Ven. Choje Namse Rinpoche (1930-2009)
< by Stephanie Colvey
Born in Kham (East Tibet) in 1930, Lama Namse became a
monk at the age of 15. His studies included the Tripitaka: Vinaya, Sutra
and Abhidharma, and also Prajnaparamita, Uttara Shastra, Sutra Lankara, the five
states of Madhyamika and the Five Treasuries of Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye.
Rinpoche completed two 3-year, 3-month, 3-day retreats incorporating the Six
Yogas of Naropa, Mahamudra, etc.
At the age of thirty, he arrived in India as a refugee,
where he was a retreat master before going to Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim to be
with HH the 16th Karmapa. There he received the Kagyu Ngagzod and Damgang
Ngagzod collections of empowerments.
Karmapa Rigpe Dorje sent Rinpoche to teach in Europe, mainly in
France. Since 1981, Lama Namse served as Karmapa's Canadian
representative, and he was the director of the Toronto centre formerly known as
"The Karma Kagyu Centre," and now designated, Karma Sonam Dargye Ling.
After Lama Namse's passing in 2009, KSDL moved to 7 Laxton Road, Toronto, ON. His
attendant and nephew, Lama Tenzin, who studied at a unique Buddhist college in Toronto
and who has studied Mandarin Chinese, has been the director.
Lama Namse, a dear friend and a remarkable lama, passed away in India at
around 10:15 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. He was 79 years old. He
remained in tukdam for a day and then funerary rites were performed at
Palpung Sherab Ling in India.
- Photos
of celestial display over Sherab Ling
during rites for Lama Namse
Prayer for Lama Namse composed by the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje
March 6, 2004, Mahamudra at Rigpe Dorje in
Montreal:
Lama Namse had already introduced the topic and the 9th Karmapa's text when I
took my place among the 2 dozen in attendance on Saturday morning.
The translator from the Tibetan was Tenzin, who relied on an edition of Mahamudra:
The Ocean of Definitive Meaning by the 9th Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje that was
translated from the Tibetan text known as Ngedon Gyamtso by Elizabeth
Callahan as extensively expounded by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso. The
translation into French was by Esther Rochon.
Draped in an orange shawl, which I presumed was in honour of the Manjushri
empowerment scheduled for the next day, the lama had already begun to enumerate the Tal.jor
Regarding the Tibetan expression --
Tal means free and jor
is endowments, or resources. That is, the "Eight
Freedoms and Ten Opportunities." Lama Namse referred to 8
Obstacles that can hinder one's practice and then began to speak of the 10
Opportunities.
Taljor are conditions that allow for someone to be able to
practice dharma. The Eight Freedoms are: Freedom from birth in the 3 lower
realms -- as a hell being, a hungry ghost, an animal -- but also from inopportune
circumstances such as living outside civilization -- as a barbarian -- or
as one of the gods, so long-lived as to be unable to appreciate the reasons
for escaping samsara; as a "heretic" -- one who imagines the
circumstances of existence to be other than they are --; as one who is mentally
handicapped; or one who lives in an age or place where there is no Buddha.
Of the Ten Opportunities, 5 are personal, and 5 are general. The five
personal ones are: having a human body, being born in a land to which the dharma
has spread, having all senses and "aggregates" intact, being of
a kindly nature, and having confidence in the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma,
Sangha.)
The five general or external ones are: That a Buddha has been born in this eon,
that the Buddha decides to teach the dharma, that the dharma is still actively
extent, that there are followers who have realized the objectives of the
teachings of the Buddha and are willing to teach and also, that there are those
willing to support the dharma in other ways.
Unfortunately, since a chronic gall bladder condition became acute, the
empowerment planned for Sunday had to be cancelled. The Lama was
hospitalized briefly so his condition, including high blood sugar levels, could
be stabilized. He was able to return to Mtl. in April to complete
Mahamudra teachings before the surgery for removal of the troublesome
organ. He is doing fine, and we pray to Green Tara for his continued
well-being.
8 Obstacles: These are
internal or mental conditions usually given as doubt, restlessness, desire, anger, ignorance, pride,
anxiety, laziness, and a tendency to intellectualize, rationalize or over-analyze.
From Dharma Diary 2000
On Sunday, December
17th, 2000 at Karma Sonam Dorje Ling,
(then at the lovely old Triller Street house
in a funky but charming Parkdale area of Toronto) the Empowerment
[wangkur] of Vajrakilaya as VajraKumar was
attended by around 40 people; some from as far as Columbus, Ohio.
The
mid-westerners had suffered a rather tense 10-hour trip through foggy and icy
road conditions to participate in another of Rinpoche's remarkable
empowerments. And a number of those earnest faces I had encountered
not long before at KTD in Woodstock when Thrangu Rinpoche was there the
previous summer.
It was a family
atmosphere in the red carpeted double parlour that serves as the shrine
room. The 1920's oak woodwork and the generous foyer contributed to a warm
atmosphere, and the spring-like weather even necessitated that the windows
remain open throughout the morning.
I had arrived at
9 am -- an hour early -- as I had been misinformed about the start time, so I
could take a look around and help set up a bit. It seems Andrew, who also
took care of the subscriptions at the door at 10 am, had just been working on a
carpentry project the night before: Now there is a Tibetan-style bookcase for
holding pecha texts suspended from the ceiling over the shrine.
It's painted already -- dark red with traditional gilt arabesques -- and looks
like there will be room for an entire set of Kangyur.
The snow had
melted enough so that I could sit outside in the yard to indulge my vice, and
then do a kora or two on the path around the Center. There must be
lovely roses there in summer, for there were lots of huge hips on the bushes.
Andrew, who I
kept thinking of as Andrzej, was very helpful and efficient, managing to
keep track not only of the fees [$20 for each session, or $35 for both] but he
noted each person's name, as well. Speaking of money, the entrance to the
house is through a generous closed porch that serves as a dharma store, and
there is a nice selection of plain wooden malas, silver counter sets, and a few
other items in simple good taste including, of course, kathas. I
had had the foresight [for once!] to bring one, so I do not know their cost.
Rinpoche
conducted the empowerment which was not a lengthy one, from his throne, and the
forty of us went up to him one at a time only twice. No matter; the
after-effect was very powerful and long-lasting.
Among the sangha
that day were some enthusiastic members of the Nyingma Riwoche Centre
headed by Ven. Khenpo Sonam Tobgyal, with whom I later had an enjoyable and
interesting lunch at the Nine of Cups coffee house on Queen. One of the
younger women remarked that she felt a strong sense of self-assurance which was
not at all usual for her.
It is not easy
to describe the 'empowering' that does, in fact, take place. There is no doubt,
though, that a transformative effect results from the activity of a vajra lama
such as Venerable Lama Namsee. It is up to the practitioner,
however, to maintain the result.
By the afternoon
teaching session which started around 2 pm, the temperature had fallen to waaay
below normal. By 1:30 am the next morning, when the midnight train to
Montreal finally arrived at the damp, flimsy Guildwood shelter, the wind was
howling like something out of Dr. Zhivago, as a fellow traveler remarked,
-- a fitting complement to the freezing rain. (It seems that
Rinpoche had had the foresight to invite the American travelers to stay the
night, so I did not worry about my new friend Renee's safety, and that of her
companions, on treacherous roads back to Ohio.)
In the afternoon, Choje Lama Namse Rinpoche
kept it short and sweet as usual, only discussing the stages of the
visualizations and a bit about the symbolism of the image of the deity.
He also mentioned the positive role that obstacles
and obstructions can play in one's development. This theme provoked me to
ask, though, whether he felt that one should seek hardship. He replied
that one has trouble enough, as a consequence of karma and so on, that there is
no need for any of us to go out looking for any more!
He was kind enough to answer many other questions,
some from a young student who had the clear tenor voice of a budding umdze.
These concerned the details of generating the deity, and also whether results
would be felt at the time of one's death.
No doubt the finer points will be treated during
this week's daily sadhanas with Lama Tashi whose specialty is
ritual practice.
One important point was raised: Can broken samaya
(the commitments of tantric practitioners to their teacher, to the yidam
or deity, and other related vows) be restored? Rinpoche assured the student
that if one is truly sorry and honestly confesses the wrong or neglect, and does
what can be done to renew or repair the situation, then 'yes; samaya
can always be restored.'
There are many examples of this in the Kagyu
tradition, most notably the example that is the life of Milarepa. More
relevant on the day of that empowerment though, is the
Nyingma tradition of Vajrakila. It is the tale of a complex
chain: Good motivation but faulty instruction and misinterpretation; then,
self-indulgence and then wrathful compassion applied to purify and finally,
restore and liberate.
Shelley had prepared photocopies of the deity for
us, and Alice had assembled and taken care of the tantric manuals that we used,
and could buy at the end of the day for $15 each.
Since the photocopied image showed the deity's
right-hand face with the snout of an animal, I wanted to know more about
it. Rinpoche said only that perhaps the artist lacked some skill or
understanding.
When I got home, I took a closer look at an
18th-century Dorje P'hurba tangka; it too had the face of a boar, or
possibly, of a bear. The text on Vajrakila practice by Khenpo Namdrol
Rinpoche says (39) that there was a time when the 10 Protectors and their
consorts began having offspring with animal heads, perhaps the zoocephalic
feature commemorates those events.
Renee-from-Ohio was enterprising. She had
brought along a pack of colored photos of a different version of the deity to
sell for $5 each. What a good way to cover travel expenses.
The effectiveness of Lama Namse Rinpoche's teaching
lies not so much in what he says, as in his presence and the purity and power of
his transmission. He has a light touch with words, but the impact is
profound. The experience is always a remarkable and long-lasting
one."
October 2001
Lama Nam.se returned
October 12-14 to teach on Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment.
In the evening of Oct.
12th, Lama Namse gave the 2-armed Vajrapani (Bhutadamara)
Empowerment and also the reading transmission for those who wished to do the
practice. The shrine room, hall and store were full.
Our powerful lama was
smitten with a bit of a cold and so his low voice took on a deeply dramatic
growl which admirably enhanced the experience.
Even though the 5
initiations were given in a pleasantly efficient manner, the evening was a long
one as the venue was quite full and the translations by Tenzin and Esther were
informal and extensive.
Rinpoche isn't given to
long introductions and this night was no exception. He only said that the
practice of this form of Vajrapani derives from Buddha Shakyamuni (ie.
sutric) and is not a terma. We were therefore, to think of the source as
Vajradhara.
Vajrapani is one of the
3 most important bodhisattvas, along with
Chenresig and Manjushri. The first is the sambhogakaya embodiment of
Compassion; the second, Knowledge; the third, Power.
A torma was set outside
for local beings/spirits, then we rinsed our mouths to eliminate
negativities. The assisting monk blessed the space with a swinging censer,
and Rinpoche began. The sadhana originated with Vajradhara, was
transmitted to Vajrapani, and handed down through the Karmapas "until
now."
We said the lineage
prayer together, the bodhisattva and 7-branched prayers as a foundation, and the
lama emphasized that unless we really visualize ourselves as deities and not any
lower forms, the empowerment would not be received.
Of course, perverse as
I seem to be, I -- very briefly, mind you -- began to see myself as a sort of
animal, shades of Kafka's The Metamorphosis, and had the sense to stop it
right there! I was reminded of the business where one is told to be sure
not to think of bears.
Some pages were out of
order and it took a few moments for them to be re-arranged, but the atmosphere
was relaxed and without tensions, and I thought that in fact this was an
auspicious indication, as a hard-won blessing is often a superior one!
I took that time to
notice the lama's desk which had, where there is often a stacked mandala, a
treasure pot instead.
Rinpoche described the
deity and a tsogli was held up for us to see the seed syllable, and then
Vajrapani in his circle of protection, and the symbolism was explained, eg.
the raised vajra that eliminates obstacles at the god realm.
The syllable from which
Vajrapani manifests, details of his dress and the form and colors of energy
centre were also displayed to us. Instead of the mantra associated with
Chana Dorje, we chanted Karmapa Chenno during the proceedings.
The lama explained the
benefits of each of the five initiations, such as, "The mind empowerment
permits you to meditate on this deity, and to enter the dharmakaya."
The visualization was
not a very complex one, and though it took a bit more than two hours with the
translations and 3 processions, there was an immediate effect of clear, high
energy. It permitted me to check and edit all the dead links in this site
as the energy of the transmission lasted a good 36 hours!
Rinpoche concluded saying that this
practice is a help in overcoming obstacles, especially mental ones, and
"maladies." He immediately proceeded to give the lung for doing
it at home.
The lama was accompanied by his
relative Tenzin, and a devoted student from KSDL in Toronto. The French
translation was by knowledgeable and very generous, Esther Rochon.
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