3 years ago
22nd february was the anniversary of the parinirvāṇa of Khenpo Gangshar Wangpo (1925–1958/9). khenpo Gangshar Wangpo was born in 1925 who was ultimately to become a highly respected lama in Eastern Tibet.
Khenpo Gangshar was ghraduate of Shechen Monastery, a monastic center established in the end of the seventeenth century and part of the Mindröling lineage within the Nyingma tradition.
He was a primary teacher of 11th Trungpa tulku Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the 9th Thrangu Rinpoche. Khenpo Gangshar was a primary teacher for Trungpa Rinpoche from the age of 13 until completion of his khenpo degree examinations at the end of 1957.He was also referred to as a "crazy saint". Khenpo was a renowned master of the 'crazy wisdom' approach.
According to Chögyam Trungpa, Gangshar Rinpoche was tutored by Jamgon Kongtrul the Second in Shechen Monastery. This began when Gangshar's father died and his mother became a nun.
Being the spiritual son of Kongtrul, Gangshar Rinpoche also became one of six senior professors at Shechen Monastery.
In light of the changing times in Tibet, Khenpo Gangshar instituted radical changes to the style of seminary in Surmang. He opened instruction to all laypeople including women. Further he asked the hermits with lifelong vows of seclusion to return to the monastery to help teach.
Despite being a Nyingma professor he was asked to serve as the founding dean of a Kagyu monastic college. Khenpo Ganshar is became well known for a year of particularly profound and concise teaching following his apparent death.
Two years after arriving at Surmang Monastery, Gangshar Rinpoche became very ill and apparently died. While his body was resting in samadhi, Trungpa Rinpoche sat vigil.
Because Trungpa rinpoche’s caused a slight breeze, which revived Khenpo Gangshar. After which he exhibited a noticeably different personality by taking on a consort, rarely ever slept, and skillfully and uniquely taught every person he encountered the root-essence of Buddhadharma by pointing out the nature of their mind.
Then one day he announced that he had completed the work that he had returned from the dead to accomplish. Thus, returning to his normal personality and routine and continuing as dean of the Surmang shedra until his imprisonment.
Although the precise date of Khenpo Gangshar's passing is unknown, Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, in consultation with Gangshar Tulku, the master's reincarnation, recently determined that the tenth day of the first month would be the most appropriate date to mark the anniversary, since this is Guru Rinpoche day and Khenpo Gangshar is considered to have been a mind-emanation of Padmasambhava. To mark this occasion, Lotsawa house offers the following new translation of Naturally Liberating Whatever You Meet: A Concise Instruction for Realizing the Nature of Mind.
It was thought that he died in prison between 1958 and 1961, but it has also been reported that he in fact survived 22 years of imprisonment, and passed away in 1980 or 1981, before any of his former students
