Chatral Sangye Dorje

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Chatral Rinpoche

Chatral Rinpoche (tiger skin).jpg Chatral Rinpoche (young sepia).jpg
PersonType Category:Tibetan Buddhist Teachers
MainNamePhon Chatral Sangye Dorje
MainNameTib བྱ་བྲལ་སངས་རྒྱས་རྡོ་རྗེ་
MainNameWylie bya bral sangs rgyas rdo rje
AltNamesTib སངས་རྒྱས་རྡོ་རྗེ་  ·  ཁྲོ་རྒྱལ་རྡོ་རྗེ་
AltNamesWylie sangs rgyas rdo rje  ·  khro rgyal rdo rje
bio Kyabjé Chatral Rinpoche, Sangye Dorje (Tib. བྱ་བྲལ་སངས་རྒྱས་རྡོ་རྗེ་, Wyl. bya bral sangs rgyas rdo rje) (1913–2015) was a renowned Dzogchen master, a reclusive yogin famous for his great realization and strict discipline. A disciple of the great master Khenpo Ngakchung, he was widely regarded as one of the most highly realized Dzogchen yogins of recent times. In addition to his relationship with Khenpo Ngakchung, Chatral Rinpoche also studied with some of the last century's most renowned masters, including Dudjom Rinpoche, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, and the famed dakini, Sera Khandro. Rinpoche was one of the primary lineage holders of the Longchen Nyingtik, and in particular the lineage that descends through Jigme Lingpa's heart son Jikmé Gyalwé Nyugu and then on to Patrul Rinpoche.

Though his main lineage is the Longchen Nyingtik, Chatral Rinpoche was also closely associated with the Dudjom Tersar lineage. He was empowered as the regent of Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche and passed on this lineage to this master's reincarnation, who lives primarily in central Tibet.

Chatral Rinpoche in his youth, courtesy of Matthew Pistono (photographer unknown) Chatral Rinpoche shunned institutional and political involvement his whole life, choosing instead to live the life of a wandering yogin. A lay yogin, he was also greatly concerned with maintaining strict discipline in the context of the Dzogchen view. He was especially well known for his advocacy of vegetarianism and his yearly practice of ransoming the lives of thousands of animals in India. In addition to his emphasis on the union of view and conduct, Rinpoche also stressed the practice of retreat. He established numerous retreat centers throughout the Himalayas, including in Pharping, Yolmo and Darjeeling.

He passed into parinirvana in Yangleshö in Nepal on December 30th, 2015, at the age of 102. He had two daughters, Tara Devi and Saraswati (recognised as a tulku of Sera Khandro), with his wife Sangyum Kamala. (Source Accessed Feb 11, 2025)

YearBirth July 13, 1913
YearDeath December 30, 2015
DatesNotes Birth date is based on the claim that he turned 100 years old on the 10th day of the 5th month in 2013 (June 18 according to the western calendar), which corresponds to July 13 in 1913. However, the dates of his birth seem to be unclear as there were discrepancies concerning his age when he passed away.
TibDateDay 10
TibDateMonth 5
TibDateGender Female
TibDateElement Water
TibDateAnimal Ox
TibDateRabjung 15
TibDateDeathDay 20
TibDateDeathMonth 11
TibDateDeathGender Female
TibDateDeathElement Wood
TibDateDeathAnimal Sheep
TibDateDeathRabjung 17
ReligiousAffiliation Nyingma
StudentOf Khenpo Ngaga  ·  Sera Khandro  ·  Rdo rje dgra 'dul  ·  Dudjom Jikdral Yeshe Dorje  ·  Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
BDRC https://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=P6036
IsInGyatsa No
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