer pa), a famous cave nearby associated with Atiśa (982–c.1055) and Padmasambhava. While staying there, with his wife and two sons, as well as an elderly nun who was a relative of his wife's, Tulku Urgyen had a dream in which a ḍākinī appeared and warned him about the coming destruction of Buddhism in Tibet and the flight of the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa.

In the 1950s many great lamas fled Kham and Amdo for the relative safety of Lhasa. Tulku Urgyen met Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro in Lhasa and facilitated that lama's first meeting with the Karmapa at Tsurpu. According to Tulku Urgyen, it was then that the Karmapa advised Dzongsar Khyentse to go into exile in Sikkim. Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Peljor (dil mgo mkhyen brtse bkra shis dpal 'byor, 1910–1991) was also in Lhasa, and Tulku Urgyen was thus able to receive teachings from both incarnations of Khyentse Wangpo. He met Dudjom Rinpoche Jikdrel Yeshe Dorje (bdud 'joms 'jigs bral ye shes rdo rje, 1904–1987) who insisted on receiving the Three Sections of Dzogchen from him,^[27] and also the First Shechen Kongtrul, Pema Drime (zhe chen kong sprul 01 padma dri med, 1901–1960).

Unlike many other lamas, Tulku Urgyen understood the necessity of leaving Tibet well before the Lhasa Uprising that began on March 10, 1959. He had briefly represented the Karmapa on the Committee of Religious Affairs in Lhasa before refusing to continue; he described it as political theater that he found dangerous and degrading.^[28] The Karmapa had also repeatedly asked him to leave Tibet and build a monastery in Nepal to receive the library and treasures of Tsurpu that the Karmapa hoped to send out of the country. In his memoir Tulku Urgyen expresses regret at his refusal to do so, and explained that his excessive modesty led him to deny his capabilities. The Karmapa later advised him to go into retreat at Maratika Cave (mA ra ti ka) outside of Kathmandu, but this Tulku Urgyen also refused.^[29] It would be many years before he would ultimately fulfil the Karmapa's requests, but by then it was too late to accept the religious treasures from Tsurpu, most of which were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution.

Tulku Urgyen does not date his departure for Sikkim, but it was well before the mass exodus following the failed uprising of 1959, and may have been as early as 1957. He left first with a single attendant, and had a brother-in-law named Wangdu (dbang 'dus) bring his wife and sons. In Sikkim Wangdu unsuccessfully argued that the entire family should return to Tibet, believing that the Tibetan Government would maintain its sovereignty. A Sikkimese minister named Banyak Ating who was a supporter of the Karmapa offered Tulku Urgyen a small house and land on his own estate. Tulku Urgyen had been unable to carry more than a few things out of Tibet, and neither Lachab nor his son's monastery, both of which were relatively wealthy, would send him texts or other religious objects. Among the few possessions he did bring with him was a manuscript edition of the Three Sections of Dzogchen.

Tulku Urgyen spent three years in retreat in Sikkim on Banyak Ating's estate. Dzongsar Khyentse was in residence nearby, and for a period of twenty-five days Tulku Urgyen visited him daily. Khyentse recommended that Tulku Urgyen take as his main Dzogchen practice Chokgyur Lingpa's Dzogchen treasure Heart Essence of Samantabhadra (kun bzang thugs tig), and as his primary practice the Dispelling of All Obstacles, which he taught extensively for the remainder of his life. The Karmapa himself arrived in Sikkim in 1959.

Following his retreat he visited Bhutan and Buddhist sacred sites in India. He was repeatedly offered land in Bhutan on which to build a monastery, but he declined, feeling obligated to serve the Karmapa in Sikkim. Ultimately, in 1961, with the Karmapa's blessing, he accepted an invitation of a group of the Karmapa's disciples from Nubri, on the Tibetan border in Nepal.

Nagi Gonpa

Tulku Urgyen arrived in Nepal in 1961 in the midst of political upheaval; the government officials whose names the Karmapa had given him were no longer in a position to help him, and he was unable to buy land in Swayambhu as he had hoped. In Kathmandu he stayed in the home of a patron named Ram Lal, for which he was criticized by other Nepali students, as Ram Lal was a member of the Dalit caste. Tulku Urgyen refused to participate in caste discrimination.

He went to Nubri and remained there for five months, staying at Pema Choling (padma chos gling), the monastery and ngakpa community of Lama Tashi Dorje (bla ma bkra shis rdo rje), whom he had met several years earlier at Tsurpu. The two had a family connection: the lama's father had been a disciple of Samten Gyatso and Karmey Khenpo. On the Karmapa's instructions, Tulku Urgyen led the region's people to accumulate nine hundred million recitations of the Padmasambhava mantra—oṃ ah huṇg vajra guru padma siddhi huṇg. The Third Neten Chokling, Pema Gyurme, accompanied Tulku Urgyen. He had previously been in Nubri to transmit the New Treasures of Chokgyur Lingpa, using the Tsike Monastery edition that he had carried out, the standard edition used today.^[30]

In Nubri Tulku Urgyen married a daughter of Lama Tashi Dorje, Sonam Chodron (bsod nams chos sgron). Together they had two sons: the first, Ngawang Tsoknyi Gyatso (ngag dbang tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho), born in 1966, was recognized as the Third Tsoknyi Rinpoche (tshogs gnyis rin po che 03), an incarnation line that began with Pema Drime Wozer (padma 'dri med 'od zer, b. 1828). Their second son is Mingyur Rinpoche (mi 'gyur rdo rje), born in 1975, a reincarnation of Yongye Mingyur Dorje (yongs ge mi 'gyur rdo rje, d. 1708). Tulku Urgyen fathered two additional sons: Tenpa Yarpel (bstan pa yar phel) is the general manager at Tenga Rinpoche's (bstan dga' rin po che, 1932–2012) Benchen Monastery (ban chen dgon) in Swayambhunath; and Urgyen Jigme (o rgyan 'jigs med), who was identified as an incarnation of Tersey Tulku and who lives in Queens, New York with his wife.^[31]

Tulku Urgyen's hope was to spend the rest of his life in retreat in the Nyida Cave (nyi zla phug) in Yolmo. He had sent his sons to Rumtek for their education, and sent several yak-loads of provisions he had collected in Nubri on ahead. However, on meeting the Karmapa at Swayambhu he was tasked with remaining in Kathmandu to resolve a court case over ownership of the Karma Kagyu monastery at the stūpa, Shri Karma Mahavira a case that took nine years to conclude.^[32] To provide a residence, the Karmapa arranged for Tulku Urgyen to be named the successor of Kharsha Rinpoche, whose seat was Nagi Gonpa (na gi dgon pa) on the northern slopes of the Kathmandu Valley, inside what is now Shivapuri Wildlife Preserve. The hillside buildings were of poor quality, built of unfired bricks, and after several months Tulku Urgyen began the construction of a new temple. Slowly he bought surrounding parcels of land to expand the monastery. Tulku Urgyen was a talented sculptor and built several large clay statues for the temple with his own hands.^[33]

Although the Karmapa commanded Tulku Urgyen to remain in Kathmandu, he made several trips to Bhutan and Sikkim to receive teachings. He spent several months with Polu Khenpo Dorje (spo lu mkhan po rdo rje, 1897–1970), also known as Bomda Khenpo (sbom mda' mkhan po), a disciple of Khenpo Ngakchung Pelzang (mkhan po ngag chung dpal bzang, 1879–1940) of Nyoshul Monastery (smyo shul dgon). The Karmapa sent him to Malaysia, where he gathered donations he intended to use to expand Nagi Gonpa. However, on his return Chokyi Nyima and Chokling both requested that he build them a monastery in Nepal. The Karmapa had ordered the two to establish a monastery by the stūpa, but they deemed themselves too young to take on the task and so turned to their father. Chini Lama, one of the Karmapa's main representatives in Kathmandu, provided land near Boudhanath Stūpa. He named the temple Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling (bka' rnying bshad grub gling). It was completed in 1974, and consecrated by the Karmapa, who also blessed the new statues in Nagi Gompa. Tulku Urgyen created several of the statues at the monastery, as well as masks of Mahākāla and Bernakchen.^[34]

While at the monastery for the consecration, the Karmapa transmitted the Treasury of Kagyu Tantra (bka' rgyud sngag mdzod), another of Jamgon Kongtrul's Five Treasuries.^[35] Dilgo Khyentse later transmitted the New Treasures of Chokgyur Lingpa there; because of this the community maintains two transmission lineages of the New Treasures: one that passed through Chokgyur Lingpa's son Tsewang Norbu (tshe dbang nor bu, d. 1856) to Samten Gyatso and then on to Tulku Urgyen, and the other through Tsewang Norbu to Neten Chokling, Katok Situ, Dzongsar Khyentse, and Dilgo Khyentse.^[36]

In the early 1980s Tulku Urgyen also built a three-year retreat center at the Asura Cave at Yanglesho (yang le shod) in Pharping, and Ngedon Osel Ling Monastery (nge don 'od gsal gling), now known as Tergar Ösel Ling (gter gar 'od gsal gling), above the Swayambhunath Stūpa on the other side of the Ring Road. Built in the early 1990s initially for Tsoknyi Rinpoche, it is now under the direction of Mingyur Rinpoche. In addition to the Buddhists of Nubri,^[37]he served the Sherpa, Tamang, and other Nepali communities; the Newari Buddhist community of Patan asked him to administer their monasteries Hiranyavarna Mahavihar Gompa—the so-called "Golden Temple"—and Juyatha Baha, and monks from Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling perform rituals and ceremonies there.^[38]  A number of Newar priests ordained a Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling and alternate their residences between that monastery and their home temples in Patan.

Tulku Urgyen traveled in Europe and North America in 1980, at the instructions of the Karmapa, becoming one of the earliest Tibetans to teach Dzogchen there.^[39]

According to Orgyan Tobgyal, Tulku Urgyen was the first Tibetan lama to teach in Malaysia, visiting there at least three times; his third visit was part of a tour that included multiple countries in Europe, the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore.^[40]

Western students

Tulku Urgyen taught hundreds of Western students, initiating annual seminars at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling in 1981. These have continued since under the care of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, who recently completed the fortieth seminar. In a memorial in Tricycle Magazine following Tulku Urgyen's death, American Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzburg recalled:

He was so generous to us, taking the time to see us, and his teachings were life-changing. There was nothing short of brilliance in his presentation, his urging of his students to have confidence in their own experience, his cutting through our clinging or confusion. All of this was executed with beautiful simplicity and elegance.^[41]

His long-time translator, Eric Pema Kunsang (Hein Schmidt), together with Marcia Binder Schmidt, established Rangjung Yeshe Publications to disseminate Tulku Urgyen's teachings in English. To date the house has issued over fifty publications.

In 1992, when the conflict between the Twelfth Situ, Pema Donyo Nyinje (si tu 12 pad+ma don yod nyin byed, b. 1954), and the Fourteenth Zhamar Mipam Chokyi Lodro (zhwa dmar 14 mi 'pham chos kyi blo gros, 1952–2014), over the identification of the Seventeenth Karmapa first erupted publicly, Tulku Urgyen went to Rumtek to try to mediate between them. In his role of teacher to Zhamar, he entreated him to suspend his call for a scientific study of the prediction letter Situ had brought forward, and to accept the Situ's candidate, Orgyen Trinley Dorje (o rgyan 'phrin las rdo rje, b. 1985). Zhamar did initially comply, but later advanced his own candidate for the Seventeenth Karmapa, Thaye Dorje (mtha' yas rdo rje, b.1983).^[42] Tulku Urgyen was known for not taking sides in the ensuing controversy. Moreover, Tulku Urgyen's legacy as a mediator continued with his eldest son, Chokyi Nyima, who years later arranged a meeting in New Delhi between Zhamar and Orgyen Trinley Dorje, the Karmapa recognized by Situ. Following that meeting, the two incarnations of the Seventeenth Karmapa met for the first time in France, a vital step towards healing the rift between the two parties.

Tulku Urgyen passed away on February 13, 1996 at Nagi Gompa. He is said to have remained in tukdam (thugs dam) for fifteen hours, after which red and white fluid flowed from his nostrils. His remains lay in state at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling for the forty-nine-day funeral period, after which he was cremated, on April 4, 1996. Chatral Rinpoche (bya bral sangs rgyas rdo rje, 1913–2015) lit the fire.^[43]

His reincarnation, Urgyen Jigme Rabsel Dawa (o rgyan 'jigs med rab gsal zla ba, b. 2001), was recognized by Trulzhik Rinpoche Ngawang Chokyi Lodro ('khrul zhig ngag dbang chos kyi blo gros, 1924–2011) and enthroned at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling in 2008. He is the son of the Fourth Neten Chokling Rinpoche, Rigdzin Gyurme Dorje (gnas brtan mchog gling 04, rig 'dzin 'gyur med rdo rje, b. 1973). The great-grandson of Chokgyur Lingpa was thus reincarnated as the son of one of Chokgyur Lingpa's reincarnations in the fourth generation.

 

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