All-pervading Melodies Sound of Thunder: The Outer Liberation Story of Terton Migyur Dorje By Karma Chagme

260 Pages·2008·7.26 MB·English

by  Karma Chagme

THE ALL PERVADING
MELODIOUS SOUND OF THUNDER:
THE OuTER LIBERATION STORY OF
TERTON MIGYUR DORJE
BY
KARMA
CHAGME
TRANSLATED BY
LOPON SONAM TSEWANG AND jUDITH AMTZIS
FOREWORD BY KYABJE DRUBWANG PEMA NoRBU RINPOCHE
Produced by:
Palri Parkhang
Nyingma Palyul Retreat Center
Pharping, Nepal.
Completed on the auspicious 2S•h day of the 3rJ month of the Earth~
Mouse year, 2135 (30 April2008)
© 2008 Palri Translations Group
The translation and production of this work has been sponsored by
the Bodhi Foundation, Austin, Texas, US.
Permission is hereby granted to use this translation in part or in
whole for any non-commercial purposes that benefit the spread of
the glorious dharma of the Namchl>.
Printed in Taiwan
CONTENTS
TRANSlATORS' NOTE V
AcKNoWLEGEMENTS vm
FOREWORD XI
1. THE FRAMEWORK FOR LIBERATION STORIES 2
2. BEGINNING THE MAIN LIBERATION STORY 8
3. BIRTH AND EARLY CHILDHOOD 24
4. RECOGNITION AND ENTHRONEMENT 29
5. RECEIVING TEACHINGS AND STUDYING 43
6. ACCOMPLISHMENT PRACTICES AND THEIR RESULTS 53
7. OBSTACLES TO REVEALING THE NAMCHO TREASURES 71
8. REVElATION OF THE NAMCHO TREASURE TEACHINGS 81
9. OPENING THE DOOR OF SACRED PLACES 93
10. TERTON MIGYUR DORJE's MIND TREASURES 112
11. THE BENEFITS TO BEINGS OF SACRED PlACES 118
12. RECEIVING RESPECT AND FURTHER BENEFITING BEINGS 125
13. BENEFITS TO BEINGS FROM THE NAMCHO TREASURES 134
14. DISCIPLES DEVELOP FAITH THAT MIGYUR DOR)E IS A TRUE 'I'ERTON 145
15. MEETING 'I'ERTON DuouL DoRJE 160
16. ANOTHER RETREAT AND MORE ACCOMPLISHMENTS 172
17. KARMA CHAGME'S DEPARTURE 178
18. MIRACULOUS SIGNS 181
19. STORIES FROM OTHERS ABOUT THE TERTON'S BENEFIT TO BEINGS 188
20. OPENING THE DOORS OF PROPHESIED SACRED PLACES 190
21. LEAVING HIS HOMELAND 193
22. How THE TERTON SPENT THE OFFERINGS HE RECEIVED 196
23. FAILING TO RETURN HOME 196
24. RECOUNTING 'I'ERTON MIGYUR DORJE'S LIFE AND WORKS 197
25. ILLNESS AND HEALING PRACTICES OFFERED TO THE TERTON 199
26. 'I'ERTON'S FINAL ACTIVITY: PASSING AWAY INTO PARINIRVANA 203
27. SIGNS THAT OCCURRED WHEN THE TERTON PASSED AWAY 214
28. DISTRIBUTION OF THE TERTON'S REMAINS AND THE OFFERINGS MADE 215
29. CLARIFYING RUMORS ABOUT THE TERTON'S DEATH 217
30. CoMPLETION OF THE TERTON'S RELIQUARIES 220
31. REFUTING MISTAKEN VIEWS 222
32. ENUMERATING THE TERTON'S DISCIPLES 227
33. THE BENEFIT TO BEINGS OF THE NAMCHO TEACHINGS 229
34. THE INCREASE OF THE TERTON'S REMAINS 231
35. ThRTON MIGYVR DORJE'S REINCARNATION 232
AFTERWORD 233
ENDNOTES 23 7
GLOSSARY 249
LIST OF MAJOR DEITIES AND TANTRAS APPEARING IN THE ThXT 255
NAMES OF MAJOR PERSONS LISTED IN THE TExT 257
TRANSLATORS' NOTE
For many years the third Drubwang Perna Norbu Rinpoc;he has been
teaching widely from the profound Namcho treasures that are the
foundation of the Palyul Lineage of Nyingmapa. These treasures, including
the Avalokiteshvara cycle of Great Perfection and the stages of practice
of Buddha in the Palm of the Hand - the most essential practices of the
Palyullineage-were revealed and originally propagated by the remarkable
treasure revealer, Terton Migyur Dorje, who was hom in 1645.
In order to introduce the history of this exceptional vidyadhara, Ky abje
Penor Rinpoche has asked that the terton's namthar - his liberation
story - be translated into English. The namthar was composed by Karma
Chagme Rinpoche, the elderly and accomplished master who recognized
Migyur Dorje as a child. Karma Chagme personally cared for the terton for
many years, guiding and teaching him and recording his revelations. This
chronicle details the terton's family and personal history from his "entry into
the womb" through his tragic death at the age of twenty~three, presenting
the obstacles and difficulties he faced as well as his practices and activities.
During his short life, Terton Migyur Dorje benefited beings greatly through
his revelations, extensive teachings, and the discovery and opening of many
sacred sites.
The namthar is not only the tale of one extraordinary terton, revealing
as it does - through anecdotes, letters, poetry, visions and dreams - the
deep personal relationship that existed between two great masters: Terton
Migyur Dorje and Karma Chagme Rinpoche. It also contains considerable
information on the nature of liberation stories themselves, how authentic
tertons and tulkus can be identified, the importance and significance
of treasure teachings and sacred places, the nature of the guru~disciple
relationship and other crucial topics. The text is further graced with a
wealth of stories of many other tertons, prophecies by Guru Rinpoche and
other masters, as well as insights into the daily life and times of some of the
great practitioners of 17th century Kham.
Both Kyabje Penor Rinpoche and Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche,
who supervised the translation, asked us to retain as much of the flavor of
the original namthar as possible, while at the same time making the story
accessible to English readers. This we have tried to do. We have kept Karma
Chagme's original structure of thirty~five chapters of varying lengths and
an afterword, but for purposes of clarification we have added chapter titles
and subheadings not included in the original. We hope that these will help
v
vi MELODIOUS SOUND OF THUNDER
guide the reader through the text's various twists and turns. For a similar
reason, we have rendered the namthar largely in prose, although much of
the original was in Tibetan poetic form. Initial efforts to retain this style
throughout resulted in awkward and stilted English that did no justice to
the rich and rewarding tale recounted in the namthar.
Karma Chagme chose to write in a colloquial rather than a scriptural
manner, using the idiom of his native Chamdo. At times we found the
language difficult and obscure, and some of the references unclear. We offer
our profound gratitude for the invaluable and generous assistance provided
by the seventh Karma Chagme Rinpoche, Karma Tenzin Trinley. Not only
did Rinpoche take time to answer many of our questions himself, he also
introduced us to others with the particular knowledge required to clear up
our doubts.
Unfailingly kind and helpful was Rinpoche's son Sangtrul Rinpoche -
an incarnation of Lama Chowang, the first Karma Chagme's brother and
closest disciple. As you will read, it was Lama Chowang who first told Karma
Chagme about the child Migyur Dorje, rumored to be the tulku of the
Kathog lama, Wangdrag Gyatso. Lama Chowang's incarnation was called
Sangpu Perna Kunga, and became known as the first Sangtrul Rinpoche.
He and Karma Chagme were the two tulkus of the Neydo Monastery.
Many others also graciously shared whatever they knew. These include
Sangtrul Rinpoche's wife Dolkar; Chagme Rinpoche's attendant, Lama
Tenzing Dragpa; and Lama Ngawang Tsering, a monk from Migyur Dorje's
home district of Ngom. Our sincere appreciation to all of them for their
patience with our many questions. We especially want to pay our respects to
the late Atsul Lama, a Karma Kagyu monk from Chamdo who was able to
elucidate even the thorniest language problems. Atsul Lama died suddenly
in early April 2008 in Boudhanath, Kathmandu, Nepal. With no sign of
ill health or discomfort, he passed away peacefully in his sleep. His body
remained in tukdam (the meditative state that can follow physical death in
an advanced practitioner) for three days.
Deep thanks also to Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche for his constant
encouragement and support, and his many explanations.
Over and above being open,hearted with his advice and time, Sangtrul
Rinpoche shared with us his personal collection of photographs, including
photos of Karma Chagme's hand and footprints, the entrance to the cave
where the terton spent many years in retreat with Karma Chagme and
various relics and other sacred sites.
THE LIBERATION OF TERTON MIGYUR DORJE vii
At the conclusion of the namthar Karma Chagme elaborates on what
can be gained from reading it.
New students and the narrow-minded should read this liberation
story to gain an understanding of the essential points of the sutras
and tanrras as well as of particular Nyingma teachings. One with
good insight into the sutras and the tantras but little or no knowledge
of treasure teachings will achieve a basic background concerning
treasure teachings by reading this biography. People who walk fast
and desire to visit sacred places and mountains may consult this text
to discover the history of certain holy sites. If wealthy persons desire
to practice dharma, reading this biography will encourage them to
engage in virtuous activities and thus attain ultimate bliss.
Monks serving great lamas should study this work to learn how
their hardships accord with dharma. If persons related with Terton
Migyur Dorje or his teachings read this, they will be happy, inspired
and enthused. After reading it, people with wrong views who speak
negatively will repent and faith will arise in their minds. Those who
doubt should also read this liberation story to have their doubts
eradicated from the roots. If revealers of false treasures read it they
will despair and feel discouraged. Everyone with faith in Lord Orgyen
should read this text and marvel at the wonderful stories.
Our aspiration is to make it possible for present-day readers to also reap
the benefits ofTulku Migyur Dorje's liberation story. We sought to fulfill the
wishes of our teachers to bring to a wider audience the auspicious story of
how the Namcho treasures entered this world and have been propagated for
so many centuries.
This translation was made from volume 10 of the Collection des Tresors
par gNam-ch6s Mi-'gyur rDo-rje, published jointly by Ven. Dilgo Khyentse
Rinpoche and Ven. Penor Rinpoche under the auspices of VEcole Francais
D'Extreme Orient, Paris, France in 1983 and scanned for the Tibetan
Buddhist Research Center in 2002. The page numbers corresponding to
each chapter of the translation are found under each chapter heading.
May the merit of this work further the spiritual efforts and endeavors of
our teachers, Kyabje Penor Rinpoche and Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche.
Any mistakes found within this translation are our own.
Lapan Sonam Tsewang
Judith Amtzis
April2008
viii MELODIOUS SOUND OF THUNDER
AcKNOWLEGEMENTS
You are reading this remarkable chronicle due to the inspiration of Kyabje
Perna Norbu Rinpoche and Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche, who envision
the much larger project of translating into English the important spiritual
treasures found in all thirteen volumes of the Namcho Treasures. Kyabje
himself suggested that faith in the Palyul Lineage would be strenghtened by
beginning with the namthar of the great terton Tulku Migyur Dorje.
This work has been accomplished thanks to the Bodhi Foundation and
Palri Parkhang publications. The Foundation has been unstinting in its
enouragement and support of many projects and activities of Kyabje Penor
Rinpoche and Khen Rinpoche. This translation is another result of the
Foundation's generosity.
As detailed in the Translators' Note, the translation benefited greatly
from the kind assistance offered by the seventh Karma Chagme Rinpoche
and the other knowledgable individuals he introduced us to: Sangtrul
Rinpoche and his wife Dolkar, Lama Tenzing Dragpa, Lama Ngawang
Tsering and the late Atsul Lama. We thank them all.
All the photos in this book were taken by Sangtrul Rinpoche, except
for the cover photo of the tangka of Terton Migyur Dorje, the photo of
Kyabje Penor Rinpoche, the photo of Migyur Dorje's reliquary stupa, and
the photo of the relic of Migyur Dorje's heart.
Thanks are also due to Wayne Amtzis for his close reading of the text
and his comments and suggestions regarding the language to be used. The
translation benefited as well from Dion Blundell's reading and his many
astute observations and suggestions.