The Drikung Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism
The 794th Anniversary Lord Jigten Sumgon Memorial Grand Puja
The Origin
On June 6, 2010, His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang appointed the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center, guided by his disciple Most Venerable Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche, to coordinate The 793rd Anniversary Lord Jigten Sumgon Memorial Grand Puja. Fourteen thousand attendees participated in this puja, which was held at the Taipei Arena in Taiwan and presided over in person by His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang. In hopes to continue the tradition and uphold the lineage, Most Venerable Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche paid homage to His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang in New Zealand earlier this year, and pleaded for holding the successive grand memorial pujas.
Thereby, on June 25, 2011, being granted permission by His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, Most Venerable Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche will hold and preside over The 794th Anniversary Lord Jigten Sumgon Memorial Grand Puja with 3,200 participants at the Taipei International Convention Center in Xinyi District, Taipei.
The benevolent message from His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang for The 794th Anniversary Drikung Kagyu Lord Jigten Sumgon Memorial Grand Puja:
Dear Rinpoches, Dharma Masters, and Lay Buddhists,
Today we gather here to commemorate the founder of the Drikung Kagyu Lineage, Jigten Sumgon. On this day, around 100 monasteries in Tibet and the Himalayas are also holding Jigten Sumgon Memorial Pujas, as are around 100 Drikung Kagyu centers all over the world. You might already know the life story of Lord Jigten Sumgon, who is the emanation of the Bodhisattva Nagarjuna. The Drikung Kagyu Lineage was established more than 830 years ago based on both Exoteric Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism. In my opinion, the teachings of Exoteric Buddhism from the time of Buddha Sakyamuni are the same as the Buddhist Canons we should practice nowadays. Esoteric Buddhism was already propagated during the time of the Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, the 2nd Century. Many Tantras of Tantric Buddhism were from Uddiyana, and began to spread from there, where Pakistan is today.
Vajrayana in short term history originated from Tilopa, who was born in East India. Tilopa passed it down to Naropa, who was born in Kashmir, Northern India. Naropa was followed by the Tibetan translator Marpa Lotsawa in the 11th century, who traveled to India three times and Nepal four times. Particularly, Marpa Lotsawa spent over 20 years learning Buddhism and translating Buddhist scriptures while attending to Naropa, and at Nalanda University and Vikramshila University. He returned to Tibet with his translations and began the Kagyu Lineage. Marpa then passed down the teachings to his foremost disciple Milarepa, who passed it to Gampopa. Then, Gampopa passed it down to Phagmodrupa. Jigten Sumgon, Phagmodrupa’s major disciple, then received the transmission and initiated the Drikung Kagyu Lineage.
Jigten Sumgon’s main temple was the Drikung Thil Monastery, where a great emphasis is placed on genuine practice. For the past 800 years, the three-year retreat practice has been conducted without interruption in its two big centers. It was so important during the life of Jigten Sumgon that about three years before his passing, at the age of 75, he began to conduct a retreat practice. He sent lamas of the Drikung Thil Monastery, mostly those who had learned the fundamentals, to Kailash, Lapchi, and Tsari. Finally, by the end of his life, Jigten Sumgon had sent over 25,000 lamas to perform retreat practices at each location.
Now, as we are the lineage that emphasizes genuine practice, I am here in New Zealand to establish the Milarepa Center, a center for retreat practice. Meanwhile, the establishment of retreat centers in Hungry, Eastern Europe, and West Germany in Western Europe is also in progress. These are practical actions to repay the debt of gratitude to our lineage and the Buddhas. The buildings of the Milarepa Center are under construction this year, and will be completed and inaugurated around Milarepa’s birthday next year.
Devotion to the guru is very important at today’s Lord Jigten Sumgon Memorial Grand Puja, and it also is the most essential and major practice of today’s Guru Yoga. I have been watching Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche for more than twenty years. He makes many contributions to the guru and the lineage with practical actions, not just words or formality. For example, the Temple of the Golden Roof, where Lord Jigten Sumgon resided in Drikung Thil Monastery, initially had no golden roof. Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche aspired to perfectly complete it. Moreover, Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche also endeavored to erect a very large statue of Buddha Sakyamuni in Phagdru Monastery, where Phagmodrupa–Lord Jigten Sumgon’s guru–resided. Similarly, he always makes substantial contributions to fulfill the needs of the Drikung Kagyu Order, whether in Qinghai or here.
Faith and devotion are of utmost importance in the relationship between a guru and a disciple, especially when we are cultivating the Guru Yoga as Buddhist practitioners. Because the Samaya between the guru and the disciple is very important, it is critical for us to observe the Samaya in our cultivation of Guru Yoga. Especially in the Vajrayana, if you violate Samaya, everything will have been in vain. For this reason, the main purpose of today’s auspicious 794th Anniversary Lord Jigten Sumgon Memorial Grand Puja is for us to take the opportunity to repent for the precepts we have violated and to strengthen the weakness in our relationship with the guru.
Meanwhile, nowadays in the Age of Degenerate Dharma, there are many disasters all over the world, including fires, floods, earthquakes, and tsunamis. People suffer from famines, wars, and so much destruction. As so many believers gather here today, I wish that we will cherish this opportunity to pray for people in these disasters, that they will recover soon from their suffering, benefit sentient beings, and contribute to Buddhism. That’s all I have to say. Amithaba!
Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche
Glorious Jewel Buddhism Culture Exchange Association
Updated on June 20, 2011