Brief Biography of the Seventeenth Thangtong Gyalpo
The Birth of The 17th Thangtong Rinpoche was on the Lunar Iron Horse Year (1990) accompanied with many wondrous signs in the family line of the Kunkhen Longchenpa. When Rinpoche was in his mother’s womb, his mother had many extraordinary dreams, such as seeing dreams of going to the Glorious Copper-colored mountain (Zangdopelri).
In that dream she was being notified about the prophecy by dakinis and witnessed appearing of the ḍākinīs symbolic script in the sky as well as the appearance of the three syllable AH YA MA. Rinpoche since very young has a very unique conduct in everything unlike his friends around and expresses alot about remembering his past life activities. When he was just four years old he told his father, From this day forward, my name is Rigdzin Pema Wangyal in which the name certainly signifies that the great Thangtong Gyalpo was an emanation of the union of 1)Peaceful Avalokiteśvara ,and 2)The wrathful Hayagrīva, who had once again appeared in the form of Guru Padmasambhava, born from the womb.
When Rinpoche was just four years old, he frequently told his parents many times about a Nunnery with a large statue inside it, which he claimed was his home. However, his parents dismissed these claims as the imaginative talk of a young child. Despite this, Rinpoche persistently begged them to take him there, crying for days, but his parents paid little attention to his pleas.
One day, while on a local pilgrimage with his family, Rinpoche suddenly shouted from inside the car, “That is my monastery! That is my monastery!” pointing directly at the Nunnery associated with the previous Drupthop, The 16th Thangtong Rinpoche. Little Rinpoche insisted his father to take him inside, which he called his home, telling the father “I told you so.”
Upon entering the monastery, Rinpoche ran ahead with great joy and excitement. At the gate, his mother cautioned him, saying, “Be careful; there are many dogs.” Rinpoche confidently replied, “These dogs know me very well. They will never harm me.”
Once inside, Rinpoche gave his parents a guided tour of the nunnery as if he knew every corner intimately. He told his father, “This is my monastery, and that is the huge statue I used to tell you about,” pointing to the statue of Mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo in the main temple.
Curious, his father asked, “If this is your monastery, then where do you live?” Rinpoche quickly answered, “I live upstairs.” The father then inquired, “There are three thrones here. Which one is yours?” Without hesitation, Rinpoche pointed to the throne of the previous Drupthop Rinpoche and said, “I sit there.”
His father pressed further, “If you sit there, then who is the man in the picture on that throne?” The picture was of the previous Drupthop Rinpoche. At this, Rinpoche giggled, blushed, and confidently replied, “That is me.”
Many people witnessed this extraordinary moment, and Rinpoche’s parents noticed how overjoyed and at peace he was that day, as if he had finally returned home.
In the fourth month of the Wood Pig year, when Rinpoche was five years old, he met The Great Siddha Chadral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche at Dechen ChoeLing Monastery Bhutan.
At Chadral Rinpoche’s very first glance he was very pleased and instantly invited Rinpoche to sit with him on his cushion. After spending sometime Chadral Rinpoche was delighted as he spoke these lines “ He has very much awakened previous life propensities and indulge him on the path of buddha dharma without any delay”. Chadral Rinpoche then gave him the name Sangyé Wangchen Drupchok Tsal (meaning Buddha Mighty and Supreme Accomplished One) along with the textbook of biography of Guru Padmasambhava called The Stainless White Lotus(DRIMEY PEMA KARPO),and the oral transmission of the Vajra Guru Mantra.
After three days he met The Great Yogini Khado Lhamo, consort of The Great Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who had come to Wang Sisina Nunery in Bhutan. She was very pleased as she offered him a traditional monk coat and a ceremonial scarf. “She said, “I am so old, and I am so happy that you, the great siddha, have returned and are young again”. Then she began to make vast aspirations holding his forehead against hers saying, “Now, May you benefit the buddha dharma and sentient beings on a vast scale. ”
When Rinpoche was seven years old, The Great Kyabjé Trulshik Rinpoché also authenticated that he was the infallible rebirth of the sixteenth throne holder of Thangtong Gyalpo, Drupthop Rikey Chadralwa, and gave him the name Ngawang Jigdrel Kuenga.
His holiness had taken charge of Rinpoche personally for many years along with the onset of the reading and writing of the preliminary practices, His Holiness also conducted a Enthronement Ceremony of Thangtong Rinpoche at his residence at Dzarong Thubten Do-nga Choeling in Sharkhum,Nepal, where he had settled permanently. He also gave The Refuge vows, The foundation of the Buddhist tradition, and other teachings.
His Holiness bestowed plenty of empowerments and oral transmissions of the kama and terma traditions. A few years later, Kyabjé Rinpoché himself kindly offered a hand written long life supplication to Rinpoche and expressed that Rinpoche must continue to serve the Dharma and sentient beings on a vast scale and for that he must study, contemplate, and meditate on the vast teachings of the Buddha and the commentaries of the great spiritual masters. In Accordance to that His Holiness guided him to go to Mindrolling Monastery in india for further studies .
So when he was fourteen years old , he entered Mindrolling Monastery, and there he studied and excelled gradually progressing through the stages of the Nine Yanas. In addition, he received The kama and The Treasury of Precious Termas as well as he has received the empowerment “Showing Directly the Realisation of Samantabhadra” (Gongpa Zang Thel) from Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche. When he was in Mindrolling monastery he also served as the chant master for the monastery for more than ten years, beginning when he was just eighteen years of age. In particular, he thoroughly trained in the unique practices of Mindrolling Tradition and dedicated many years serving the Monastery.
The Great Mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo, Even today, his outer, inner, and secret teachings are still available. But now, in this degenerate era, Thangtong Gyalpo’s teaching and those who follow his lineage are very rare. Therefore The 17th Thangtong Rinpoche is dedicated to restore the outer, inner, and secret Dharma cycles of Thangtong Gyalpo and to preserve, nurture, and propagate the Thangtong Doctrine.
After Departing from Mindrolling Monastery, In bhutan leading the Members of The Thangtong Mahāsiddha Foundation he offered Hundreds of statues of Mahāsiddha Thangtong Gyalpo of various sizes made of red-copper to many Monasteries and institutions in the hope of relieving the oppression of all sentient beings from harm by the four elements and pacifying the coronavirus pandemic that is extremely harmful to sentient beings.
He practiced orally transmitted practice of Thangtong Nyengyud , Dzogchen( The great perfection), Tsalung(wind channel practice) and practiced various approach as well as accomplished retreats for his personal deities for several years. Thangtong Rinpoche is now currently at Rinchending, Phuentsholing Bhutan isolated at very remote and on top of the mountain on retreat for three years. “As the great buddhas of the past have said, First, through realization, one’s own mind is freed; second, through compassion, others’ minds are freed.
Translated by THANGTONG ADMIN