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HISTORY OF PADMA RIGDZIN LING MONASTERY

Twelve hundred sixty years ago, Padmasambhava was summoned by King Trisong Deutsen to Tibet for the purpose of expanding Buddhism.

At the time, the majority of Tibetans were of the Bonpo religion.  After a debate between the Buddhists and the Bonpos in Lhasa, mediated by the King, he pronounced that Buddhism grow throughout the country.

Samye Monastery was then built in the capital city under the auspices of Padmasambhava.  The main practice, the Kwagye Ceremony, was empowered by Guru Rinpoche to expand the teachings of the Buddha and promote peace in Tibet.

This practice was performed by his disciples where it proliferated to all areas of the country .

One disciple’s student settled in the Amdo region where there were few Buddhists.   He aspired to follow Padmasambhavas’s wish of spreading the teachings of the Buddha and the principles of compassion and peace. Therefore, he contacted all the Buddhist practitioners of the area.  He found eight Ngakpas who were invited for a special ceremony at his monastery.

For a period of weeks they performed the Kwagye Ceremony instructed by Guru Rinpoche.   When they finished, the main Lama gave each of the eight Ngakpas one of his ritual instruments, so that they could follow the Kwa Jie practice wherever they went.

One of the Ngakpas was given a phurba and, subsequently, established the Lhundrup Dorje Ling Monastery, where the tradition of this ceremony was kept alive for hundreds of years. In the year 1956, Lama Jigme Rinpoche was born close to this monastery.  He studied the Kwagye Ceremony with the presiding Lamas and was eventually empowered to perform it himself.

After many years of practice and study of this tradition, Lama Jigme traveled to Lhasa and then to Dharamsala, to follow H.H. the Dalai Lama. Upon meeting His Holiness, who asked about his practice, Lama Jigme relayed his story of learning the art of the Kwagye Puja to proclaim peace and compassion wherever he would go. H.H. decided to build him a monastery where he could perform the ancient practice for the sake and development of Tibetans and all refugees in exile.

In 1993 Lama Jigme named the monastery Lhundrup Rigdzin Ling and in 1996, by suggestion of H.H., they renamed it Padma Rigdzin Ling.

The Kwagye Ceremony was practiced in this monastery for 13 years, until Lama Jigme Rinpoche came to the United States in 2002. Without a qualified translator, Rinpoche was unable to open Padma Rigdzin Ling in the West.  Fortunately, a former student from Costa Rica has come to translate for him.   With the help of other students, the monastery has been reestablished and shall continue the 900 year-old practices and the Buddhist philosophy of compassion, emptiness and peace.  The Lama will continue to share the teachings and development for happiness, peace and compassion among human beings and for the advancement of this country, its people and the people of the world.