Tenga Rinpoche (1932 – 30 March 2012) was a

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

an teacher (

lama Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hig ...

) in the

Karma Kagyu Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, ...

tradition.Short Biography of the Tenga Rinpoche
Born in

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...

in 1932, Tenga Rinpoche was recognized as a

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrectio ...

of Lama SamtenTenga Rinpoche
at the age of seven. As he grew older, he studied at Benchen Monastery and was eventually given the name Karma Tenzin Thinle Namgyal from Situ Rinpoche. Soon after, he was given ordination by Situ Rinpoche and entered a three-year retreat. He was an expert in mandala painting and sculpture. In 1959, Tenga Rinpoche left Benchen for

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhasa ...

. After the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

left Tibet in relation with the

1959 Tibetan uprising The 1959 Tibetan uprising (also known by other names) began on 10 March 1959, when a revolt erupted in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which had been under the effective control of the People's Republic of China since the Seventeen Point Agre ...

, he escaped with

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche Tashi Paljor, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche () (c. 1910 – 28 September 1991) was a Vajrayana master, scholar, poet, teacher, and recognized by Buddhists as one of the greatest realized masters. Head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism from 198 ...

, and the brother of Dilgo Khyentse, the 9th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche.Tenga Rinpoche
Visions in Exile
p. 193-197, in ''Brilliant Moon: The Autobiography of Dilgo Khyentse'' He then eventually traveled to northern India. In India, he settled at

Rumtek Monastery Rumtek Monastery (), also called the Dharma Chakra Centre, is a gompa located in the Indian state of Sikkim near the capital Gangtok. It is the seat-in-exile of the Gyalwang Karmapa, inaugurated in 1966 by the 16th Karmapa. It is also a focal ...

, the main seat of the 16th Karmapa. Tenga Rinpoche served the 16th Karmapa for seventeen years, nine of those years in the position of Dorje Lopön. In 1976 Tenga Rinpoche settled in

Swayambhunath Swayambhu (Devanagari: स्वयम्भू स्तूप; new, स्वयंभू; sometimes Swayambu or Swoyambhu) is an ancient religious complex atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

, where he founded a second Benchen Monastery and a retreat center in

Pharping Pharping (or Phamting) is a small Newar town lying above the Bagmati river on the southern edge of the Kathmandu valley, about 23 km from the capital. It is now part of the Dakshinkali Municipality. The town and its environs is the site of seve ...

. In 1986, Tenga Rinpoche established the new Benchen Monastery in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. He visited France regularly, giving teachings at

Kagyu-Dzong The Kagyu-Dzong center is a Buddhist center in Paris, affiliated to the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. This center is linked to the 17th Karmapa, Orgyen Trinley Dorje. History It is situated in a temple of Tibetan and Bhutanese style ...

in Paris and

Vajradhara-Ling Vajradhara-Ling is a center affiliated to the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism located in France in Normandy near the city of Lisieux. History of the centre Vajradhara-Ling is connected to Kagyu-Dzong in Paris, and both centers are linke ...

in Normandy. On 21 September 2003, he laid the

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

of the

Temple for Peace The Temple for Peace (French: ''Temple pour la Paix'') is a construction project of the congregation Vajradhara-Ling in Normandy to promote world peace. The cornerstone was laid in 2003 and construction started in 2010. This Temple will be built ...

in Normandy. On 30 March 2012, at 3:24 in the morning Nepali time, Tenga Rinpoche died. Nyima Döndrup, the yangsi (reincarnation) of the previous Tenga Rinpoche was born 14 December 2014 in Nepal. He was discovered in 2017 following the indications of the 17th Karmapa who met him on 21 March 2017 in

Bodhgaya Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( ...

for a ceremony at Tergar Monastery.An Amazing Story: Finding the Reincarnation of Tenga Rinpoche
/ref>

Bibliography

* ''Cho: The Garden of All Joy and Generosity of the Body'', trans. Yeshe Gyamtso, Peter O'Hearn, ed. Zhyisil Chokyi Ghatsal Charitable Trust, 2007, , * ''Transition and Liberation: Explanations of Meditation in the Bardo'', trans. Alex Wilding, Susanne Schefczyk, ed. Lorenz Dobrot Khampa-Buchverlag, 1999, , * ''Gampopa's Mahamudra: The Five-part Mahamudra Practice Taught to Phagmo Drupa by Gampopa'', Sgam-po-pa, Phag-mo-gru-pa Rdo-rje-rgyal-po, ed. Padma Karpo Translation Committee, 2008, ,
Visions in Exile
p. 193-197, in ''Brilliant Moon: The Autobiography of Dilgo Khyentse'',

Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Paljor, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche () (c. 1910 – 28 September 1991) was a Vajrayana master, scholar, poet, teacher, and recognized by Buddhists as one of the greatest realized masters. Head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism from 198 ...

, Sogyal Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse, Ani Jinba Palmo, Dalai Lama * ''Mahamudra kagyu tradition 10/13/91'', New York : ARC Audio-Video,

References

External links

Brief biography

Web site of Tenga Rinpoche
;Video
Tenga Rinpoche
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tenga Rinpoche 1932 births 2012 deaths Karma Kagyu lamas Rinpoches Tibetan painters Buddhist artists