khenchen palden sherab

Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche (10 May 1938 – 19 June 2010), also known as "Khen Rinpoche," was a teacher, a Nyingma scholar, a guru, and a Dzogchen master in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was considered by Penor Rinpoche to be one of the most learned living Nyingma scholars. Palden Sherab founded the Orgyen Samye Chokhor Ling Nunnery, the first nunnery in Deer Park (Sarnath)

Born in Kham, Tibet, Palden Sherab escaped invading Chinese forces in 1960 to arrive in India and join other monastic leaders to collect and salvage Tibetan Buddhist teachings carried by the exile community. He was appointed the Nyingma professor at the Central University of Tibetan Studies in 1967. Palden Sherab's root lamas are Dudjom Rinpoche, Penor Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse; his main lineages are Mipham Rinpoche's textual teachings and Terton Tsasum Lingpa's revealed Tersar. He considered Khenpo Ashe, his shedra teacher, very kind.

A student of Dudjom Rinpoche, Palden Sherab taught in France and the United States. He founded the Padmasambava Buddhist Center and Palden Padma Samye Ling retreat center in upstate New York, which grew to include monasteries and centers in Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, India and Russia. Palden Sherab designed and managed the construction of the retreat centers, monasteries and a nunnery, and the Miracle Stupa in India. His seat is at the Orgyen Samye Chokhor Ling Nunnery in Sarnath.

Life Tibet

Palden Sherab was born in the village of Joephu on 10 May 1938, in the year of the Earth Tiger. Joephu is in the Dhoshul region of Kham, Tibet, near the sacred mountain of Jowo Zegyal . His father was Lama Chimed Namgyal Rinpoche; his siblings included two sisters and a brother, and his grandparents were respected scholars and practitioners. In accordance with local tradition, his family were seasonal nomads. His mother Pema Lhadze introduced him to the monk Lama Ahtsok, who was on a solitary retreat in a nearby cave.

Palden Sherab began monastic studies at age six at the Nyingma Gochen Monastery , which was founded in the late 17th century by the treasure revealer and crazy wisdom terton Tsasum Lingpa. Tsasum Lingpa was a recognized reincarnation of Nubchen Sangye Yeshe, one of Padmasambhava's twenty-five students. Palden Sherab is a recognized emanation of Nubchen Sangye Yeshe. He was known for reading very fast at Gochen Monastery, and was considered eccentric. Palden Sherab's nickname was "the cyclone", due to his constant activity.

The monastery had been administered for generations by Palden Sherab's family. At the age of 12, he was invited to attend the Taklung Kagyu school's Riwoche Monastery's Shedra, where he could be trained to take over as Khenpo (abbot) of Gochen Monastery. Palden Sherab then entered the Riwoche Monastery, in the Riwoche region of Kham. He received the teachings of Mipham Rinpoche and of the Katok Monastery through Khenpo Ashe, his Shedra teacher, in addition to Longchenpa's Seven Treasuries, three volumes of Rongzompa and the teachings of Katokpa Dampa Deshek, Katok Khempo Nyakchung, and Getse Mahapandita. During China's invasion of eastern Tibet, Palden Sherab graduated from the Shedra's monastic education at Riwoche Monastery that traditionally includes grammar and poetry, astrology, astronomy, medicine, the arts, Sanskrit, Buddhist philosophy, and the major Buddhist texts.

During the winter of 1960 and ongoing Chinese invasion, he left the monastery to join his family as they escaped into the Himalayas. With India as their destination, they escaped capture three times; once was at Pemako in Nyingtri. Palden Sherab's youngest sister, Ting Ting Karmo, died after departing Dudjom Rinpoche's centers in the hills there.

India Having just arrived in India, another sister, Yangzom, and his mother died at a refugee camp in Assam. His father and his brother, Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche, survived. Its main retreat center and monastery is Palden Padma Samye Ling, located in Sidney Center, Delaware County, New York. The center has grown to 19 retreat locations and monastic institutions in the US, Puerto Rico, Russia and India.

Palden Sherab directed the design and construction of these projects which include several monasteries, a nunnery, and retreat centers. Land in Sarnath was purchased in 1972, and construction began in 1990 for Padma Samye Chokhor Ling Monastery. The monastery was consecrated in 1995. Palden Sherab met and received teachings from Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok during his 1990s travels to the West. Palden Sherab died on 19 June 2010 at Palden Padma Samye Ling.

Reincarnation The search for the yangsi (reincarnation) of Palden Sherab was undertaken. He was located in Nepal, where he was born. In 2019, he was enthroned in India by Terton Namkha Drimed Rabjam Rinpoche, and given the name Palden Yonten Thaye Lodro Chokyi Gyaltsen. His seat is the Orgyen Samye Chokhor Ling Nunnery in India.

Teachers An abbreviated list of Palden Sherab's mostly Nyingma tradition teachers from Tibet, India and the U.S. include: Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Kyabje Penor Rinpoche Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Paljor 14th Dalai Lama Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok Dzigar Kongtrul Lodro Rabphel Chatral Rinpoche

Lineages An abbreviated listing of the lineages that Palden Sherab holds include: The Commentary on Mipham's Sherab Raltri Entitled: The Blazing Lights of the Sun and Moon. Dharma Samudra, 1997. The Smile of Sun and Moon: A Commentary on the Praise to the Twenty-One Taras. Translated by Anna Orlova. Sky Dancer Press, 2004. Door to Inconceivable Wisdom and Compassion. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. Sky Dancer Press, 1996. Lion's Gaze: A Commentary on Tsig Sum Nedek. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. Sky Dancer Press, 1998. Ceaseless Echoes of Great Silence. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. Sky Dancer Press, 1999. Opening To Our Primordial Nature. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. Snow Lion Publications, 2006. Tara's Enlightened Activity: An Oral Commentary on The Twenty-one Praises to Tara. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. Snow Lion Publications, 2007. Illuminating the Path: Ngondro Instructions According to the Nyingma School of Vajrayana Buddhism. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. Padmasambhava Buddhist Center, 2008. The Dark Red Amulet: Oral Instructions of the Practice of Vajrakilaya. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. Snow Lion Publications, 2008. Beauty of Awakened Mind: Dzogchen Lineage of Shigpo Dudtsi. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. Dharma Samudra, 2013. Mipham's Sword of Wisdom: The Nyingma Approach to Valid Cognition . Translated by Ann Helm, Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2018.

Padma Samye Ling Shedra texts Opening the Clear Vision of the Vaibhashika and Sautrantika Schools. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. PSL Shedra Series, Volume 1. Dharma Samudra, 2007. Opening the Clear Vision of the Mind Only School. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. PSL Shedra Series, Volume 2. Dharma Samudra, 2007. Opening the Wisdom Door of the Madhyamaka School. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. PSL Shedra Series, Volume 3. Dharma Samudra, 2008. Opening the Wisdom Door of the Rangtong and Shentong Views: A Brief Explanation of the One Taste of the Second and Third Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. PSL Shedra Series, Volume 4. Dharma Samudra, 2009. Opening the Wisdom Door of the Outer Tantras: Refining Awareness Through Ascetic Ritual and Purification Practice. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. PSL Shedra Series, Volume 5. Dharma Samudra, 2009. Splendid Presence of the Great Guhyagarbha: Opening the Wisdom Door of the King of All Tantras. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. PSL Shedra Series, Volume 6. Dharma Samudra, 2011. Key to Opening the Wisdom Door of Anuyoga. With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. PSL Shedra Series, Volume 7. Dharma Samudra, 2015. Turning the Wisdom Wheel of the Nine Golden Chariots. From a 1987 lecture in Australia by Khenchen Palden Sherab, oral translation by Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. PSL Shedra Series, Volume 8. Dharma Samudra, 2011.

Tibetan-language commentaries Radiant Light of the Sun & Moon. Commentary on Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche's Sword of Wisdom that Ascertains Reality. Central University of Tibetan Studies: Sarnath, 1986 Palden Sherab's Tibetan-language commentaries, and his Tibetan language biography, have been collected in three ebook volumes entitled, Collected Works of Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche.

Spanish-language commentaries With Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. La Luz del Dharma. Dharma Samudra, 2011. Echos Incesantes del Gran Silencio: Un Comentario sobre la Prajñāpāramitā del Sūtra del Corazón. Dharma Samudra, 2019.