Life Story of Senge Tenzin Rinpoche

Senge Tenzin Rinpoche is the reincarnation of Limi Tulku. "Limi" is a common name of three villages, in the northwest of Nepal. "Tulku" means a reincarnation or rebirth. In 12th cuntery, a Buddhist teacher called Druptop Senge Yeshi came from Drikung Thil, the monastery of Drikung Kagyu Order in Tibet and arrived in Ngari, western Tibet. Senge Yeshi was there to perform his spiritual activities. Because of his spiritual power, he attracted thousands of followers, including well-known Buddhist practitioners in the region and the King of Purang Kingdom. Senge Yeshi was offered Gongphur monastery in Purang by King Tegtse Trimbar. Also, Til Kunzom Dongag Choe Ling monastery by a respected Buddhist teacher known as Lama Kunzom Rinpoche.

Since Senge Yeshi had built a unshakable spiritual connection with the people and the monasteries in the region, he was unable to part with his followers. Therefore, he reincarnated after his pari-nirvana (his death). What Tibetans call "Tulku". Since the 12th century, a chain of reincarnations of Yeshi Senge has been serving as one of the leading spiritual masters in the region. In the villages of Limi, they have earned the title "Limi Tulku".

The Previous Reincarnation Of Senge Rinpoche

The previous reincarnation of Senge Tenzin Rinpoche was known as Kuchoe Rabjor Rinpoche. He was born in 1929, in a household known as Gye-Shang Amche, at Gye-Shang village in Purang, western Tibet. When Kuchoe Rabjor was recognized as the reincarnation of Limi Tulku, he had already spent his childhood with his family in the village and received not even basic education in Tibetan language. Thereafter, he began to train in Buddhism and at same time, he took the position to be responsible for the three monastic communities in Purang and Limi. By the time he assumed the role of the head spiritual teacher in the Kailash regions, a contagious disease killed many of the villagers in Limi. Eventually, Kuchoe Rabjor also contracted the disease and passed away. As soon as he died, the sickness passed from the region. In accordance with Tibetan tradition, his body was embalmed and now lies, in a stupa in Limi.

Around the time of Kuchoe Rabjor's death, the Cultural Revolution was launched in Tibet, leading to the victimization of spiritual communities. Even people who were just silently moving their lips were accused of reciting prayers and punished. In the 1980s, the Communist Government of China officially declared that there would be "freedom of religion" in Tibet. This sparked a great rebirth in spiritual and cultural practices, including the construction and renovation of many monasteries.

Search For The Reincarnation Of Kuchoe Rabjor

In 1985, Tashi Gyalpo, the elder brother of Kuchoe Rabjor went with a group from Purang on a pilgrimage to "Drikung Thil", the central monastery of the Drikung Kagyu tradition in the Drikung region in central Tibet. At Drikung Thil, the pilgrims had an audience with Kabje Dubwang Pachung Rinpoche, one of the most respected Yogi of the Drikung Kagyu sect, and they asked for his assistance in searching for the reincarnation of the Limi Tulku. The Yogi took a moment to contemplate and then clearly stated that the reincarnation had already been born near the previous reincarnations' residence and had the Tibetan syllable 'ah' on his tongue.

Stories About Senge Rinpoche

The reincarnation of Kuchoe Rabjor was born to a man called Migmar and a woman called Bute at midnight on 29th January 1981 (the year of Metal Bird, according to the Tibetan lunar calendar). They were from Dosa village in Purang, the residence of the previous Limi Tulku. He grow up in Purang county because his parents lived there. Migmar was a senior member of Purang county, in charge of the Department of Finance, and Pute was a nurse in the county's public hospital. He has an elder sister, Jangchub Dolma.

After conceiving the child, his parents had noticed a different atmosphere in their house. The day before his birth, his mother dreamed of a big fire coming out of the chimney of the stove and she felt it was very special. Not only that, but three months before the birth, the couple had visited a female hermit, Jetsun Ma Rigzen, in Purang, who had told them that they were going to give birth to a son, and she named him "Hri Drag". Eight months after his birth, his parents had to visit Jetsun Ma Rigzen again because their baby kept crying all day and night. She recognized the child as a reincarnation, and explained that the crying was a sign of the child's great compassion and his ability to see the impermanent and suffering nature of samsaric existence. Also, the child had a one-and-a-half-inch-long bulge at the base of his spine, which looked like a tail, and this was seen by his parents, family members and doctors before it disappeared. In addition, just as the master, Pachung Rinpoche, had predicted, the child had the Tibetan syllable 'ah' on his tongue. Since the villagers were curious to see the syllable, he was always being asked to stick his tongue out. His tongue was so sensitive to meat and food which was not cleaned properly that he became a vegetarian as a child.

One day, while in the area, Lama Konchok Choephal, from Sera Lung Gonpa, visited the child's parents without having been invited, telling them that he had seen a dove enter their house. Then, when he saw the child, he realized the dove was just a vision and he spoke no further about it. Instead, he directed his full attention towards the child, recognizing him as a reincarnation. The child's parents were having a number of difficulties at that point. Their house had collapsed and other obstacles had arisen, but they did not think that the events had a common cause.

It was not his parents' choice to make their son a monk. They grew up at the time of the Chinese occupation of Tibet and had had no opportunity to experience the spiritual life of old Tibet. The systematic re-education of the Tibetans by the Chinese government had taught them to believe in "no Buddhas" and also that "religion is a poison to community wealth which takes all the income of the people". Furthermore, having only one son and one daughter, they were reluctant to let him become a monk. Lama Konchok Choephal, Jetsun Ma Rigzin and the elders of the community told them that their problems might be because they had not placed their son, who had shown many signs of his proclivities, in the path of dharma, where he could study Buddhist philosophy and be ordained as a monk.

Ordination Of Senge Rinpoche

In 1990 (the year of Metal Horse in the Tibetan lunar calendar), after the visit of the great master, Konchok Norbu, who came with around fifty monks on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Manasarovar Lake, his parents decided to allow their son to be ordained. On the 15th of the fifth month of the Tibetan calendar, the great master Konchok Norbu cut the child's hair and named him Konchok Choesang, in front of the main object of Ache Choekye Dolma (Dharma protector) in the Gongphur monastery.

In 1993 (Water Bird Year in the Tibetan lunar calendar), the head of the Drikung Kagyu tradition, His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, visited the three monasteries and villages of Limi in Nepal after many years of heartfelt requests by the villagers. While Drikung Kyabgon was in Limi, he was informed of the significant stories of the child's birth. As many people from the Kailash regions, including Purang, were coming across the borders of Nepal and Tibet to see Kyabgon Chetsang, there was much discussion about what could be done to give the boy the opportunity to study Buddhism.

Leaving Home And Family

In the autumn of 1993, Konchok Choesang escaped from Tibet with the help of Tering, a sponsor of his previous incarnation of Limi Tulku. It took them a month to reach to the Drikung Kagyu Institute, in Dehra Dun in the east of India. There are several reasons why the Rinpoche had to escape. One of main ones was that the government of China was against Tibetans going to India. Although they had declared "an open-door policy" in the 1980s, the government wasn't interested in issuing any official documents for Tibetans to travel to India for educational or religious purposes. Secondly, there is no single monastery in Purang where young monks can get a proper education in Buddhist philosophy and ceremonial training in Buddhist rituals. The main monasteries in central Tibet were monitored by the government and a restriction on recruiting young monks into the monasteries was introduced. In addition, there were a serious of political re-educations and there was political interference in the monastic communities.

Enthronement Of Senge Rinpoche As The Reincarnation Of Druptop Senge Yeshi

With Konchok Choesang's arrival in India, His Holiness Kyabgon Chetsang could take more time to examine the situation and conduct the ceremonies for officially recognizing Konchok Choesang as the reincarnation of the great saint, Senge Yeshi (the Limi Tulku).

In 1994, on the 15th of the first month of the Tibetan year, Konchok Choesang again had his hair cut and took the Buddhist vow of Refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha (the ordained community), in the presence of His Holiness, Drikyung Kyabgon Chetsang, Lamas, Tulkus, Abbots, Teachers and more than two hundred monks in the Drikung Kagyu Dorjee hall. Then, with the festival of dressing him in his robes, Drikung Chetsang named him Konchok Senge Tenzin Yeshi. From that point onwards, Senge Tenzin began his studies in Buddhist scriptures, tantric practices, initiations and the Tibetan language

Druptop Senge Yeshi was a close disciple of Kyobpa Jigten Sumgon. Jigten Sumgon had said admiringly, "he is an emanation of the Indian master, Drup Chen Shawarepa, one of the eighty great Indian saints, who came to help the dharma flourish in Tibet". From that time until the present, the previous incarnations of Senge Yeshi have served in five monasteries and retreat centers and is known locally as Limi Tulku. Druptop (a mahasiddha, or highly-realized being) Senge Yeshi recognized the sanctity of Shel-Re Drugda, the "Crystal Mountain" in Dolpo and it is well-known in the region.