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JAMGON KONGTRUL RINPOCHE THE FOURTH

FROM THE TSURPHU FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER, FEBRUARY 1999

(used with permission)

by Ward Holmes, Tsurphu Foundation Director,
Hawaii, USA, Jan. 17th, 1999.

[Note: Jamgon Kontrul Rinpoche's traditional seat is Palpung Monastery, in Dege, Kham. The Third Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche visited Palpung in 1991, shortly before his death in a car accident in India.]

In June of 1992, I was in Tibet at Tsurphu Monastery, and the late Ven. Drupon Dechen Rinpoche informed me that H.H. the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa would be arriving in seven days. He told me that it would be beneficial to make a film about the Karmapa coming back to our world again. As I had helped to rebuild Tsurphu Monastery for several years, He also mentioned that I would be allowed to see Karmapa whenever I wanted.

Karmapa arrived on June 15th, 1992, and I was able to be with Him for a few hours every day. I showed Him pictures of the late Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, the 3rd, and with tears in my eyes I mentioned to Him my sadness that They had missed each other by just a couple of months. He said not to worry, that Rinpoche would come back to us very soon.

Some years passed, and then on my return to Lhasa from a trip to Kham (Eastern Tibet) in August of 1996, I received news that the new incarnation of Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche had been found and had been brought to Lhasa. I was very excited and proceeded to find out where to find Him. After two days of inquiries I found out where He was staying and went to try to meet Him.

When I knocked on the door, they were very surprised to see me, and were a little unsure on what to do. It was decided after a few minutes that I should come back early the next morning to meet with the Fourth Jamgon Rinpoche. That night I was so excited, I could hardly sleep the whole night, with anticipation filling my mind of what it would be like to see and be with Him again.

The next morning, I was invited in and taken upstairs to greet Rinpoche. As soon as I walked into the room, my heart was immediately filled with a warm, blissful happiness that was ever so familiar to me from the days of being with the previous Jamgon Rinpoche. Rinpoche was only 8 months old at the time. I was allowed to take many pictures for people all over the world, and for the next few days I often went back to see Him.

Here is a short summary of Rinpoche's discovery

On May 27th Tenzin Dorjee received the letter of prediction that Karmapa had written. Karmapa told him and his group that they had come to Tsurphu on the same day that He had witnessed some very auspicious signs which included a single burst of the thunder, sunshine with rain and a rainbow in front of the monastery. He drew some sketches and explained some landmarks to help them on their journey to find the new incarnation.

They went on a first search, which brought little result. Upon returning to Karmapa again, HH. mentioned that in the past years He had frequently seen visions and rainbows above the mountain at Tsurphu. Within the rainbows, He could see the Third Jamgon Kongtrul and the lights dissolving into each other disappearing behind the mountain. He said that this vision had also often appeared in His dreams. He also had visions of the Tibetan alphabet indicating the name of the parents.

He again told them to continue the search and return to Chushur. The fourth Jamgon Kongtrul "Jamgon Lodro Chokyi Senge" was finally discovered on August 4th, 1996 in the district of Chushur, His village of birth called Sehmed Shang. He was born into a family of eight and all the signs were found exactly as they had been written in the prediction letter. The great black mountain, the mighty river and the two-story house with its door facing east.

The party returned to Tsurphu after this discovery and informed Karmapa of what they had found and showed the photos they had taken. When they described the family's home to the Karmapa, He took out a house that He had constructed from his Lego toy set and asked the party present if the family's home resembled what He had built. They were surprised and said that it did look like that.

On the morning of August 12th, 1996 His Holiness Karmapa summoned Tenzin Dorjee to his chambers and Karmapa bestowed on him the letter of recognition of the new reincarnation, saying "Now this is the letter of recognition of the Fourth Jamgon Rinpoche. Your Labrang should be happy. You have all worked very hard." He then offered a golden silk scarf and a red blessing cord to be presented to the new incarnation, as is traditional.

Karmapa said that the reincarnation is very important for all of Buddhism, and in particular for the Karma Kagyu lineage, because Jamgon Rinpoche is one of its Lineage Holders. A mistake about Him would mean that He would not be able to benefit the Buddha Dharma and sentient beings, and that He would not be able to carry out His activity.

On September 1st, 1996 Jamgon Rinpoche made his first visit to Tsurphu Monastery to meet the 17th Karmapa. On the morning of September 2nd, the auspicious day of La Bab Duchen, His Holiness performed the traditional Haircutting ceremony and granted the name Jamgon Lodro Chokyi Nyima Tenpa Dronme Chok Thamced Le Nampar Gyalwe De.

We decided we would make a little video film (not for distribution) about Rinpoches discovery, so in the beginning days I filmed Him often. Then after going to Nepal and again returning to Tibet, I went with some monks of the original search party to retrace their steps and return to the birthplace of the fourth Jamgon Rinpoche. We stopped to film all the interesting places along the way, such as the walnut tree, where Karmapa had stopped on his way back from Shigatze and made a prediction.

We arrived at the village and home of the birthplace of Jamgon Rinpoche. We interviewed the grandparents and the mother, as the father was away when we arrived. We walked across a very dangerous bridge, which crosses the Brahmaputra (or Yarlung Tsangpo). From there we took many nice photos and video shots of the village and home of Rinpoche. We also filmed the mountains that Karmapa had mentioned in His prediction letter. We filmed more of Rinpoche in Tibet just before I went back to Kathmandu, where we made our first video about His discovery for Tenzin Dorjee to take along with him on his trip abroad.

Later on Rinpoche was brought to India, and on September 19th, 1997 His Holiness the Dalai Lama performed the haircutting ceremony and bestowed the name Tenzin Osel Choying Gyatso on the Fourth Jamgon Rinpoche, at McLeod Ganj in Dharamsala. He also granted a letter of recognition. Rinpoche then went on to meet and receive blessing from many other Rinpoches throughout India.

On November 17th, 1997 we did a formal filming of Rinpoche's grand arrival in Nepal with big betacam TV cameras. Tenzin Dorjee asked us in the early morning of the day of Rinpoches arrival, to be aware and look for rainbows. I was so caught up with filming the events that were happening that I hardly noticed the many unusual rainbows and colored lights that were to be seen throughout the entire arrival event.

Fortunately many other people, including some of the members of the film crew noticed this magnificent display of rainbows in time and therefore we were able to film many of them. The welcoming event was magnificent and was attended by thousands of monks from all the Kagyu monasteries in Nepal, many dignitaries from Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Sikkim, and more than 6000 people, comprising Rinpoches, Lamas, monks and devotees from around the world.

His Holiness Karmapa told that He had seen rainbows above the mountain in front of Tsurphu, and Rinpoche was born in the village just South of that same mountain. Everywhere Rinpoche traveled, there seemed to be rainbows appearing. The personal tutor to Jamgon Rinpoche, the Ven. Khenpo Lodro Namgyal, who had also witnessed the many unusual rainbows on November 17th, said "Like the Samboghakaya, rainbows are colorful and pure. They appear as the result of the interdependence of causes of conditions. That they are connected with the events of the Fourth Jamgon Rinpoche is a sign that His Eminence's incarnation is authentic, and that His activity will be colorful and pure, like that of the rainbow."

Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche is presently residing at His Monastery of Pullahari, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Audiences are granted daily for anyone wishing to meet with Him.

The Jamgon Kongtrul Labrang in Nepal has just produced a book called "His Eminence Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche the Fourth - EMA HO!" The book is very well done, with many wonderful pictures, full descriptive stories of the search, the discovery, travels and celebrations of Jamgon Rinpoche.

For those wishing to obtain the book, it can be purchased directly from the Jamgon Kongtrul Labrang or from the Tsurphu Foundation's Homepage in the Tsyber Shop section.

The Book: His Eminence Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche

This is a wonderful book with many color photos included. It has been recently published by the Jamgon Kongtrul Labrang in Nepal in 1998. It explains in a fascinating clear story of the finding and recognition of the 4th Jamgon Kongtrul and how the 17th Karmapa had a vision and wrote a letter which led to the discovery. The little Jamgon Rinpoche now lives in Pullahari, Nepal. The book is available. The price US$ 8.00 plus shipping costs. See the Tsurphu Tsyber Shop - Book section

Tsurphu Foundation Mainsite (USA) http://www.tsurphu.com/karmapa/shop3.html

Tsurphu Foundation Mirrorsite (Hawaii) http://www.maui.net/~tsurphu/karmapa/shop3.html

Tsurphu Foundation Mirrorsite (Denmark) http://www.tibet.dk/tsurphu/karmapa/shop3.html

The Discovery of H.E. Jamgon Kongtrul The Fourth,

Tsurphu Foundation Mainsite, USA http://www.tsurphu.com/karmapa/jkr4art1.html

Tsurphu Foundation Mirrorsite, Hawaii http://www.maui.net/~tsurphu/karmapa/jkr4art1.html

Tsurphu Foundation Mirrorsite, Denmark http://www.tibet.dk/tsurphu/karmapa/jkr4art1.html