Rigpa Chicago

Lineage One of the unique and precious aspects of Tibetan Buddhism is the authentic transmission of teaching and realization in an unbroken lineage from master to disciple that extends directly back to the Buddha. Sogyal Rinpoche expresses his appreciation and devotion for his masters in the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying in this way: “ All that I have realized I have realized through devotion to my masters. Increasingly, as I go on teaching, I become aware, humbly and with real awe, of how their blessings are beginning to work through me. I am nothing without their blessing, and if there is anything I feel I can do, it is acting as a bridge between you and them. Again and again, I notice that when I speak of my masters in my teaching, my devotion to them inspires a vision of devotion in those listening, and in those marvelous moments I feel my masters are present, blessing and opening the hearts of my students to the truth.” “ It is my devotion to my masters that gives me the strength to teach, and the openness and receptivity to learn and go on learning. Dilgo Khysentse Rinpoche himself never stopped humbly receiving teachings from other masters, and often those who were his own disciples. The devotion that gives the inspiraton to teach, then, is also the devotion that gives the humility to go on learning.”
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	Lerab Lingpa Tertön Sogyal (1856-1927) was the incarnation of Nanam Dorje Dudjom, a disciple of Padmasambhava. Tertön Sogyal was a prolific tertön, a revealer of spiritual treasures, whose collected revelations fill 20 volumes. He was a close student of the great masters Nyoshul Lungtok, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche and Jamgön Kongtrul. His own many disciples included the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso (1876-1933), the Third Dodrupchen, Jikme Tenpe Nyima, and Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. It was Jamyang Khyentse who recognised Sogyal Rinpoche as the incarnation of Tertön Sogyal.
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	Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (1893-1959) was the most outstanding Tibetan master of the last century, and the teacher of many lamas who were to teach in the West. An authority on all traditions and holder of all the lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, he was the heart of the Rimé movement in Tibet. This was a kind of spiritual renaissance, which rejected all forms of sectarian, partisan bias, encouraging each tradition to master completely the authentic teachings and practice of its own lineage, while at the same time maintaining a spirit of openness, harmony and co-operation with other Buddhist schools. Jamyang Khyentse was the master who recognised Sogyal Rinpoche as the incarnation of Lerab Lingpa Tertön Sogyal. He supervised Rinpoche's training and raised him like his own son.
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	Dudjom Rinpoche (1904-1987) was one of Tibet’s foremost scholars and meditation masters. Considered to be the living representative of Padmasambhava, he was a prolific author and revealer of the spiritual treasures (terma) concealed by Padmasambhava. A prolific author and meticulous scholar, Dudjom Rinpoche wrote more than 40 volumes. Over the last decade of his life he spent much time teaching in the West, where he helped to establish the Nyingma tradition, founding major centres in France and the United States. Sogyal Rinpoche served as his translator and assistant for many years.
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	Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910-1991) was one of the closest disciples of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, and one of the last great masters to have completed his entire training in Tibet. He was regarded by many as one of the greatest Dzogchen masters of the 20th century, the very embodiment of Padmasambhava, and he was the teacher of many of the important lamas of today. In addition to his tireless teaching activity, Khyentse Rinpoche supervised an exceptional publishing programme, making available over 300 volumes of teachings. The destruction of so many texts during the early 1960s in Tibet meant that by taking such pains to publish them, Khyentse Rinpoche ensured their survival for future generations.
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	Born in Kham in 1932, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, again called Khenpo Jamyang Dorje, was a disciple of Shedrup Tenpe Nyima. He became a disciple of Dudjom Rinpoche and of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. For ten years or so, his presence, his free style of accomplished yogi, and his poetic teachings inspired numerous western practitioners in Dordogne and elsewhere. Great poet, holder of the Nyongtri of Khenpo Ngaga, he was counted among the most erudite in the knowledge of the works of Longchenpa to whom his devotion went. Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche left us in 1999.
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	Jamyang Khyentse's spiritual wife, Khandro Tséring Chödrön (b.1929), is one of the most highly respected woman masters of our day. She served as Jamyang Khyentse's attendant and devoted companion, receiving countless teachings and transmissions, requesting practices and prayers and putting questions to him in the form of songs.