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Rigpa (Tibetan; Sanskrit vidya) is the primordial, nondual awareness advocated by the Dzogchen and Mahamudra teachings. The Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating the Tibetan script using the keys on a typical English language Typewriter. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Nondualism implies that things appear distinct while not being separate According to some schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural primordial state or natural condition of every sentient Being Mahamudra (Sanskrit Mahāmudrā, Tibetan Chagchen, Wylie phyag chen, contraction of Chagya Chenpo, Wylie phyag rgya chen po) literally means
Rigpa is a Tibetan word, which in general means ‘intelligence’ or ‘awareness’. In Dzogchen, however, the highest teachings in the Buddhist tradition of Tibet, rigpa has a deeper connotation, ‘the innermost nature of the mind’. The whole of the teaching of Buddha is directed towards realizing this, our ultimate nature, the state of omniscience or enlightenment – a truth so universal, so primordial that it goes beyond all limits, and beyond even religion itself. —Sogyal Rinpoche
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The Rigpa organization
Rigpa is also the name of an international Buddhist organization founded by Sogyal Rinpoche. Sogyal Rinpoche ( is a Tibetan Dzogchen Lama of the Nyingma tradition
Sogyal Rinpoche gave the name 'Rigpa' to his work and to the vehicle he was developing to serve the Buddha's teaching in the West. Now an international network with centers and groups in 23 countries around the world, Rigpa seeks:
- To make the teachings of Buddha available to benefit as many people as possible, and
- To offer those following the Buddhist teachings a complete path of study and practice, along with the environment they need to explore the teachings to their fullest.
The history of Rigpa
- 1979
After five years teaching in the West, Sogyal Rinpoche gave the name 'Rigpa' to his work. [1] At that time, Rigpa had just one centre, in north-west London.
- 1980s
By 1980, Sogyal Rinpoche was teaching in the UK, France, the United States, Ireland and Holland. Rigpa centres opened in a number of major cities, and in each country Rigpa was established as a non-profit organization. A progamme of Easter and summer retreats began, and Rigpa’s first retreat centre, Dzogchen Beara, was set up on the west coast of Ireland. [2]
Rigpa invited His Holiness the Dalai Lama, or sponsored his teachings or empowerments, on a number of occasions; in Paris in 1982, London in 1984 and San Jose in 1989. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people according to Tibetan Buddhism. Five and a half thousand people attended the teachings in San Jose, in what at the time was the largest gathering of practitioners and masters of Buddhadharma in America, and possibly in the West. Dhamma ( Pāli: धम्म or Dharma (धर्म in Buddhism has two primary meanings the teachings of the Buddha which lead to enlightenment
Other masters who taught at Rigpa centres or events during the 1980s included His Holiness Sakya Trizin, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche and Trulshik Rinpoche. The Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism refers to its head as the Sakya Trizin. Dilgo Khyentse ( Rinpoche (c1910- 28 September 1991) was a Vajrayana master scholar poet teacher and head of the Nyingma school of Dudjom Rinpoche ( is the title of a prominent line of Tulkus of the Nyingmapa order of Tibetan Buddhism. Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche ( 1905 - May 10, 1989) was a Buddhist Meditation master Scholar and Teacher. Trulshik Rinpoche Ngawang Chökyi Lodrö ( khrul zhig ngag dbang chos kyi blo gros) (born 1923) is one of the main teachers of HH the 14th Dalai Lama and
- 1990s
In 1990, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche taught and gave empowerments to 1,500 people at Rigpa’s summer retreat near Grenoble in the French Alps. [3]
In 1992, the Dzogchen Monastery in Kollegal in India, sponsored by Rigpa, was officially inaugurated when Dzogchen Rinpoche invited His Holiness the Dalai Lama to give empowerments. In the same year, Rigpa opened its main retreat centre, Lerab Ling near Montpellier in the south of France. [4] Thich Nhat Hanh, Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok and Penor Rinpoche were among the masters who taught there in the years that followed. Nhat Hanh ( Vietnamese: Nhất Hạnh; tʰǐk ɲɜ̌t hɐ̂ʔɲ (born October 11 1926 in central Vietnam) is an expatriate Khenpo ("Abbot" Jigme Phuntsok (1933-2004 was a Nyingma Lama from the Dhok region of Kham (in what is now the modern Chinese province Kyabjé Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche (1932- is the 11th throne holder of the Palyul Lineage of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and is said to be an incarnation
In 1993, Sogyal Rinpoche published The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying,[5] the success of which led to a great expansion in the work of Rigpa. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, written by Sogyal Rinpoche, gives a comprehensive presentation of the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, exploring the
A Spiritual Care Education and Training Programme was set up,[6] and in 1996 Rigpa presented a major conference on care for the dying, near Munich, which had a considerable influence on the emerging hospice movement in Germany.
In 1999, Trulshik Rinpoche founded the basis for a monastic community within Rigpa by ordaining the first nuns. Trulshik Rinpoche Ngawang Chökyi Lodrö ( khrul zhig ngag dbang chos kyi blo gros) (born 1923) is one of the main teachers of HH the 14th Dalai Lama and
- 2000 onwards
In 2000, His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Lerab Ling, and gave five days of teachings entitled The Path to Enlightenment, attended by more than 10,000 students of Tibetan Buddhism from around the world. [7] The teachings given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama have been published in a book entitled Mind in Comfort and Ease: The Vision of Enlightenment in the Great Perfection. [8]
The Rigpa Shedra, or study college, took place for the first time the following year, and in 2002, Lerab Ling was officially recognized as a ‘religious congregation’.
In 2006, a traditional three-storey temple at Lerab Ling was completed, including a seven-metre high statue of Buddha Shakyamuni. Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder Rigpa's first three-year retreat began, with over 300 people remaining in closed retreat at Lerab Ling from 2006-2009, and over 3,000 students following a 'home retreat' programme in their own countries.
In 2007, work began on Rigpa's Spiritual Care Centre at Dzogchen Beara. [9]
See also
References
- ^ The History of Rigpa, The Rigpa Journal, volume 2
- ^ DzogchenBeara.org: About Us
- ^ Rigpa Wiki: Prapoutel 1990
- ^ LerabLing.org: About Lerab Ling
- ^ Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, ISBN 0-06-250834-2
- ^ Rigpa.org:Spiritual Care
- ^ Rigpa Wiki:Lerab Gar 2000
- ^ Wisdom Publications: Mind in Comfort and Ease
- ^ The Spiritual Care Centre at Dzogchen Beara, Who are we?
External links
- Rigpa Shedra Wiki - an online encyclopedia and media library of Tibetan Buddhist teachings designed especially for students of Rigpa and Sogyal Rinpoche
- Rigpa organization homepage
- Lerab Ling - Tibetan Buddhist sanctuary founded by Rinpoche
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