Sogyal Rinpoche

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Sogyal Rinpoche (Tibetan: བསོད་རྒྱལ་; Wylie: Bsod-rgyal) is a Tibetan Dzogchen lama of the Nyingma tradition. He is the founder of Rigpa and the author of the best-selling book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.[1]

Born c. 1947 in the region of Kham, in Eastern Tibet, Sogyal Rinpoche was recognized as the incarnation of Lerab Lingpa Tertön Sogyal, a teacher to the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, of the Rime movement. Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö raised Sogyal Rinpoche. [2]

In 1971 Sogyal Rinpoche went to England where he received a Western education, studying Comparative Religion at Cambridge University. He continued to study with many masters, of all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, especially His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche and His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. [3]

in 1983, Rigpa Fellowship was established in the United States by Christine Longaker under Sogyal Rinpoche's guidance. [4]

In 1989, Sogyal Rinpoche was asked to help organize His Holiness the Dalai Lama's visit to San Jose, California and sponsored two days of Dzogchen Teachings by His Holiness in Santa Cruz. [5]

In August 1990, Sogyal Rinpoche and Rigpa hosted Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche on his final visit to the West, together with a large gathering of Tibetan Buddhist teachers at Prapoutel, a ski resort in the French Alps. The retreat was attended by 1500 people.[6]

In 1991 he founded the retreat centre of Lerab Ling near Montpellier in southern France.[7]

In 1992, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying was published. Two million copies have been sold in 29 languages and 56 countries. It has been adopted by colleges, groups and institutions, both medical and religious, and is used extensively by nurses, doctors and health care professionals.[8]

In 1993, Christine Longaker established the Spritual Care Program which is based on the teachings of Sogyal Rinpoche and demonstrates practical ways in which the compassion and wisdom of the Buddhist teachings can be of benefit to those facing illness or death and also to their families and medical caregivers.[9]

Sogyal Rinpoche appeared in the 1993 film Little Buddha by Bernardo Bertolucci in the role of Kenpo Tenzin.[10]

In 1994, a civil lawsuit was filed against Sogyal Rinpoche. It was alleged that over a period of many years, Rinpoche had used his position as a spiritual leader to induce some of his female students to have coitus with him. The complaint included counts of intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of fiduciary duty, as well as assault and battery. In December 1995 the issue was settled through mediation.[11] [12]

In 2000, Sogyal Rinpoche hosted His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Lerab Ling, Rigpa's main retreat center in France. His Holiness taught on "The Way to Enlightenment" and the event was attended by nearly 10,000 students of Tibetan Buddishm from around the world. [13]

Sogyal Rinpoche is spiritual director of Rigpa, a network of more than 100 Buddhist centres around the world. He has been teaching in the west for over 30 years now and continues to travel to Europe, America, Australia, and Asia. [14]

[edit] Publications

Sogyal Rinpoche, Dzogchen and Padmasambhava, Rigpa Publications, 1990, ISBN-10: 0962488402
Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, ISBN 0-06-250834-2
Sogyal Rinpoche, The Spirit of Buddhism: The Future of Dharma in the West, ISBN 0-06-053995-X

[edit] External links

[edit] Bibliography

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, by Sogyal Rinpoche ISBN 0-06-250834-2
The Spirit of Buddhism: The Future of Dharma in the West, by Sogyal Rinpoche ISBN 0-06-053995-X
A Marvelous Garland of Precious Gems, by Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche
"The Precious One", by Mick Brown, Telegraph Magazine, 2 February 1995, pp.20-29.

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Categories: Lamas | Tibetan people | Tibetan Buddhism | Rimé