Chokgyur Lingpa

Chokgyur Lingpa, who lived from 1829-1870 was a treasure revealer and contemporary of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgon Kongtrul. Regarded as one of the major tertons in Tibetan history, his termas are widely practiced by both the Kagyu and Nyingma schools.

“Chokgyur Lingpa means ‘Sanctuary of Eminence.’ “Chokgyur Lingpa was the “manifestation,” meaning the reincarnation, of King Trisong Deutsen’s son, Prince Damdzin. Another of his former lives was the great terton, Sangye Lingpa, who revealed the Lama Gongdu. Chokgyur Lingpa was the last of the 100 major tertons. He was the owner of seven transmissions and is regarded as the universal monarch of all tertons. One of the reasons for this is that no other terton has revealed a teaching that includes the Space Section (longdey) of Dzogchen. There are several Mind Section (semdey) revelations and all major tertons have revealed the Instruction Section (men-ngakdey), but only Chokgyur Lingpa transmitted the Space Section. This is why the Dzogchen Desum is considered the most extraordinary terma that he ever revealed.

Chokgyur Lingpa’s main consort was Dechen Chodron (Lady Degah) and Padmasambhava predicted that his three children would be emanations of the three family lords: Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri and Vajrapani. I don’t like saying this, for it may sound like I’m bragging about my family line, but such a prophecy does exist. The Manjushri emanation was supposed to be Wangchok Dorje, the Avalokiteshvara emanation Tsewang Norbu and the Vajrapani emanation my grandmother, Konchok Paldron.”

–extract from Blazing Splendor, the memoirs of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche describes Chokgyur Lingpa in his Commentary on the Essence Manual of Instructions– quoting the omniscient Yonten Gyatso (Jamgon Kongtrul),

“Your excellent aspiration is to consider the beings of the dark age; your excellent activity is to manifest in accordance with those to be tamed; your excellent life example is to uphold an unprecedented treasury of secrets; I supplicate you who are endowed with this threefold excellence.’ In accordance with these words, the embodied forms of the activity of the king (King Trisong Deutsen) and his sons who will never forsake the beings of this world are to an increasing degree unimpeded, even in this period of the dark age. And thus, there arose a new auspicious coincidence, the wonderful nature of which resembles the appearance of the Buddha in the world.”

“The most important among the profound termas of this great revealer of Dharma treasures was the Four Cycles of Guru Sadhana, belonging to the Sadhana Section, and the Seven Profound Cycles, belonging to the Tantra Section, the latter of which were expressed in a terminology that is in harmony with the Oral Transmission (of kama). Each of these were endowed with the complete aspects of empowerment, sadhana, tantra, development stage and completion stage, each of which again were adorned with wonderful and profound details. In this way his Dharma treasures were totally unmatched.”

“Together with these Dharma treasures he (Chokgyur Lingpa) also revealed sacred substances and innumerable most amazing representations of Body, speech, and mind. He was an unprecedented lord of a treasury of secrets, as if Dharmavajra had appeared in person.”

“Moreover, the activity of his enlightened deeds was beyond partiality in both exposition, practice, and action, to such an extent that an untold number of learned and accomplished masters of Sakya, Geluk, Kagyu and Nyingma — headed by the two lords of the Land of Snow, who are like the sun and moon in presiding over the chariot of the Dharma in this world, as well as their disciples and lineage holders — all directly or indirectly accepted the nectar of his deep teachings; and thus the sunlight of these profound and extensive termas has shone far and wide for the Buddhadharma and all beings.”

“Chokgyur Lingpa was assigned to become a master over one hundred sacred places and treasure troves and would have done so had the auspicious circumstances all been perfected. Nevertheless, there are thirty-seven profound termas well-known within the general domain of experience. The most complete and concise is the root of blessings, the Heart Practice of the Vidyadhara Guru, endowed with an outer, inner, secret, and innermost section.” The Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpo belongs to this fourth, the Innermost Cycle Dorje Drakpo Tsal.

Watch a video giving historical context for the Chokling lineage, back to the time of Guru Rinpoche.