The.life.Parinirvana.ktr.FINAL.gnl

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The Life and Parinirvana of Kyabje Trulshik RinpocheBy Ani Palmo Rybicki

One of the greatest masters of our time, Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche,

passed from this life on September 2, 2011 at the age of ! at hishome "hakmai #atsal $%The #arden of &oble Tara'( abo)e hismonastery in Sitapaila, near Kathmandu* +or the net -. days, tensof thousands of his /eart isciples and students, both lay andmonastic, gathered from around the orld to honor this unparalleledmaster* as fortunate to be among them*

3rst met Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche hen taking ordination )osfrom him at his monastery Thubten 4holing, situated in themountains of &epal in an area bordering Tibet called Solu Khumbu*5ntering the gate of Thubten 4holing is like entering a gate to the

6iddle 7ges* #iant stone slabs form the courtyard grounds, and thekitchen houses a massi)e black cauldron hanging in a giant3replace, used to make food for the hundreds of nuns and monksho li)e there*

had heard that Rinpoche as a master of the 8inaya, the code ofconduct for monks and nuns, and that he as )ery strict inenforcing it* 7nd so imagined a stern man, ready to crack the hipat a moment9s notice* +earing some kind of harsh rebuke, secureda place in the back of the room, the better to be hidden from his

searing eye* :ut hen he alked into the room, as completelyo)erhelmed by the immense lo)e and compassion that seemed toradiate from him each pore of his body* t as like meeting e)eryperson ho had e)er been kind to me all contained in one being* found myself silently eeping and as glad for my hidden seat, sohe could not see the tears of joy and gratitude that arose frommerely being in his presence*

Rinpoche as an emanation of 8ajrapani and 6anjushri, to of the5ight #reat :odhisatt)as* /e has manifested a succession ofrebirths, including the :uddha9s disciple 7nanda; the great abbot

Shantarakshita; the great translator 8airotsana; 6ilarepa9s closedisciple Rechungpa; and the all


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Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, &gaang 4hokyi =odro, spent his life inthe ser)ice of others* /e assumed the role of 7bbot of Rongphuk6onastery in south., due to the 4hinese in)asion of Tibet, Rinpoche as forcedto ?ee across the /imalayas ith many of his disciples and settled

on the other side of 6ount 5)erest, establishing his ne monasteryThubten 4holing in the area of Solu Khumbu, &epal*

"erhaps because one of his pre)ious incarnations as 7nanda, aclose disciple of the :uddha ho pleaded the cause of ordination foromen, Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche as especially supporti)e of nuns*+or years the population of nuns far outnumbered that of monks at

Thubten 4holing* @hen ordained there in 1..- this as the case,and recall the pure and bright sound of the nuns9 singing under thelight of the rising moon, as they made their ay back to their retreathuts after e)ening prayers*Rinpoche de)oted all of his time to the harma* @hen he asn9tgi)ing teachings or empoerments, he as recei)ing them fromother masters* 7nd hen he asn9t doing either of these, he asdoing his on practice, spending at least sity years of his life inretreat* 7ll of this for the bene3t of sentient beings* /e as a pureholder of the 8inaya and a host of other lineages and practices,ordaining nearly ten thousand monks and nuns in the course of hislife* /is acti)ities ere so )ast, one onders ho it as possible fora single person to accomplish them all*

n his 3nal years, despite his ad)anced age and declining health,Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche continued to spread the :uddha9s teachingand bene3t all ho came in contact ith him* /e tirelessly ga)einstructions to his disciples in 7sia and the @est and spent time iththe many nuns, monks and retreatants at his monastery in SoluKhumbu*

Rinpoche also recently undertook the immense task of building ane monastery called Aarong 6indrol Thubten ongak 4holing,

just abo)e Sitapaila, near Kathmandu* The purpose of this

monastery, according to Rinpoche, is to help remo)e obstacles inthe orld in general, and in particular to bene3t the people of the/imalayan region* The site is special in that from this hilltop one can)ie all three important stupas in the Kathmandu 8alley


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7ccording to the teachings of the :uddha, hen ordinary beings diethey must pass through the bardo,an in


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motioned a reFuest to sit on the ?oor near the entranceay for abrief period of time* Tsephel


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Kyabje Rinpoche or my on mind, it arose from my prayers to himand ultimately came from him*

:ecause Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, the "recious estroyer of llusion,the "rotector, the :uddha himself, meant it hen he said his main

practice as based on the )erse from Shantide)a that readsJ

As long as s!ace enduresAs long as there are beings to be ound

ay I continue likewise to remainTo dri*e away the sorrows o the world.

O)er and o)er, my heart echoes the last line from the Prayer or the-wit Rebirth o &yab'e Trulshik Rin!oche,composed by /is /olinessthe alai =amaJ %Return siftly, pray; emanate again, like the fullmoon'

ReferencesJ

1( httpJLL*chanteloube*asso*frL2( httpJLL*matthieuricard*orgLenLinde*phpLarchi)esL2011L10LM( httpJLL*shedrub*orgLnes*phpCnidN.-( httpJLL*rigpaiki*orgLinde*phpCtitleNTrulshikRinpoche

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The.life.Parinirvana.ktr.FINAL.gnl