Sherup Tenzin
( Blane Land) is a practitioner of Yungdrung Bön
as a student of Lama Khyimsar Rinpoche.

Lama Khyimsar Rinpoche, the founder of the Tibetan Yungdrung Bön Study Centre, is an eminent teacher of the Yungdrung Bön spiritual tradition and is renowned for his lively teaching style and sparkling wit. He originally hails from south Tibet, where he is the lineage holder of two monasteries – Pungmo Gon and Lhari Nyiphug - both of which were founded by Zhu Namgyal Drakpa. Rinpoche’s monasteries have been visited by many important personages, including Their Holinesses the 13th and 14th Dalai Lamas.

Rinpoche’s formal education in the ways of Yungdrung Bön commenced when he was 5 years old in Pungmo Gon’s spiritual school. From that point, he went on to study under many great masters including Kharnei Gelong Rinpoche, Zhu Rizhing Lasey Rinpoche, Geshe Sherab Namdak Rinpoche, Aa-dho Ponlob Rinpoche and Gegen Trowo Kha Rinpoche.

In 1959, during the period of the Cultural Revolution, Rinpoche’s education was temporarily interrupted when, along with many other Tibetans – including the Dalai Lama – he and his family were forced to flee on foot across the Himalayan mountains in search of refuge. During this period, he endured many extreme hardships, including dire poverty, homelessness (having to sleep in the wilderness), starvation, and ill health. Tragically, he lost his 5 year old sister who died during the crossing. Eventually, he arrived in India where he was afforded refuge – this being at a time when there were no organised refugee centres. Gradually he managed to piece his life together again and took up the opportunity to attend a modern school in Darjeeling. During this period, and subsequently in Dolanji, he continued with his traditional spiritual studies and practices under the tutelage of many prominent masters (including his root Lama, the late Neljor Tsondru Gyaltsen Rinpoche, His Eminence Ponlob Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, the late Yungdrung Ling Khencen Sherab Tenpei Gyaltsen Rinpoche, the late Horpa Ponlob Sang-gye Tenzin Rinpoche, the late Gelong Aa-chod Rinpoche, the late Kunzang Rinpoche) and latterly, with Menri Trizin Lungtog Tenpei Nyima Rinpoche, (Head of the Bön Tradition). He also completed the traditional three year retreat under the guidance of Lama Tenpa Gyatsho who died in Bhutan in 1998. During this period, he also studied Buddhism under several Buddhist Lamas and explored many other faiths, including Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In doing so, he discovered that the lessons taught and the wisdom insights gained therein are, in essence, similar and compatible with his own Yungdrung Bön Tradition. He thus extends a warm welcome to all to attend his teachings – regardless of faith, creed, or gender etc, and stresses that, as common themes tend to run through all the spiritual paths, it is possible to use his teachings to complement and enhance the teachings of other paths and vice versa.

Through continuing to practise the teachings which his teachers prescribed, Rinpoche became accomplished and well-versed in the philosophical and spiritual practices of Bön and Buddhism, Tibetan medicine, ancient folk remedies, healing arts, Tibetan astrology and astronomy, authentic Jung-wei Trog-chod (Tibetan Feng Shui) and various types of ritual crafts.

During the time he spent in India, Rinpoche joined with the other Bönpo Lamas in combining their efforts to re-establish the Bön Tradition at Dolanji, northern India, where he contributed by teaching Tibetan Refugee children. There now exists a thriving Bön Monastic College and community there.

Rinpoche is a very dedicated teacher who stresses to his students the need to put theory and teachings into practice and not to try to rush things if they seriously wish to make spiritual progress – otherwise he feels that everything becomes purely academic and fails to bear fruit or bring about results. He likens those who are in a hurry to get results - or who do not engage in practice, to the person who, having no previous experience of driving, decides to learn, flicks through a book on how to drive and then goes unaccompanied to a car, switches on the ignition, and expects to be able to drive off immediately. At worst, to do this would be sheer folly and could lead to disastrous results. At best, one is likely to become frustrated at one’s inability to achieve the desired outcome, become discouraged and end up by giving up trying. This is where a properly qualified driving instructor becomes an invaluable ally in encouraging the learner, boosting his or her motivation, keeping him or her pointed in the right direction as to how to proceed and what to practise, in order that he or she achieves maximum benefit from his or her efforts and so reaches the desired goal.

Similarly with the student who is serious about his or her spiritual advancement, Rinpoche feels very strongly that it is not enough simply to read some books or attend a few lectures. He advocates that an experienced teacher, such as a Lama, is a crucial guide in helping the student identify the obstacles which impede his or her progress, and in giving instructions and exercises aimed at helping him or her achieve the desired outcome. Being thus equipped, it is then over to the student, who must put in the necessary practice and learn to negotiate the spiritual highways.

In an effort to help his students incorporate practice into what they have been taught, Rinpoche employs a rigorous approach to retreat discipline – running retreats along traditional lines which are aimed at cutting down on distractions and affording the student the opportunity to engage in protracted periods of concentrated practice under the direct supervision of the Lama himself. By having had first hand intensive experience of what is entailed, it then becomes much easier to sustain the practices once one has returned to everyday life.

Khyimsar Rinpoche is one of the few Bön Lamas who live and teach in the western world. As a lineage Lama, he is a family man. He is in wide demand as a teacher and teaches extensively in Europe and the USA. Apart from Tibetan, he gives his teachings in English, Hindi, Nepali, Sikkimese and Bhutanese.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama said,

“Bön is Tibet’s oldest spiritual tradition and, as the indigenous source of Tibetan culture, played a significant role in shaping Tibet’s unique identity”.

The Yungdrung Bön Tradition

Yungdrung Bön, meaning ‘Eternal Light’ or ‘Enlightened Teaching’, is the original and authentic spiritual tradition of Tibet. It is based on the principle of practising unconditional love and compassion towards all and is Thegpa Chenpo or Mahayana in its approach. Many of the teachings are similar to those found in the four principal schools of Buddhism, especially the Nyingma-pa school, and are aimed at enabling all to access Enlightenment and freedom from the shackles of Samsara. The most obvious points of differentiation between the schools would appear to be in their points of origination, the number of refuge objects and in the nomenclature employed in relation to the deities and Jhang-chub Sempa or Sem-ma (Bodhisattvas).

Origins

Whereas general Buddhism relates back to the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni, (who lived approximately two and a half thousand years ago), Yungdrung Bön traces its lineage directly back to its founder, Bhuddha Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche, who came and taught in Wolmo Loong Ring (otherwise known as Shambhala) over 18,000 years ago. From there his teachings spread around the world in different guises, being introduced into Tibet from the neighbouring country of Zhang-Zhung - which includes western Tibet and Gangchen Tisi (Mount Kailash).

The Refuge Objects

In Buddhism one finds three Refuge Objects: (1) Sangye (Buddha), (2) Chö (Dharma) and (3) Ghe-dhun (Sangha); Bönpos have four Refuge Objects: (1) Sang-gye (Enlightened Ones), (2) Bön (Enlightened Teachings), (3) Shenrab (Spiritual Heroes / Heroines) and (4) The Lama, who embodies the previous three.

Nomenclature

In ancient times the Greeks and Romans often related to the same deities but would call them by different names – e.g. the Greeks would refer to the messenger of the Gods as ‘Hermes’ and the Romans would refer to him as ‘Mercury’. A similar situation exists between Bön and general Buddhism. If we take for example, the great Bön Teacher Sherab Mawei – Seng-ghe, the Buddhist equivalent is Manjushri. Represented iconographically, they are practically identical. Even amongst general Buddhist schools, this anomaly is in evidence – e.g. where Indian Buddhists might refer to Manjushri, Tibetan Buddhists might refer to Jampei-yang (Jam-yang for short). Similarly all schools anticipate the coming of the future Buddha – Tonpa Chi-med Jham-dhen – or Buddha Maitreya -as he is more commonly known.

Central Beliefs

Central to the Bön belief system is the notion of Samsara, or cyclic existence, whereby sentient beings go through a succession of re-births within the various modes or realms of existence. The type of birth which one takes within Samsara is believed to be determined by the karma, which one has accumulated over previous life-times.

The ultimate aim of all sentient beings is considered to be to achieve Sang-gye (Enlightenment), thus liberating themselves permanently from the suffering of Samsara, with a view to helping others do the same.

The teachings of Bön aim to provide the practitioner with various methods to cope with and transform life’s challenges, ultimately with a view to attaining Enlightenment.   They are contained in the Bön Thegpa Rimgu (The Nine Gradual Views of Bön), Bön Go-zhi Zod-nga (The Four Portals and Treasure as the Fifth) or Bön Chi-nang Sang-soom  (The External, Internal and Secret Bön).

These are practised through the three different paths of Pang-lam (the Renunciation Path, which is the path most commonly followed by monks and nuns), Gyur-lam (the Transformation or Tantric Path) and Drol-lam (the Liberation Path – also known as the ‘Direct Path’ since, through it, one neither has to renounce nor transform one’s negative experiences as with the other two, but can simply liberate them by applying Ta-Gom-Chhöd Soom (the View, Meditation and Characteristic Behaviour of Zog-chen). Within Dro-lam, it is possible to realize Ja-lu Wö-ku Chen-po  (The Great Rainbow Light Body) i.e Enlightenment in this very life and body.

Practical Relevance

Q: What then does such an ancient, esoteric spiritual tradition have to offer in these modern times?

Through time immemorial, mankind has engaged in the pursuit of happiness, but happiness is an elusive concept. How often does one achieve the goal, which is believed will provide happiness, only to find such happiness disappear shortly afterwards? This may be because people tend to define happiness in a very limiting way and thus spend much of their lives chasing after illusions of happiness – a bit like the mirage of the oasis in the desert which disappears when the spot is eventually reached – thus the thirst for happiness is never fully quenched.

The teachings of Yungdrung Bön help us to define what constitutes true happiness and to look at the obstacles which prevent us from achieving it. They then provide us with a ‘tool kit’ with which to tackle and surmount all obstacles – thus putting happiness firmly within the grasp of all. With this kit, we can at last turn on the water tap to quench the thirst - thus achieving a greater sense of fulfilment and inner contentment. 

The hectic pace at which most people in Western society live their lives in these modern times, often gives rise to stress-related or psychosomatic conditions, which lead many to seek solutions in modern medicine, psychotherapy, psychology or psychiatry, new age therapies and so on. However, upon closer inspection one can identify that many such therapies may have their roots in ancient spiritual traditions, such as Yungdrung Bön, and are simply ‘packaged’ differently.

Bön teachings emphasise training the Mind and Heart in order to effect inner changes - thus providing one with a philosophy of life geared at developing positive ways of thinking and transforming even the most extreme and adverse of life experiences into something positive from which to grow. This can be likened to a pat of dung lying in a field. Stand in it and one might be inclined to mutter oaths and rue one’s misfortune. However, scrape it from off the shoe and use it as a base within which to plant and fertilise the seed, and one can come up smelling of roses! Thus one is helped in identifying the silver lining within every cloud and can soon learn to enjoy playing in the rain.