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Dragshul Trinley Rinchen (1871-1935) – the 39th Sakya Trizin

admin — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 18:48:33 +0000

Traditionally, the Sakya Throne Holders (Sakya Trizins) are considered to be incarnations of divine beings and succession is via a hereditary line, from father to son.

Over the past hundred years, the position of Sakya Trizin evolved to alternate between two “houses” or Phodrangs, called Drolma and Phuntsog. Throughout the Sakya tradition, there has been a lineage of Dorje Shugden emanations which can be traced as far back to Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen (1182-1251), who was one of the five founders of the Sakya tradition.

Kunga Lodro (1729-1783), the 31st Sakya Trizin, was also said to be an emanation of Dorje Shugden. Kunga Lodro was known to have written several significant rituals to Dorje Shugden. In his own biography, he included the quote from the Nyingma Tantra which highlighted that Rinchen Nadun recognised Dorje Shugden as having the same nature as Avalokiteshvara.

Subsequently, Kunga Lodro took rebirth as his own grandson, Kunga Nyingpo (1850-1899), the 37^th Sakya Trizin. How that happened was that in 1849, Tashi Rinchen, the 35^th Sakya Trizin, was without an heir. Desperate, he requested his father, the Mahasiddha Padma Dudul Wangchuk, who was also the 33rd Sakya Trizin, to perform prayers and rituals for him at Mugchung, a Shugden temple, so that he could have a son as soon as possible.

When there was a break in the rituals, Tashi Rinchen asked the Mahasiddha who would be taking rebirth as his son, the Mahasiddha replied, “nowadays because of the degenerate time, nobody else is coming, Grandpa Shugden is coming as your descendent.”

That made Tashi Rinchen very pleased and he began the tradition of offering many butter lamps, and making offerings of music, with the sounds of horns and trumpets echoing from the roof of the temple during the ninth Tibetan month. Barely a year later, the emanation of Dorje Shugden and Avalokiteshvara, Kunga Nyingpo, was born.

From this illustrious lineage, Dragshul Trinley Rinchen was born in 1871 from the Drolma Phodrang, as the son of Kunga Nyingpo. Dragshul Trinley Rinchen received the Lamdre precepts from Kunga Nyingpo and successfully finished tantric retreats at the tender age of 16.

His teachers included his father Kunga Nyingpo, Dorje Drag Rigdzin Thubten Chowang Nyamnyid Dorje, Ngor Khangsar Ngawang Lodro Shenpen Nyingpo and Jamyang Chokyi Lodro. Before he turned 40 years of age, Dragshul Trinley Rinchen met H.H. the 13^th Dalai Lama and was already a respected Dharma teacher in Lhasa. In 1915, he followed his destiny when he became enthroned as the 39^th Sakya Trizin.

As can be expected from such an attained incarnate Master, Dragshul Trinley Rinchen was able to recite certain prayers without even having to learn them. His preference was to spend time in retreat, and he regularly had visions of deities such as Vajrayogini and Tara.

In his own autobiography, Dragshul Trinley Rinchen sought to establish that his father, Kunga Nyingpo, was one with Avalokiteshvara. As Kunga Nyingpo was recognised as an emanation of Dorje Shugden, who was also one with Avalokiteshvara, therefore, by logic, he must also be of the same essence as Avalokiteshvara.

Dragshul Trinley Rinchen also used as a reference the Nyingma Tantra Rinchen Nadun, also referred to by Kunga Lodro in his biography, which had stated that, “The one known as Dolgyal is not mistaken on the path to liberation, he is by nature the Great Compassionate One.”

Dragshul Trinley Rinchen perceived Avalokiteshvara as the Lord of Mandalas, who is a fully enlightened Buddha, which implied that Dorje Shugden is also a fully enlightened Buddha. This shows that it is without doubt that these great Sakya masters – the supreme heads of the Sakya tradition – have consistently viewed Dorje Shugden as an enlightened Dharma Protector over many centuries.

Contrary to the view that Dorje Shugden practitioners are sectarian, Dragshul Trinley Rinchen had stated in his biography that many lamas from different Buddhist traditions had visited him on many different occasions.

Of particular note in the autobiography is the visit by H.H. Pabongkha Rinpoche around 1905, where it was recorded that Dragshul Trinley Rinchen gave Pabongkha Rinpoche several initiations, which included the Four-Face Mahakala empowerment. Pabongkha Rinpoche kept this Four Face Mahakala practice close to his heart, as can be seen in the many rituals of this deity which are referred to in Pabongkha Rinpoche’s collected works.

There was much mutual respect between these two high lamas as Dragshul Trinley Rinchen spoke highly of Pabongkha Rinpoche in his autobiography. Around 1930, Pabongkha Rinpoche, who is a Vajrayogini master himself, sent five monks from Sera Monastery to receive a transmission of a particular Vajrayogini practice from Dragshul Trinley Rinchen.

Dragshul Trinley Rinchen gave several transmissions and initiations around 1915. These included the oral transmission of Swirl of Perfect Sense Offerings, an important ritual of Dorje Shugden written by Kunga Lodro.

It is of particular note that Pabongkha Rinpoche had incorporated practically word for word, the extended fulfillment section of this ritual from the Swirl of Perfect Sense Offerings in his renowned ritual to Dorje Shugden, the Melodious Drum Victorious in All Directions.

To date, there have been no other Dorje Shugden rituals in the Gelug tradition which have been adopted directly from Swirl of Perfect Sense Offerings. Aside from a few unique descriptions of Dorje Shugden and references to other Gelug rituals to Dorje Shugden in Pabongkha Rinpoche’s Melodious Drum, the practice is almost identical to Kunga Lodro’s practice.

To show how important Dorje Shugden was in Dragshul Trinley Rinchen’s practice, his autobiography recorded periodic rituals performed for Dorje Shugden and references to rituals performed at Mug Chung, the Shugden protector house in Sakya. He also recorded the times when Dorje Shugden came into trance through an oracle.

As can be seen in the list below of Sakya Trizins who were Dorje Shugden practitioners, it is completely illogical that the current H.H. Sakya Trizin now says that Dorje Shugden is an unenlightened protector. The only reason must be political, in order to keep the peace with H.H. the Dalai Lama.

A list of the supreme heads of the Sakya Lineage who viewed Dorje Shugden as an enlightened being:

30th Sakya Throneholder Sonam Rinchen (1705-1741)
31st Throneholder Sachen Kunga Lodro (1729-1783)
33rd Throneholder Padma Dudul Wangchug (1792-1853)
35th Throneholder Tashi Rinchen (1824-1865)
37th Throneholder Kunga Nyingpo (1850-1899)
39th Throneholder Dragshul Thinley Rinchen (1871-1936)

Dragshul Trinley Rinchen (1871–1936), the 39th Sakya Trizin, was a strong practitioner of Dorje Shugden. Researching his family history, he even proved that his holy father, the 37th Sakya Trizin Kunga Nyingpo (1850–1899), was an emanation of Dorje Shugden.

The 39th Sakya Trizin Dragshul Trinley Rinchen (1871–1936), head of the Sakya lineage, was a strong practitioner of Dorje Shugden. He is known for spreading the practice of Dorje Shugden within the Sakya tradition.

Addendum

Zasep Tulku Rinpoche’s autobiography ‘A Tulku’s Journey from Tibet to Canada’, published in 2016, provides historical evidence and irrefutable proof that the Central Tibetan Administration is falsifying the facts when it comes to the practice of the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden.

The autobiography of Zasep Tulku Rinpoche, a high lama of the Gelug lineage, provides accurate historical accounts of the Dorje Shugden practice. Click to enlarge.

The back cover of the book, click to enlarge.

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Historical accounts show that prior to the politicization of the Dorje Shugden practice by the Central Tibetan Administration, this popular deity was relied upon by Dharma practitioners to help in their spiritual practice. Contrary to detractors’ claims about Dorje Shugden being ‘anti-Dharma’, this Dharma Protector practice was traditionally deemed to be suitable to be practiced alongside the Highest Yoga Tantras.

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Zasep Rinpoche and his family were able to escape to safety prior to the events of 1959 through the clairvoyance and prophetic advice of Dorje Shugden through one of his oracles, Lama Gelong Chojor Gyamtso.

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Oracles of the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden were known for the accuracy of their prophecies due to Dorje Shugden being a fully enlightened deity with perfect clairvoyance. As stated clearly by Zasep Rinpoche in his autobiography ‘A Tulku’s Journey from Tibet to Canada’, Dorje Shugden warned the Tibetans of the impending loss of their homeland but his advice was mostly ignored by the Tibetan government.

The Tibetan government chose to consult the worldly state protector Nechung, and Nechung advised that the Dalai Lama should remain in Tibet where he would be safe. This was mistaken advice, as historical events would later show. Fortunately for Tibetan Buddhists all around the world, Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang had great faith in Dorje Shugden and consulted the protector for advice on the Dalai Lama’s safety. Dorje Shugden via the Panglung Oracle urgently adviced the Dalai Lama to leave for India immediately and gave the exact escape route. In saving the Dalai Lama from certain harm, Dorje Shugden prevented the destruction of Tibetan Buddhism and preserved the future of the Tibetan culture and people.

Zasep Rinpoche’s account of events concur with monastic records that it was indeed Dorje Shugden who saved the Dalai Lama instead of Nechung, contrary to the claims of the Tibetan leadership.

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Dorje Shugden’s practice was first established within the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Sakya Throneholders regarded this Dharma Protector as an enlightened being and Dorje Shugden, together with Dorje Setrab and Tsiu Marpo formed the triune of Sakya Protectors known as Gyalpo Sum. Today, Sakya practitioners claim that Dorje Shugden was never widely practiced by their lineage but history proves otherwise. The undeniable fact is that before the CTA’s religious ban, Dorje Shugden was practiced first by the Sakyas and was later transmitted to the Gelug school where it was practiced by the majority of the Gelugpas.

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Contrary to the CTA’s claims that Dorje Shugden’s practice is sectarian, Zasep Rinpoche’s autobiography shows how practitioners of all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism lived and practiced together in harmony, especially during the early years of exile in India. It was only when the CTA launched a virulent smear campaign against Dorje Shugden that the general public began to label Dorje Shugden a sectarian practice. In truth, Dorje Shugden’s practice is no more sectarian than the practices of other Dharma Protectors such as Mahakala Bernagchen, Achi Chokyi Drolma or Dorje Legpa, who protect the Karma Kagyu, Drikung Kagyu and Nyingma schools respectively.

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By the 1980s, the Tibetan government had failed to fulfil multiple promises to return the Tibetan people to their homeland. A scapegoat was needed and they made one out of an ancient Buddhist practice, pinning the loss of Tibet and the failure of the Tibetan cause on Dorje Shugden. In his autobiography, Zasep Rinpoche is of the same opinion, stating that “…the [Dorje Shugden] controversy was orchestrated by the Tibetan Central Administration…”

The Tibetan leadership effectively sanctioned witch-hunts on Dorje Shugden practitioners and persecuted them using government instruments, declaring that simply by being a Shugden worshipper, one was effectively an enemy of the Tibetan nation.

As a result of the hatred against Dorje Shugden practitioners instigated by the Tibetan leadership, virtually all Shugden Buddhists had to fear for their lives, or at least for their safety.

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Dorje Shugden’s beneficial practice has continued to thrive due to the courage and commitment of high lamas such as Zasep Tulku Rinpoche.

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For centuries, Dorje Shugden has been practiced alongside the highest practices of the Gelug and Sakya lineages. Zasep Tulku Rinpoche’s list of transmission is an indication that the highest scholars viewed the Protector as an enlightened being compatible with their yidam practices.

A Sakya Tale

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:12:20 +0000

The Mahasiddha’s Prophesy

Imagine, if you will…

The year is 1849, and the Sakya temple known as Mugchug resounds with the sonorous tones of a great assembly of high Sakya lamas engaged in a special ritual practice. The Sakya Throneholder Tashi Rinchen, head of the entire Sakya tradition, is in attendance. In fact, the entire ritual practice has been requested by this Sakya Tri (Throneholder).

Sakya Temple

In the Sakya tradtion, the position of Throneholder passes from father to son. There are two main houses or “phodrang” from which a Sakya Tri may arise, Dolma phodrang and Phuntsog phodrang. These houses alternate such that when a Throneholder passes away and his sons are still in their minority, a child of the previous Tri will take the throne, allowing the young potential-throneholders to mature and receive the training appropriate to a leader of the Sakya tradition. In this way, the Sakyas ensure the continuity of their tradition’s leadership.

As of this evening in 1849, however, Dolma Phodrang Thegchen Tashi Rinchen, Lord of the Sakyas, Thirty-Fifth Throneholder and supreme leader of the tradition, has no son.

Mahasiddha Pema Dudul

As the Dolma house line carries the most precious and esoteric teachings in the Sakya tradition (1), the situation is considered extremely grave.

Tashi Rinchen himself has requested Mahasiddha Padma Dudul, a very great Sakya master and incidentally both a retired Throneholder himself and also Tashi Rinchen’s father, to perform a ritual to ensure the swift birth of a male child. This is why the high lamas and tulkus have gathered this night. (2)

During a break in the ritual, eager to discover any results, Tashi Rinchen turns to Mahasiddha Pema Dudul and asks him, “Who will come to take rebirth as my son?”

With joy, the great Mahasiddha replies….

“These days times are so degenerate no-one else is coming, but now Grandpa Shugden himself will definitely come as your son!”

Mahasiddha Pema Dudul’s grandfather was Sachen Kunga Lodro, a great leader of the Sakya tradition and the 31st Sakya Throneholder, who was believed to have been an incarnation of Dorje Shugden. Kunga Lodro wrote a wrathful torma offering to Dorje Shugden’s five lineages called Swirl of Perfect Sense Offerings and carried on the tradition of his own father, the 30th Throneholder Dagchen Sonam Rinchen, praising Dorje Shugden as an enlightened protector.

Sakya Dagchen Sonam Rinchen, Dorje Shugden practitioner and 30th Supreme Sakya Throneholder

From this we can understand that when Mahasiddha Pema Dudul says:

“These days times are so degenerate no-one else is coming, but now Grandpa Shugden himself will definitely come as your son!”

He is indicating that his grandfather, the great Kunga Lodro, an emanation of Dorje Shugden, will take rebirth as the son of Throneholder Tashi Rinchen to uphold the Sakya tradition for the benefit of living beings.

Hearing that Kunga Lodro had agreed to be reborn as his son, Tashi Rinchen was extremely pleased, repeating it over and over. To commemorate the kindness of Kunga Lodro/Dorje Shugden coming from the pure lands to uphold the lineage, he established a tradition at Sakya of burning many butter lamps and “proclaiming a vast offering cloud of melodies” with horns and trumpets from the roof of the temple.

Less than a year later, the great Sakya Kunga Nyingpo was born. He was believed to be the rebirth of the thirty-first Sakya Trizin Kunga Lodro and an emanation of Avalokiteshvara and Dorje Shugden.

Kunga Nyingpo went on to ascend the Sakya Throne in 1883 and become the 37th Sakya Trizin.

Sakya Lineage

In 1871 Kunga Nyingpo had his own son, Dragshul Trinley Rinchen. Dragshul Trinley Rinchen grew up to become the 39th Holder of the Sakya Throne.

In his autobiography, this lama explained that his father Kunga Nyingpo was Avalokiteshvara. In order to prove this, he recounted the story about Mahasiddha Pema Dudul and Trinley Rinchen detailed above and then wrote

The Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden Tsel definitively is Avalokiteshvara. The Nyingma Tantra Rinchen Nadun says “The one known as Dolgyal is not mistaken on the path to liberation, he is by nature the Great Compassionate One,” which establishes this by scripture.

The Great Je Sakyapa Kunga Nyingpo is well-known as an incarnation of the Arya Lotus in Hand (Avalokiteshvara). The Arya Lotus in Hand definitively is none other than the Lord of Mandalas, but provisionally by assuming the manner of a tenth level bodhisattva he simultaneously sports billions of superior, middling and inferior emanations to accomplish immeasurable benefit for beings, such as setting them on paths to the higher realms and liberation. (4)

Thus in order to show that his father was Avalokiteshvara, he set out to show that his father was well-known to have been an emanation of Dorje Shugden, and then demonstrated with a quotation from Nyingma tantra that Dorje Shugden and Avalokiteshvara are the same person.

As further demonstrated in his Autobiography, Dragshul Trinley Rinchen was a practitioner of Dorje Shugden as well, and was considered to be “a very great Sakya master, one of the most outstanding masters in our recent time.” (3)

So when we consider the relationship of the Sakya Tradition to the Practice of Dorje Shugden we see that, contrary to the claims of some present-day Sakya Lamas, for more than three hundred years Dorje Shugden has been viewed in Sakya as an Enlightened protector.

Not among the provincial practitioners or those without education, but by the Throneholders of the lineage, and the holders of the Sakya’s most precious Tantric transmissions, Lamdre Lineage holders like Morchen Dorjechang who wrote praises to Dorje Shugden as an enlightened being.

When the leader of an entire Buddhist tradition says “Dorje Shugden is definitively Avalokiteshvara,” it seems to me to be difficult to make the claim, as some have tried to do in the debates over this issue, that the great Sakya masters never viewed Dorje Shugden as anything other than a spirit. In fact it seems that there has been an unbroken tradition of the practice of Dorje Shugden as an enlightened protector from the early 1700′s right through modern times.

It is easy to understand that most lamas don’t write about their Dharma protector practices, which have traditionally been in the nature of secrecy. It isn’t unreasonable, therefore, to assume that there were many masters other than the ones enumerated here that held Dorje Shugden as their protector and as a fully enlightened being.

Since this material is so readily available, it seems odd that the Dalai Lama, who has attempted to ban this practice as “spirit worship,” doesn’t seem to be aware of it. He doesn’t list the views of these great masters when recounting the results of his research, at any rate.

What could the reason for this oversight possibly be?

Addendum – Importance of Dorje Shugden in the Sakya tradition

Since the great Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism was founded, the lineage of practice has been passed down through forty-two successive spiritual heads, known as Sakya Trizins. From this list of prestigious masters, six of these heads or throne holders of the tradition stand out for their practice and proliferation of Dorje Shugden. This is a practice that they even spread amongst their innumerable disciples. These throne holders constructed shrines and protector houses to Dorje Shugden, composed prayers to him and taught their students how to engage in the practice. This list includes:

His Holiness the 30th Sakya Trizin Sonam Rinchen (1705-1741 CE)
His Holiness the 31st Sakya Trizin Sachen Kunga Lodro (1729-1783 CE)
His Holiness the 33rd Sakya Trizin Padma Dudul Wangchug (1792-1853 CE)
His Holiness the 35th Sakya Trizin Tashi Rinchen (1824-1865 CE)
His Holiness the 37th Sakya Trizin Kunga Nyingpo (1850-1899 CE)
His Holiness the 39th Sakya Trizin Dragshul Trinley Rinchen (1871–1936 CE)

The spiritual responsibility of the throne holder is to receive teachings covering the entire Sakya lineage, which consists of the common and esoteric transmissions of the Lam Dre, the Thirteen Golden Dharmas, the Hevajra tantric practices, and many others. These masters are then to proliferate these teachings. If is for this reason that they are considered to be highly learned and accomplished masters. It is through these six throne holders that the entire breadth of the Sakya lineage has descended to this day.

Due to the current political situation, with the Tibetan leadership telling everyone that the practice is bad, people might dismiss these six throne holders as being mistaken about the true nature of Dorje Shugden and their history of promoting the practice. But to come to this conclusion, one would need to assume that these throne holders were just ordinary men who are flawed, ignorant and make mistakes. If we think that, then they are rendered unreliable for spiritual growth. What is the point of going to get teachings from them if what they teach can be wrong?

To make such a dire accusation has far-reaching implications on the lives of everyday practitioners as they may lose confidence in what could well be a ‘flawed’ Sakya lineage. Since the throne holders were wrong, ordinary practitioners may feel it is pointless to continue practicing as the lineage is broken and has no blessings. Following this line of thinking, the Sakya lineage is invalidated because the entire lineage flows through these great throne holders.

According to the Tibetan leadership, Dorje Shugden is a spirit and by worshiping him one is no longer Buddhist. By engaging in his worship you lose the connection to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha because you break the refuge commitment of not worshiping an unenlightened being. This creates the cause for an unfortunate rebirth in the three lower realms. Following this logic, the six throne holders should have taken rebirth in those realms, but that is impossible as they have reincarnated back successively into the same family. The 37th throne holder, Kunga Nyingpo, is said to be the reincarnation of the 31st throneholder, Sachen Kunga Lodro, both of whom are even considered emanations of Dorje Shugden themselves. Some like Sachen Kunga Lodro have also composed lengthy prayers to Dorje Shugden which are still in use today.

It was due to their spiritual attainments that these Sakya throne holders were able to distinguish the nature of formless beings like Dorje Shugden. They did this using logical analysis or using their supernatural clairvoyant abilities. Most probably they used both methods and arrived at the same conclusion – Dorje Shugden is definitely an enlightened being and his practice is beneficial. This is why the throne holders composed extensive prayers to him.

From learning about these great throne holders, their abilities and achievements, great faith arises not only in the throne holders themselves, but also in the practices they taught, such as the practice of the Dharma protector Dorje Shugden.

Click here to download the entire Sakya Dorje Shugden kangsol

Drogmi.org, Biography of the Present Sakya Trizin. I assume this refers mainly to the Lamdre tradition, the heart of the Tantric transmission of the Sakyas, which has been passed down through the masters of the Dolma phodrang.
Khri chen Drag shul ‘Phrin las rin chen. Rdo rje ‘chang drag shul ‘phrin las rin chen gyi rtogs brjod (The Autobiography of Khri-chen Drag-shul-phrin-las-rin-chen of Sakya). Dehra Dun: Sakya Centre: 1974, pp. 29-31.
Gonsar Rinpoche, 1996, Public Talk
Khri chen Drag shul ‘Phrin las rin chen. Rdo rje ‘chang drag shul ‘phrin las rin chen gyi rtogs brjod (The Autobiography of Khri-chen Drag-shul-phrin-las-rin-chen of Sakya). Dehra Dun: Sakya Centre: 1974, pp. 29-31.

Source: http://truthaboutshugden.wordpress.com/

Addendum

The autobiography of Zasep Tulku Rinpoche, a high lama of the Gelug lineage, provides accurate historical accounts of the Dorje Shugden practice. Click to enlarge.

The back cover of the book, click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge

Zasep Rinpoche’s account of events concur with monastic records that it was indeed Dorje Shugden who saved the Dalai Lama instead of Nechung, contrary to the claims of the Tibetan leadership.

Click to enlarge

As a result of the hatred against Dorje Shugden practitioners instigated by the Tibetan leadership, virtually all Shugden Buddhists had to fear for their lives, or at least for their safety.

Click to enlarge

Dorje Shugden’s beneficial practice has continued to thrive due to the courage and commitment of high lamas such as Zasep Tulku Rinpoche.

Click to enlarge

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