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Obituaries
Geshe Pema Tsering
On February 11, 2017, Geshe Pema Tsering, who served as resident teacher at Buddha House in Adelaide, Australia, for nine years entered into clear light meditation after passing away. Mandala received this tribute to Geshe-la from Buddha House director Gabe Edwards on February 16, while Geshe-la was in his fifth day of clear light meditation:
It is with great sadness that we heard of the passing of most precious Geshe Pema Tsering, who was our resident teacher here at Buddha House from September 2001 to December 2010. He returned to Sera Je Monastery in December 2013 and remained there until his passing.
Geshe-la was born in 1939 in Dhargye Village in Kham province, Tibet, the only child of farming parents. He became ordained as a monk in Dhargye Monastery at the age of seven and at seventeen went to Sera Monastery in Lhasa where he met his spiritual teacher, Kyabje Khensur Kangyur Lobsang Thubten Rinpoche, who was also Buddha House’s former resident teacher, and continued his studies with the aim of getting his Geshe degree. He escaped to India at twenty years old following His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s departure from Tibet. Despite the hardships of traversing the snow covered mountains of the Himalayas, Geshe-la said his mind remained happy and buoyed by the positive spirit of his companions.
After ten years in a refugee camp in Buxa Duar, India, Geshe-la traveled to Karnataka in South India and for three years cleared the jungle and assisted in the re-establishment of Sera Je Monastery. He was thirty-three years old when he resumed his geshe studies under Khensur Rinpoche and Geshe Torche. In 1980 he achieve the highest level Geshe Lharampa degree.
Geshe-la had many students in Adelaide and India, and despite his high qualifications, he was widely known for his exceptional humility, kindness, and compassion.
Geshe Pema Tsering with friend and colleague the late Geshe Tsulga
As expressed by student Wendy Cook: “Geshe Pema Tsering passed away four days ago. Although he is considered clinically dead, he is, however, still in meditation, as his most subtle consciousness continues to reside in his body at his heart. The great yogis of Tibet who have committed their lives to deep practice and inquiry manifest this at the time of death. It is considered a very powerful time as one resides in the clear light with great wisdom and motivated by compassion for all beings. Geshe-la is in his final meditation at Sera Je Monastery in South India where the monks are engaged in practice, meditation, and chanting around the clock to support him in his transition. When his consciousness leaves the body, there will be signs, and then the monks will cremate Geshe-la’s body. This is how a great master of Tibet passes. Extraordinary. Without these precious lineage holders, the treasure of Tibetan Buddhism would not have been reestablished in India and then brought to the West.”
Ruth Gamble, scholar and translator for Geshe Pema Tsering while at Buddha House, so eloquently and poignantly expressed: “Gen-la always talked about impermanence. His mother died when he was young. In 1959 an artillery shell hit the room next to him killing his friend. Minutes later, he walked out of his home, and weeks later, he walked out of his country. He lost teachers and friends in refugee camps, and almost lost his thumb clearing the jungle in South India building a new monastery.
Geshe Pema Tsering with Ruth Gamble
“But even in the midst of all this, he maintained a startlingly sharp sense of humor, fun, and wonder. His hero was a senior monk who told him that ‘the only things a monk needs are a sack and a rope, so it’s easy to get rid of his body when he dies.’ He thought this was a hilarious line. I guess his dark humor explains why he also found former prime minister John Howard and former president George W. Bush amusing: he seemed to think they were personally responsible for keeping the streets clean and the toilets flushing, so they can’t be all bad. He was fascinated by garbage trucks, sewerage works, and construction sites. They seemed to him, a farmer’s son who helped carve a monastery out of a jungle, as an ingenious magic show. He also loved soccer, but rather than barracking for a team, he barracked for a particular score: 3-3. That way, he said, no one felt sad about losing, but there were lots of goals.
“None of this (especially finding John Howard funny) is why he is my hero, though. He’s my hero because I saw him change his state of mind again and again. Rather than let anger, frustration, and jealousy—or even physical pain—shape his mind, he could transform his thoughts in an instant (or sometimes two). His anger would evaporate, his frustration would turn to patience, and his habitual compassion would reassert itself. The good thing about impermanence, he would say, is that it allows change.”
A complete obituary for Geshe Pema Tsering will be included as part of the July-December 2017 issue of Mandala.
Gelek Rinpoche with Lama Yeshe at Rinpoche’s house. Lama Yeshe would go there to buy texts. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
It was with great sadness that we at FPMT International Office learned of the passing of Gelek Rinpoche (often spelled Gelek Rimpoche), founder of the Jewel Heart centers, on February 15, 2017. Rinpoche was a close friend of FPMT founder Lama Yeshe and spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Long-time student and director of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive Nicholas Ribush shares a personal reflection and some historical photos of Rinpoche from the Archive:
In January 1977, Lama Yeshe sent me to Delhi to start Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre “in order to help repay the kindness of the Indian people to the Tibetans.” Lama explained that the Buddhadharma had come to Tibet from India, had largely been lost in India, had been preserved and developed in Tibet, and now was the time to reintroduce it to its land of origin.
It took a couple of years to find the right place but I eventually found a great house to rent in the lovely New Delhi suburb of Shantiniketan. During this period, in 1978, I first met Gelek Rinpoche at his home in Defence Colony, which was the base for his publishing many important Gelug texts and was where Lama Yeshe went to buy sets of these for his developing Western centers.
Gelek Rinpoche with students at Tushita. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
After we found the house for Tushita in 1979, Lama suggested I ask Gelek Rinpoche to teach, and he kindly accepted. That was the beginning of a seven-year collaboration between Rinpoche and Tushita. He was a wonderful teacher and connected with both Indian and Western students. I think it was as a result of the connections that Rinpoche made with some American students staying at Tushita (one of our functions was as a guest house for Westerners passing through Delhi) that led to Rinpoche being invited to the USA to teach and later to the establishment of his own organization, the Jewel Heart centers, starting in the late 1980s.
Tushita’s First Dharma Celebration. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
Rinpoche also actively participated in Tushita’s Dharma Celebrations. The first was held at the Oberoi Hotel and Rinpoche was one of the featured panelists. The guest of honor was supposed to be His Holiness the Dalai Lama but he couldn’t make it, so we got the home minister Giani Zail Singh, who later became president of India. Rinpoche was also a prominent guest at our Second Dharma Celebration, held at the Hotel Ashok.
Tushita’s Second Dharma Celebration. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche used to pass through Delhi at least twice a year and would stay at Tushita. Most times Gelek Rinpoche would visit them on at least one of those visits and they would enjoy meals with him at the center or take him to one of Lama’s sister’s restaurants or to one of the five-star hotels around town.
Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche pushing Gelek Rinpoche into the top seat. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
After Rinpoche moved to the USA and I arrived soon after, I would meet him only occasionally and sometimes speak by phone, but I always felt a strong connection with him and rejoiced at the success of his Dharma work. Gelek Rinpoche’s passing is a great loss to his students, the Dharma, and the world.
Rinpoche’s official biography may be found on the Jewel Heart website.
An interview with Rinpoche appeared in Mandala in 1999:
https://fpmt.org/mandala/archives/older/mandala-issues-for-1999/may/gelek-rinpoche/
Rinpoche also talks about his early life in his book Good Life, Good Death. If you “look inside” the book on Amazon, you can read Robert Thurman’s very interesting introduction online.
A complete obituary for Gelek Rinpoche will be included as part of the July-December 2017 issue of Mandala.
Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gendun Choephel. Photo via Facebook (Osel Hita).
We are sad to announce that on July 31, 2016, Sera Je abbot Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gendun Choephel suddenly passed away. Among Khen Rinpoche’s many students is Tenzin Ösel Hita, the recognized reincarnation of FPMT founder Lama Yeshe.
Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gendun Choephel was born in 1941 in Karze in eastern Tibet. He later joined Sera Je Monastery in 1955 and went into exile in India in 1959, joining the Buxa Duar community to study and practice. He was among the foremost group who re-established Sera Je in Bylakuppe, South India. After earning his Lharampa Geshe degree, Khen Rinpoche began teaching at the monastery and did so for the rest of his life. He was enthroned as the 75th abbot of Sera Je Monastery on July 18, 2016.
Enthronement ceremony of Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gendun Choephel, Sera Je Monastery, Bylakuppe, South India, July 2016. Photo via http://www.serajeymonastery.org
“My dearest and most precious Teacher, Friend, Mother, Father and Khen Rinpoche, Geshe Gendun Choephel, just passed away in a very sudden way,” Ösel wrote on his Facebook page on July 31. “He was the closest person in my life, he raised me and gave me everything, taught me and loved me like no one else. It is devastating and so hard to accept, but I feel joy for having known him and it has been such an honor to grow up under his guidance. Thank you so much Gen-la, you are always in my heart.”
Mandala will have a complete obituary for Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gendun Choephel in the January-June 2017 issue.
Sera Je monks reciting texts for Khen Rinpoche Geshe Gendun Choephel, Sera Je Monastery, South India, July 2016. Photo via Facebook (Sera Jey Monastery).
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering Ven. Thubten Kunsang a khata blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Ven. Kunsang, Sera Monastery, India, January 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
We are sad to share the news that the French monk Ven. Thubten Kunsang (Henri Lopez) passed away on Sunday, July 24, at 11:46 a.m. in India due to cancer. Ven. Kunsang traveled with Lama Zopa Rinpoche for many years, recording Rinpoche’s talks and spontaneous teachings for the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive and taking thousands of photos that have been shared on FPMT.org and in Mandala magazine. He was a familiar and friendly face within the international FPMT community, known for his incredible warmth, generosity and kindness. He will be missed by many, many people around the world.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Ven. Thubten Kunsang, Sera Monastery, India, January 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche sent the following message to ordained Sangha after Ven. Kunsang had passed away.
Dear Sangha,
We believed there was real Kunsang and now that real Kunsang is not there, but that’s the reality, and like that all the phenomena, yourself, action and object, all phenomena, samsara and nirvana are like that.
Please right now when you get this, please to do the short Medicine Buddha sadhana and Padmasambhava prayer Sampa Lhundrupma.
Dedicated to Ven. Kunsang (Henri Lopez) who has just passed away in India at 11:46 a.m.
Dedicate that he may be immediately born in a pure land where he can achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible or to receive at least a perfect human rebirth, meet the Mahayana teachings, meet a perfectly qualified Mahayana Guru, who reveals the path to enlightenment and by pleasing the holy mind of the virtuous friend, then by himself to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.
With much love and prayers,
Lama Zopa
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with Ven. Thubten Kunsang, Sera Monastery, India, January 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Jean Yves took care of Ven. Kunsang in the last few months of his life and sent a photo of Ven. Kunsang, his brother Emile and Jean Yves to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who asked his attendant Ven. Sherab to Photoshop Rinpoche into the picture. Ven. Sherab did and sent the photo back to Ven. Kunsang, his brother and Jean Yves with the message: “Rinpoche looking after Kunsang , JY and brother Emile from behind and above!”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche added to a photo of Emile, Ven. Kunsang and Jean Yves, India
Many pujas were arranged for Ven. Kunsang. In addition, Nalanda Monastery is making 400 long-life tsa-tsas and Peter Iseli will make a White Tara thangka.
Links to text recommended by Rinpoche, Medicine Buddha Sadhana:
https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/education/prayers/medicine_buddha_sadhana_c5.pdf
“Sampa Lhundrupma”:
http://www.tibetanbuddhistaltar.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/SAMPA-LHUNDRUP-5x8k.pdf
There will be an obituary for Ven. Kunsang in the next issue of Mandala magazine.
For more on practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at time of death and other resources to support yourself and loved ones at time of death, please visit fpmt.org/death/.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Palden
Sera Je Khensur Rinpoche Acharya Geshe Lobsang Palden manifested passing beyond his coarse body on the evening of May 1, 2016, in Taipei, Taiwan, and subsequently remained in the clear light meditation (thuk-dam) until May 6.
His holy body was finally cremated on the morning of May 12 amidst fervent prayers entreated by many of his students from Sera Je who had traveled abroad for the event as well as local devotees. It was the culmination of a life spent in earnest service of the Dharma and others.
Khensur Rinpoche was born within the Kardze district of Tehor Kham in eastern Tibet in around December 1935. At age 11 he entered nearby Dhargyey Monastery, and later at 17 he moved to Sera Je Monastery in Lhasa. Fleeing to India in 1959, he finally achieved the rank of Lharampa Geshe in 1980.
His fame as a scholar and practitioner quickly attracted many hundreds of students, and besides the many formal teachings and initiations he bestowed along the way, he taught Buddhist philosophy to students of the debate program more or less daily for more than 20 years. He was later approved by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the 73rd Abbot of Sera Je Monastery, a position which he held for seven years (2005-2012).
Mandala will have a complete obituary for Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Palden in the January-June 2017 issue.
Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Palden’s body while in clear light meditation, May 2016. Photo courtesy of Ven. Jampa Khedrub.
FPMT.org brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.
Dhakpa Tulku Rinpoche being visited by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, India, December 2015. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
We are sad to announce that on February 13, 2016, Dhakpa Tulku Rinpoche passed away peacefully while in meditation at his residence in Kalimpong, India. Dhakpa Rinpoche was one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus, was an FPMT touring lama, and had given Lama Zopa Rinpoche many oral transmissions over the years. He will be greatly missed.
Dhakpa Rinpoche was born in 1926 in Kongpo, Tibet and later recognized by His Holiness the 13th Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the 49th Ganden Tripa Lobsang Dhargye Rinpoche, who was the head of the Gelug school from 1708 to 1715. He studied in Tibet eventually earning his Geshe Lharampa degree at the age of 26 and completing further studies in tantra. When the Chinese communists invaded Tibet in 1959, Rinpoche fled to India.
In 1962, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama appointed Rinpoche as the abbot of Sera Me Monastery, the first abbot of the Sera Me in exile. Rinpoche served as abbot for three years, but left the monastery and went to Kalimpong for medical treatment.
Until 1990, Rinpoche led a very quiet life in Kalimpong and spent much of his time in retreat and meditation. Although Rinpoche was one of the most precious and valuable spiritual teachers living in India, due to his humble nature, he was little known outside the area. However, he was in fact one of the very rare teachers holding teachings from the most valuable and precious secret lineages from Pabongka Rinpoche and many other highly realized lamas in Tibet.
Throughout his life Rinpoche actively sought out teachings from spiritual masters from other Tibetan Buddhist traditions, adding to the richness of his understanding and own teachings. Rinpoche was requested to pass on all those teachings and other tantric initiations to the young rinpoches at Sera Me, which he did for three months every winter. His Holiness the Dalai Lama praised Dhakpa Rinpoche for his dedication to his practices and the generosity of his teachings.
Mandala will have a complete obituary for Dhakpa Tulku Rinpoche in the July-December 2016 issue.
Dhakpa Rinpoche and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, India, December 2015. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and His Eminence Choden Rinpoche, New Delhi, India, August 29, 2015. Photo courtesy of Sera Je Monastery.
We are very saddened to share the news that His Eminence Choden Rinpoche passed away on September 11 at 1:30 a.m. India time at Sera Je Monastery in South India. Choden Rinpoche was a highly respected Buddhist master and a much loved teacher, who taught at many FPMT centers over the years.
Choden Rinpoche was born in 1933 in eastern Tibet and was recognized at age three. At age eight he entered Rabten Monastery, and at age fifteen he went to Sera Je Monastery, where he studied the five main texts. Choden Rinpoche became an expert on the teachings on Vinaya – monastic discipline. He was a highly respected scholar and was chosen as one of two Sera Je monks to debate with His Holiness the Dalai Lama during His Holiness’ geshe exams.
During the communist Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959, Choden Rinpoche stayed in Tibet and went into solitary retreat. He never left his small, dark room in Lhasa from 1965 to 1985, and was virtually unknown in his monastery for this reason. In 1985 he was allowed to leave Tibet for India and has since taught for many years at Sera Je Monastery in South India as well as at Dharma centers throughout the world, including many FPMT centers.
On August 29, 2015, His Holiness the Dalai Lama met with Choden Rinpoche in New Delhi. His Holiness told Choden Rinpoche that he remembered the first time that Choden Rinpoche came to his attention. It was many years ago during an audience with monks at Norbulingka, the summer palace of His Holiness in Tibet. His Holiness said that he remembered seeing how the rays of the sun were falling on Rinpoche’s head and how a bee landed on his head. Choden Rinpoche said he had no memory of that. His Holiness said that at the time he thought that Choden Rinpoche was a magnificent lama. [Photos and translated English text provided by Ven. Tenzin Gache and Ven. Tenzin Namdak of Sera IMI House at Sera Je Monastery. Rebeca Cuan Corral provided a Spanish language translation of the meeting.]
His Holiness also said that since arriving in India, Rinpoche has done his best in many ways such as giving teachings, imparting philosophy lessons to the monks and sharing the Buddhadharma with students throughout the world. His Holiness said that it is important to rejoice in this work.
If you would like a more detailed description of the event of his transition, as well as the collection of prayers that were advised by Choden Rinpoche himself before he showed the aspect of passing away, for all of his students to offer at this time – please click here.
Read updates on the Facebook page set up for this.
See “The Life of a Hidden Meditator: Choden Rinpoche” from Mandala July 2000 to read more about Choden Rinpoche’s experiences in Tibet at Sera Monastery and in Lhasa after 1959. The complete multi-part feature “The Life of a Hidden Meditator” is available as a PDF. You can also read more recent stories about Choden Rinpoche on FPMT.org.
Mandala will have a complete obituary for His Eminence Choden Rinpoche in the January-June 2016 issue.
Ven. Margaret McAndrew at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1976. Photo courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
We are sadden to share the news that Ven. Margaret McAndrew has passed away of cancer In Australia. Affectionately know as Ani Marg, she was a long-time student of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, first arriving at Kopan in Nepal in 1974.
Ven. Margaret ordained in 1976. After spending time in Nepal and India, she returned to Australia in 1978, where she lived at both Tara Institute and Chenrezig Institute for several years (and worked as a cook in both places). She spent six months in the Dorje Phagmo Nunnery in France before finally settling at Chenrezig Institute in the late ‘80s. She was one of the founding members of Chenrezig Nuns’ Community (CNC), which was formally established in 1990. Since then she has been resident there apart from stints as a visiting teacher in Taiwan as well as in Adelaide, Gosford and Sydney in Australia. For several years, she served as the CNC gekyö (disciplinarian). She was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in 2012.
You can read more about her early experiences with the Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche in “I Realized That My Life Couldn’t Be the Same Again”:
https://fpmt.org/mandala/archives/mandala-for-2013/october/ani-margaret-mcandrew/.
While reading obituaries we can also reflect on our own death and impermanence prompting us to live our lives in the most meaningful way. More advice from Lama Zopa Ripoche on death and dying is available, see Death and Dying: Practices and Resources (fpmt.org/death/).
To read more obituaries from the international FPMT mandala, and to find information on submission guidelines, please visit our new Obituaries page (fpmt.org/media/obituaries/).
Ven. Ann McNeil teaching at Chenrezig Institute, Eudlo, Queensland, Australia, 1975. Photo courtesy of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
Ven. Ann McNeil, one of Lama Yeshe’s and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s most senior Western students, passed away on Sunday, February 22, 2015, in British Columbia, Canada. Known as Anila Ann, she became a student of Lama Yeshe in 1970, when she met him in Kathmandu, Nepal. She ordained the same year, which you can read about in the post “Ann McNeil and Ordination,” on Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive’s “Big Love” blog.
Anila Ann was the first director of Chenrezig Institute (CI), the first FPMT center, founded in 1974 in Eudlo, Queensland, Australia. Chenrezig Institute shared on their Facebook page that “it is due to [Anila Ann’s] kindness, and the kindness of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, that we are here today. She lay the foundations for the flourishing, colorful Buddhist center that CI is today. We are incredibly grateful for all she did for us and the Dharma.”
Anila Ann McNeil. Photo courtesy of FPMT North America’s Facebook page.
More recently, Anila Ann talked about her work as a Buddhist chaplain with prisoners in a 2011 interview with Mandala. “I loved teaching no matter the classification of the prison,” she said. “As far as teaching goes, it was very unusual to have the same students for less than four or five years. I’ve known most for 10 years and longer.”
“Let your happiness show,” she said in the same interview. “Look people in the eye with a big smile and say ‘Hello, hi, how are you?’ Be ready to assist anybody if they want it.”
Anila Ann was a true FPMT pioneer. (The Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive has many photos of Anila Ann from the early days of FPMT.) She touched countless lives over her more than 40 years of serving her gurus, helping to spread the authentic Dharma in the West and leading the way for many students to come. She will be deeply missed.
We will run a full obituary for Anila Ann McNeil in our next print issue.
Mandala brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings and events from nearly 160 FPMT centers, projects and services around the globe. If you like what you read on Mandala, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.
Khensur Denma Locho Rinpoche courtesy of Drepung Loseling Monastery’s Facebook page
Khensur Denma Locho Rinpoche ceased breathing and entered into clear light meditation on Thursday, October 23, at his home in McLeod Ganj, India, after a brief illness. He was 86 years old.
Denma Locho Rinpoche was a highly respected Tibetan Buddhist master and one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s gurus. Denma Locho Rinpoche was also an incredibly powerful and important teacher to many FPMT students and to many monks and nuns at Kopan Monastery. He taught at several FPMT centers and led the Kopan Monlam for many years. He was regarded as an expert on Manjushri’s fierce form, Yamantaka, and on several other teachings and practices.
Denma Locho Rinpoche was born in Kham in eastern Tibet in 1928 and was recognized at the age of six as the reincarnation of a famous yogi, Choying Gyatso, from the local Selkar monastery. At age eleven, he entered Drepung Loseling Monastic College near Lhasa. He obtained his lharampa geshe degree at age 25 and completed his tantric exams at Gyume Tantric College in 1958. He received many teachings from the late Kyabje Ling Rinpoche (the senior tutor to His Holiness the Dalai Lama) and became the main lineage holder of all his teachings.
Denma Locho Rinpoche fled Tibet in 1959 for India, living in Sarnath for two years and then spending two years on a research fellowship at Calcutta University. He then became the principal of the Buddhist School of Dialectics in Ladakh. In 1967, he become abbot of a small monastery in Manali. He served as abbot of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Namgyal Monastery from 1986 to 1991 in Dharamsala, and visited the United States on several occasions, including one year teaching at the University of Virginia.
After hearing of Denma Locho Rinpoche’s passing on Thursday, Lama Zopa Rinpoche led a six-hour Lama Chopa and tsog, until 2:30 a.m., at Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery in Bendigo, Australia, with Sangha and some lay students. Lama Zopa Rinpoche spoke extensively about Denma Locho Rinpoche’s tremendous kindness.
“Denma Locho Rinpoche was always concerned and cared for FPMT,” Lama Zopa Rinpoche said. “He was one of the lamas from Tibet who was extremely learned and famous and good hearted and pure in the vows and this was a big loss for the Gelukpa teachings.”
Denma Locho Rinpoche had great concern for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, FPMT and the Maitreya projects. Many times he was consulted in regards to pujas or practices to overcome obstacles. He also often gave advice on what students could do for Rinpoche’s health and long life. Just before starting the recent month-long retreat in Australia, Ven. Roger Kunsang consulted Denma Locho Rinpoche about pujas that needed to be done to overcome obstacles.
Gelek Rimpoche shared that in early October Denma Locho Rinpoche had “an excellent meeting with His Holiness in Dharamsala. There are pictures showing His Holiness to be extremely happy, touching heads with [Denma] Locho Rinpoche.”
FPMT is deeply saddened by the loss of such a generous and profound teacher as Denma Locho Rinpoche.
Jacques Haesaert. Photo courtesy of Ambroisie Association.
In September 2014 during the CPMT 2014 meeting, managing editor Laura Miller met with student Françoise Majeste who revealed that a close student of Lama Yeshe and a long-time student of Institut Vajra Yogini in France – Jacques Haesaert – had died over five years ago, but had never been honored in Mandala. We’re happy to now share this tribute to Jacques’ life from his friends and students.
Jacques Haesaert, 67, died in Graulhet, France, July 2009, from a stroke
Five years have gone by since our doctor, teacher and friend, Jacques Haesaert, passed on. When he died in July 2009 at the age of 67, we were so unprepared and perturbed that none of his many students in France and Spain thought to send an obituary to Mandala magazine. Jacques was a member of Institut Vajra Yogini in Marzens, France and benefited not only his patients, but also his many students who came to his introductory classes on Tibetan medicine at the institute and his in-depth study programs. Now in remembrance of him, we write this biography as a tribute to him and his work.
Jacques Haesaert was passionate about learning and taught himself to read even before starting school in France. His personal studies of biology, natural medicine, the powers of plants and minerals, archeology, religions, Egyptology, cooking, music, to name a few, surely helped him assimilate Tibetan medicine later on. As well as working in France, Jacques spent many years in Africa and later worked in the Phillipines with local healers.
In 1974, his spiritual search brought him to India where he had his first contact with Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and the medicine practiced in this country. In Nepal he became a disciple of Lama Thubten Yeshe who encouraged him to study Tibetan medicine. Jacques followed Lama’s advice and studied many years in Dharamsala, India with Dr. Ama Lobsang Dolma.
We do not know all the details of his many years of study, treating and accompanying patients in India as a Tibetan doctor, but we do know that he also studied with Dr. Tsering Dinggang and worked for some time with the Missionaries of Charity of Mother Teresa in Calcutta, with the most destitute of people.
In this 1982 forward, Lama Yeshe praises Jacques’ work writing “Jaques [sic] Haesaert has studied with us for several years … He has researched extensively into all aspects of Tibetan medicine, culture, mind psychology and religion. His work is authentic, and his style is good.”
In 1981, Lama Yeshe asked Jacques to share his knowledge with the Western world in a way that was adapted to the special needs of the people living in those places in actual times. After returning to France, Jacques treated patients and taught for the rest of his life.
As well as a practicing Tibetan Buddhist, he was also a Christian and Bible scholar. Jacques often made parallels between passages in the Bible and teachings of Buddha.
Faithful to the ethics of a Tibetan physician, he expected no pay for his consultations, only accepting offerings. In his later years, he made only two appointments a day so he could remain for hours with each patient in order to treat the patient as a whole and help the person to understand the cause of his ailments, and not just treat his symptoms.
Jacques always intended to write a book so many people could benefit from the knowledge and wisdom he accumulated over so many years, applying Tibetan medicine to the West. He wanted to help Westerners discover the extraordinary and practical knowledge offered by this system. For him it was important to show, through Tibetan medicine, how people can become responsible for their mental and physical health, conscious of their potential for happiness, love and wisdom, and of the errors that would lead them to suffering.
Just months before passing on, after years of our begging for them, he gave to us, his students in France and Spain, his nearly finished book that he used for his classes. He compiled it over decades and organized the information into chapters used for his teaching. Jacques explains important teachings from the medical tantras and elaborates on many aspects of what is health and disease, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Moreover, he explains many aspects of Tibetan medicine from a Western point of view.
We, his students and members of the Ambroisie Association, are in the process of translating it from French to English, Spanish, and German. It was his heart-felt wish to help preserve the extensive knowledge and wisdom that is Tibetan medicine from being lost or diluted.
You can find Jacques’ piece “Nature the Great Healer” in the June 2004 issue of Mandala.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche requests that “students who read Mandala pray that the students whose obituaries they read find a perfect human body, meet a Mahayana guru and become enlightened quickly, or be born in a pure land where the teachings exist and they can become enlightened.” While reading obituaries we can also reflect upon our own death and rebirth, prompting us to live our lives in the most meaningful way.
More advice from Lama Zopa Ripoche on death and dying is available on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice page.
Jim Blumenthal on the Johkang with the Potala in the background, Lhasa, Tibet, 2004.
Mandala is mourning the loss of our dear friend Dr. James Blumenthal, who passed away very early in the morning of October 8, 2014, at age 47, due to complications from cancer. Jim was a regular contributor to Mandala for many years. He was also a talented and generous scholar, teacher and colleague, serving as a professor of Buddhist philosophy and history at Maitripa College as well as at Oregon State University in the United States. He was a student of Geshe Lhundub Sopa Rinpoche at the University of Wisconsin, where he received his PhD.
Jim was quick to say “yes” whenever we asked him for an article for Mandala and his submissions arrived on time and were beautifully written. He had great depth of knowledge and a sharp mind, yet was always humble and gracious. He had the wonderful ability to make the sometimes complicated and difficult-to-understand world of Buddhist philosophy accessible and fascinating to the not-so-academically inclined. His gentle kindness, clear explanations and always interesting stories will be profoundly missed.
Jim’s death is a great loss for Maitripa College, where he taught since its founding. Jim is survived by his seven-year-old son Ben, wife Tiffany, parents Susan and Jack, brother Tom and Ben’s mother Sara, who was the former editor and publisher of Mandala.
As a small remembrance of Jim, we’ve upload several PDFs of his Mandala articles from archive issue, which you can find here.
Maitripa College has created a webpage for Jim with a collection of prayers that may be recited and dedicated for him. Also on the page, you will find Jim’s translation of Shatarakshita’s Ornament of the Middle Way, a link to a memorial page and a touching video remembrance of Jim by Ven. Thubten Chodron.
Oregon State University has published a moving tribute of Jim.
Mandala will run a full obituary in our next issue.
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