Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Enormous white rock formations visible for miles — called Karmo, “the white” — open Khensur Rinpoche’s description of his childhood home in Kham, eastern Tibet, in this 58-minute oral history session. The conversation covers two main areas: the monastic curriculum he memorized as a young monk, including two chapters of the Pramānavārttika (a treatise on valid cognition), the complete Ornament for Clear Realization by Maitreya, and the Abhidharma Treasury of Knowledge; and the empowerments received from the Dalai Lama — Kālacakra (four times in Tibet and India), Guhyasamāja, Heruka, and Yamāntaka among them. Rinpoche also describes the Gungtong Chö, an annual winter gathering where monks from the three great monasteries convened at Ganden to debate. An intimate biographical record, not a formal dharma teaching.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 21 RS 1988 03 28.mp3
UUID: 0fe91e49-ed24-4c4c-9acb-5ffb2407c57c
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Rinpoche's Story (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1988-03-28
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 58.6 minutes
Words: ~2,257
And then the text by Kedrup Je was called a commentary called Ocean of Reasoning. Really. I’m not there.
This is another one. Another commentary by Gendün Drupa. The ornament of reasoning on valid cognition.
Ornament of reasoning on valid cognition. Yeah. Prime cognition. Yeah, prime cognition, maybe prime cognition. Anyway.
Namne Tartik, t a r t i k. I have to check. I’m not sure what that means. Commentary by Tsongkhapa called, just commentary to prime cognition.
Commentary to prime cognition called clearing the mind. Maybe I have to check on this. Clearing the mind of darkness. Okay.
You clearing the darkness of the mind clearing mind of darkness, I’m sorry. Clearing the mind of darkness. Clearing the of darkness. Can I just get clear — all of this — you know, when the ordinary monks went from Dargye, they just did their four years? Was any of this in the first four years?
Was all of this done afterwards for Geshe work? Or the Geshe’s later on? The So they would go through this up to the first chapter. They would study up through the first chapter. Would go through all the stuff.
So it’s four years? Yeah. They’d stay three years. Five years? They’d assume.
They would say three years. And they would stay up through the first chapter. Everything up through the first chapter. Which monastery did they stay for? Is it Drepung?
Drepung, stay for. Yeah. And then kind of So they had this was kind of a this is really a little bit of a special event in Tibet that they would, in one day, they would study Nam Duo, they would study this subject in the winter months, then one day all the three, what they call the three seats of learning, the three monasteries, they would come together at a place called Ganden and they would debate together amongst themselves. This is called Gungtong Chö. Gungtong Chö.
Gungtong Chö took place in the winter. Gung means winter. It was taking place in the eleventh month of the Tibetan year, and then this was kind of an annual event. All the three monasteries come together and debate this one subject. So there’s a the the text that Rinpoche memorized?
This is all the text he’s No. He’s going to list the text that he memorized. Okay. So the text he memorized — this Pramānavārttika — this text here, yeah, has four chapters.
He memorized the first two chapters. Yes. It’s the Pramānavārttika. Yeah.
It has four chapters. He memorized the first two — the entire first two chapters. Yeah, the root text, which just means this text, Pramānavārttika. And then the complete text of Ornament for Clear Realization.
That’s the very first text that we listed. This is Oh. I want him for realization. Who was that by? Oh, let me write that down.
That’s by Maitreya. Maitreya. Jetsün Jamgön — what? Maitreya. Yeah.
Maitreya, m a i t r e y a, Maitreya. Yeah. And to give this complete text. And toque, Orn for Clear Realization. And then complete complete text to the of the middle way.
Sanskrit that’s called Madhyamakāvatāra. Madhyamaka? M A D H Y A M A K A. Madhyamaka. Avatara, A V A T A R A. Madhyamakāvatāra.
That complete text. The complete root text of Abhidharma. The Treasury of Knowledge by Vasubandhu. There’s a text called Condensation of Moral Discipline. Yeah.
A m a g y a. And that that entire text. Seventy topics? Seventy topics? The commentary by Jetsün Chökyi on the first — is this a new one?
Yeah, another something else you memorized. The commentary by Jetsün Chökyi Gyaltsen on the first division of the Ornament for Clear Realization. Jetsün Chökyi Gyaltsen was the textbook author. Textbook author. Yeah.
You know, we we said that he wrote commentaries to Clear Ornament. His commentary of the just of the first chapter. First chapter. First section. First section.
He memorized that. Memorized that. Exposition. Essence? You say?
Yeah. Essence. Essence of eloquent exposition of definitive and interpretive sutras. That entire text. And then…
C. C. C. C. C.
Philosophy. General meaning of the middle way philosophy. Think we mentioned that here. Let’s see. Yeah.
Do you remember me a little way? Yeah. First eighty the first eighty pages of that commentary. Show So then you get this, what? La La means etcetera.
It’s not gonna give us anymore. It is various prayer prayers and practices like like offer to the spiritual master, etcetera. You know, just various practices. Prayers. So this is where he is is that text that’s where he memorized.
Do you want to go through the teachings that he’s received? Maybe list the teachings received from the Dalai Lama? So let’s try it out. These teachings that Rinpoche has received from the Dalai Lama. Yeah.
So first the wang, the empowerment. The first empowerment that he’s received from the Dalai Lama. He’s received the Chenrezig Rising, in Tibet, the Chenrezig Rising or Avalokiteśvara? Yeah. You just say that to me?
Oh, Dükhor. Dükhor. Kālacakra. Kālacakra.
Kālacakra. Into that. Twice in India. Two times in India, two in Tibet. Yeah.
Two. Two in India, two in Tibet. So then the the the empowerment of Did you did you get the written where he received the transmission of the of the the the discourses of the Buddha? I think so. Think I just I don’t know.
He’s he’s remembers that you wrote you wrote this down. Yeah. I have got my order. We’ll leave it for now, and I’ll check at later when I’m going to go because I have got quite a bit left. Con configure it.
That was that was the ones And you you talked about some of the in received from in Tibet? Yeah. Yeah? So he received Guhyasamāja, Heruka, Heruka, Yamāntaka, Vajrayoginī. Kriyā Tantra.
Kriyā Tantra. From the same one? No. This is Yeah. You can write it in here.
Kriyā tantra. Kriyā, k r I Oh. Y a, tantra, the first class of tantra. That was in nineteen forty nine. That was the time of his first trip.
Chitamani Chitamani, c h i t t a m a n i. Chitamani Tārā, t a r a. The teaching on that? And the teaching on the Lama Chöpa, offering to the spiritual master? Namthar Trippa, Tibetan.
Gom Sal. Gom Sal, about his reincarnation knowledge. In Switzerland. Yeah. That’s right.
Empowerment of. N. You you got that? So you got the where he received the received the transmission and the discourses of the Buddha? I think somewhere.
I’m just not quite Remember well in Tibet. What happened in Tibet? Good. So in India, for example, the Dalai Lama in India? So this was all before that was in Tibet?
This is all in Tibet. India? From the Dalai Lama? The the empowerment of? Sorry.
Again? The empowerment of Guhyasamāja. Guhya. It’s a piercing. Yeah.
Yeah. You wrote it down before. Guhya, g u h y a. Guhyasamāja, s a m a j a. Guhyasamāja, Yamāntaka, Heruka.
This is all from His Holiness. Yeah. The Kālacakra twice. The solitary realizer. Solitary — t s o, G y a. Do you want to write all of the teachings received in India?
All the All the all of the parts that I received in India. Well, it could just be a list sometime. Yeah. Yeah. It take up very little room.
It won’t it be recorded? He can just write them down or Can you antenna? Have to be now. I know you get. So shall we stop there for today?
Yeah. Bodhis. So that was a really special thing to bring back. So Rinpoche got some when he was in Tibet. Can push to Lhasa.
Uh-huh. But he didn’t ever go did he ever go on a pilgrimage to a guy when he was in in Rasan? Chinese were very common years. He didn’t know If the Chinese hadn’t come, he would have gone to India. I was a tickling leg, but he wouldn’t come to us.
That’s true. Life is very strange. Thirteen years in his where is his his birthplace? His father, ma’am? Ripa?
The rest of time? Thirty. Did you say Thirteen? Thirteen. Oh, thirteen.
Oh. And the rest of the time has been everywhere else but there. So he’s thinking of Kham as connected to Lhasa. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. I’m not — thirteen years in Rinda. Because he didn’t leave Kham till he was eighteen.
Yeah. He stayed two or three years in Chamdo? Chamdo. Chamdo. Isn’t that the capital?
Chamdo is the capital of Kham. I think that’s what he meant, where he did the trading. Yeah. With his uncle? Yeah.
He means Chamdo, doesn’t he? Because he said it was there. Chamdo. I think it’s Chamdo.
Chamdo — it might be Chamdo. Chamdo. Well I just I like just to clear it because I Wait, did you find it on the map? Well yeah and it’s the main administrative. He says it’s the main administrative center.
One day away from Lhasa or something. I think it’s further than that. I’ve just I’ve got a different map. I’ll just see if I can find it. Actually I actually do.
I thought maybe it picked the main Oh, this this This this here. Oh, that. Yeah? One river flowing down? Yeah.
Oh, that’s the other one. It comes the other side. Yeah. They are So this is a mountain range here? Right.
Big river. And then. Oh, that’s interesting. We should use that just because it it right. Where he lived.
Yeah. And where’s the past just where he went with his father? Oh, is where the the Oh, this different villages. Villages. Villages.
Villages. So so is that is that actually houses there as well? It’s This is the Rinda Re. The Rinda Re. These are the Drulpa Khromba combo.
Yeah. These are individuals individual village houses. Yeah. Oh. This this is this is it stands for Rinda village itself.
This is Rinda village here. But so there’s a lot of houses outside of the village just around the villages. Just smaller than Rindu even? Rindu Lachumwa. Mhmm.
Yeah. Smaller than Rindu. Oh. Oh. Yeah.
What what’s the does he remember the name of those two rivers? The The What did you get them before? So this is I hear there are there are many huge white rocks, very big white rocks. Where? Up in here.
This area. So this area was called Carmel Carmel Carmel It was like as white as snow. You could see them from very far away. Huge, big white stone. So this became the home — the area that particular area was called, like, the home of Karmo Karmo White.
The white home. The place of the white place of the white. Some a home in the white. Oh, yeah. So then this river was known as Karmo Nangwa River.
Karmo Nangwa. Karmo? Karmo. Yeah. Nangwa.
Karmo Nangwa. And there — is this the — no. Nangwa, n a n g w a. Karmo.
Nangwa. Nangwa. Nangwa. Nangki, k y i. What? K y?
K y. Chu. Chu means this river. So the home of the white. This is home, isn’t it?
Yeah. No. Carmel just means, like, white. Key just means out. Mhmm.
The Karmo shape of shape of. And then there’s there’s one the animal called zo. Mhmm. There’s a zomo. Mhmm.
So the the Zomukar. This is like It looked like a white white zomo. This is the rocks. Yeah. So they call them Karmo.
Karmo means white. Yeah. Karmo means white? Yeah. So they call them Karmo.
They call this area Karmo after the animals’ white color. So Yeah. This is very strange stones. Yeah. Home of the white whatever.
So then there were many white stones, smaller, and they thought that these were like the Oh. These were like the children of the the big white stuff. So they must have been enormous. That was very big. Oh, The big ones?
Very, very good. They like the house. So this river is called Riwonggichu. R i. Mhmm.
Meaning mountain. So it just means home of the mountain because this was extremely high mountains. It’s very narrow. Yeah. Mountain home.
This this river here is called. Yes, sir. Which one? It’s a very big river. Yeah.
And they join into it. So this is one of the there’s a there’s there’s a story about four four rivers and six mountains. Have you heard that? I don’t think. No?
There’s a book called there’s a book called that. Oh. Called four rivers. This is referred to some famous four rivers and six mountains. This is one of those four rivers.
Oh, we’ll have to find out about it. I think there’s somebody four hundred young Tibetans in Sweden. Four or something. Four hundred and six mountains. Oh, I have to find There was a there was a the reason he was talking about that one called the same thing.
Yeah. So what’s that river’s name? Zachu. Little zachu. Zachu.
Zechu. Zachu. Mhmm. Maybe d z a c h u. Which direction is it? This is the this is.
This is the other river. This is the river? Yeah. Yeah. For what is it?
I’ll make some copies and then we can run out on Good. That’s good. Thank you. It’s good to see a map. Helps.