Garchen Rinpocheon Tonglen

གཏོང་ལེན་

based on oral teachings by Khenpo Munsel

“But for the actual meaning of tong-len,

you have to understand

the inseparability of self and other,

that the ground of our minds is the same.

We understand this from the View.”- Garchen Rinpoche

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Khenpo Munsel gave me many special oral instructions on tong-len1 that weren't inthe text.

In tong-len, generally, we say that we are sending happiness out to others andtaking others' suffering in.

But for the actual meaning of tong-len, you have to understand the inseparability ofself and other. The ground of our minds is the same. We understand this from theView. In this context, even if there are many different types of suffering, there is onlyone thing called "suffering". There is only one suffering, he taught. If there is reallyonly one suffering then at this time when you, yourself, have great suffering, youshould think, "The minds of the sentient beings of the three realms and my mindhave the same ground." However, the essence of the suffering of the sentient beingsof the three realms and the essence of our own suffering is the same.

If you see them to be the same, if you see them as being non-dual, and thenmeditate on that suffering, in the mind's natural state, that suffering goes away.

At that moment, you have been able to lessen the suffering of all sentient beings ofthe three realms, all at once.

The "len" of tong-len means "taking." First, take in this way. "Tong" means "giving." Ifyou understand your mind's nature, then you recognize the essence of whateversuffering and afflictive emotions there may be to be emptiness.

When suffering does not harm you anymore, the mind has great bliss. If at thattime, you meditate, making self and others inseparable, then that bliss can diminishthe self-grasping of all sentient beings. It can lessen the self-grasping.

The happiness that is being given is the bliss that comes from the practice of givingand taking.

This is how you should practice. This is very special. Others don't explain it thisway.2

1 Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary: གཏོང་ལེན་Tong-len. 'giving and taking.' Sending and taking. Giving and taking. A

bodhichitta practice of giving one's virtue and happiness to others and taking their suffering and misdeeds upononeself. the giving-and-taking [practice of bodhi chitta]; the giving-and-taking [practice of bodhi chitta], a methodfor developing bodhichitta / receiving and transmitting

2 Quoted from: FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL BEINGS - The Extraordinary Life of Garchen Triptrul Rinpoche (44:20– 47:01)

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The main thing is our mind.– Khenpo Munsel1

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A short biography of Garchen Rinpoche

Born in Eastern Tibet in 1937, the 8th KyabjéGarchen Triptrul Rinpoche was theincarnation of a 12th century highly realizedyogi named Gar Chodingpa, one of the heartdisciples of the famed Jigten Sumgon,Kyobpa Rinpoche – founder of the DrikungKagyu lineage that traces back to thetranslator Marpa Lotsawa and greatest poet-yogi of Tibet by the name of Milarepa.Garchen Rinpoche is also considered to bethe emanation of Aryadeva, the lotus-bornheart disciple of the great NargajunaBodhisattva.

The 8th Kyabjé Garchen Triptrul Rinpochewas recognized as a reincarnated lama at theage of seven by Drikung Kyabgon Rinpoche,

Shiwe Lodro, the 36th holder of the Drikung Kagyu lineage. Then, at the age oftwenty-two, soon after Rinpoche completed 2 and a half years of sealed retreat,Tibet was invaded by China. Following the war, Garchen Rinpoche was imprisonedfor almost twenty years. It was in prison that he met his root lama, the greatKhenpo Munsel, and practiced diligently in secret until signs of realizationspontaneously appeared. Through twenty years of imprisonment and hardships,Rinpoche was able to transform his body, speech and mind and emerged as aselfless master of vast compassion and wisdom.

Following his release from the prison, Rinpoche had worked tirelessly to rebuild hismonastery in the Gar village, as well as many other monasteries in the greater areaof Eastern Tibet. For a period of ten years, it was said that Garchen Rinpoche didnot lie down to sleep at night. Rinpoche would sit on a low table to meditatethroughout the night and if he were too tired and sleepily felt down from the table,he would get up and climbed back onto the table to continue with his meditation.

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The 8th Garchen Rinpoche was known throughout the world as a master of vastlove and compassion with the sole wish to benefit all beings without exception. Hewas highly revered not only by masters and disciples of his own lineage but alsomasters and disciples of other traditions as well. He always holds a prayer wheel inhis hand, continuously spins the wheel to pray for, and to radiate compassionateenergy to benefit all beings. The great compassionate Tara is Garchen Rinpoche’smain yidam deity and his aspiration is to follow in her footsteps to bring love andcompassion to all. He has devoted all his time to traveling around the world toteach the Dharma, especially the infallible law of karma cause and effect and theessence teachings of the Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas, a commentarywritten by the Bodhisattva Ngulchu Thogme Zangpo.

When the 8th Kyabjé Garchen Triptrul Rinpoche made it to India for the first timein the late 1990’s and met with His Holiness Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, he did notrequest for any high tantric teaching or empowerment as other reincarnated lamaswould normally request for. What Garchen Rinpoche wished to receive from HisHoliness Dalai Lama were the Bodhisattva vows which he felt that he had brokenduring the war. During a public teaching the following day, His Holinesscommented to the audience how happy he was to have received a highreincarnated lama from Tibet who requested for nothing but the Bodhisattva vows.

http://www.garchenbiography.net/garchenbriefbio.html

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Prayer for the Long Life of Garchen Rinpoche

pakpé yul na aryadeva shyé

The one known in the Holy Land as Aryadeva,

do kham chok su gar gi rik su trul

Emanated into the Gar clan of Eastern Tibet as Chödingpa

jikten gönpö tuksé chödingpa

The heart son of Jikten Gönpo

palden garchen kutsé kal gyar ten

May the life of glorious Garchen remain steadfast for a hundred aeons!

nyikdü gyal ten nyaktré nekab dir

In this age of strife when the Victor's teaching faces hardship

tutob dorje tabü tulshyuk kyi

Through his powerful, vajra-like conduct,

rimé tenpé khur chi dak gir shyé

He takes on himself the heavy responsibility of the unbiased teaching.

tenpé nyima garchen shyabten sol

May Garchen, the Sun of the Teachings, live long!

Prayer composed by His Holiness Drikung Kyabgön Chetsang

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1 Khenpo Munsel b.1916 - d.1993Name Variants: Golok Munsel; Khangsar Benyakma; Munsel; Nampo; Tsultrim Gyatso; Tubten Tsultrim GyatsoKhenpo Munsel (mkhan po mun sel) was born in 1916, on the new-moon day of a winter month in the fire-dragonyear of the fifteenth sexagenary cycle, to the Khangsartsang (khang gsar tshang) family of Chakmo Golok (lcags mo'go log) in Amdo (a mdo). His father named him Nampo (gnam po), from Namgang (gnam gang), meaning "newmoon." His father was named Khangsar Ngolo (khang gsar sngo lo, d.u.) and his mother was named Jechung ZaTashikyi (bye chung bza' bkra shis skyid, d.u.); she was also known as Trokhen Ngawang (khro mkhan ngag dbang).While the boy was still an infant, Yungshul Lama Sungchok Dorje (g.yung shul bla ma gsung mchog rdo rje, d.u.)visited their home and identified the child as an embodiment of the great Nyingma master, Longchen Rabjam (klongchen rab 'byams, 1308-1364). Sungchok Dorje is said to have made a prediction that the child would eliminate thedarkness of his followers’ ignorance and thus named him Munsel, meaning “Eliminator of Darkness.” The youngMunsel was said to be incredibly intelligent, learning reading and writing from Sengshul Lama Choku (seng shul blama chos sku) at an early age. Apparently, he was also a very attractive as a young man, and so came to be known asKhangsar Benyakma (khang gsar ban yag ma) meaning “handsome man of Khangsar.”Munsel received his novice monk ordination (śrāma era) from Jampel Gyatso ('jam dpal rgya mtsho, d.u.) of KatokṇMonastery at the age of fifteen. His ordination name was Tubten Tsultrim Gyatso (thub bstan tshul khrims rgyamtsho). On Jampel Gyatso's recommendation, Munsel joined Katok Monastery and soon received his vows of fullordination (bhik u). He subsequently enrolled in Katok's monastic college, Shedrub Norbui Lhunpo (bshad sgrubṣnorbu'i lhun po), and commenced his studies under his main tutor, Gotsa Khenpo Orgyen Tenpel ('go tsha mkhan poo rgyan bstan 'phel, d.u.), as well as a number of other eminent teachers. He studied common subjects such asgrammar and poetry, general teachings from both sutras and tantras, and topics specific to the Katok curriculum.Around the age of twenty-five, Munsel traveled to Nyoshul Jonpalung (snyo shul ljon pa lung) Monastery where hestudied the complete Longchen Nyingtik (klong chen snying thig) treasure cycle in detail with one of the mostimportant lineage holders of the tradition, Katok Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang (kaH thog mkhan po ngag dbang dpalbzang, 1879-1941), a heart student of Patrul Rinpoche. Ngawang Pelzang eventually accepted Munsel as one of hischief disciples.Munsel's biography estimates he studied one hundred voluminous texts, out of which he mastered twenty-five. Hisperformance during the public tests administered by the monastery is remembered as a demonstration of thiserudition. He was also known to have specialized in the Dzogchen Nyingtik (rdzogs chen snying thig) tradition.Munsel eventually founded a dharma center in Ponkor Ngakgon (dpon skor ngag dgon) where he served as abbot foraround twenty years.At some point in 1959, Munsel was assaulted by members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. He was beatenclose to death, but was said to have remained mentally stable and peaceful during the attack. Afterwards, he wasimprisoned in the district jail for about a year, and was then transferred to the so-called "Lama's Jail" in Xining, theprovincial capital of Qinghai. The facility lacked sufficient food, clothing and shelter, causing great hardships for itsresidents, but it is reported that the conditions did not adversely affect Munsel, and that he was able to continue topractice in secret. He was known to have given a share of his food to his companions in jail, and at one point livedwithout food for several weeks during a period when nourishment was scarce. Despite fasting for such a long time,his health was observed to be even better than before his imprisonment; as a result, many of his fellow prisoners andeven many of the jail's staff are reported to have become his students.As conditions slowly improved, Munsel began to give Dzogchen instructions to those imprisoned with him,including a number of high lamas. While in jail, he became the root guru of the Eighth Garchen, Konchok Gyeltsen(mgar chen 08 dkon mchog rgyal mtshan, b.1936), an important Drigung lineage holder who currently travelswidely; and gave Dzogchen instructions to the Eighth Adeu Rinpoche (a lde'u 08, 1931-2007), a Drukpa Kagyulineage holder. One of his elderly Chinese devotees was even said to have attained a rainbow-body ('ja' lus) at thetime of his death.Munsel spent a total of eighteen years doing hard labor at Dzagyo Factory (rdza gyo bzo grwa) in Xining. Hisbiography relates that he practiced Dzogchen throughout this period by mentally visualizing the factory as ameditation cabin and the tools he was using as ritual implements. Through these methods, he is believed to havegained great spiritual accomplishment. While in jail, he composed a note on the essential teachings of Dzogchen, butburnt it when he acquired a similar note that was written by his teacher, Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang.After spending a total of twenty-two years in prison, Munsel was released. He returned to his hometown in Golokand resumed his activities, teaching both general topics and advanced tantra. In 1984, the wood-mouse year of thesixteenth sexagenary cycle, he founded a monastery named Tashi Chokhor Ling (bkra shis chos 'khor gling) in aplain named Yumchen Tang (yum chen thang), which he renamed Chokhor Pemai Thang (chos 'khor pad+ma'ithang). Tenpa Dargye (bstan pa dar rgyas, d.u.), one of Munsel's main disciples, was enthroned as the abbot of themonastery, and around fifty boys were admitted, granted monastic vows, and installed as resident monks. The courseof study at Tashi Chokhor Ling was based on the traditional curriculum at Katok and included classes onMādhyamaka and Pramā avārtika. Priority was also given to training the monks in the rituals of the LongchenṇNyingtik treasure cycle.

Munsel gathered several hundred lamas and monks from various places around the region to resume their traditionalprayers and religious festivals, such as a regular Guru Rinpoche feast on the tenth of the Tibetan month (tshes bcu).Emphasizing the importance of Vinaya, Munsel also reintroduced the Rainy-Season Retreat as an annual activity athis monastery. Gradually, the number of people seeking monastic vows under his guidance increased and thenumber of resident monks grew.Munsel founded another dharma center (chos sgar) at Gomme Oseltang (sgom med 'od gsal thang) in the Nyikhok(rnyi khog) region of Kham. Gome Oseltang became his main residence, from where he continued to practice andteach on clear light ('od gsal) according to Dzogchen Nyingtik practice. He remained there for the rest of his life.Thousands of disciples were said to have gathered to receive his teachings.In his later life he was often presented with large quantities of gold, silver, agate, and other precious stones asofferings. He sent these to Tibet's first monastery, Samye (bsam yas), in order to support its maintenance andrestoration. He donated one hundred thousand Chinese Yuan to create a fund that supported around seventy residentmonks at Samye, and donated forty thousand Yuan to sponsor the production of woodblocks of the writings ofNgawang Pelzang and other religious texts. These were preserved at Nyoshul Jonpalung Monastery, where he hadoriginally studied the Longchen Nyingtik with Ngawang Pelzang. He also donated several kilograms of expensivecoral to Katok Monastery to sponsor the creation of objects of faith. Holding the view that luxuries were an obstacleto genuine dharma practice, he eventually donated his remaining belongings, including statues, books, and othervaluable goods, to Ponkor Monastery, which he had established before going to prison, retaining only some basicobjects for his daily use. He spent his remaining life living as a simple monk.Outside of Munsel's strict regular practice, he continued to teach a large number of disciples hailing from everyTibetan tradition until his death. Some of his prominent disciples include the Eighth Garchen, Konchok Gyeltsen;Traga Rinpoche; the Eighth Adeu Rinpoche; Tenpa Dargye; Katok Khenpo Pema Lodro (kaH thog mkhan popad+ma blo gro, d.u.), Katokpa Jamyang Gyeltsen (kaH thog pa 'jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan, b.1929), and PelyulDartang (dpal yul dar thang, d.u.).Some of Munsel Rinpoche's compositions include a Meditation and Recitation of Ak obhya (mi 'khrugs pa'i sgomṣzlas); a Prayer to Mañjuśrī ('jam dbyangs gsol 'debs); a Prayer for Guidance in Future Lives (tshe rabs rjes 'dzin gyigsol 'debs); a Transference in Brief ('pho ba bsdus pa); and a Collection of Essential Instructions (zhal gdams phyogssgrig).In February or March of 1994, on the full-moon day of the twelfth month of the water-bird year in the seventeenthsexagenary cycle, Munsel passed away at his residence in Gome Oseltang at the age of about seventy-seven. TenpaDargye and his assistants kept his death a secret for seven days. The local people, however, were said to haveobserved many miraculous signs which according to tradition accompany the passing of a great master, and thenews quickly spread. Khenpo Pema Lodro was invited to rouse Munsel from his post-mortem meditative state(thugs dam). They performed rites and rituals for purifying his body, dressed him in tantric costume, positioned himto hold a vajra and bell, and sat him on a throne to give audience to devotees for twenty-one days. PonkorMonastery sponsored prayers and made extensive offerings including an abundance of torma and butter lamps. Thedetailed pre-cremation rites and rituals, performed by a number of lamas, were led by the abbot of NyoshulMonastery (smyo shul dgon pa), Sanggye Tsering (sangs rgyas tshe ring, d.u.), Getse Tulku Gyurme Gyeltsen (dgertse sprul sku 'gyur med rgyal mtshan, d.u.), and Katokpa Jamyang Gyeltsen. The cremation was done in accordancewith the "Fire Puja of the Four Activities" (las bzhi'i sbyin sreg). Seven days after the cremation relics (ring bsrel)were discovered in his remains, including images of wrathful deities embossed on his skull and peaceful deities onhis spine. His disciples and devotees built a two-story stupa decorated in gold and silver and a temple to house hisrelics.Sources'Jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan. 1996. Rgyal ba kaH thog pa'i lo rgyus mdor bsdus. Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrunkhang, p. 152-153. W20396Khenchen Munsel. 2011. Rdo rje 'chang dngos mkhan chen mun sel mchog gi zab gsung gces bsdus dang nyermkho khag cig. Kathmandou: Thrangu tashi choling. W1KG10749Nyoshul Khenpo. 2005. A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the DzogchenLineage. Junction City, California: Padma Publishing, pp. 524-526Tshe ring ryal mtshan. 1998. Snyigs dus bstan pa'i sgron me khyab bdag rdo rje 'chang mkhan chen chos kyi rgyalpo mun sel rin po che'i rnam thar mthong ba don ldan. Chengdu: Bod rdzogs chen lhan tshogs, pp. 1-51. TBRC21967

Samten ChhosphelMarch 2013

http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Khenpo-Munsel/9929