As for the tradition of our own sect, I found that many people don’t really understand it, or it’s not very clear. When someone asks us brothers and sisters, many people don’t know how to answer, and most of them vaguely say that it should be the Kathog sect.

I myself often encounter people who, upon hearing that our founder is Kathog Rigzin Chenpo Tsewang Norbu, immediately assume that he is from the Kathog and say, “Ah! He is from the Kathog.”

For this reason, I will briefly talk to you about what I know about the Rigzin lineage, also known as the Rigzin Chenpo lineage, so that you can have some understanding of our own lineage.

The importance of Lineage

First of all, I want to explain that the emphasis on inheritance is not unique to Tibetan Buddhism. All orthodox Buddhism, whether Hinayana, Mahayana, Southern, Northern, Tibetan, or Nepalese, attach great importance to pure inheritance.

Just like the Theravada Vinaya tradition of the Southern School, the Transmission of the Lamp of the Chinese Zen School, the Bodhisattva Precepts tradition of the Mahayana School, etc., there must be a pure tradition to be called orthodox Buddhism. Without a pure tradition, the Dharma or teaching you preach can only be regarded as a new religion, and is definitely not orthodox Buddhism. Therefore, those who want to learn the true Dharma must distinguish clearly!

Therefore, it should be clarified here that although the full name of the patriarch is “Katuo Renzhen Thousand Treasures”, the name of the sect does not necessarily belong to this sect. For example, there is a living Buddha of Kada Sidu in India or Nepal, but he actually belongs to the Dhondrup Sinyan lineage. There are many such cases, and in the past, the monasteries of our Rinchen lineage were never under the jurisdiction of the Katuo Monastery.

Differences from the Kathog

In the past, Master Tsewang Norbu had exchanges with the Kathog and shared the same Dharma. However, judging from the teachings passed down by Rinchen, they are different from those of the present Kathog. The Kathog now mainly practices the rituals of the two treasure masters, Dundu Dorje and Longsal Ningbo, while our master advocated the non-sectarianism, which is the so-called Rimeism in Tibetan Buddhism.

In terms of the rituals, we mainly follow the complete collection of termas by Rigzin Tsewang Norbu himself, as well as the terma methods of Pema Dechen Lingpa and Gyatso Nyingpo, a total of three.

Apart from the “Guide to the Arise of the Three Treasures” among the thirteen major oral instructions, the Kathog Monastery does not practice any methods of the Rigzin lineage.

The so-called non-sectarianism does not mean that we can just grab whatever parts are useful and piece them together to make a hodgepodge. As Guru Rinpoche taught Yeshe Tsogyal, “If we cannot compare the roots of all dharmas, we cannot break the boundaries of sects.” This means that we must inherit the pure traditions of each sect, and be able to truly realize the profound principles of each sect, and also be recognized by the lineage masters of each sect, and then we are qualified to say that we are non-sectarian. The thirteen main deities thangkas, which are now in a museum in the United States and have a history of more than 300 years.

Characteristics of Lineage

Rigzin Tsewang Norbu was such a great bodhisattva with incredible wisdom. Whether it was the vision of emptiness in the Jonang school, or the state of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, he had achieved perfection in all of them. And every master of the sect he was close to confirmed that he had indeed achieved such a great achievement. To describe him in modern terms, he was a top student and a genius who scored full marks in all subjects.

At the same time, with his extraordinary supernatural powers and attainments, he became the great master of thirteen countries in the Himalayas, quelled wars in many countries by himself, and became the master of many Dharma kings and leaders of the lineages. He also held the golden throne of several lineages such as Kathok, Karma Kagyu, Shangpa Kagyu, and Jonang.

In terms of lineage, we are the lineage of Guru Padmasambhava, Longchenpa and Sakyamuni (a 15th century Indian master who was the master of Buddhagha, the master of Taranatha). In terms of the Buddhist view, our exoteric sutra lineage is based on the Jonang school’s view of emptiness and 21 definitive Buddhist sutras such as the Avatamsaka Sutra; in terms of practice, the practice tantras are based on the Dzogchen teachings of the Nyingma Longchenpa lineage, and the Mahamudra lineage comes from the Shangpa Kagyu, Drukpa Kagyu and Karma Kagyu.

Especially for Shangpa Kagyu, all the inheritance of this sect today comes from Rinchen Tsewang Norbu, because when this sect was very weak, it was Tsewang Norbu who supported it and passed it down.

Therefore, Chengli Dunzhu Rinpoche of Shangpa Kagyu wrote the “Prayer for the Lineage of Rinchen Thousand Treasures” to promote the extraordinary vision of the ultimate other-emptiness view, the convenient practice of the great seal of the great path, and to integrate into the ultimate light and great perfection. May the teachings of the great vidyadhara (Rinchen Thousand Treasures) flourish.

In addition, to become an independent lineage, one condition is that you must have at least your own three fundamental teachings of guru, deity, and guardian. This does not mean that you can just pick a few guru, deity, or dakini rituals at random. The three fundamental teachings you have, whether it is the generation and completion stages or the stages of the four tantras of the Vajrayana (Kriya, Charya, Yoga, and Anuttarayoga), must be truly complete and perfect, otherwise you will not be qualified to become an independent lineage.

The Three Fundamental Teachings of the Rigzin Lineage

Guru Department: The followers are the peaceful Guru Rinpoche, the Thirteen Deities of Guru Rinpoche, etc. Especially the Thirteen Deities of Guru Rinpoche, this method is the essence of the secret method that Guru Rinpoche summarized and passed on before leaving Tibet. The prophecy of this method mentioned: “Those who can receive the empowerment of this method are all sentient beings who have seen Guru Rinpoche in person in the past life and received his acceptance.” Therefore, this is one of Guru Rinpoche’s most cherished methods.

The main deity section: The eight great Herukas, the true intention of Phurba, the wrathful Guru Rinpoche, the hundred civil and military deities, the five stages of Vajrasattva, etc. Please refer to: Among them, the five stages of Vajrasattva are very rare and unique. Of course, the Vajrasattva of other traditions are also very special, but the method of Rinchen tradition can be said to be the only Vajrasattva method in the current tantric tradition that has all five stages completed.

Dakini: The ones they rely on are the Secret Wisdom Buddha Mother, the All-Accomplished Tara, the Moon-Faced Tara, the Red Tara, etc. The Red Tara of Rinchen’s tradition is the most cherished method of Rinchen Tsewang Norbu. It is also the only Red Tara method in the Vajrayana that has all the stages completed and has a wide range of content. It can undertake all worldly and otherworldly affairs and has 108 profound secret formulas. However, this method can only be passed down once every 12 years, which is very special and rare. This method tells about the prophecy of the present.

Dharma Protectors: There are nine-faced twelve-armed Rahula, nine-faced eighteen-armed One-knotted Buddha Mother, Kushan Vajra, and Tsemaruru Dharma Protector. In addition, the Dzogchen Ear-transmitted Vajra Bridge that we are practicing now is a ritual that perfectly integrates the core principles of all three Vajra Bridge traditions and 100,000 rainbow body achievers by Patriarch Tsewang Norbu. It has the key points and special features of each tradition, which is incredible. Our fellow practitioners who are practicing or have the intention to practice are very blessed!

Rinchen Tsewang Norbu is recognized by all sects as the true reincarnation of Nankai Ningbo (Master Akasagarbha), one of the five great disciples of Guru Padmasambhava, and the incarnation of Changchu Lingpa, one of the 108 treasure masters. He received various teachings from many great masters, and saw the deities and masters in meditation and dream light many times during his practice. They also taught him many special and wonderful methods. However, Rinchen Tsewang Norbu mentioned in his biography: “If there is a ‘human’ inheritance of my inheritance and the methods I have received, I will choose to follow the ‘human’ inheritance as the main one.”

Human-to-human transmission is more reliable and less controversial. After all, we are all ordinary people and can only see what is in front of us. Sometimes, human transmission is easily doubted.

Five special characteristics of the lineage:

1. The same method has been passed down from many different masters, and all the teachings have been integrated.
2. In meditation or dreams, I have personally seen the patriarchs of the lineage giving me empowerments and teachings many times.
3. When practicing the meditation of the deity, I personally saw the deity, who gave me empowerment and transmission again. Therefore, our lineage is very wonderful and special, integrating the distant transmission, the near transmission, and the pure transmission. It is a lineage without any mistakes, very pure, and with rapid and vast blessings.
4. He protected the special mantras that were about to be lost. Rinchen Tsewang Norbu collected a lot of special mantras that were about to be lost. Later, when many sects asked for these most secret and unique mantras, they all inherited them from him. So it can be said that the Rinchen lineage is a great treasure of secret mantras.
5. The Rinchen lineage is extremely relevant to the sentient beings of the Dharma Ending Age, as Master Tsewang Norbu made a special vow to save the sentient beings who are trapped and difficult to tame in the Dharma Ending Age and cannot be saved by other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The White Lotus Sutra of the Buddha’s Extensive Transmission states: “Generally, Bodhisattvas have four kinds of laziness: they only wish to be reborn in pure lands, they only save sentient beings with pure minds, they do not preach to sentient beings with low roots, and they hope to stay in the world for a long time. Bodhisattvas who have these thoughts are just like ordinary flowers, while those who are willing to devote themselves to the evil world are Bodhisattvas who are like white lotuses that emerge from the mud without being stained. These are the real great Bodhisattvas.”

Therefore, Master Tsewang Norbu made the vow of a white lotus-like bodhisattva, and is a great bodhisattva among bodhisattvas!