Benchen Monastery Community

News January 29, 2015

On the 29. January 2015 two lamas who finished a three-year retreat were inaugurated as umdze (chant master) at the Benchen Monastery by Drubwang Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche.
Furthermore, Rinpoche inaugurated four monks as uchung (junior chant master) and five monks as khelenpa (assistant to junior chant master). Please click on the pictures to start the slideshow:

On the four photos you can see Drubwang Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche giving katags to the monks, Lama Umdze Tenzin Namgyal, Lama Umdze Yönten Phuntsok, and a group picture.

Namaste,Tempa

News from Benchen Monastery Dec. 8, 2014

The Benchen Shenpen is an association of Benchen ex-monks who are helping the monastery to serve tea and cleaning whenever necessary. On November 28 the monks had a meeting with Drubwang Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche (pictures 1-6). On the 29th Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche completed the Damngagdzö initiations which have altogether taken 49 days. (Please click on the pictures to start the slide show.)

The representatives of the Tsadra Foundation, which was the co-sponsor for the empowerments, offered a mandala, ku, sung, thug headed by Shawn the translator to Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche (picture 8). The Benchen Community also offered a mandala, ku, sung thug in order to express our thankfulness to Rinpoche headed by me, Khenpo and so on (pictures 9-15). Later you can see Tom (picture 16) who helped in the vip area during lunchtime. You can also see people lining up for food and having lunch (picture 17-24). On the last pictures you see overall impressions during the last day.

Thats all now.

Namaste, Tempa

Birthday Celebration

Today, the 19th November 2014, at the Benchen Monastery we celebrated the 50th birthday of our venerable master Drubwang Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche. In the morning Rinpoche planted a tree in front of the gompa and blessed over 1000 fish that we saved by freeing them into the Manjushri lake on the way to Parphing. The Benchen administrators offered a mandala, ku, sung, thuk, and so on to Rinpoche.

(Please click on the pictures to start the slide show.)
In the afternoon we offered a beautiful cake to Rinpoche and shared it with everybody. We also offered 35.000 butter lamps on this occasion.
That's all for now.

Namaste, Tempa

Consecration of Relic Stupa - part 2

Today March 31, 2014 Drubwang Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche consecrated Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche's relic stupa in Parphing together with many rinpoches, dorje lopöns, khenpos, lamas, monks, nuns, and many lay practitioners. It started at 8:30 in the morning. During the consecration there were rainbow circles around the sun and three big black birds and one white bird were flying around high above the stupa. According to Tibetan tradition these are very auspicious signs.
Now there are some photos:

(Please click on the picture to enlarge.)

I have an additional announcement:

Two years ago Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche passed away on the 8th day of the 2nd month of the Tibetan calendar. This year according to the western calendar the anniversary of Rinpoche's parinirvana will fall on the April 7, 2014. On that day in the Benchen Monastery in Kathmandu the White Tara Puja will be held for the whole day with offering of butter lamps. It would be very nice if each of you who feel connected to Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche could do practice and prayers on that day.

That's all now. Namaste, Tempa

Consecration of Relic Stupa - part 1

Today March 26, 2014 Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche's main relic stupa was consecrated in the Tara Shrine room in the Benchen Monastery by Drubwang Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche together with fourteen other rinpoches. (Please click on the picture to enlarge.)

Over two thousand khenpos, lamas, monks, nuns and lay people gathered to receive blessings. We hope that the videoclip will be soon released on the website.

Namaste, Tempa

Relic Stupa News March 5, 2014

On March 5, 2014 a delegation of officials of the Benchen Monastery administration had an audience with H.H. Karmapa in Benares for the purpose of informing His Holiness that both of Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche's relic stupas, the one in the Tara shrine room of the Benchen Monastery in Kathmandu and the other in Parphing in the Benchen retreat area, are completed.

Message from Gyalwang Karmapa to Benchen Monastery

At the end of the Kagyu Monlam in the late afternoon of the January 16, 2014 H.H. Gyalwang Karmapa has called the Benchen monastery addressing all the monks from Kathmandu and the Pharping Shedra.

H.H. said that Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche made it clear that he will not be reborn in Tibet and that Rinpoche will be reborn close to Rinpoche's root guru. H.H. had a very clear vision that Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche will enter this world soon after the two stupas are completed. Until Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche is reborn you should practice continuously and do all the rituals, that will be the best. H.H. said that "whenever you need my support, please tell me, I am there. Whatever I can I will do to support the monastery." The last that H.H. said was that Rinpoche will be reborn not far which probably means Nepal, Bhutan, or India.

Namaste, Tempa

Relic Stupa News

Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche's relic stupa which has recently been finished in the Tara shrine room is going to be consecrated by Drubwang Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche in Swoyambhu on March 26, 2014.
The relic stupa in Pharping will be completed and is going to be consecrated March 31, 2014 by Drubwang Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche. We will arrange an elaborate ceremony.

Kudung Stupa completed

kstupa On the 29th September 2013 Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche's Kudung Stupa was completed in the Tara shrine room of the Benchen Monastery, Swoyambhu, Nepal. Rinpoche's skullcup he left behind, relic pills, Tsatsas and all required substances were filled inside the stupa and it was sealed. The day of the consecration is not settled yet.

I would like to say thank you very, very much from the Benchen community to all who were involved in the creation of the stupa.
Especially we would like to thank Chagzö Tashi Özer who devotedly put all his effort into this project, visiting the artists everyday, even at times he was sick.

That's all news.

Namaste, Tempa

Tree Sanctuary of Delight

Today on the 26.June 2013, the auspicious day of His Holiness the Karmapa's birthday, 1000 trees were planted in dedication to Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche's swift rebirth on a piece of land near Phokara which was donated by the community of the local Tibetan refugee camp as a tree sanctuary.