15 January 2016

Khunu lama Rinpoche Tenzin Gyaltsen, also known as Khunu lama or Negi lama was a prominent scholar of Rime, the non-sectarian movement in Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh in Northern India. He went to Tibet to study and practice Dharma for about three decades and then returned to India  for the remainder of his life. He continued learning and teaching at many sacred places, passing on the rich heritage of Tibetan Buddhism to the leading Buddhist masters in India. H.H the XIV Dalai lama is the most eminent of the student, who duly exalted Khunu Lama as the Shantideva of our time at 1985 Kalachakra in Bodhgaya. Life Account Khunu lama was born in 1894 in Sunam village in the forest clad district of Kinnaur ,one of the administrative district in modern day Himachal Pradesh. It is located in the northeast corner of the state bordering Tibet to the east. His mother was a Drukpa Kagyupa and his father, a Nyingmapa. He was born in an affluent family but left home in his late teenage years to embark on a spiritual journey that lasted a lifetime. He left for Kullu first and then moved to  Gangtok to learn  grammar, literacy and composition of Tibetan language from the renown literary scholar and grammarian Orgyen Tendzin Rinpoche (1863-1936). Khunu lama was focused on mastering the language as the tool for proper understanding of Buddhist text and teachings. After learning the language rigorously, he moved to Tibet. Tibet Central Tibet He traveled extensively in Tibet, learning from different masters in different monasteries. On his  way from Sikkim to Lhasa, he stopped at the Tashi Lhunpo monastery in Shigatse where he continued his studies of grammar and poetry and began serious study of  Buddhist philosophy.  After three years there, he went to Lhasa where he studied further at Sakya, Drepung and Ganden monasteries, the great three of Gelugpa lineage. He taught literary science at the famous Medical and Astrological centre and was a tutor to several noble families. At Drikung Til, he studied with the accomplished Drikung master Drubwang Amgon Rinpoche. He also studied Mahamudra at a Drukpa Kagyu centre called Khamda. At the request of the Sixth Panchen Lama, Chokyi Nyima (1883-1937), he returned to Tashi Lhunpo monastery and taught at the school for prospective civil servants. It was there that he met Katok Situ Chokyi Gyatso, who was on pilgrimage in Central Tibet. His command of Tibetan grammar earned him fame, which  also resulted in jealousy that prompted him to move to eastern Tibet, Kham where he  stayed for about 15-19 years. Kham, Eastern Tibet […]