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Our Thanks to Wangdu Lama Rinpoche
by Michelle Lawson
Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche has returned to Portland this fall, and we are extremely grateful to him for sharing his Chöd, Chum, and Phowa practices. It is a rare privilege to study Tibetan tantric practices with an authentic master and to spend an extended period of time with him.
Wangdu Lama was born in 1936 in the village of Langkor in West Dingri, Tibet. At age 12, he began studying at Nadrag Monastery with Nadrag Rinpoche, a Nyingma lama from whom he received the transmission for the Phowa practice and the Chöd empowerment. He then completed the traditional sadhana of practicing Chöd in 108 cremation grounds over a period of three months and ten days. Upon completion of the Chöd retreat, Nadrag Rinpoche acknowledged his accomplishment in the practice and sent him to Nepal on pilgrimage. Wangdu Lama arrived in Nepal in 1958, and eventually settled in the Tibetan refugee camp in Jawalakiel, Kathmandu, where he lives today. He has trained with and practiced with highly respected Nyingma lamas such as Dudjom Rinpoche, Chatral Rinpoche, and Urgyen Tulku Rinpoche. Wangdu Lama is well known in Kathmandu for the efficacy of his healings and special pujas.
Swamiji was introduced to Wangdu Lama in 1998 by some Tibetan friends who described him as "unusual." Upon meeting, both Swamiji and Wangdu Lama felt an immediate and powerful connection between them. At the time, Wangdu Lama thought he did not have long to live, and so he asked Swamiji to carry on the lineage of his practice. Swamiji agreed. When Wangdu Lama's health improved, Swamiji invited him to Portland to teach us his practice.
Last year Wangdu Lama spent six months in Portland teaching Institute members the Chöd and Phowa. The Phowa is a method for uplifting consciousness which can be practiced as a part of the Chöd, or to help uplift the consciousness of those who are dying or who have passed on. During the Phowa transmission, which was given over several consecutive evenings, Wangdu Lama trained us in the visualizations, chant, and melody for the practice.
Wangdu Lama also gave the complete cycle of Chöd initiation, which in Tibetan Buddhism traditionally consists of three parts. The first is the initiation itself. The purpose of a tantric initiation is to prepare the student to undertake a particular practice. The initiation includes a formal ritual, but the heart of it is the sharing of an inner experience between the teacher and the student. The second part of the cycle is the reading of the text for the practice, in which the hearing of the syllables is believed to transmit the inner meaning. The final step is oral instruction: an explanation of the text and the details of the practice. Wangdu Lama's instruction included his commentary on the practice as well as question and answer sessions.
Wangdu Lama is visiting the Institute until late
January, and he will be returning next May in time for the Dalai Lama's visit.
His English is improving rapidly. In addition to working with Institute students
on Chöd, Phowa, and Chum, he is performing pujas for both the Institute
and the local Tibetan community. He says he likes America very much. We, in
turn, are delighted to have the company of such a profoundly accomplished practitioner.
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