Vajra Master and disciple
Chhi’mèd Rig’dzin Rinpoche
Ngak’chang Rinpoche studied with Chhi’mèd Rig’dzin Rinpoche
from 1979 and they often discussed the future of
the Vajrayana lineages in the West. Chhi’mèd Rig’dzin
Rinpoche always encouraged the students of Ngak’chang Rinpoche and Khandro
Déchen to practice sincerely and to follow the guidance of their vajra masters.
Ngak’chang Rinpoche comments on this point that:
Kyabjé Chhi’mèd Rig’dzin Rinpoche always mentioned his teachers and their
importance in his life. He was utterly devoted to
His Holiness Düd’jom Rinpoche and regarded him as the living embodiment of
Padmasambhava and by far the greatest Lama of the 20th Century. The
uninterrupted stream of devotion which flows from generation to generation is a
continual source of inspiration, and this is why it has been so important for
our students to observe our relationship with Chhi’mèd Rig’dzin Rinpoche
and with Kyabjé Künzang Dorje Rinpoche and Jomo Sam’phel. It is important for
students to understand that the stream of devotion is what keeps the lineages
alive and what enables them to be practised. The ungainly and maladroit ‘post
modern deconstructionist’ ideas of those who wish to change Buddhism with regard
to the rôle of the vajra master, fail to comprehend that the Vajrayana texts
are inert without the vajra master. Chhi’mèd Rig’dzin Rinpoche made this point
many times – as have each one of my Root Lamas: HH Düd’jom Rinpoche, HH Dilgo
Khyentsé Rinpoche, Kyabjé Künzang Dorje Rinpoche and
Jomo Sam’phel, Kyabjé Chhi’mèd Rig’dzin Rinpoche, and
Lama Yeshé Dorje Rinpoche. Dung-sé
Thrin-lé Norbu Rinpoche, the elder son of HH Düd’jom Rinpoche makes this
point extremely clear for people and has provided great encouragement to this
end through his writings and the writings and talks of his own western
disciples.
