The Life and Times of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö : The Great Biography by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche [Paperback] Orgyen Tobgyal

by Dilgo Khyentse

An biography of one of the most outstanding Tibetan Buddhist masters of the twentieth century.The foremost torchbearer of the ecumenical Rime movement, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (1893–1959) dedicated his life to the study, practice, and propagation of all the schools and lineages that are collectively known as Tibetan Buddhism. The staggeringly long list of teachings he received and transmitted in turn testifies to the depth of his appreciation of all aspects of the Dharma, and the roster of his eminent students reveals how his extraordinary influence transcended sectarian boundaries.The first half of this volume presents informal stories by many of Chökyi Lodrö’s teachers, students, friends, and relatives, collected by Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche and translated here into English for the first time. Intimate, funny, and utterly down-to-earth, these stories—supplemented by sixty-one photographs—paint a tender picture of the man behind the great master, introducing readers to the characters and events in his life, and especially the challenges he faced living under the Chinese occupation of Tibet.The second half comprises an English translation of the spiritual biography, or namtar , by Dilgo Khyentse, one of Chökyi Lodrö’s closest and most brilliant students. In the process of recounting the life and liberation of his belovèd guru, Dilgo Khyentse reveals how he saw Chökyi Lodrö as the Buddha in the flesh and provides, essentially, a blueprint of the entire path to enlightenment.

Genres: Biography, Buddhism

Paperback

About the author

His Holiness Khyabjé Dilgo Khyentsé Rinpoché (Tib.: དིལ་མགོ་མཁྱེན་བརྩེ། Wylie: dil mgo mkhyen brtse), born Tashi Peljor (བཀྲ་ཤིས་དཔལ་འབྱོར། bkra shis dpal 'byor) and ordained a monk as Jigme Rabsel Dawa Kyenrab Tenpa Dargye (འཇིགས་མེད་ རབ་གསལ་ཟླ་བ་ མཁྱེན་རབ་ བསྟན་པ་དར་རྒྱས། 'jigs med rab gsal zla ba mkhyen rab bstan pa dar rgyas) and later Gyurme Labsum Gyeltsen (འགྱུར་མེད་ ལབ་ སུམ་ རྒྱལ་མཚན། 'gyur med lab sum rgyal mtshan), was a Vajrayana lama and 2nd Supreme Head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism from 1987 until 1991. He was held to be the "mind emanation" of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892). Having escaped Tibet close behind the Dalai Lama, he settled in Bhutan in 1965, where he maintained his primary residence for the rest of his life.

Reviews

[Tshering Dema · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 star for the book I have always wanted to get my hands on but somehow I couldn’t bring myself to finish the book (just 75%)because towards the end the content of the book got way too beyond my grasp. Perhaps I will read it again when i get a better insight into Buddhism 🙏.

[George Ilsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only had time to read the first section, a collection of stories about JKCL. The bulk of the book is more serious, and perhaps that will have to wait for another lifetime.

Or perhaps I might be so fortunate to to able to attend another retreat at the location where this book truly lives.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This very large book was wonderful to read, and contains a wide variety of styles in one place, dedicated to describing the life of this great master. The first section is a compilation of stories told by many people who connected with him over the course of his life. The later sections are more traditional and focus on his amazing accomplishments. I can't praise this book enough.

[Ivan Bercholz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the oral stories, they are so much more relatable to a modern reader than a more traditional Namthar and this book has both. It’s hard to imagine how amazing OT Rinpoche’s memory is to have retained all of these sorties through the years, it’s incomprehensible to me. But I’m grateful for it!

[Jig Den · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best biography I have ever read, though the size of the book it bit intimidating at first, never the less since it was so good I didn't stop until I finish reading. Must read, and the reader doesn't necessarily have to be Buddhist or related to Khyentse Lineage, it's all about the collection of true story and life in Tibet.