Geden Phacho Bhucho Project

 I travelled to India in September 2013 and while in Dharamsala, I visited Kyabje Denma Lochoe Rinpoche and reminded him about a teaching that he had agreed to give and he said that he was willing to give this in South India. Therefore, I prepared thangkas and mandalas and so on in a very short time for this occasion and, according to plan, he gave this teaching in Drepung Loseling Monastery. This is a very important and secret teaching and traditionally can only be given to five students at a time, and only five times in one’s lifetime. I am therefore so glad that this teaching has been passed on and is now safe, and Professor Samdhong Rinpoche is also very relieved about this matter.

While I was talking to Kyabje Denma Lochoe Rinpoche, I happened to ask him if he had the oral transmission of the biography of Ja Drinnyon Dawa and he replied that he did indeed have this transmission. I couldn’t believe my ears and had to ask him to repeat his answer because I have been asking many other lamas if they had this teaching, without success, and now I had finally found it. This was wonderful news and I asked if I could be included when he gave the teaching as I very much wanted to receive it. All of the other teachings that we have requested are for their preservation in general but this particular one holds great interest for me personally. Therefore, after His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Lam Rim teaching in early January, I went to Mundgod again and Rinpoche gave this oral transmission to ten of us.
I mentioned in the last newsletter our request to H.H. Ganden Tri Rinpoche for teachings on the Heruka deity, one of the three major deities of the Gelugpa tradition. During my visit to him he said that he would be focusing on compiling Lam Rim teachings by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche at this time. I will therefore wait for the Heruka teaching to begin at a later date.
I also mentioned the kun mkhyen Jamyang Shepa(jam dhyangsbzhad pa 1648-1721, principal textbook writer for Gomang College of Drepung Monastery). These oral transmissions were also passed on in July 2013 at Gomang College over 20 days to about three hundred students. There is just one volume of this which remains to be given and I hope this will be passed on in July this year, 2014, along with the Damcha Bebum teachings. By that time we hope we will have completely collated the four different sets.
While His Holiness’s teachings were going on in Sera Monastery, South India, the Gelug International Foundation organized a conference for the lamas and tulkus at Sera Monastery Prayer Hall on 2nd January . There were about eighty tulkus at the Conference and they were discussing the creation of an International Gelugpa Tulku Association which would mainly aim to preserve teachings, empowerments and oral transmissions. The organisers requested Professor Samdhong Rinpoche to speak and, in his speech, he mentioned the Geden Phacho Bhucho Preservation Centre and also the Loseling Tulku Association. He said that they had done a good job in preserving precious teachings, particularly the GPBPC who had worked thoroughly and continuously on preserving Gelugpa teachings and had made such a difference. He said,” Now, if we are going to set up this International Gelugpa Tulku Association, I would suggest that the aims are the same as the GPBPC and it would be good if this organization would work closely with the GPBPC.” Similarly, Kyabje Jangtse Choeje mentioned the work of the GPBPC.
Hearing what the two Masters had to say moved me to speak and confirm that once the IGTA started, they would be most welcome to work with the GPBPC and that I would be more than happy to cooperate to preserve the Dharma. I am greatly inspired by those Masters’ appreciation of our work.
While I was in India I visited Kyabje Tri Rinpoche and Kyabje Togden Rinpoche, the ex Abbot of Loseling Monastery, and they both told me to discuss with the current Loseling Abbot a request to Denma Lochoe Rinpoche to give teachings on the Middle Path text by Lama Tsongkapa. Therefore, I did so and the result is that Kyabje Denma Lochoe Rinpoche will start to give these teachings in February 2014. Although I have been organizing these Middle Path teachings, Rinpoche very kindly told me it was not necessary to take responsibility for the their expense.