Orgyen Kusum Lingpa (1934-2009) was a Tibetan terton and Nyingma lineage holder within Tibetan Buddhism. His name means "Holder of the Sanctuary of the Trikaya of Oddiyana Padmasambhava."
History
Kusum Lingpa was born in 1934 in the Golog region of Amdo province in eastern Tibet as the son of the well-known yogi Lhundrup Gyamtso of the Waxi (Wal Shul) clan. At that time he was known as Pema Tumpo, or Pema Tum Drag Dorje. His father's brother, Waxi Lama Sonam Khedrup, was also a famous Buddhist teacher in the region.
Mingyur Namkhé Dorje, 4th Dzogchen Rinpoche, prophesied about Orgyen Kusum Lingpa:
Orgyen Kusum Lingpa's previous incarnations include the Mahasiddha Drilbupa in India and Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje, the heart disciple of Guru Rinpoche Padma Sambhava in Tibet, who assassinated the anti-Buddhist Bon Emperor Langdarma in 842 CE and then hid in the Moon Cave of the Drag Yerpa retreat outside Lhasa. Orgyen Kusum Lingpa also often claimed to recall his previous life as the crazy wisdom master Drugpa Kunleg, and enjoyed recounting the latter's exploits given any occasion.
As a youth, he studied primarily at Darthang Monastery in Golog, where his teachers included Payul Chogtrul Rinpoche Jampal Jaypa'i Dorje (Chokyi Dawa), Akong Khenchen Lobsang Dorje, and Gyedro Wonpo Rinpoche. There he received instructions and empowerments alongside Drubwang Penor Rinpoche, among others. Another of his principal teachers was the 4th Dodrupchen Rinpoche Tubpa Zangpo, from whom he received the complete transmissions of the Longchen Nyingthig lineage, of which he became a holder.
Orgyen Kusum Lingpa began to discover mind treasures of teachings of Guru Rinpoche after his mother died and he went on pilgrimage to central Tibet when he was 16 years old. On his journey he first passed through Derge and reached Kojo, where he met Ratri Terton Nyagla Changchub Dorje, then reputedly aged 113, who became his principal teacher of Dzog Chen nature of mind instructions.
Proceeding to Lhasa and remaining there throughout most of the 1950s, Orgyen Kusum Lingpa met and received empowerments and instructions from great holders of all of the major dharma lineages of Tibet, including the 16th Karmapa Rigpa'i Dorje, Sera Khenchen Jamyang Choklay Namgyal, the 14th Dalai Lama, Sakya Ngagchang Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, Dilgo Khyentse, Taklung Ma Rinpoche, and many others; which instructions he then put into practice. With the loss of Tibetan autonomy and during the period of the Cultural Revolution, he was subsequently imprisoned on and off over the course of more than 20 years of his adult life.
Eventually he was permitted to re-establish an encampment, and then a monastery, in the Ga De cantonment of Golog, along a bend of a tributary of the Ma Chu (Yellow River). The monastery originally was founded by the 19th century Master Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje, and then passed down through a succession of holders within the Waxi family lineage. This monastery is known as Lung Ngon Thubten Chokhorling, or "Blue Valley Sanctuary of the Dharma Wheel of the Muni's Teachings."
When he was still young Orgyen Kusum Lingpa fathered a son named Nyima Gyal, who has become a well-known ritual master in Golog and presently resides at Sang Lung Monastery. With his lifelong consort Dug Kar Drolma, the sister of Garwang Nyima Rinpoche (the current head of Darthang Monastery), he later had two sons and two daughters.
He died on Feb 26th, 2009 at his monastery in Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
The XIVth Dalai Lama composed this short prayer for the swift rebirth of Orgyen Kusum Lingpa shortly thereafter in 2009:
Teachings and students
During the latter period of his life, Orgyen Kusum Lingpa was invited to visit and teach in many different countries. He was first invited to the United States by Chagdud Tulku of Chagdud Gonpa Foundation and by Gyaltrul Rinpoche in 1994. During his first several extended visits to the U.S. in 1994 and 1995, he met and gave Buddhist teachings to a number of celebrities and scholars, including the film director Oliver Stone, and actor Steven Seagal, and was welcomed at Tibetan Buddhist centers across the country. His early translators were Erik Drew and Richard Barron (Chokyi Nyima). Several of the attendant Lamas who accompanied him from Golog eventually settled in the U.S., including Lama Chonam and Lama Lhanang in California. His two youngest sons, Tulku Hungkar Dorje and Tulku Dorje Trengpo, also often accompanied him on those early visits.