ཚེ་མཚམས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ། Tsetsam Rinpoche (1922-2008)

 ཚེ་མཚམས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ། Tsetsam Rinpoche (1922-2008)

HE. Tshetsham Rimpoche

Tsetsam Rinpoche (1922-2008) was one of the great masters known for his great realization holding both transmissions of the Dzogchen Longchen Nyingthig of the Nyingmapa and the Magamudra and Six Yogas of Naropa of the Drukpa Kagyudpa. As he devoted his whole life practicing in retreat at Singchen Goenpa, Yongphula Tashigang, he became known as Tsetsampa . Thus, he hardly met any anyone and if someone came visiting him he communicated via his attendant, who exchanged the notes written on a small piece of paper or even a smooth piece of wood.

Tsetsam Rinpoche was born in 1922 in Pankhar, Kutoe Lhuentse, Eastern Bhutan. His father was Lama Thubten Kuendue and his mother was Pema Zangpo. His father was a disciple of Drubwang Togden Shakya Shri (1853-1919). He spent his childhood at the sacred place of Rongmatang . At age six, his father sent him to Tharpaling Monastery in the Chumey valley of Bumthang, which is the main monastic seat founded by Longchenpa Drime Özer (1308-1364). It is said that Geshe Tenpa Rinchen immediately recognized the potential of the young boy and urged his father to leave him at Tharpaling Gön, where he would take care of him.

ཡོན་ཕུ་ལ་ལྷ་ཁང་།

After Geshe Tenpa Rinchen had passed away Tsetsam Rinpoche went with his father Lama Thubten Kundü on the long pilgrimage of Tsari Rongkhor Chenmo (the great circumambulation of the valleys and ravines, a physically grueling and spiritually challenging pilgrimage that went the entire way around the sacred mountain of Tsari, traveling a circuit that went through jungles and over high passes. Finally, they went to Lhasa, Central Tibet, and met the young emanation of HH Dalai Lama 14 Tendzin Gyatso ( 1935 -) at the Potala, and purchased sevaral books such as The Seven Treasuries of Longchenpa or Dzödün , which they brought back to Bhutan, and which is still kept at Rinpoche’s place at Singchen Gönpa.

Following this, Tsetsam Rinpoche went with Trashigang Dzongpoen Thinley Tobgay, popularly known as Sey Dopola or Prince Dopola, for the second time to Tibet. This time they travelled to Kham, eastern Tibet and received the complete transmission of Dzogchen Longchen Nyingthig from Drubgya Rinpoche, and from Togden Abu Tsewang Jigme , the second son of Drubwang Togden Shakya Shri (grub dbang rtogs ldan shAkya shrI) they received the complete transmissions of Togden Shakya Shri’s treasure teachings , mind termas , together with the Six Yogas of Naropa , Mahamudra and Dzogpachenpo . Tsetsam Rinpoche spent many years in Kham practicing the Longchen Nyingthig and the Six Yogas of Naropa.

Upon returning to Bhutan he spent some years with his father Lama Thubten Kundü at the sacred place of Ajay Nye . Around 1965, age forty-three, he moved to Rashi Gönpa and then to Singchen Gönpa in Yongphula, where he remained continually practicing. From this time onwards he remained in strict retreat until he passed away in 2008.Thus, Tsesam Rinpoche lived for eighty-six years and remained for forty-three.

Tsesam Rinpoche had two secret consorts or sangyum and one son, who looks after the monastery after his passing away. According to his caretaker the nun Ani Yeshi Tsesam Rinpoche passed away in the early morning. Before his passing away Rinpoche asked her to arrange take bath, a small meal, and new clothes. After taking the bath he ate a little food and then told her and a few disciples to take him from his personal room to the shrine room. Tsesam Rinpoche said that the Pure Realm of Buddha Amitabha is just next to his room, the shrine room of Singchen Gönpa. As soon as he entered the shrine room he sat down entering deep meditation. Not long after Tsesam Rinpoche attained liberation and entered Parnivarina. His body remained seated in thugdam for many days. It is said that at that moment rainbow appeared around him and at the window glass of Rinpoche’s residence, which can be seen even to the present day.

ཚེ་མཚམས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་མཆོག་ དགོངས་པ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས་སུ་ཐིམ་པའི་སྐུ་པར།

Tsesam Rinpoche spent his live practicing as a yogic practitioner or naldjorpa , staying most of his live in strict retreat (mtshams pa). He neither organized anything for guiding the monastery nor for attracting and gathering disciples as he entirely focused on practice.

The brief biography was written based upon oral sources (Primary sources) narrated by Ani Yeshi (Tsem Rinpoche’s personal attendant), Tsesam Rinpoche Second Khandro, Lopen Tenzin, some elderly people in the locality in 2010 coinciding with one of Tshechu at Singchen Goenpa conducted by Tsem Rinpoche’s heart son. Fortunate enough to meet with Tsesam Rinpoche second Ani and heartson son.

ledge above mentioned- the inspiring personalities and my younger sisters Gyalmo, and Yangdon, my good friend Sangay for accompanying my to Singchen Goenpa. Thank you all very much, Karmay Rinchen Dargay.

-Naldjor FB