Lama Gendun Rinpoche

Lama Gendun Rinpoche on the DRL

Ordained (Monks and Nuns) • Tibetan Buddhist Teachers

English Phonetics	Lama Gendun Rinpoche

Dates

Birth:	1918
Death:	1997/10/31
Place of birth:	Nangchen, Kham

Tibetan calendar dates

Dates of birth

Day
Month
Gender
Element	Earth
Animal	Horse
Rab Jyung

Dates of passing

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

About

Other Biographical info:

Links

Wiki Pages

• Lama Gendun Rinpoche on the DRL
• Lama Gendun Rinpoche on the LIB
• Lama Gendun Rinpoche on the BNW

Buddha Nature Project

Person description or short bio

Gendun Rinpoche (1918–1997) belonged to that extraordinary group of great Tibetan Buddhist meditators trained entirely in Tibet who were driven into exile by the Chinese occupation of their homeland and who later in their lives spread the Buddhist teachings in the West.

Practicing in the Karma Kagyu tradition, he spent over 30 years meditating in closed retreat in Tibet and India. His accomplishments were such that his principal teacher, the 16th Karmapa, who sent him to Europe to teach, compared him to the great 11/12th century Tibetan yogi Milarepa.

In the final years of his activity in Europe he succeeded in firmly planting the Buddhist teachings in Western soil by establishing numerous teaching, practice and retreat centers.

He trained more than a hundred Western disciples as teachers or lamas who are now continuing his legacy. (Source Accessed October 17, 2019)

Expand to see this person's philosophical positions on Buddha-nature.

Is Buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
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All beings have Buddha-nature
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If "Qualified", explain:
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Which Wheel Turning
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Yogācāra vs Madhyamaka
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Zhentong vs Rangtong
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Promotes how many vehicles?
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Analytic vs Meditative Tradition
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What is Buddha-nature?
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Svātantrika (རང་རྒྱུད་) vs Prāsaṅgika (ཐལ་འགྱུར་པ་)
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Causal nature of the vajrapāda
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The Kagyu school traces its origin to the eleventh-century translator Marpa, who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa's student Milarepa trained Gampopa, who founded the first monastery of the Kagyu order. As many as twelve subtraditions grew out from there, the best known being the Karma Kagyu, the Drikung, and the Drukpa.

Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true.

Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana).

Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature.

The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena.

Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana.