The Treasury of Lives

Tromge Tulku Arik was born around the turn of the twentieth century, certainly no later than 1904,[1] into the large Tromge (khrom dge) clan of the Washul Trom (wa shul khrom) region of  Derge. This area is also known as Tromtar (khrom mthar), or simply Trom, and now sits in Pelyul County (dpal yul) of Kandze Prefecture (dkar mdzes), Sichuan.

His mother was named Cha'uk (khya 'ug) and came from House Gyakor (rgya skor tshang) of the Tromtri Ponshul sub-clan, which was led by her brother, a lama of the Tromge practice lineage named Gyakor Wanggyel (rgya skor dbang rgyal).

She married a man named Akya from House Ladong (bla gdong tshang) of the Atsab Pashul sub-clan, which was led by his brother, a powerful man named Ladong Norbu (bla gdong nor bu). The family had two more sons who were tulkus, one of whom was Jigme Do-ngak Tenzin ('jigs med mdo sngags bstan 'dzin), an emanation of Sachen Sonam Tsemo (sa chen bsod nams rtse mo). The other tulku is not named in sources. According to family legend, Akya and Jigme Do-ngak Tenzin had also been brothers in their previous life and shared an extremely close bond.[2]

Cha'uk and Akya had two children together; they would become Lama Chodrak Gyatso (bla ma chos grags rgya mtsho) and Tulku Arik. When Tulku Arik was five, the treasure revealer Tromtrul Pema Gargyi Wangchuk (khrom sprul pad+ma gar gyi dbang phyug bdud 'dul rol pa rtsal), also known as Terton Kunzang Pelgyi Nyima (gter ston kun bzang dpal gyi nyi ma), held a drubchen nearby, which the child attended with his family. During the drubchen's closing ritual, in which the deity's wisdom is meant to enter the participants' minds, it is said that the child's ordinary discursive thought patterns completely ceased, and he remained absorbed in this experience of natural awareness. Noticing this, Terton Kunzang Pelgyi Nyima called on the boy to approach and sit on his throne. He then declared that the boy was the reincarnation of another Tromge lama named Yizhin Wanggyel (khrom dge yid bzhin dbang rgyal).[3]

Soon after, Tulku Arik learned to read and write from one of his uncles. As was not uncommon in that time and place, the uncle used to beat him to impose the discipline to study. After several years, the uncle went blind, though he still oversaw the tulku's reading and recitation lessons. Instead of now avoiding the uncle's abusive pedagogy, Tulku Arik felt compassion for him, and when he made mistakes in his recitations, he would hand the uncle a stick and invite him to strike him so that his uncle could feel that he was being a rigorous tutor. It is also said that once, his aunt went out for the day to gather wild sweet potatoes and asked him to serve tea to the blind uncle. Rather than serve him in a perfunctory way with pre-made tea in the kitchen, Tulku Arik went out to collect fresh milk with which to sweeten the uncle's tea. It is said that he often did such spontaneous acts of kindness.[4]

Early Training

When he was eight, Tulku Arik's uncle Jigme Do-ngak Tenzin and Kacho Dechen Dorje (mkha' spyod bde chen rdo rje)—the two senior Tromge lamas of the time—commanded that he take his seat and train at Tromge Monastery (khrom dge dgon), an affiliate of Katok (kaH thog). There, he learned the ritual arts and received extensive teachings from the Tromge lamas. During this time, Dzatrul Kunzang Namgyel (rdza sprul kun bzang rnam rgyal) gave him the guiding instructions for the Longsel Dorje Nyingpo (klong gsal rdo rje snying po) treasure cycle.[5] Practicing these, it is said that he mastered the esoteric teachings on the bardos and met the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī in a dream. Directly from Mañjuśrī, it is said, he received empowerments and transmissions for Longsel Nyingpo's (klong gsal snying po, 1625–1692) treasures and those of and Dudul Dorje (bdud 'dul rdo rje, 1615–1672), as well as the empowerments for the Sakya tradition's Lamdre, Vajrayoginī, and Hevajra teachings. For the rest of his life, he would be as devoted to Sakya deities as he was to those associated with the Nyingma tradition.[6]  He thus remained practicing in retreat through his early and mid-teens.

Around the late 1910s, political troubles in Derge forced most of the Tromtok (khrom thog) and Tromge clans to seek refuge farther north in Dzachukha. Tulku Arik, however, fled to Dzogchen Monastery (rdzogs chen dgon), where he stayed for about six months under the care of the Fifth Dzogchen Drubwang Tubten Chokyi Dorje (rdzogs chen grub dbang 05 thub bstan chos kyi rdo rje, 1872–1935). During this time, Tubten Chokyi Dorje granted Tulku Arik empowerments for Jatson Nyingpo's ('ja' tshon snying po, 1585–1656) treasure cycle The Universal Embodiment of the Precious Ones (dkon mchog spyi 'dus) and requested Tulku Arik to occasionally preside over ceremonies. For a few months, he studied Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra and Vinaya topics in Dzogchen Monastery's Śrī Siṃha College (shrI sing+ha bshad grwa).[7]

After six months at Dzogchen, he saw in a vision that one of his uncles had died, so he returned to his home region and led the funeral rituals. After that, for four or five months over the winter, he taught the Longsel Dorje Nyingpo yogic practices, or tsalung (rtsa rlung), to a group of about thirty monks in a large tent set up in the snow. It was said that he displayed total mastery of the practice of inner heat and could sit indefinitely on the glaciers above their camp. The following year, he returned to live at Tromge Monastery.[8]

When he was eighteen years old, some time around 1920, Arik Tulku went to receive full monastic ordination at Katok Monastery in southern Derge. At that time, the presiding abbot, despite being very ill, was Katok Situ Chokyi Gyatso (kaH thog si tu chos kyi rgya mtsho, 1880–1925); the preceptor (slob dpon) was Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang (mkhan po ngag dbang dpal bzang, 1879–1941), also known as Khenpo Ngaga (mkhan po ngag dga'); and the secret preceptor (gsang ston slob dpon) was Khenpo Agay (mkhan po a dges), who conducted Tulku Arik's ordination ceremony and gave him the name Konchok Lekden (dkon mchog legs ldan).[9]

After his ordination, he returned to Trom and studied with a Sakya lama of Dokho Monastery (rdo kho dgon), Khenpo Dupa Gyatso (mkhan po dud pa rgya mtsho).[10] With him, he studied the Uttaratantra (rgyud bla ma), Vinaya, and Longchenpa's Wish-Fulfulling Treasury (yid bzhin mdzod).[11]

Some months after his ordination Tromge Kacho Dechen Dorje fell ill and Tulku Arik sat at his bedside for a long time, taking care of him. When he did not improve, they invited Katok Moktsa Tulku Jigme Chokle Namgyel (rmog rtsa 'jigs bral phyogs las rnam rgyal), to conduct healing rituals. Despite their efforts, Kacho Dechen Dorje passed away.[12]

That summer, it was said that a monk from Dezhung Monastery (sde gzhung dgon) had died and become a zombie (ro langs), roaming around the region terrifying people. Tulku Arik was sent to pacify this unfortunate being. After finishing this duty, he returned home and, because of his contact with the zombie, became very ill, with blood leaking from his mouth and nose. Suspecting he would die, he asked his uncle, presumably Jigme Do-ngak Tenzin, for death instructions. His uncle told him that there was really nothing more to do than to hold his gurus in mind. Practicing in this way, his health improved.[13]

After that, Khenpo Agay from Katok passed through Trom and taught Longchenpa's Wish-Fulfilling Treasury and Maitreya's five treatises. Following these studies, it is said that Tulku Arik was asked to perform powa ('pho ba), or transfer of consciousness, for a lay man and woman from Nyarong who had died after using opium. When he shouted "p'hat" to eject their consciousnesses to the pure lands, it is said that their corpses quaked with seizures.  Also around this time, he granted unspecified empowerments to an assembly of about four hundred monks at Druktod Monastery (drug stod dgon) in Nyarong.[14]

Around this time another of his uncles fell ill, possibly the unnamed brother of his father who had been identified as a tulku. One day, the uncle, who was an accomplished practitioner, engaged in intensive deity yoga, then assumed a special yogic posture, pronounced a long Ahhh, and passed away. According to his instructions, they waited a year before cremating his body.[15]

Training with Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang (mid-1920s–early 1930s)

Tulku Arik continued studying a variety of esoteric and exoteric subjects with Khenpo Agay, but that lama told him that he was not qualified to give the most profound Dzogchen instructions. He therefore recommended that Tulku Arik seek them from the great master Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang who had left Katok in 1922 and returned to his seat at Nyoshul Jonpalung Monastery (smyo shul ljon pa lung dgon). Tulku Arik traveled to Nyoshul where Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang gave him empowerments for Jigme Lingpa's ('jigs med gling pa, 1730–1789) treasures and the important Dzogchen collection called the Nyingtik Yabzhi (snying thig ya bzhi). He then stayed in retreat for an extended but unspecified period.[16]

Following his retreat, from a Lama Tashi Tsering (bla ma bkra shis tshe ring), he received Sakya teachings and empowerments for the treasures of Tromge Kacho Dechen Dorje. Around this time, he also encountered a treasure revealer named Aser Nyima (a gser nyi ma) who transmitted his teachings to him.[17]

He then returned to Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang who taught him Jigme Lingpa's important Dzogchen manual called Yeshe Lama (ye shes bla ma) and his own Commentary on Samantabhadra's Heart-Mind (kun bzang thugs kyi tI ka). After receiving these teachings, Ngawang Pelzang told him, "I have only taught these things to about ten students. Now you are one of them. It is written that these teachings liberate whoever practices them. You should do retreat. Get six or seven horses and bring them to cover the cost."[18]

During this retreat, Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang offered him his most intimate instructions on Dzogchen, which Tulku Arik wrote down. One day, Tulku Arik asked his teacher about his own past lives. Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang told him that he had previously taken the form of the translators Vairocana and Khonton Luwang ('khon ston klu dbang) before appearing as Jigme Lingpa's student Tenzin Sherab (bstan 'dzin shes rab) and then Tromge Yizhin Wangyel.[19] During this time, Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang named Tulku Arik as a holder of his entire lineage.[20]

After training extensively in Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang's Dzogchen instructions, Tulku Arik did additional extended retreats on Longsel Nyingpo's Guru Drakpo (gu ru drag po) treasure called Blazing Wisdom (ye shes rab 'bar).

Renunciation and Retreat (1930s)

In the early 1930s Tulku Arik returned to Tromge Monastery where he was now in great demand as a teacher. In one story of his service there, while giving the empowerment for the Longchen Nyingtik secret guru yoga practice The Sealed Quintessence (thig le rgya can), at the end of the empowerment, the disciples lined up to receive and touch the ritual objects. As soon as Tulku Arik picked up his text to bless the students, he entered a deep state of meditative absorption and said, "I'm just going to sit for a while," and ended the ceremony prematurely.[21]

At this time in his life, about fifty disciples relied on him as their root guru, and he was responsible for training a number of important tulkus. These included the young Chagdud Tulku, Pema Gargyi Wangchuk (lcags mdud sprul sku pad+ma gar gyi dbang phyug, 1930–2002) and the young reincarnation of his earlier teacher Kacho Dechen Dorje. Chagdud Tulku later described Tulku Arik's teaching style as exceedingly grounded and austere. Rather than indulge people's fascination with colorful advanced practices, he taught that one could not practice dharma unless one immersed oneself in the four thoughts that turn the mind: the preciousness of human birth, impermanence, karmic cause and effect, and the faults of saṃsāra. He demanded that his students contemplate these four topics for years, and when a student hankered to move past these contemplations to something considered more profound, Tulku Arik would say,

This teaching may not be good enough for you, but it was good enough for the buddhas. They meditated for years in order to understand the truth of the four thoughts. If this teaching is not profound enough for you, go somewhere else.[22]

Teaching through the 1930s, Tulku Arik, began to grow weary of his busy life and longed to spend more time in remote solitude. He asked his uncle, probably Jigme Do-ngak Tenzin, "With all this busyness and the responsibility to maintain our monastery, isn't there a danger of wasting this life and spoiling our future lives?" His uncle told him that he should accept his duty and stay. Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang told him it should suffice to settle down and practice assiduously in his home region. But as much as he tried, he could not feel at ease residing in that familiar environment.[23]

By the late 1930s, he decided he must leave and he sent a letter to one of his senior vajra brothers, Chaktsa Tulku, Kunzang Pema Trinle (phyag tshwa sprul sku kun bzang pad+ma phrin las), asking for help. At that time, Chaktsa Tulku was in Golok restoring Getse Dralak Monastery (dge rtse bkra legs dgon) at the request of the leader of the powerful Getse clan. He informed Tulku Arik of a yak-load of supplies that the chieftain had sent him, the implication being that Tulku Arik could intercept it and use the supplies to support himself on his flight from his homeland. Tulku Arik did just that. Dressed as a layman and accompanied only by his attendant, Akel Nyima (a skal nyi ma), also known as Tokden Kelzang Nyima (rtogs ldan skal bzang nyi ma), with the goods in their possession, they joined the caravan of a merchant from Denkok ('dan khog) who was traveling west to central Tibet. At a mountain pass leaving Denkok, some travelers recognized him and offered him prayers and prostrations. Telling them they had the wrong man, Tulku Arik and his attendant hurried away, not resting for three days until they could get a safe distance from anyone who knew him.[24]

Eventually, they reached Lhasa and were given a room in the Pangdatsang Manor House (spang mda' gzims shag) by the wealthy Pangdatsang family (spang mda' tshang), who were devoted patrons of Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang. One of the first things they did after arriving was visit the Jokhang Temple (jo khang), and as soon as Tuku Arik saw the sacred statue of the Buddha there, it is said that he fell into a long period of uncontrived meditative absorption. The Pangda family invited him to live at their private chapel for the rest of his life, telling him that they would gladly take care of him as long as he wished. He thanked them for their generosity but did not accept.[25]

At an unspecified site around Lhasa, he received extensive empowerments and transmissions from the Fifth Jamyang Zhepa ('jam dbyangs bzhad pa 05, 1916–1947), a prominent Geluk lama from Amdo who was then studying in Lhasa. The Jamyang Zhepa provided him with a testimonial letter that allowed him to travel freely in central Tibet. He also went to Sakya Monastery (sa skya dgon) to pay his respects to Jikdrel Sakya Dakchen Rinpoche ('jigs bral sa skya bdag chen rin po che, 1929–2016).[26]

With Akel Nyima assisting him, he stayed in central Tibet for several years, doing hundred-day retreats at sacred sites such as Samye Chimpu (bsam yas mchims phu), Yamalung (g.ya ma lung), Gangri Tokar (gangs ri thod dkar), and Tseringjong (tshe ring ljongs). Having long run out of food and supplies and avoiding patrons, his health and strength suffered, and he felt great sadness. Not for a moment, however, did his resolve to practice falter.[27]

With the deepening of his meditative states, according to his hagiography he developed the ability to visit the realms of nonhumans, whom he taught Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang's Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher and other introductory buddhist texts, establishing them on the bodhisattva path. He also had many visionary experiences of deities and lineage masters, such as Longchenpa (klong chen pa, 1308–1364).[28]

Return to Kham (early 1940s)

One day, Tulku Arik's nephew arrived in central Tibet on pilgrimage. He managed to track down his uncle and delivered a letter from Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang. His biography does not specify the contents of this letter, but after reading it, Tulku Arik thought to himself, "I made a commitment to practice in the wilderness until I die. Though I have remained in retreat, I have deprived myself of my guru's intimate instructions. From now on, whatever comes of it, I will return to his presence, and he will be my only refuge."[29]

Before going home, he and Akel Nyima returned to Sakya Monastery and received Lamdre transmissions from Sakya Dakchen. After that, they went to Mindroling Monastery (smin grol gling dgon) where they received blessings and transmissions from Minling Chung Rinpoche (smin gling gcung mkhan, 1908–1980).

As soon as they reached Kham, Tulku Arik went to Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang at Nyoshul and requested an audience. His teacher teased him, saying, "So you've come back. You know, it's pretty pointless to wander around in your own head the way you've done."[30] As soon as he heard the khenpo's voice, he was filled with joy and stayed with him for a long time. Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang gave him a prophecy, saying, "You are greater than me. Now, you sit before me, but in the future, a great father, mother, and son will come to you." Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang passed away soon after, in 1941.

In line with this prophecy, decades later, Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang's reincarnation, Nyoshul Sanggye Tsering (smyo shul sangs rgyas tshe ring), and his wife, Khandro Tashi Drolma (mkha' 'gro bkra shis sgrol ma), arrived with their son, Lungtrul Shedrub Tenzin (lung sprul bshad sgrub bstan 'dzin, b.1944/5). Seeing that this was what his teacher had predicted, he felt delighted and assumed responsibility for the young tulku's training.[31]     

Mid-Life Retreat and Activity (1940s–1950s)

Despite his return to his homeland, for the rest of his life, Tulku Arik would remain wary of any kind of distraction, especially the responsibility of taking care of a monastery. However, he was not able to shirk all obligations. For example, he once agreed to go to Dzaka Monastery (dzaH ka dgon) for a few days at the request of a patron named Barchung Wangchen ('bar chung dbang chen) who had been very generous to him earlier in life. But in general, according to Chagdud Tulku, Tulku Arik only met with people for one week every three years. The rest of the time, he practiced behind strict retreat boundaries.[32] Chagdud Tulku also claimed that for most of his life, Tulku Arik only slept for one hour per night, sitting in meditation the rest of the time.[33]

For most of the 1940s, he practiced at the sacred sites associated with Longsel Nyingpo in the Litang (li thang) and Batang ('ba' thang) regions of Kham. These included Kolri Sang-ngak Ling (khol ri gsang sngags gling), Kampo Ne (kaM po gnas/sgam po'i gnas), Rolpa Dechen Khang (rol pa bde chen khang), and Tromgyi Dzongnak (khrom gyi rdzong nag).[34]

Around 1951, Tulku Arik went to Dezhung Monastery where he received extensive Lamdre and other Sakya teachings from Dezhung Anjam Tulku, Kunga Gyeltsen (sde gzhung a 'jam sprul sku kun dga' rgyal mtshan, 1885–1952), with whom he had established a close bond.[35] According to Khenpo Akhyuk (mkhan po a khyug, 1927–2011), who was present at the time, once, during a crowded ceremony in the temple, Dezhung Tulku publicly praised Tulku Arik as a great bodhisattva in their midst. In the eleventh month of that year, Dezhung Anjam Tulku passed away and Tulku Arik stayed for his funeral ceremonies.[36]

He then returned to Trom, where he settled into more retreat. During that time, he agreed to an audience with his former pupil, Chagdud Tulku, who was now in his late teens and struggling to stabilize his lifestyle and meditation. Tulku Arik pleaded with him not to waste his life in mundane activities, inspiring Chagdud Tulku to enter a second three-year retreat under the direction of Tromge Trungpa Rinpoche (khrom dge drung pa rin po che) at Tromge Monastery. Chagdud Tulku later considered this meeting one of the most meaningful events of his life.[37]  To bless their retreat, Tulku Arik renewed the participants' monastic vows.[38]

Around 1955, Tulku Arik fell seriously ill, in response to which people in the region offered prayers and rituals for his recovery. According to Chagdud Tulku, Tromge Trungpa Rinpoche said that it would be a shame for Tulku Arik to die and that it would be better if he died instead. Within twenty-four hours, Tromge Trungpa passed away, and Tulku Arik began to recover.[39]

That summer, he relaxed his retreat boundaries and bestowed ordination vows to many monks, along with extensive teachings on the vinaya. Among those he taught at this time was Khenpo Akhyuk, who had followed him since receiving teachings at Dezhung Monastery. Tulku Arik told Khenpo Akhyuk that he should change his ordination vows from the Middle Vinaya (bar 'dul) tradition of the Sakyas to the Lower Vinaya (smad 'dul) tradition of the Nyingmas, which Tulku Arik upheld. At this point, Khenpo Akhyuk devoted himself to Tulku Arik, serving as his retreat attendant for most of the next thirty years, interrupted only by the Cultural Revolution. Tulku Arik's longtime attendant, Akel Nyima, remained and became a mentor to Khenpo Akhyuk.[40] Other sources claim that Khenpo Akhyuk was at Tulku Arik's side for forty-three years,[41] which would mean they met in 1945 while Tulku Arik was in retreat in the Litang and Batang regions. In Tulku Arik's biography published by Yachen Gar (ya chen sgar), however, it seems that Khenpo Akhyuk only joined his master full-time here in the mid-1950s.

Chagdud Tulku recalled how hundreds of people traveled from all over eastern Tibet to seek an audience with Tulku Arik on the rare occasions when he lowered his retreat boundaries. He would only agree to see people if they made a solemn pledge never to smoke, hunt, fish, fight, or steal. Because no one dared harm an animal near Tulku Arik's residence, it is said that the area became something of a wildlife refuge, where deer and other skittish creatures walked openly in the meadows. Even if pilgrims could not meet him, they left generous offerings of grain and valuables at his fence. His attendants took what grain they needed to survive and allowed all the rest to be gathered by local people in need.[42]

Hiding and Prison in the Cultural Revolution (late 1950s to mid 1970s)

By the late-1950s, the Chinese Communist presence in eastern Tibet was a growing source of alarm. Once, when Tulku Arik was giving teachings to monks from Tromtok and members of the Tromge clan, Communist troops came into the region and fought with local warriors, killing many. That summer, Tulku Arik went to a remote hermitage called Dungkar Ritro (dung dkar ri khrod)[43] where he received food and supplies surreptitiously delivered by Adzom Gyelse Pema Wanggyel (a 'dzom rgyal sras pad+ma dbang rgyal), one of the sons of Adzom Drukpa (a 'dzom 'brug pa, 1842–1924).[44]

Around 1958, Adzom Gyelse Rinpoche was imprisoned, and no more supplies came. At that point, Tulku Arik, Akel Nyima, and Khenpo Akhyuk ventured out of the mountains to explore the situation. Khenpo Akhyuk reported that along the way, they saw about twenty crows bathing in the Trom River. The crows then walked along with them, and Tulku Arik suspected they were emanations of protector deities. As they continued, they reached a bridge over the Trom River and Tulku Arik's horse refused to cross. He said it seemed like this horse did not want him to fall into the hands of the Communists. Respecting such signs, they remained in the forests and mountains—Tulku Arik in one primitive shelter, and the two attendants in another.

Eventually, Akel Nyima became very sick, and it was clear he was not going to recover. As he was dying, he said, "My time has come; I think it will work out for you two. You will never find a lama as good as this one. Nor could there be a disciple more worthy. Please look after each other." After blending his mind for some time with Akel Nyima's, Tulku Arik said, "Akel Nyima was so good. He warmed my heart. Let's offer his body to the birds." Khenpo Akhyuk was heartbroken to lose his friend and mentor. Seeing his despair, Tulku Arik counseled him, "Don't cry. Feel your faith in Akel Nyima and blend your mind with his. You will receive his blessings." Then, for three days, they performed Sarvavid-Vairocana and Akṣobhya funeral rituals.[45] In 1992, Chagdud Tulku recognized a young American boy named Wyatt Arnold as a reincarnation of Akel Nyima.[46]

As the region's monasteries were being destroyed and thousands of lamas and monks were being imprisoned, killed, or fleeing into exile, Tulku Arik immersed himself in the practice of tonglen (gtong len)—"giving happiness and receiving pain." Eventually, the Communist authorities tracked them down. Through some skillful mediation, Khenpo Akhyuk was allowed to go free, but Tulku Arik was imprisoned for many years. Before they were split up, he told Khenpo Akhyuk not to worry, and that he would use prison as an opportunity to absorb beings' suffering and try to bring them some peace.   

Tulku Arik was handcuffed and led by horse to Pelyul prison.[47] Weak from years without proper food, he stumbled and fell, and the officers spurred the horses forward, dragging him on the ground. When they reached a village, some people recognized him, and overcome with devotion, ran to attend to his cuts, burns, and bruises. It is said that when they reached him, he assured them he was fine and that they should clean the blisters on the officers' hands instead. Finally, they reached the prison, where new prisoners were abused as a matter of policy. On his first day, he was beaten severely, though it is said that he endured their blows with such equanimity that it made the guards uncomfortable, and they left him alone. Eventually, they could not stand having this gentle, saintly lama in their cell, and they arranged to transfer him to another prison, where the same thing occurred. Thus, according to Chagdud Tulku, the Chinese authorities transferred him around various prisons through the late 1960s and early 1970s. Eventually, they acknowledged he posed no threat and allowed him to return to Trom, sometime before the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976.[48]

Late Life

Back home, he reunited with Khenpo Akhyuk and they entered strict retreat together. Khenpo Akhyuk later recounted how, during this time, Tulku Arik stopped taking food and drink, wore only a light robe no matter what temperature it was, and that his voice took on the character of an echo that Khenpo Akhyug could hear no matter where he was in relation to his teacher. For six or seven years, Tulku Arik immersed himself in the Dzogchen practice of togel (thod rgal), consummating its esoteric four visions (snang ba bzhi).

In 1980, Khenpo Akhyuk began teaching and founded Yachen Gar, which would, by the 2000s, become one of the largest buddhist centers in Tibet, almost entirely for lay practitioners. Around this time in the early 1980s, Tulku Arik fell ill and was aided by a lama named Sera Yangtrul (se ra yang sprul) who produced medicinal pills that were credited with extending his life for another four years. Sera Yangtrul also offered him a white shawl and bracelet that had belonged to Yeshe Tsogyel (ye shes mtsho rgyal). Tulku Arik accepted him as a close disciple.

In 1987, Chagdud Tulku returned to Tibet from the United States, and high on his list of priorities was to see Tulku Arik. Despite being one of his oldest students and a holder of his lineage, even he had to beg for an audience, as Tulku Arik was as loathe as ever to interrupt his meditation to meet with people. He agreed to a short meeting, but only with Chagdud Tulku, not with his wife, son, and the students he had brought to receive blessings. With no sentimentality, Tulku Arik asked Chagdud Tulku why he had left Tibet and given up his monk's vows. When he said that he left to avoid being killed by the Chinese, Tulku Arik said, "If that hadn't been your karma, you certainly wouldn't have been killed."[49] Chagdud Tulku recounted the rest of the meeting as follows:

With that, he said extensive long-life prayers for me. Finally, he said, "Please don't insist that I see the others. You know that before I was in strict retreat and didn't see anybody. Now it is almost time for me to go, this year, next year. I must practice as much as I can. We won't see each other again. Now, don't stay longer. My practice time is being lost.[50]

Though initially hurt by his master's curtness, Chagdud Tulku recalls,

Then I checked my mind. Tulku Arik had always ended his interviews like this, as a way of demonstrating the preciousness of each moment in the human body. Why, at the last minute, should he suddenly alter his habit?[51]

For the rest of his life, Chagdud Tulku would often talk about this encounter with his beloved teacher, and how it always reminded him that there is no time to waste.

In 1988, it is said, Khenpo Akhyuk had a dream telling him that Tulku's Arik's life was in danger. As Khenpo prepared extensive fire offerings and long-life rituals, Tulku Arik told him that it was fine to make the fire offerings, but that he must not perform longevity rituals. After some other close disciples came, Tulku Arik meditated with them, instructing them to blend their minds with his and assuring them they would be together in this and future lives and in the bardos. In the early morning of the seventeenth day of the tenth lunar month, he passed away. Sera Yangtrul led the cremation ceremonies along with Adzom Gyelse Pema Wanggyel and others. It is said that many relics were found among his ashes.[52]

Not having been an author, scholar, or institutional leader, Tulku Arik is mostly remembered as a paragon of diligence and spiritual sincerity. Though he kept most of his practice private, his disciples attempted to record his prodigious accumulations. It is said that he completed about 1,000 nyungne (smyung gnas) fasting retreats; 100,000,000 maṇi mantras; 100,000,000 Mahākāla approach mantras; 2,500,000 prostrations; 8,000,000 hundred-syllable mantras of Vajrasattva; 100,000,000 siddhi mantras; and countless more practices associated with Nyingma and Sakya yidams.[53]

Within a few years, Khenpo Akhyuk located his reincarnation and took him to Yachen Gar for training, where he remains to this day.