Khyentse Norbu

Last updated

Khyentse Norbu
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche.jpg
Title Lama
Tulku
Rinpoche
Personal
Born
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoch

(1961-06-18) June 18, 1961 (age 62)
Religion Vajrayana (Sakya)
OccupationFilmmaker, writer
Senior posting
TeacherHis Holiness 41st Sakya Trichen Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Khenpo Appey
Predecessor Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (Tibetan : རྫོང་གསར་འཇམ་དབྱངས་མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།, born June 18, 1961), [1] also known as Khyentse Norbu, is a Tibetan/Bhutanese lama, filmmaker, and writer. His five major films are The Cup (1999), Travellers and Magicians (2003), Vara: A Blessing (2013), Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait (2017), and Looking for a Lady with Fangs and a Moustache (2019). He is the author of What Makes You Not a Buddhist (2007) and many other non-fiction works about Tibetan Buddhism.

Contents

He is the eldest son of Thinley Norbu, and therefore the grandson of Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje. Rinpoche has teachers from all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and is a follower and champion of the Rimé (non-sectarian) movement. He considers Dilgo Khyentse as his main guru. He is also the primary custodian of the teachings of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo.

Lineage

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche was born in eastern Bhutan in 1961 at a place called Khenpajong. [1] At the age of seven he was recognized, by Sakya Trizin, as the third incarnation (Wylie : sprul sku ) of the founder of Khyentse lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. [1]

The first incarnation was Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892), who helped found the Rimé movement, having non-sectarian approach to Tibetan Buddhism, centred in Dzongsar Monastery in Sichuan. Followers of this non-sectarian movement sought to identify and make use of the best methods from the various long-competing and isolated schools of Tibetan Buddhism. This approach led to a blossoming of scholarship and writing from the 1880s onwards.

The second incarnation was the renowned lama Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (1893–1959), who figured prominently in the export of Tantric Buddhism to the West as the root-teacher of a generation of influential and forward-thinking lamas.

A biographical portrait of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche exists in documentary feature film form. The film came out in 2003, and is called Words of My Perfect Teacher, [2] [3] after the English rendering of a famed work by Patrul Rinpoche. It is a portrait of the Vajrayana Buddhist student-teacher relationship.

Education

Until the age of twelve Khyentse Norbu studied at the Palace Monastery of the King of Sikkim. Reflecting the unusual non-sectarian tradition of the Khyentse lineage, he counts as his root-masters teachers from all four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism (cf. Sakya, Gelug, Nyingma, Kagyu). He has studied with several influential contemporary masters, particularly Dilgo Khyentse. [1] After leaving Sikkim he studied at Sakya College in Rajpur, and later attended SOAS, University of London. [4]

From a young age he has been active in the preservation of the Buddhist teaching, establishing centres of learning, supporting practitioners, publishing books and teaching all over the world. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche supervises his traditional seat of Dzongsar Monastery and its retreat centers in eastern Tibet, as well as his new colleges in India (in Bir and Chowntra (Himachal Pradesh)) and Bhutan. He has also established centres in Australia, North America and the Far East.

In 1989, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche founded Siddhartha's Intent, an international Buddhist association of non-profit centres, most of which are nationally registered societies and charities, with the principal intention of preserving the Buddhist teachings, as well as increasing an awareness and understanding of the many aspects of the Buddhist teaching beyond the limits of cultures and traditions.

While working with Tibetan refugees in northern India, Khyentse Norbu was struck by the absence of media attention to the abject suffering of thousands of children. In 1993, he founded the secular White Lotus Charitable Trust, dedicated to serving the most neglected and forgotten children through education.

Volunteering his own time and resources to establish the initial infrastructure, Khyentse Norbu inspired others around the world, regardless of spiritual traditions, to help White Lotus become a global volunteer network of like-minded humanists. International followers of his work and his vision founded their own networks the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Taiwan with a view to supporting LO programs in India and Cambodia.

In 2002, Lotus Outreach was incorporated as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in southern California to create an American center of infrastructure, dedicated to ensuring the education, health and safety of at-risk and exploited women and children in India and Cambodia. Its all-volunteer International board of directors continues to raise funds and increase awareness in their home countries on issues surrounding poverty and exploitation in Asia. [5]

In 2001 Khyentse Foundation was founded by Dzongsar Khyentse. It is a non-profit organization with the stated goal "to act as a system of patronage for institutions and individuals engaged in the practice and study of Buddha's wisdom and compassion." [6]

Filmmaking

Khyentse Norbu appeared in and, as a consultant "supervised every ritual and gesture performed by Tibetan monks," in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1993 film Little Buddha . [7] [8]

Khyentse Norbu wrote and directed four award-winning [9] films, The Cup (1999), for which The New York Times called him "a born filmmaker;" Travellers and Magicians (2003), the first feature film to be produced in Bhutan; Vara: A Blessing (2013), and Hema Hema: Sing Me A Song While I Wait (2016). [10] [11] [12]

He appears in the 2009 documentary Tulku , where he discusses Buddhism and his views on the tulku phenomenon. [13]

Vara: The Blessing (2013) opened South Korea's famed Busan International Film Festival. It was the first time that the South Korean festival has not opened with either a local Korean or a Chinese film.

Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait, premiered at the Locarno Festival in 2016, [14] and received an honourable mention from the Platform Prize jury at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. [15] The movie depicts a mysterious ritual in the forest where all participants are masked, was praised by critics for "its portrayal of complex Buddhist themes like transgression, by juxtaposing them on to modern topics like anonymity on the Internet. [11]

His latest film, Looking for a Lady With Fangs and a Moustache (2019), tells the story of a skeptical entrepreneur seeking spiritual advice from an eccentric Buddhist monk who predicts the man's imminent death, unless he can locate an elusive lady with fangs. [16]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

A tulku is a distinctive and significant aspect of Tibetan Buddhism, embodying the concept of enlightened beings taking corporeal forms to continue the lineage of specific teachings. The term "tulku" has its origins in the Tibetan word "sprul sku", which originally referred to an emperor or ruler taking human form on Earth, signifying a divine incarnation. Over time, this term evolved within Tibetan Buddhism to denote the corporeal existence of highly accomplished Buddhist masters whose purpose is to ensure the preservation and transmission of a particular lineage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dilgo Khyentse</span> Buddhist Vajrayana master, scholar, poet, and teacher (1910–1991)

Tashi Paljor, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche was a Vajrayana master, scholar, poet, teacher, and recognized by Buddhists as one of the greatest realized masters. Head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism from 1988 to 1991, he is also considered an eminent proponent of the Rime tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rimé movement</span> Non-sectarian movement within Tibetan Buddhism

The Rimé movement is a movement or tendency in Tibetan Buddhism which promotes non-sectarianism and universalism. Teachers from all branches of Tibetan Buddhism – Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma, Jonang, Gelug, and Bon – have been involved in the promoting Rimé ideals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyingma</span> School of Tibetan Buddhism

Nyingma, often referred to as Ngangyur, is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan in the eighth century, during the reign of King Trisong Detsen.

<i>Little Buddha</i> 1993 Italian film

Little Buddha is a 1993 drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, written by Rudy Wurlitzer and Mark Peploe, and produced by usual Bertolucci collaborator Jeremy Thomas. An international co-production of Italy, France and the United Kingdom, the film stars Chris Isaak, Bridget Fonda and Keanu Reeves as Prince Siddhartha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo</span> Tibetan educator, scholar, and tertön (1820–1892)

Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, also known by his tertön title, Pema Ösel Dongak Lingpa, was a teacher, scholar and tertön of 19th-century Tibet. He was a leading figure in the Rimé movement.

In Tibetan Buddhism, Ngöndro refers to the preliminary, preparatory or foundational practices or disciplines common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bon. They precede deity yoga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö</span>

Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö was a Tibetan lama, a master of many lineages, and a teacher of many of the major figures in 20th-century Tibetan Buddhism. Though he died in 1959 in Sikkim, and is not so well known in the West; he was a major proponent of the Rimé movement within Tibetan Buddhism, and had a profound influence on many of the Tibetan lamas teaching today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sogyal Rinpoche</span> Tibetan lama (1947–2019)

Sogyal Rinpoche was a Tibetan Dzogchen lama. He was recognized as the incarnation of a Tibetan master and visionary saint of the 19th century, Tertön Sogyal Lerab Lingpa. Sogyal Rinpoche was the founder and former spiritual director of Rigpa — an international network of over 100 Buddhist centres and groups in 23 countries around the world — and the author of the best-selling book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, which has been printed in 30 languages and 56 countries. Before his retirement, in the wake of abuse allegations in 2017, he had been teaching for 40 years in Europe, America, Asia and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje</span>

Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche Jigdral Yeshe Dorje was known simply as Dudjom Rinpoche. He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from an important Tulku lineage of Terton Dudul Dorje (1615-1672), and was recognized as the incarnation of Terton Dudjom Lingpa (1835-1904), a renowned treasure revealer. He was a direct incarnation of both Padmasambhava and Dudjom Lingpa. He was a Nyingma Householder, a yogi, and a Vajrayana and Dzogchen master. According to his secretary Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal and many others, he was revered as "His Holiness" (Kyabje) and as a "Master of Masters".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayu Khandro</span> Tibetan Buddhist terton and teacher

Ayu Khandro, also known as Dorje Paldrön, was a Tibetan yogini, practitioner and terton of Tantric Buddhism in Eastern Tibet. An accomplished Dzogchen meditator, she is known for her extensive pilgrimages throughout Tibet, long periods of dark retreat practice, the gongter of the practice of the yidam Senge Dongma, various forms of Chöd, and her lifelong dedication to spiritual practice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thinley Norbu</span>

Kyabje Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche was a major modern teacher in the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, and patron of the Vajrayana Foundation. He was the eldest son of Dudjom Rinpoche, the former head of the Nyingma lineages, and also the father of Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche and Dungse Garab Rinpoche. His association with the Dudjom Lineage is a long one: he is held to be the incarnation of Tulku Drime Oser, who was one of seven sons of Dudjom Lingpa. He also was considered to be an emanation of Longchen Rabjam, the great 14th-century Nyingma scholar and siddha who composed the Seven Treasuries. He died in California on December 26, 2011, according to the Tibetan Buddhist Lunar Calendar the 2nd day of the 11th month of the Iron Rabbit year. His cremation was held in a public buddhist cremation ceremony in Paro, Bhutan on March 3, 2012, which was attended by several thousand people, including some of Bhutan's royal family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khenpo Shenga</span> Tibetan Buddhist scholar (1871–1927)

Khenpo Shenga Rinpoche, also Shenpen Chökyi Nangwa (1871–1927) was a Tibetan scholar in the Nyingma and Sakya traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jigdal Dagchen Sakya</span> Tibetan Buddhist teacher

Jigdal Dagchen Sakya Rinpoche was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher educated in the Sakya sect. He was educated to be the head of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism as well as the successor to the throne of Sakya, the third most important political position in Tibet in early times. Dagchen Rinpoche was in the twenty-sixth generation of the Sakya-Khön lineage descended from Khön Könchok Gyalpo and was regarded as an embodiment of Manjushri as well as the rebirth of a Sakya Lama from the Ngor sub-school, Ewam Luding Khenchen Gyase Chökyi Nyima.

The Second Beru Khyentse, born Thupten Sherap is a lineage holder of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and the third reincarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892).

Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche, also called Tulku Ugyen Topgyal, is a Tibetan Buddhist lama who was born in Kham in Eastern Tibet in 1951, living in exile in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dzongsar Monastery</span> Buddhist monastery in Sichuan, China

Dzongsar Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in Dêgê County in the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan, China, southeast of the town of Derge and east of Palpung Monastery. Historically it lay in the Kham region of Tibet. It was founded in 746, destroyed in 1958, and rebuilt in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche</span> Tibetan lama

Nyoshül Khenpo Rinpoche, more fully Nyoshül Khenpo Jamyang Dorje, was a Tibetan lama born in the Derge region of Kham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simhamukha</span> Tibetan Buddhist wisdom dakini (deity)

In Tibetan Buddhism, Siṃhamukhā or Siṃhavaktra, also known as the Lion Face Dakini or Lion-headed Dakini, is a wisdom dakini of the Dzogchen tradition. She is represented as a fierce dakini with the head of a snow lion. Her mouth is depicted with a roar, symbolizing untamed fury and jubilant laughter. Her roar disperses discursive thoughts. She is naked, symbolizing that she herself is completely free of discursive thought.

Jamyang is a given name. Notable people with the given name include:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche Archived November 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Rotten Tomatoes website for Words of My Perfect Teacher
  3. IMDb listing for Words of My Perfect Teacher
  4. "A Reborn Lama Kick-starts His Movie Career". The Village Voice. January 25, 2000. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  5. About Lotus Outreach Archived July 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Khyentse Foundation statement of purpose Archived March 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  7. Barasch, Douglas S. (May 22, 1994). "FILM; Bertolucci Tells A Tale Of Buddha". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  8. Tworkov, Helen (Summer 1993). "Projecting The Buddha". Tricycle. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  9. "Khyentse Norbu". IMDb . Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  10. Scott, A. O. (January 28, 2000). "FILM REVIEW; TV and Soccer Invade A Buddhist Monastery". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  11. 1 2 Nair, Prathap (April 21, 2019). "Bhutan's New Wave". LiveMint. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  12. "BBC - Films - review - The Cup (Phörpa)". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  13. "YaleNews – Tibetan Lama and Filmmaker Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche Will Visit Yale". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  14. "Film Review: ‘Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait’". Variety , August 30, 2016.
  15. "TIFF 2016: and the winners are...". Now , September 18, 2016.
  16. Harvey, Dennis (August 8, 2021). "'Looking for a Lady With Fangs and a Moustache' Review: A Search for Buddhist Wisdom in Modern Kathmandu". Variety .