Tsoknyi Rinpoche

Tsoknyi Rinpoche III

The first Drubwang Tsoknyi Rinpoche was a 19th century renowned master of the Drukpa Kagyu and Nyingma traditions, and root guru to the founder of Gebchak Gonpa, Tsangyang Gyamtso the first. Drubwang Toknyi was born in Nangchen, eastern Tibet, and was a contemporary of the great masters of the time: Jamyang Khyentse, Jamgon Kongtrul, and Chokgyur Lingpa. A reincarnation of the terton Ratna Lingpa, he spread the teachings of the Ratna Lingpa Heart Accomplishment practice with great success – a practice still upheld today by the nuns at Gebchak Gonpa. Drubwang Tsoknyi was regarded by all as an actual buddha, and his principal seat in was Tsechu Monastery (Nangchengar) in eastern Tibet. He was responsible for the founding of many retreat centres, which his subsequent incarnations continue to care for. He showed special concern for female practitioners and passed on many teachings to the nuns, and it was Drubwang Tsoknyi Rinpoche who commanded his heart disciple, Tsangyang Gyamtso the first, to build Gebchak Nunnery – the first nunnery in eastern Tibet where women gathered to spend their lives in dedicated Dharma practice.

The second Tsoknyi Rinpoche was born into the family of the King of Nangchen in the first half of the 20th century and received teachings from the 7th Khamtrul Rinpoche, to whom he had transmitted teachings in his previous incarnation. He was expert in the Six Yogas of Naropa and Mahamudra as well as his own Nyingma lineages.

The present and third Tsoknyi Rinpoche was born in 1966 in Kathmandu, Nepal, and recognized as a tulku at the age of eight. He was born into an unbroken father-to-son lineage of realized Dzogchen masters. His great-great-grandfather was the treasure revealer Chokgyur Lingpa, and Rinpoche was trained in that family tradition by his father since an early age. His teachers include some of the most renowned masters of Tibet: Khamtrul Rinpoche Dongyu Nyima, his father Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche and Adeu Rinpoche. Tsoknyi Rinpoche’s activities provide material support for branch nunneries of Gebchak Gonpa in Nangchen and Nepal.