At this age of degenerations, the world is always suffering from natural disasters and human catastrophes. Wars, ethnic clashes, drought, floods, famines and starvations are all over the news on a regular basis. The world’s political and spiritual leaders strive to find remedies to eradicate these problems. The Buddhist doctrine is about causes and effects. It teaches us that all worldly phenomena are interdependent. No effects or fruition are caused by some outer supernatural forces. The sufferings and happiness we experience are the direct consequences of our actions in the past and present lives.
Modernization makes people care less about moral conduct; rather, it encourages even more negative actions. These actions leave unhealthy imprints in our minds and lead us to accumulate non-virtues. Such negative accumulations directly impact individual and communal harmonies. How can we expect to have peace when we lack the cause for peace?
The Buddha knows that all peace, happiness, sufferings, and obscurations are the reflections of the mind. The fundamental goal of the Dharma is to provide the ultimate solution to uprooting all the worldly restlessness and chaos emanated from our minds and to achieve eternal peace and harmony. Based on the true nature of phenomena he realized from his enlightened mind and practice, the Buddha gives us the guidance and methods to choose among all the positive and negative worldly phenomena. These precious guidance and methods are collectively termed Dharma. Therefore, the content of the Dharma is completely consistent with the way of reaching ultimate peace and happiness that all sentient beings aspire to pursue.
All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have unparalleled compassions and loving kindness for all sentient beings. To help all sentient beings stay away from sufferings, they manifest in various identities to adapt to different beings’ habits. Through these various manifestations, they ease sentient beings’ hardships and bring them comforts in a temporal fashion, and eventually help all sentient beings reach ultimate peace and happiness through the practice of Dharma.
The Venerable H.E. Khandro Pema Chodron Rinpoche is Yeshe Sangpo Rinpoche’s spiritual consort. She is a Dakini prophesied by lineage masters and a manifestation of Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal.H.E. Khandro Pema Chodron Rinpoche received precious teachings from many accomplished teachers, described as follows:
From H.H. Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche, she received the oral transmissions of the Blue Gem – History of the Dzogchen Lineage, the oral transmissions of the Treasury of Dharmadhatu, the explanation of Hearing Lineage (Dzogchen Nyengyud) , the explanation of Relaxing in the Natural State of the Mind (Dzogchen Semnyid Ngalso) , and the explanation of cutting through the Stream of Delusion(Dzogchen Trekchö).
From H.H. Dungsey Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, she received the following Dzogchen teachings – the empowerments and oral transmissions of Dudjom New Treasure (Dudjom Tersar), Three Roots , Guru Dorje Drolod, Vajrasattva, Singhamukha (Wrathful Lion-headed Dakini), and the explanation of the Three Statements of Dzogchen, among others.
H.H. Urgyen Tulku Rinpoche orally transmitted the explanation of Cutting through the Stream of delusion (Dzogchen Trekchö) teaching three times: In the first time, the teachings were given when Khandro Rinpoche with H.E. Yeshe Sangpo Rinpoche first visited H.H. Urgyen Tulku Rinpoche in Pharping Retreat Cave ; H.E. Yeshe Sangpo Rinpoche translated the teachings to Khandro Rinpoche. In the following two times, the oral transmissions took place in the Nagi Gompa (Hermitage).
From H.H. the Fourth Dodrupchen Rinpoche, she received the empowerments of the Nyingtik Yabshyi (the Four Parts of Great Perfection Heart Essence).
From H.H. Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, she received the empowerments and oral transmissions of Nyingma Kama teachings, the Northern Treasures (byang gter), and the Seventeen Tantras (rgyud bchudun).
From H.H. the Third Dudjom Rinpoche, she received the empowerments and oral transmissions of all the collective teachings by the H.H. the First and H.H. the Second Dudjom Rinpoche, as well as the oral transmissions of Sera Khandro’s Treasures Biography of the Guru Rinpoche.
From H.H. Chatral Rinpoche, she received the oral transmissions of the Preliminary Practice of Dudjom Tersar(Ngondro).
From the Khandro of H.H. the Second Dudjom Rinpoche, Sangyum Rigdzin Wangmo, she received the oral transmissions of the praises for the Twenty-one Taras.
The descriptions above follows the chronological order.
Particularly, from the root Guru with whom Khandro Pema Chodron Rinpoche had deep connections in the past lives – H.E. Yeshe Sangpo Rinpoche, received numerous teachings, including the Seven Treasures by Longchen Rabjam (Zoddun), the empowerments and explanation of the Three Roots Practices, the explanation of Dzogchen Trekchö teachings, and the empowerments and oral transmissions of many other profound teachings.
In his own collection of classics, H.H. Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche wrote the following dedications to H.E. Khandro Pema Chodron Rinpoche:
With the earnest requests and assistance of Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal, Guru Rinpoche concealed many precious teachings in many sacred places and, in his prophetic guides, instructed various treasure revealers at various times to perform the retrieval of these Terma teachings. These revealed treasures began a new era of the Tibetan Buddhism.
These teachings came directly from Guru Rinpocheand were revealed very recently. The bestowed blessings and benefits are therefore extremely powerful. If Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal had not requested that Guru Rinpoche give these teachings, future sentient beings would not have had the opportunities to receive these profound teachings. The venerable H.E. Khandro Pema Chodron Rinpoche entered this life with a special vow to assist Yeshe Sangpo Rinpoche with his Dharma promulgating activities, to protect the precious teachings, and to preserve the purity of Rinpoche’s lineage tradition. H.E. Khandro Pema Chodron Rinpoche is also the key to Rinpoche’s Dharma teachings. Her special spiritual instincts, along with disciples’ merits and circumstances, determine the time when and the place where Rinpoche gives teachings. She also exhausts all possible means to help disciple receive the true results and benefits from Rinpoche’s teachings.
H.E. Khandro Pema Chodron Rinpoche is also the mother of all sentient beings and the source of all wisdom. Her unbounded compassions and patience toward all sentient beings are unparalleled and cannot be stopped by any obstacle and difficulty. To help disciples and other beingse liminate all the obscurations and hardships, she often sacrifices her own time and forgets to eat and sleep. She also throws herself into assisting Rinpoche’s Dharma propagation activities and preserving the precious Dzogchen teachings, while ignoring her own well-being.She exhibits the fearless spirit of "forgetting her own flesh for the Dharma," and sets a paradigm to all disciples that all her body, speech, and mind never leave the Three Jewels: The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
H.E. Khandro Pema Chodron Rinpoche displays a forthright and pleasant disposition. She always uses easy-to-understand languages and examples to help disciples understand the Dharma; the disciples are always filled with Dharma bliss after Khandro’s expounder. When facing defiant and delinquent disciples, she is always straight without reservation, and won’t feel a tiny piece of relief until she exhausts every means to turn them into the right path.
H.E. Khandro Pema Chodron Rinpoche always devotes herself unconditionally, and her strong dedications and wishes to benefit all sentient being are deeply beloved by disciples. Our Khandro, you are our unparalleled root Guru! You, like the Mount Mahameru, always protect and take care of all sentient beings on earth. It is such a great blessing for all sentient beings to have a supreme Khandro like you. May all who have the great fortunes to see and hear about our Khandro have full faith in her, enter the right path of Dharma, and obtain ultimate peace and happiness.
H.E. Khandro Pema Chodron Rinpoche plays an extremely important role in our lineage tradition. Her contributions in perpetuating Buddha’s teachings and helping Rinpoche’s Dharma activities are tremendous. As Rinpoche mentioned in his prayers:
