Religion Buddhism Other names C. R. Lama Title Khordong Tertrul IV Other name C. R. Lama | School Tibetan Nationality Indian Died 2002, Shivamandir, Nepal | |
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Sect Nyingma
Jangter ("Northern Treasure") | ||
Chimé Rigdzin Rinpoche (Wylie: chi med rig 'dzin, 1922-2002), popularly known as “C.R. Lama”, was an important lineage holder of the Northern Treasures (byang gter) tradition in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.
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Biography
At the age of four he was recognized and enthroned as the 4th incarnation of Khordong Terchen Nüden Dorjé Dropen Lingpa (nus ldan rdo rje 'gro phan gling pa) the main re-incarnate lama of Khordong Monastery in Kham, Tibet, located in today's Sichuan province. At seven years old he had already started discovering spiritual treasures (terma) hidden by Padmasambhava He completed his education at the age of 19 with the degree of Dorje Lopön Chenpo (mahavajracarya). Shortly after he left the monastery to enter into a traditional three-year retreat at Tsö Pema (Rewalsar) in India. Following that he visited many Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan and India as a wandering ngakpa. Later he settled with his family in Kalimpong, West Bengal and became an Indian citizen. From 1954 to 1987 C. R. Lama was head of the Department for Indo-Tibetan studies at Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, West Bengal. In the late 1950s he was invited by Giuseppe Tucci to teach in Rome. During that time he met Pope John XXIII. In the following year he was invited to teach at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich by Helmut Hoffman. During the 1970s he had a number of American and European students at Visva-Bharati University, including James Low and Ngakpa Chögyam, who also became his religious disciples.
After his retirement in 1987, C.R. Lama regularly visited Europe, where he guided a small groups of pupils in different countries.