Tai Situpa
Tai Situpa (Tibetan: ཏའི་སི་ཏུ་པ་, Wylie: ta'i si tu pa; from Chinese:
History
[edit]The Tai Situpa is one of the highest-ranking lamas of the Karma Kagyu lineage.[2] Chokyi Gyaltsen was the first to bear the title "Grand Situ" (Chinese:
The current, 12th Tai Situpa, Pema Tönyö Nyinje, was born in a farming family named Liyultsang in 1954 in the village of Palmey, which is part of Palyul (Wylie: dpal yul) or Baiyü County, Sichuan, China that was formerly part of the Kingdom of Derge. The Palpung Thupten Chokhorling monastery in Derge was founded by the 8th Tai Situpa "Situ Panchen" in 1727, where presently all the traditional Buddhist teachings are taught to the monks and has preserved traditional printing centre for the Buddhist teaching scrolls.
At the age of twenty-two, the 12th Tai Situpa founded his own new monastic seat, Palpung Sherabling Monastery, Himachal Pradesh, in Northeast India providing traditional Buddhist teachings, astronomy, traditional Tibetan medicine curriculum, higher Tibetan Buddhist university teaching (Shedra), primary teachings to young students, sports facility for students for physical fitness, traditional Tibetan herbs medicine garden, medical clinic , old age home and has accommodations for students. Palpung Sherabling Monastery currently has approximately 1000 monks; 250 are enrolled in the monastic university curriculum on the premises. Palpung Yeshe Rabgyeling Nun Monastery is located near the city of Manali, in the Bunthar town has about 200 nuns. The Monastery also offers the traditional Kagyu three-year retreat for both monks and nuns on the compound. The Palpung congregation[10] consists of monasteries and temples throughout some Chinese and Tibetan districts. Palpung Congregation also has branch institutions in Europe, USA, Canada Oceania and Asia. The 12th Tai Situpa traveled widely, making his first visit to the West in 1981 to Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre in Scotland.[4]
The 12th Tai Situpa was instrumental in recognizing Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the 17th Karmapa based on a handwritten letter he says was given to him by the 16th Karmapa before he died. This letter was accepted as authentic by all the main Karma Kagyu heart-sons of the 16th Karmapa, including the 3rd Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche (with the one exception of the 14th Zhamarpa). The 17th Karmapa, whom he and 12th Gyaltsab Rinpoche enthroned at the Tsurphu Monastery the traditional ancient seat of the Karmapa outside Lhasa in August 1992. He also recognized Choseng Trungpa, born on February 6, 1989, in Chamdo County, Tibet Autonomous Region, as the reincarnation of Chögyam Trungpa.
Lineage of the Tai Situpas
[edit]- Chokyi Gyaltsen (1377–1448)
- Tashi Namgyal (1450–1497)
- Tashi Paljor (1498–1541)
- Mitrug Gocha (1542–1585)
- Chokyi Gyaltsen Gelek Palzang (1586–1657)
- Mipham Trinlay Rabten (1658–1682)
- Lekshe Mawe Nyima (1683–1698)
- Situ Panchen (1700–1774)
- Pema Nyingche Wangpo (1774–1853)
- Pema Kunzang Chogyal (1854–1885)
- Pema Wangchok Gyalpo (1886–1952)
- Pema Tönyö Nyinje (1954- )
References
[edit]- ^ Kuijp, Leonard van der. "The Tibetan Expression "bod wooden door" (bod shing sgo) and its probable Mongol Antecedent". 《
西域 历史语言研究 集 刊 》 [Historical and Philological Studies of China's Western Regions]. 3. Beijing: Science Press: 89. - ^ a b c History of the Tai Situpas
- ^ History of Tibet – A Few Chapters (Part 3)
- ^ Biography of 12th Tai Situpa
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Trikaya del Lama Kunsal Kassapa
- Lineage of H. E. Palpung Chamgon Kuanding Tai Situ Rinpoche
- Information about previous and current Tai Situpas, Sherab Ling (archived July 4th 2008)
- Short biography of all 12 Tai Situpas by Ken Holmes
- news and images of the 12 Tai Situpas by Karma Kagyu Cyber World
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