The End of the Vajrayana

“…Then I thought of taking the Secret Essence Tantra from (Kunnu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen) as well. I happened to mention this to Ling Rinpoche one day, but he discouraged me. He told me that it was rather controversial and that it would be better not to take it.

Now what actually had happened was that Ling Rinpoche, being rather timid, seems to have been under the impression that if I were to take the transmission, Dholgyal was likely to have responded by inflicting some harm.

I was the one who was pushing to take this. The Secret Essence Tantra is, I believe, one of the texts that Buton Rinpoche decided to exclude from the collection of the Kangyur. However, it is a text that the Nyingma and Karma Kagyu treat as authentic.

Anyway, Ling Rinpoche’s opposition to me receiving the transmission of that Tantra was based upon his fear of Dholgyal. Therefore, what happened was that though I wanted to take that Tantra, because of someone’s fear of Dholgyal, I was unable to. My rights to freedom of religious choice were thus violated.”

-Tenzin Gyatso XIV Dalai Lama

Does this strike anyone else as strange? Was Ling Rinpoche, Guru to the Dalai Lama, tantric master, and pure preceptor, really afraid of harm from a worldly spirit? All Buddhists know that pure refuge protects from spirits and the like, that is why the Dalai Lama said, in reference to Dorje Shugden, “I don’t even visualize the protection wheel.”

If the Dalai Lama had nothing to fear from Dorje Shugden, why should Ling Rinpoche, his own Guru?!?

Perhaps more distubing still, this quotation raises an important question….

Since when does following the advice of your Vajrayana guru constitute a loss of religious freedom?!?

The only freedom lost through following the advice of one’s spiritual guide is the freedom to wander endlessly in the scorching pits of samsara.

This kind of attitude marks the begining of the end of the secret Mantra path in this world. The Guru gradually comes to be seen as outmoded, unecessary in the attempt to attain liberation from suffering. The result of this view spreading in our world is that the Vajrayana becomes a hollow shell,  a vehicle without power, a car with no engine.

Scholars and Yogis, PLEASE check.

Ganden Tripa Authorizes Dorje Shugden Pratitioners to represent the Gelugpa tradition

"I confer upon Trijang Buddhist Institute the authority to represent and transmit the teachings of the Gelug order of Tibetan Buddhism in the United States."

In April of this Year, the Ganden Tripa, spiritual head of the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, wrote a letter authorizing Trijang Buddhist Institute of Northfelid Vermont to “represent and transmit the teachings of the Gelug order of Tibetan Buddhism in the United States.”

He also stated catacorically that Trijang Chogtrul Rinpoche (“having been educated in the teachings of the Gelug order of Tibetan Buddhism, and officially recognized by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama as being the incarnation of the late Trijang Dorje Chang, Tutor to the 14th Dalai Lama and one of the greatest twentieth-century Buddhist masters of this order…”) is fully qualified to act as director of TBI.

As it is widely known that Trijang Rinpoche has steadfastly refused to abandon the Dorje Shugden practice that was so precious to his predecessor, this letter seems somewhat remarkable. The Ganden Tri, holder of the throne of Je Tsongkhapa and leader of the Gelugpa tradition, authorizes a famous Dorje Shugden Lama and his institute to represent and transmit the teachings of the Gelugpas?

If he feels that Dorje Shugden practitioners “represent the teachings of the

Click to Read Letter

Gelug order,” this clearly indicates that Dorje Shugden practice is a valid part of the Gelug tradition, does it not? At very least, it gives lie to the idea, much promoted on the internet of late, that Dorje Shugden practitioners are a fringe group who do not represent mainstream Buddhist practice.

He also wrote ”Thus authorized, Trijang Buddhist Institute is dedicated to preserving, representing, and transmitting the Buddhist teachings of the Gelug tradition.”

I find it noteworthy that has authorized a Dorje Shugden lama to “preserve” the teachings. Perhaps he, too, is concerned that certain aspects of the precious Ganden Tradition that have been passed down master to disciple for hundreds of years, will be wiped out if someone doesn’t do something.

Scholars and yogis, Please check!

“…This feeling of renunciation was overwhelming…”

(From The introduction to Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand – A Concise Discourse on the Path to Enlightenment By Pabongka Rinpoche Edited by Trijang Rinpoche Translated by Michael Richards Wisdom 1991. All formatting and emphasis mine…)

Trijang Dorjechang

His kindness is without equal.

He was — and now I shall give his name in view of my purpose — Jetsun Jampa Taenzin Trinlae Gyatso Paelzangpo. (Pabongka Rinpoche) Although people like me are immature, uncultured and unregenerate, there was a time when I feasted on his oral instructions into the Mahayana [the Supreme or Great Vehicle] at Chuzang Hermitage, a lonely place that was blessed by the presence of great meditators.

He started the following informal teaching on the thirtieth day of the seventh month of the Iron Bird Year [1921], and it lasted twenty-four days.

People braved great hardships to get there from the three major monasteries in Lhasa, from the Central Province, from Tsang, Amdo and Kham to taste the nectar of his oral teachings, as the thirsty yearn for water.

There were about thirty lamas and reincarnations of lamas, and many upholders of the three baskets of the teachings – in all a gathering of over seven hundred.

The informal teaching he gave combined various traditions on the Lam-rim – the stages of the path to enlightenment.

Je Pabongka

There were the two oral lineages related to the Lam-rim text Manjushn’s Own Words. One of these lineages was quite detailed and had developed in the Central Province; another lineage of a briefer teaching flourished in the south of Tibet. He also included the concise teaching, the Swift Path Lam-rim; and in the part of the Great Scope section that deals with the interchange of self and others, he taught the seven-point mind training.

Each part of the teaching was enriched by instructions taken from the confidential oral lineages. Each section was illustrated by analogies, conclusive formal logic, amazing stories, and trustworthy quotations. The teaching could easily be understood by beginners, and yet was tailored for all levels of intelligence. It was beneficial for the mind because it was so inspiring. <h2>Sometimes we were moved to laughter, becoming wide awake and alive. Sometimes we were reduced to tears and cried helplessly. At other times we became afraid or were moved to feel, ‘I would gladly give up this life and devote myself solely to my practice.’ </h2>This feeling of renunciation was overwhelming. These are some of the ways in which all of his discourses were so extraordinary.

Trijang Rinpoche and Zong Rinpoche

How could I possibly convey all this on paper! Yet what a pity if all the key points contained in these inspiring instructions were lost. This thought gave me the courage to write this book. As my precious guru later advised me, ‘Some of the people present could not follow the teaching. I’m afraid I do not trust all the notes people took during the classes. I therefore ask you to publish a book. Put in it anything you feel sure of.’

In this book I have accurately recorded my lama’s teachings in the hope that this substitute for his speech will be beneficial to my friends who wish to succeed in their practice

“…Our childish minds were unfit vessels for so vast an ocean of teachings…”

(From Trijang Rinpoche’s introduction to Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand- A Concise Discourse on the Path to Enlightenment By Pabongka Rinpoche, Edited by Trijang Rinpoche Translated by Michael Richards Wisdom 1991. All emphasis and formatting mine)

Trijang Dorjechang

Prasdrin pararia syaklutaki yanta,
Tray am guhyanatd tigolama eka,
Sudhi vajradharottarah muni aksha,
Prayachchha tashubham valdruga kota.

O Lama Lozang Dragpa, One with Shakyamuni and Vajradhara, O sum of every perfect refuge, O mandala-guise complete With three mysteries of enlightenment, rain upon us ten million goodnesses.

(About Pabongka Rinpoche) O my guru, my protector, who, through the Supreme Vehicle, vanquished the extreme of selfish peace, who, unattached to worldly comforts, upheld the three high trainings and the teachings of the Victor, whose noble good works remained untarnished by the eight worldly concerns.

Kyabje Pabongka

You were the very fountain-head of goodness. Everything you said was medicine to drive out hundreds of diseases;

So precious a source of qualities. How sad if these teachings were forgotten!

Here, I have recorded but a few. Immeasurable, countless numbers of Buddhas have come in the past. But unfortunate beings such as myself were not worthy enough to be direct disciples even of Shakyamuni, the best of protectors, who stands out like a white lotus among the thousand great Buddhas, the saviours of this fortunate aeon. First we had to be forced into developing even a moment’s wholesome thought; this took us to the optimum physical rebirth as a human.

We have been taught this most unmistaken path, which will lead us to the level of omniscience, at which time we shall gain our freedom. But, to be brief,

I was saved time and time again from infinite numbers of different evils, and was brought closer to an infinity of magnificent things.

My glorious and holy guru did this.

His Eminence Trijang Dorjechang Losang Yeshe

Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche

His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang was one of the foremost Tibetan Buddhist Masters of our time, taking birth at the turn of the twentieth century and passing away in 1981 at the age of eighty-one.

Not only had he followed in age exactly the example of the Enlightened Buddha, but also through his precious activities and in particular through his extraordinary method and capacity of teaching he fulfilled the purpose of countless beings and the teachings of the Buddha, particularly the tradition of Je Tsong Khapa. All the great Masters and the followers of this tradition were brought up by his compassionate spiritual guidance.

Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang served His Holiness the Dalai Lama first as philosophical assistant, then as personal tutor, together with Kyabje Ling Dorje Chang, for altogether fifty years.

Trijang Rinpoche (Right) with Ling Rinpoche (Left) and their disciple, the present Dalai Lama (center)

Not only did he offer to His Holiness studies from the elementary level up to the highest tantric transmissions, he was also the backbone of the struggle against the Chinese occupation at the most difficult and confused time of Tibetan history. The escape of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from Tibet in 1959 was also thanks to the wisdom and efforts of Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang.

Up to the end of his life Trijang Rinpoche continuously turned the Wheel of Dharma for the sake of all sentient beings. The flourishing of Dharma in the West is also directly and indirectly connected with him, because of his own teachings as well as the precious activities of his disciples, such as Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, Ven. Geshe Rabten, Ven. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Ven. Lama Yeshe and many more. Without him the situation of Tibetan Buddhism in the West would be completely different.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche said

The (present) incarnation of Kyabje Dorje Chang, His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche, is His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s guru and the lama of all the Tibetan people…. In his previous life (as Trijang Dorjechang Losang Yeshe) he performed incredibly holy actions; therefore, his present incarnation has the potential to spread Dharma in both the East and the West like the rising sun spreads light.

Trijang Rinpoche receives offerings at Monlam

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso has likened Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche to

“a vast reservoir from which all Gelugpa practitioners of the present day received ‘waters’ of blessings and instructions.”

He held many important positions within the Gelug School including Ganden Tripa, the head of Gelugpa tradition. He was the Lama most responsible in his generation for spreading the Dorje Shugden practice, especially to the west. Trijang Rinpoche was also responsible for editing the classic Lam Rim text Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, by Kabje Pabongka Rinpoche, from which the following quotations are drawn.

“…It was in his private quarters at the Tashi Chuling hermitage that I first met Pabongka Rinpoche…”

(From the Forward to The Principal Teachings of Buddhism by Tsongkhapa, with a commentary by Pabongka Rinpoche, translated by Geshe Lobsang Tharchin, Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Press, 1998, all emphasis and formatting mine…)

Meeting Je Pabongka….

Je Pabongka It was in his private quarters at the Tashi Chuling hermitage that I first met Pabongka

Je Pabongka

Rinpoche. He had been away on an extended teaching tour in eastern Tibet, and just returned. I was still the wild teenager and had been stuck with the distasteful job of nyerpa for Gyalrong House—this means I was a kind of quartermaster and had to make sure there was enough firewood and food to keep the house kitchen going for several hundred monks. Since the Rinpoche was a member of Gyalrong, we were supposed to send a committee over to the hermitage to welcome him back and present him gifts. As nyerpa I was expected to arrange some supplies and help carry them along.

In private conversation Pabongka Rinpoche was in the habit of constantly attaching “Quite right! Quite right!” to everything he said. So I distinctly remember when I came into his presence, and he put his hand on my head, and he said “Quite right! Quite right! Now this one looks like a bright boy!”

From that day on I felt as though I had received his blessing, and some special power to pursue my studies.

On the Power of Je Pabongkha’s speech…..

….

The effects on his audience were striking and immediate.

I remember particularly the case of Dapon Tsago, a member of the nobility who held a powerful position equivalent to Minister of Defense. Public teachings in Tibet were as much social as religious affairs, and aristocrats would show up in their best finery, often it seemed not to hear the dharma but rather to put in an appearance. So one day this great general marches in to the hall, decked out in silk, his long hair flowing in carefully tailored locks (this was considered manly and high fashion in old Tibet).

A great ceremonial sword hung from his belt, clanging importantly as he swaggered in. By the end of the first section of the teaching he was seen leaving the hall quietly, deep in thought—he had wrapped his weapon of war in a cloth to hide it, and was taking it home. Later on we could see he had actually trimmed off his warrior’s locks, and finally one day he threw himself before the Rinpoche and asked to be granted the special lifetime religious vows for laymen. Thereafter he always followed Pabongka Rinpoche around, to every public teaching he gave.

On Je Pabongka’s meditation hermitage…..

Jetsun Khen Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchin

The Rinpoche had never spent much time at the small monastery atop the Pabongka rock, and his fame Jetsun Khen Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchin Jetsun Khen Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchin soon reached such proportions that the Ngakpa College of Sera Monastery offered him a large retreat complex on the hillside above Pabongka. The name of this hermitage was Tashi Chuling, or “Auspicious Spiritual Isle.” There were some sixty Buddhist monks in residence there, and as I remember about sixteen personal attendants who helped the Lama with his pressing schedule: two monk-secretaries, a manager for finances, and so on.

The Rinpoche would divide his time between his quarters here and a small meditation cell built around the mouth of a cave, further up the side of the mountain. The cave was known as Takden, and it was here that Pabongka Rinpoche would escape for long periods to do his private practice and meditations. The central chamber had a high vaulted ceiling, so high that the light of a regular fire-torch could not even reach it, and the darkness seemed to go up forever.

In the center of the ceiling there was an odd natural triangle in the rock, which looked exactly like the outer shape of one of the mystic worlds described in our secret teachings. In the corner of this wonderful cave, an underground spring flowed froma rock—and above it was another natural drawing, this one just like the third eye that we see painted on the forehead of one of our female Buddhas.

Buddhist "Angel"

By the way, this “third eye” you hear about is  largely metaphorical, and stands for the spiritual understanding in one’s heart. We believed the cave was home for a dakini—sort of a Buddhist angel—because people often said they saw a wondrous lady come from the cave, but no one had ever seen her enter.

“He displayed tremendous abilities as a public teacher…”

(From the Forward to The Principal Teachings of Buddhism by Tsongkhapa, with a commentary by Pabongka Rinpoche, translated by Geshe Lobsang Tharchin, Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Press, 1998, all emphasis and formatting mine…)

Pabongka Rinpoche was actually the second Pabongka, for it was finally agreed to announce that he had been recognized  as the reincarnation of the Kenpo (or abbot) of the small monastery atop the rock.

Dakpo Gompa- Where Je Pabongka is said to have attained enlightentment

For this reason he was sometimes referred to as “Pabongka Kentrul,” or the “reincarnation of the abbot of Pabongka.” Pabongka Rinpoche’s full name, by the way, was Kyabje Pabongkapa Jetsun Jampa Tenzin Trinley Gyatso Pel Sangpo, which translates as the “lord protector, the one from Pabongka, the venerable and glorious master whose name is the Loving One, Keeper of the Buddha’s Teachings, Ocean of the Mighty Deeds of the Buddha.” He is also popularly known as “Dechen Nyingpo,” which means “Essence of Great Bliss” and refers to his mastery of the secret teachings of Buddhism. We Tibetans feel that it is disrespectful to refer to a great religious leader with what we call his “bare” name—such as “Tsongkapa” or “Pabongka”—but we have tried here to simplify the Tibetan names to help our Western readers.

Pabongka Rinpoche’s career at Sera Mey College was not outstanding; he did finish his geshe degree, but reached only the “lingse” rank, which means that he was examined just at his own monastery and did not go on for one of the higher ranks such as “hlarampa.” …It was only after his graduation fromSera Mey, and the success of his teaching tours through the countryside outside the capital, that Pabongka Rinpoche’s fame started to spread.

Gradually he began to build up a huge following and displayed tremendous abilities as a public teacher.

Khen Rinpoche Lobsang Tharchin

He was not tall (as I remember about my height, and I am only 5′6″), but he was broadchested and seemed to fill the entire teaching throne when he climbed up on it to begin his discourse. His voice was incredibly powerful. On many occasions he would address gatherings of many thousands of people, yet everyone could hear him clearly (in those days in Tibet we had never heard of microphones or loudspeakers). Part of the trick of course was to pack the audience in Tibetan-style, crosslegged on the floor, with the lama on an elevated platform. Still the audience would flow out onto the porch of the hall, and sit perched above on the roof, watching through the steeple windows.

Pabongka Rinpoche had an uncanny ability to relate to his audience, and for this reason he became a teacher for the common man as well as for us monks.

The Rinpoche’s great accomplishment was that he found a way to attract and lead listeners of every level. His most famous weapon was his humor. Public discourses in Tibet could sometimes go on for ten hours or more without a break, and only a great saint could keep his attention up so long. Inevitably part of the audience would start to nod, or fall into some reverie. Then Pabongka Rinpoche would suddenly relate an amusing story or joke with a useful moral, and send his listeners into peals of laughter. This would startle the day-dreamers, who were always looking around and asking their neighbors to repeat the joke to them.

Sermey Jetsun Khen Rinpoche Losang Tharchin

Khen Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchin was born in Lhasa, Tibet in 1921 and entered Sera Monastery there at

Khen Rinpoche

an early age. He proceeded through the rigorous 25 year program of monastic studies under the guidance of Pabongka Rinpoche and Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche. Upon successful completion of public examination by the best scholars of the day, Rinpoche was awarded the highest degree of Hlarampa Geshe (Doctor of Theology) with honors, and is one of the last living Hlarampa Geshes educated in Tibet. He proved to be the best debater of his graduation year in all of Tibet, making him the “First among the First.”

Khen Rinpoche then entered Gyu Mey Tantric College, where he completed its course of advanced tantric studies and attained a high-ranking administrative position. In 1959 Rinpoche escaped from Tibet into India along with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He became actively involved in resettlement, and compiled a series of textbooks used in the Tibetan refugee schools.

Khen Rinpoche came to the United States in 1972 and became Abbot of Rashi Gempil Ling Temple in New Jersey. After going to South India in 1991 and serving as Abbot of Sera Mey monastery for some time, he returned to the United States. Khen Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchin was a lifetime director and an abbot emeritus of Sera Mey monastery. Khen Rinpoche passed on from this life on Je Tsongkapa Day, Dec. 7, 2004

Like Ribur Rinpoche, Khen Rinpoche was an actual disciple of Je Pabongka, so his words are very precious, giving us a direct impression of this extraordinary master….

(From the Forward to The Principal Teachings of Buddhism by Tsongkhapa, with a commentary by Pabongka Rinpoche, translated by Geshe Lobsang Tharchin, Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Press, 1998, all emphasis and formatting mine…)

….the sage foretold that if the child were placed in Gyalrong House, something wonderful would happen with him in the future.

It was at this time that the glorious Pabongka Rinpoche, the author of the commentary you are about to read, came into my life. Like me he had as a young man taken his course of studies at the Sera Mey College of Sera Monastery; in fact, he was from the same house, Gyalrong. Pabongka Rinpoche was born in 1878, at a town called Tsawa Li in the Yeru Shang district of the state of Tsang, north of Lhasa.

Later on, the youngster was found to be a reincarnation of the Changkya line, which included the illustrious scholar Changkya Rolpay Dorje (1717-1786). The lamas of this line had done much teaching in the regions of Mongolia and China—even in the court of the Chinese emperor himself—and the name “Changkya” had very strong Chinese connotations. Already in those days the Tibetan government and people were sensitive to the pressures put on us by our powerful neighbor to the east, so the name “Changkya” was ruled out, and the boy declared to be “Pabongka” instead. Pabongka, also known as Parongka, is a large and famous rock-formation about three miles’ walk from our Sera Monastery. The very word “pabong” means in our language a large boulder, or mass of rock.

His family were of the nobility and owned a modest estate called Chappel Gershi. As a child he exhibited unusual qualities and in his seventh year was taken before Sharpa Chuje Lobsang Dargye, one of the leading religious figures of the day. The lama felt sure that the boy must be a reincarnated saint, and even went so far as to examine him to see if he were the rebirth of his own late teacher. He was not, but the sage foretold that if the child were placed in the Gyalrong House of Sera Mey College, something wonderful would happen with him in the future.

Zong Rinpoche on Je Pabongka 2

"If we lose faith in the lineage, we are lost....."

(From: Chod in the Ganden Tradition The Oral Instructions of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche By Kyabje Zong Rinpoche Snow lion 2006 . All formatting and emphasis mine….)

“Once, returning from Chamdo, Kyabje Phabongka taught at a “dzong,” a fortified monastery. A member of his audience had a vision of Kyabje Phabongka with four arms.

On another occasion, teaching at Lhasa, thirty-two incarnate lamas attended his lamrim discourses. Tapu Dorje Chang traveled from Kham to Lhasa specifically to receive Dharma teachings from Kyabje Phabongka. Tapu Dorje Chang could hear statues of Avalokiteshvara andTara speak, and saw visions of multi-armed yidams. Kyabje Phabongka was Tapu Dorje Chang’s disciple also.

Once Kyabje Phabongka invoked the wisdom beings of Heruka’s mandala to enter into a statue of Heruka Chakrasamvara. Heruka then offered nectar to Kyabje Phabongka, and prophesied that seven generations of his disciples would be protected by the body mandala of Heruka. Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang is cared for by Heruka Chakrasamvara, as are his disciples.

Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche and Kyabje Ling Rinpoche were tutors to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They taught His Holiness everything from basic teachings to advanced levels.

Kyabje Phabongka passed all of his lineages to Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang. He often said this in discourses. The purpose of this detailed exposition is to affirm the power of the lineage.

If we lose faith in the lineage, we are lost.

We should remember the biographies of past and present teachers. We should never develop negative thoughts towards our root and lineage gurus. If we do not keep the commitments after having received teachings, this is a great downfall. After giving teachings, the guru should act in accordance with the capacities of disciples and their requests. If the disciples see the guru’s actions as pure, this is proper practice. The guru should not act in contradictory ways.”

Kyabje Zong Rinpoche on Je Pabongka

About Zong Rinpoche….

Zong Rinpoche- “Kyabje Phabongka had such vast qualities that it is difficult to comprehend them”

Zong Rinpoche was one of the foremost Lamas of his generation, and a life-long Dorje Shugden practitioner besides…

“(Zong) Rinpoche was born in Kham in 1905. He went to Lhasa when he was eleven years old to study at Shartse. He studied effortlessly and became renowned as a powerful and irrefutable debater. A learned geshe at that time said that ‘even if Shri Dharmakirti had been present, he would not have been able to debate better than that.’

After graduating as a high ranking Lharampa geshe at the age of twenty-five he moved on to the Tantric College of Gyuto. In 1937 he was appointed abbot of Shartse, a position he held for nine years.

Rinpoche was known as a strong, detached and wrathful lama. He had impeccable knowledge of all rituals, art and science, and he never hesitated to give reasons to others why this action or that painting was wrong.

He was renowned for his ‘many actions of powerful magic,’ as a result of which ‘the most marvellous, indescribable signs occurred.’”

-Wisdom: Magazine of the FPMT, Number 2, 1984.

“In 1916 ( Zong Rinpoche) went to Lhasa to study the dharma at Shartse college (of Ganden Monastery), where he studied the sutras of the Prajnaparamita, Madhyamika, the Abidharma and the Vinaya. He quickly became famous as a sharp analyst and master of philosophical debate. In 1929 he successfully completed his geshe examinations and was awarded with the highest degree, the Geshe Lharampa title …. in 1937 he became abbot of the Shartse college.

So his name spread all over the country of being a powerful tantrika and he gave many empowerments and teachings on those subjects with a special emphasis on the tantras of Heruka, Hayagriva, Yamantaka, Gyelchen Shugden, Guhyasamaja, Vajrayogini, Green Tara, Mahakali, White Tara, Vaishravani and others. …

He was one of the last teachers of the old generation with the aura of authority and a kind of aristrocratic touch or vajra pride. In his teachings he followed very strictly the original texts. But, concerning his age, he was very open and patient to us Westerners, always kind, polite and helpful to answer our many questions concerning detailed tantra explanations.”

-From the Biography of Zong Rinpoche by Hans Taeger (http://www.iol.ie/~taeger/bio/zong.htm)

Zong Rinpoche On Je Pabongka

(From: Chod in the Ganden Tradition The Oral Instructions of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche By Kyabje Zong Rinpoche Snow lion 2006)

Vast qualities…

Kyabje Phabongka had such vast qualities that it is difficult to comprehend them. Sincere and pure practitioners should consult the birth stories of this high lama. Je Phabongka was an emanation of Krishnapada. Krishnapada was a great mahasiddha, a scholar and realized being …

An actual bodhisattva…

…When he was young, he received lamrim teachings from Dagpo Lama Jampel Lhundrub, and when the customary ritual for generation of bodhichitta was held at the end of the teachings, he actually generated bodhichitta. When this happened, Jampel Lhundrub ordered a throne to be set up for the young Phabongka. On hearing the Sevenfold Cause-and-Effect instructions for the first time, his mind was greatly moved, and he wept.

Je Pabongka was Heruka himself….

Kyabje Phabongka was also an emanation of Heruka Chakrasamvara, but degeneration of the times and jealousy of ordinary beings have made it difficult to become aware of his tremendous qualities. There are many biographies of Kyabje Phabongka that make his realized qualities very clear.

A Dalai Lama acknowledges a great teacher…

The thirteenth Dalai Lama requested Kyabje Phabongka to give the yearly lamrim teachings in 1925, instead of asking the Ganden throneholder, as was customary. Usually these teachings lasted seven days, but these lasted for eleven days. These were my first teachings from Kyabje Phabongka. Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang was also present at these teachings.