Today, in accordance with the previous tradition, is the day to give the zen and shamtab to those Dzogchen practitioners [who have completed the tögal year three and trekchöd year five classes]. Now I feel more comfortable giving a speech or teaching because, in previous times, there were only a few people who could understand English and who could translate the teachings. But now there are so many; and today, Khen Rinpoche Tsewang Gyatso doesn’t have to translate for me, as Lopon [Rigsal] is available to translate my teachings. The reason [Khen Rinpoche translating is not ideal] is that Khen Rinpoche Tsewang Gyatso has been my teacher, and it is not comfortable for me [to have] him translate for me.
I know that you all have dedicated your precious time—whether it was for the whole month, or fifteen days, or seven days, or three days—to practice here, and many of you have traveled very far distances; I know that.
It is said that, if one remembers the qualities or the history of one’s root guru and makes supplication prayers with single-pointed concentration and feelings of devotion, then all of one’s wishes will come true. Therefore, the one root guru for all of us is His Holiness [Penor Rinpoche]. When we talk about generating faith and devotion for one’s root guru, it is [usually] about generating faith and devotion in the enlightened activities of one’s root guru, and in this way, we are able to generate faith. Other than that, there are few people who are able to generate faith just by looking at his appearance.
In the teachings, it is stated that there are seven different phases for the Great Perfection teachings to spread and to disappear. And it is stated that now, in this degenerating time, up until the [human] lifespan is reduced to ten years, it is the time of the spreading of the Great Perfection teachings, and if one practices during this time, then the accomplishments are really swift. This is the degenerating time, and it is the time of the spreading of the Great Perfection teachings, but in order to spread the teachings of the Great Perfection, we need teachers who hold all the teachings to spread those teachings. In this way, there are so many great Great Perfection teachers who appeared in this world, but there are not so many people who elaborately or freely spread the Great Perfection teachings. In this way, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was very compassionate toward us. He set up this center, and thus spread the Great Perfection teachings, and bestowed them upon us.
In the tantra called the Dra Thalgyur, many great teachers who will give service to the Great Perfection teachings are prophesied. Among them is Garab Dorje, who condensed the 6,400,000 sets of the Great Perfection teachings. Then it also prophesied the great master of the Great Perfection, Jampal Shenyen, who condensed the Great Perfection teachings into the three classes, which are Mind, Space, and Pith Instruction, and then the great master Shri Singha, who further categorized the teachings into four sections. Also, the masters Jnanasutra and Vimalamitra are prophesied in the Great Perfection tantra, the Dra Thalgyur. And it has been stated that our root guru, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, is the real incarnation of Vimalamitra. It has been stated that, in actuality, [Vimalamitra] lives or stays on the Five-Peaked Mountain in China, and that every one hundred years he actually manifests himself and thus propagates the Great Perfection teachings during this degenerating time. Thus, our root guru, His Holiness, is the real incarnation of Vimalamitra. And it has been stated that every one hundred years there will be a manifestation of Vimalamitra in Tibet. Thus, the great Longchen Rabjam and Khenchen Ngagi Wangpo are also regarded as the real incarnations of Vimalamitra. Khenchen Ngagi Wangpo himself composed the long-life prayer for His Holiness Penor Rinopche—Ngagye Tsukgyen Penchen Vimala— and there it is clearly stated that he is a manifestation of Vimalamitra. So, in this way, our root guru His Holiness is the manifestation of Vimalamitra, who is also prophesied in the Dra Thalgyur itself.
If ordinary people like us were to claim to comprehend the realization of such a great master as His Holiness, we would be a laughingstock, because it would be similar to saying, “I am going to measure the length of the sky.” In terms of the history of his physical body, there are actually many other histories that are available online; but today, if I recall and share some small [aspects of his] history, that would be very beneficial for you to gain faith and devotion for the root guru and may be helpful for making supplication prayers.
In the olden days, there was the tradition of great, realized masters, when they would meet with each other, having discussions about their practices and realizations and so on. I have heard such stories and seen such things. And in the olden days, there was a Great Perfection teacher, a realized master, named Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche. One day he was having a discussion with His Holiness Penor Rinpoche. At that time, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche asked Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, “Those people, whoever makes a connection with me, I am able to help them, to lead them to enlightenment in the intermediate state, but I am not able to do it for all sentient beings in the same way. What is the cause of that?” Such a discussion took place with Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche. So, in this way, we can feel very confident about the fact that, for those who have made a connection with His Holiness, it is for sure that they will be liberated or achieve enlightenment in the intermediate state. And Nyoshul Khen Rinopche always stated that His Holiness Penor Rinpoche is actually a manifestation of Vimalamitra and Guru Rinpoche; someone other than that would not be able to do such a thing.
During my childhood, when I was young, [Dilgo] Khyentse Rinpoche used to come to the monastery, and after the teachings, after the sessions ended, there would be personal discussions with His Holiness. Based on those discussions, Khyentse Rinpoche also stated that such a qualified master like His Holiness Penor Rinpoche is really hard to find, really rare, in this world. So, from this account, we can understand how realized and how great His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was. If we, as ordinary people, were to try to think of his realization, of the level of his qualities, it would be like trying to measure the sky. And as those masters, like Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche and Khyentse Rinpoche, have stated that His Holiness is the real incarnation of Vimalamitra and a highly realized master, from these accounts, we can gain certainty in this fact: His Holiness was really an enlightened person.
