Ayu Khandro

Painting of Ayu Khandro at Merigar West. The seat of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu and The Dzogchen Community in Italy.
Ayu Khandro
Tibetan name
Tibetan ཨ་ཡུ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་

Ayu Khandro (Long Life Dakini), also known as Dorje Paldrön, lived from 1839 to 1953. She was a practitioner, yogini, and terton of Tibetan Buddhism in Eastern Tibet. An accomplished Dzogchen meditator, she is renowned for her extensive pilgrimages throughout Tibet, long periods of dark retreat[1] practice, the gongter[2] of the practice of the yidam Senge Dongma (the Lion-Faced Dakini), various forms of Chöd,[3] and her lifelong dedication to spiritual practice.

The information we have about Ayu Khandro comes from the oral commentary that she personally gave to Chogyal Namkhai Norbu in Dzongsa, 1951. He wrote her namthar, or spiritual biography, which was later published in Women of Wisdom[4] by Tsultrim Allione.

Ayu Khandro met, and was taught by, many great masters of her day ; Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo,[5] Jamgon Kongtrul the First, Chokgyur Lingpa,[6] Nyala Pema Dündul, Adzom Drukpa,[7] Togden Rangrig and the ninth Tai Situpa, Pema Nyingche Wangpo.

She led the life of a hidden yogini, spending a significant amount of her life in retreat or as a wandering chodma.[8] She was recognised as an emanation of Vajrayogini.

Early life

Ayu Khandro was born in Kham, Eastern Tibet, in the village of Dzong Trang. Present at her birth, in the winter of 1839, was a local Togden,[9] Togden Rangrig, with whose community she joined at the age of seven. He gave her the name Dechen Khandro (Great Bliss Dakini). Others reported auspicious signs at her birth and she was born on the day of the dakini,[10] which is a significant day in the Tibetan Calendar. Her parents were Tsokyi (mother) and Tamdrin Gon (father).

She grew up in the youngest in a family of three sons and four daughters; living a traditional Khampa lifestyle where the women looked after the animals and the men were traders. "Since I was the youngest and the weakest I was sent to look after the small animals and given the worst clothes."[11]

Leaving home and early meditation training

Togden Rangrig had a small community of meditators in the caves of a nearby mountain to where Ayu Khandro lived. This place was called Drag ka Yang Dzong. Her Aunt, Dronkyi, was a member of this community and lived in a cave near that of the Togden. At the age of seven, in 1846, Ayu Khandro went to join them. She assisted them in retreat, bringing fire wood and water. During this period she learned how to read and write Tibetan with Kunzang Longyang, a skill in which she reached a good level of proficiency, reading the Kangyur twice with the community.[4]

At the age of 13, Ayu Khandro received her first initiation, the Longsal Dorje Nyingpo (The Vajra Essence of the Clear Expanse).[12][13] Following the pattern of many yoginis she was betrothed against her will.[14] After her aunt's intercession the marriage was delayed until she was 19.

In Kham, at this time, there were many important and accomplished Rinpoches.[15] Yet there are three that stand out among the others: Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Jamgon Kongtrul the 1st and Chokgyur Lingpa. They were all proponents of the Rime movement in Tibet. When Ayu Khandro was 14, she travelled with Togden Rangrig and Dronkyi to see these three teachers consecrate Dzong Tsho (Fortress Lake). Here she met many other masters and received considerable meditation instruction.[4] On the return journey, we have the first mention of her meeting the 9th Tai Situpa, Pema Nyingche Wangpo from whom she received instruction on the meditation yidam White Tara.

Back at Drag ka Yang Dzong, she dedicated her time to the Ngondro of the Longchen Nyingtig lineage under the guidance of Kunzang Longyang.

Two years later, in 1854, she made another pilgrimage to see her root teacher Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. Although he was in retreat due, he gave Ayu Khandro teachings on his White Tara terma,[2] called the Pema Nyingtig (Heart Essence of the Lotus) for over a month and the spiritual name Tsewang Paldron (Glorious Life Empowerment). On return to Togden Rangrig, Ayu Khandro dedicated herself to this practice.[4]

Marriage, illness and death

In the summer of 1857, against her own and her aunt Dronkyi's wishes, Ayu Khandro was married to Apho Wangdo of the wealthy Gara Tsong family. She stayed with her husband, who was kind and generous, for three years. Yet, after this, Ayu Khandro fell ill to an undiagnosable illness[16] and was in weakened health for the next two years. With no improvement or response to any treatment and near death, Togden Rangrig and Dronkyi were called and they stated that Ayu Khandro's marriage was blocking her strong orientation and propensity to meditation practice causing her to become ill. Apho Wangdo agreed to alter their relationship to one of vajra brother and sister and thus Ayu Khandro slowly recovered.[4]

Ayu Khandro then returned to the caves of Drag ka Yang Dzong, where she spent a year recovering, assisted by a nun in the community. During this year she began to receive teachings again, namely the terma of Guru Chowang.[17][18]

While she was recovering she had a dream that indicated the death of her mentor Togden Rangrig. On her request he gave her a meditation practice to extend his life and he lived another 3 years. As well as living most of her life with him and him being present at her birth he gave her all the teachings he received from his teachers; Motrul Choying Dorje,[19] Migyur Namkhai Dorje - the Fourth Dzogchen Drubwang[20] and Rigdzin Pema Dupa Tsel. At this time he also gave her the teachings on the Dzogchen of Nyima Drapa, from the terton Nyima Odzer (1124–92).[18][21] Now having the freedom and health to practice Ayu Khandro, now 23 or 24, dedicated herself to extended, serious meditation.[4]

Yet in 1865, at 77, Togden Rangrig died. The sign of an accomplished meditator his body remained in final meditation posture, tukdam,[22] for seven days. After this period his body was the size of an eight year old. This dissolution of the body into the elements at the time of death is called the rainbow body and is the highest attainment of Dzogchen meditation.[4] At the time of cremation signs of the meditative realization of the practitioner can appear. and at Ayu Khandro was present for this, and she recalled: " As we were making the funeral pyre and preparing the body to be burned everyone heard a loud noise like a thunderclap. A strange half-snow half-rain fell."[23]

At the end of the cremation they found that Dronkyi, her aunt and spiritual companion since she was 7 had left her body at the age of 62. Dronkyi remained in seated meditation position for 3 days after her death, a sign of high spiritual attainment. She to was cremated on the same spot as Togden Rangrig. Sounds from the cremation pyre were reported by many people. The close time of death of Togden Rangrig and Dronkyi could indicate that they were a spiritual couple,[24] practicing the highest levels of buddhist meditation known as karmamudra. In Tibetan Buddhism realized beings are often shown in union or yabyum[25] representing th eunion of wisdom and compassion.

In response to these events Ayu Khandro entered a strict 3 year retreat in Dronkyi's cave.

References

  1. ↑ known in Tibetan as Yangti Nagpo
  2. 1 2 a directly revealed text, terma, in the mind of the practitioner
  3. ↑ The Dzinpa Rangdröl sadhana cycle was one among the many forms of Chöd that she practiced and transmitted.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Allione, Tsultrim (1986). Women of Wisdom. England: Penguin Arkana. ISBN 0-14-019072-4.
  5. ↑ Kongtrul, Akester, Jamgon, Mathew (2012). The Life of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. ISBN 8174721975.
  6. ↑ Tobgyal, Orgyen (1983). Life and Teachings of Chokgyur Lingpa. Nepal: Rangjung Yeshe Publications. ISBN 9627341037.
  7. ↑ Gardner, Alexander; Samten Chhosphel (December 2009). "The First Adzom Drukpa, Drodul Pawo Dorje". The Treasury of Lives: Biographies of Himalayan Religious Masters. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  8. ↑ female practitioner of chod
  9. ↑ rtogs ldan - 'endowed with realization', an epiphet for a highly realized yogi
  10. ↑ In the Tibetan calendar this is the 25th day of the lunar month
  11. ↑ Allione, Tsultrim (1986). Women of Wisdom. England: Arkana Penguin. p. 239. ISBN 0-14-019072-4.
  12. ↑ a terma (treasure) teaching rediscovered by Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo (1625-1692)
  13. ↑ Norbu, Chogyal Namkhai (2012). Rainbow Body The Life and Realisation of a Tibetan Yogin, Togden Ugyen Tendzin. North Atlantic Books. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-58394-491-2.
  14. ↑ For example, see the biographies of Machig Labdron, Drenchen Rema, Nangsa Obum, Yeshe Tsogyal, and Mandarava
  15. ↑ tibetan for 'precious one', an individual who has been recognised an the incarnation of a previous spiritual master
  16. ↑ possible prana (air) disease, convulsions, circulation problems
  17. ↑ Terton of the 13th Century, consort of the yogini and Chöd practitioner Jomo Memo.
  18. 1 2 Dargyay, Eva K. (1998). The Rise of Esoteric Buddhism in Tibet. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 8120815793.
  19. ↑ "The Second Moktsa, Choying Dorje". The Treasury of Lives. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  20. ↑ "The Fourth Dzogchen Drubwang, Mingyur Namkhai Dorje". The Treasury of Lives. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  21. ↑ one of greatest tertons and the first terton king
  22. ↑ "Tukdam - Rigpa Wiki". www.rigpawiki.org. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  23. ↑ Allione, Tsultrim (1986). Women of Wisdom. Arkana Penguin. p. 242. ISBN 0-14-019072-4.
  24. ↑ other examples include; Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel, Sera Khandro and Drime Ozer and more recently Tare Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche
  25. ↑ literally in tibetan 'father-mother'

Sources

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, May 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.