Longchen Thongdrel Consecrated

Final Thongdrol of Longchenapa

Models

His eminence the Namkhai Nyingpo Rimpoche consecrated the Thongdorl of Kuenkhen Longchen on 12th Oct 2013 inThimphu. The Thongdrol worth more than million Nu was built by the people of Shingkhar village along with the support of other Longchen devotees across the country. My cousin monk who took active part in the process told me that it is to purely to bring harmony and happiness not only in Shingkhar, but also in Bhutan and world at large. Thongdrol will be soon taken to Shingkhar and will be unfurled once in a year coinciding with the annual Shingkhar Rabney.

Longchenpa is believed to have come to Bhutan to avoid a political turmoil in Tibet. Once in Bhutan he attracted large followers and he thus established several centers to propagate his teachings. Eight such centers were established. They came to be known as "lings" or the 'eight spiritual sanctuaries'. Shingkhar alias Dechenling is one among those eight 'lings'. Other  seven 'lings are as listed below:

1. Tharpaling in Bumthang Chumey
2. Ugyen Choeling in Bumthang Tang
3. Drechaling in Ngenlung
4. Rinchenling in Khothangkha
5. Kunzangling in Shar
6. Samtenling in Paro
7. Kunzangling in Kurtoe

From Wekipedia

Sogyal Rinpoche writes: "The figure of Longchen Rabjam stands out as one of the greatest Dzogchen masters in the Nyingma tradition, and amongst the most brilliant and original writers in Tibetan Buddhist literature. He was the author of over 200 works, of which only about twenty-five survive, and amongst which the Seven Treasuries (Tib. མཛོད་བདུན་ Dzö Dun) and Three Trilogies are most well-known. It was he who brought together into a cohesive system the teachings of Vima Nyingtik and Khandro Nyingtik, on which he wrote the ‘Three Yangtik’ or Inner Essences"

As Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche explains: “Kunkhyen Longchenpa’s Seven Treasuries (Dzö Dun) were written to elucidate the extraordinarily profound meaning of the seventeen main Tantras of Dzogpachenpo as well as the teachings of all Nine Yanas. For the purpose of the actual practice of Dzogchen according to these Tantras, Longchenpa gathered his own termas as well as those ofChetsün Senge Wangchuk (who was later reborn as Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo) and Pema Lédrel Tsal (Longchenpa’s previous incarnation) in the form of the thirteen volume collection known as the Nyingtik Yabshyi. This Yabshyi is the practice aspect of Longchenpa’s writings, and the basis of the Old Nyingtik. In it he synthesized the Vima Nyingtik of Vimalamitra and the Khandro Nyingtik of Guru Rinpoche and explained all the practical details in the light of his own realization.”

Seven Treasures:  

The Wish Fulfilling Treasury (Tib. ཡིད་བཞིན་མཛོད་, Yishyin Dzö; Wyl. yid bzhin mdzod)
The Treasury of Pith Instructions (Tib. མན་ངག་མཛོད་, Mengak Dzö; Wyl. man ngag mdzod)
The Treasury of Dharmadhatu (Tib. ཆོས་དབྱིངས་མཛོད་, Chöying Dzö; Wyl. chos dbyings mdzod)
The Treasury of Philosophical Tenets (Tib. གྲུབ་མཐའ་མཛོད་, Drubta Dzö; Wyl. grub mtha' mdzod)
The Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle (Tib. ཐེག་མཆོག་མཛོད་, Tekchok Dzö; Wyl. theg mchog mdzod)
The Treasury of Word and Meaning (Tib. ཚིག་དོན་མཛོད་, Tsik Dön Dzö; Wyl. tshig don mdzod)
The Treasury of the Natural State (Tib. གནས་ལུགས་མཛོད་, Neluk Dzö; Wyl. gnas lugs mdzod) 

For those people who are interested to know more about Longchenpa, I would highly recommend you to buy a book; 'The History of Bhutan'  by Dr. Karma Phuntsho. I will guarantee a reading feast. I will also assure you that in less than four pages (p156-p159) you will understand the sacredness of the Longchenpa and his teachings. 

And for those friends whom I have come banging and bagging, please know that your contributions have not gone in vain. I personally went to Thimphu to offer your heartfelt offerings. And also know that my humble brothers and sisters of Shigkhar really appreciated your deeds.