MAHAPARANIRVANA OF HIS EMINENCE CHOGYE TRICHEN RINPOCHE,
HEAD OF THE TSARPA SECT OF SAKYA
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H.E. Chogye Trichen Rinpoche died peacefully in meditation on Monday, 22nd January 2007, entering into the spiritual practice of “thukdham”, the meditation state where the master’s outer breathing has ceased but the “inner breath” or subtle life force remains until the thukdham is complete. He remained in this state for fifteen days until Tuesday, 6th February 2007. |
| His Eminence Luding Khenchen Rinpoche and Khenpo Appey Rinpoche examined the body throughout the morning of 6th February reporting all their findings to His Holiness Sakya Trizin by telephone. The high Lamas reported that during these fifteen days Chogye Trichen Rinpoche showed no signs of decay or any physical change in his body, appearing to be resting in meditation. Even by the evening of the 6th, there was very little noticeable change in Rinpoche’s appearance. There was no scent of decay in the room, nor any appearance of fluids leaving Rinpoche’s body. |
| The high Lamas commented that upon close examination during the morning of the 6th February, there was some subtle but noticeable change in Rinpoche’s complexion and skin tone, that his fingers had become smaller and that there was no longer any warmth concentrated around Rinpoche’s heart region as there had been up to this point. The Buddhist teachings explain that now Rinpoche’s thukdham is complete, from out of his Dharmakaya realisation, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya emanations come forth for the benefit of sentient beings. It is a time to make prayers and aspirations that those emanations benefit limitless beings, and that Rinpoche will continue to guide us, now and throughout his future manifestations. |
Chogye Rinpoche’s holy body, (Kudung), was brought from his retreat house at Naragantan to his monastery, Jamchen Lhakhang in Boudhanath, Kathmandu on Friday, 9th February. As the procession reached Boudhanath, a huge rainbow in a perfect circle appeared around the sun. The rainbow remained until Chogye Rinpoche’s Kudung was placed in the upper room of the monastery where the high Lamas visited for an hour and a half. Then, the rainbow remained as a half-circle arc above the sun until after 4 p.m. This was witnessed by everyone and went out live throughout Asia on TV Channel Nepal. After three days, Rinpoche’s Kadung was placed in the Lamdse Llakhan Temple at the back of the Jamchen Lhakhang for the remainder of the ceremonies until his cremation on the Buddhist holy day of “Chotral Duchen”, the fifteenth day of the Tibetan New Year, 3rd March 2007. |
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