Thrangu Rinpoche Attained Buddhahood / Rainbow Body

 Interesting that Thrangu Rinpoche attained rainbow body/Buddhahood. I enjoy reading his teachings very much.


From an email I received:


     

 

Thrangu Rinpoche's Passing

   

Namo Buddha Publications

The Miracle of Thrangu Rinpoche's Passing

Thrangu Rinpoche was in the hospital in June, 2023 and being quite ill, he asked to return to his Namo Buddha Monastery. There he went into meditation posture and passed away on June 4th doing the Rainbow Body (jalung) which is done only by advanced practitioners. His heart and breathing stopped and he remained in this position for four days. His skin was fresh and there were no signs of deterioration. There are two kinds of Rainbow Body: one in which the lama vanishes into thin air leaving behind only hair and fingernails, and the other is for the body to shrink. Thrangu Rinpoche's body began to shrink in perfect proportion, which included his bones, to less than his half size. These are pictures that I took at Thrangu Rinpoche's cremation on November 4, 2023.

1VRL  Entrance to Namo Buddha complex Photo 1&2. Namo Buddha is about 20 miles from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Thrangu Rinpoche had his attendant, Lekshe buy the land from a Nepali farmer. Namo Buddha is the third most sacred Buddhist spot in all of Nepal where a previous Buddha gave his flesh to a starving tigress.

 

2VR. Namo Buddha  Thrangu Rinpoche's monastery is very large with a large shrine room quarters of over 100 monks. This dining hall is to the left. There were 2,000 persons from all over the world attending the cremation

3VR. Front of Shrine Room Photo 3: This is the large shrine room at Namo Buddha where practitioners went up and made offerings and bowed their head on the edge of the shrine. The kundun with yellow curtains is where Rinpoche’s body is the square box on the shrine which is about two feet square and three feet high.

4VR. Closeup of Kundun Photo 4: This is a close up of the kundun and the yellow brocade was lifted a little on the last day when I took this picture.

 

5VR. Cremation ground Outside Photo 5 This is the outside of the area where the cremation took place. The white coverings were to protect the audience and the four Rinpoche’s from the four lineages who sat in each of the four directions of the crematorium. This stadium had over a 1,000 chairs. This area specially prepared held 2,000 people and was just a short walk from the monastery. You can see trees covering the whole mountain that Vajra Vidya is on.

 

6VR.  Cremation Ground inside Photo 6 I did my knowledgeable estimation of the number who attended and came up with 2,000 people. A staff member who said that is what they also estimated.

 

7VR. Crematorum Photo 7and 8. This is the crematorium which had four opening in each direction. There was a procession of high lamas and monks carrying the kundun in and then placing Rinpoche’s body in the crematorium.

 

8VR. Placing Body in creamatorum Here we can see one of the lamas helping place the body in the crematorium.

9VR. Burning of body Photo 9. At 10:30 the fire was lit and sacred grass, oils, and precious substances were added to the burning body. It burned for about an hour. 3 days later the ashes will be recovered to see if there are any relics among them.

 

10. Body in Crematorium Photo 10: Through one of the four holes in the crematorium, you can see Thrangu Rinpoche’s body. My camera is not that good, but it looks to me like he is facing (north) toward us and has an elaborate headdress on.

 

11VR. Mahkala Rock decorated hoto 11: I almost forgot. There was a large black rock that Thrangu Rinpoche identified as being Mahakala or representing Mahakala (I am not sure) but they dug it up and turned it over and displayed it very prominently at the cremation.

 

It is important that we Buddhist share what we know. If you are really interested, you can email me and I will send you 43 pictures that are 20 inches long and 13 inches wide and of high quality for printing (300DPI) along with 4 short videos (total of 1.6 gigs).

 

Clark Johnson

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——-


John Tan/Thusness talked positively about Thrangu Rinpoche's teachings since the very first year I talked with him, back in 2004. He also recommended me to read his books.

2007:

(10:39 PM) Thusness: there are so many good articles and clarity in writings and explanations by some tibetan guru.

(10:39 PM) AEN: icic like who

(10:39 PM) Thusness: thrangu rinpoche

(10:40 PM) Thusness: there are quite a few but i forgotten who..

(10:40 PM) Thusness: read them b4 on the web.


    Soh Wei Yu
    Jan
    03
    All Thrangu Rinpoche 58 Books at $35 (only 60 cents per book!)
    Tan Jui Horng shared a link.
    Admin
    · tg6678a8063oshlu ·
    Can't remember if this deal was already around when the website was mentioned sometime back. But you can get all of Thrangu Rinpoche's books for $35 now in pdf. Incredible
    ALL 58 OF THRANGU RINPOCHE'S BOOKS (ON SPECIAL DOWNLOAD) [PDF02] - $35.00 : Namo Buddha Publications
    Namo Buddha Publications ALL 58 OF THRANGU RINPOCHE'S BOOKS (ON SPECIAL DOWNLOAD) [PDF02] - Thrangu Rinpoche is author of 60 books on Buddhism. You need only to peruse this book section to see all the different topics Thrangu Rinpoche has taught on. We have made PDFs of each of these books and made...
    2 Comments
    Soh Wei Yu
    Admin
    Thrangu Rinpoche materials are all highly recommended.
    See also Kyle Dixon’s recommendation: https://www.reddit.com/.../best_resources_for_vajrayana.../
    User avatar
    level 1
    krodha
    · 2 mo. ago
    Thrangu Rinpoche’s Pointing out the dharmakāya is good.
    Also Dakpo Tashi Namgyal’s Clarifying the natural state and the associated commentary Crystal clear.
    3
    May be an image of text
    ·
    (Soh's comments: I highly recommend reading the three books recommended by Krodha at least - "
    Thrangu Rinpoche’s Pointing out the dharmakāya is good.
    Also Dakpo Tashi Namgyal’s Clarifying the natural state and the associated commentary Crystal clear.")
    Reply
    · 7h
    Kyoshu Okan Özaydin
    Soh Wei Yu pointing out the Dharmakaya is really great.
    1
    ·
    Reply
    ·
    · 48m
    Labels: Books and Websites Recommendations, Mahamudra, Thrangu Rinpoche |
    Namo Buddha Publications , Namo Buddha Publications Source of Thrangu Rinpoche's teachings
    NAMOBUDDHAPUB.ORG
    Namo Buddha Publications , Namo Buddha Publications Source of Thrangu Rinpoche's teachings
    Namo Buddha Publications , Namo Buddha Publications Source of Thrangu Rinpoche's teachings

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    Love Koh
    Soh Wei Yu Hi Mr Soh 🙏 , Thankyou very much for sharing 👍💎👑✨💟🙏








    • Ugi Müller
    Wow, great to hear! Thanks for sharing. Just checked my mails and found it as well 🙂

    • Reply
    • Edited

    • Norge Leone
    Interesting that there was no real rainbow body witnessed in this century?


    Soh Wei Yu
    Norge Leone Thrangu Rinpoche attained real rainbow body, and several others this century and the last.


    • Love Koh
    Norge Leone There is , in the early 90's , during Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche's parinirvana , he manifested the sign of the rainbow body in which his body shrink in size , due to his Compassionate Bodhicitta to save & benefit sentient being , he has return to his world as the young Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche 🙏

    • Reply
    • Edited

    • Norge Leone
    Soh Wei Yu no, you obviously don't know what is rainbow body, read the text again. This one is a 'small' rainbow body like all others in this century.


    • Soh Wei Yu
    Norge Leone Dzogchen teacher Acarya Malcolm Smith said before, "Rainbow body where the body shrinks and disappears is a sign of incompletely finishing the fourth vision in this life." " A body disappearing does not equal rainbow body. Often, when people realize rainbow body, their bodies just shrink."
    But as far as I know, all are still rainbow body, regardless of the type. They are all Buddhahood.


    • Soh Wei Yu
    Acarya Malcolm Smith:
    “ Most people who achieve realization from Dzogchen do so in the bardo of dharmatā. Only the best of best obtain rainbow body in this life or have small rainbow body.”
    “The body of light aka rainbow body is simply the body reverting back to the five lights of wisdom. The sign of this is that at death the body shrinks to a very small size."
    " Rainbow body is buddhahood. So any standard description of a Buddha's experience of the inexhaustible ornamental wheel of the body, speech, mind, qualities, and activities of the Buddha would apply. "
    " "Rainbow body" is a name for what happens when the elements of body reverts back to their original nature as pristine consciousness as a result of the process of Dzogchen practice or completion stage practice. A key point of Vajrayāna is that there is no buddhahood that is not grounded in the body. Hence, the attainment of rainbow body, or the body of light, is regarded as proof that a practitioner has attained buddhahood. This is never mentioned in sūtra because sūtra has no methods of practice that involve the body as a vehicle for awakening."
    As for the type of Buddhahood that is the rainbow body where body shrinks vs disappear entirely:
    Someone asked, "I have read of two kinds of rainbow bodies: the one where the body shrinks and the second where the body disappears entirely."
    Acarya Malcolm said, "The first is partial rainbow body."
    Tomamundsen: "Is partial rainbow body the 16th bhumi, buddhahood without remainder?"
    Acarya Malcolm said, "No. It is Buddhahood with signs."





    • William Lim
    Are there photos... as mentioned in the text?


    Soh Wei Yu
    William Lim pass me your email and i will forward you

 

 

Update: 


There's another book by Thrangu Rinpoche recommended by John Tan around 2009 - 

Essentials of Mahamudra: Looking Directly at Mind

- https://namobuddhapub.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=98

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Instructions for the Awakening to Reality AI Chat Bot

Soh Wei Yu

noStesorpd25m09ct5301c3l0hi4cfm3t94352lau4gu705mi6ht2t7m7tu4 
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Thanks to John Tan for making this wonderful Dharma A.I. bot! See below for instructions.

Click here to enter the bot:

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Soh Wei Yu
Instructions: To enter it, you need to have an account with Open AI and generate an Open AI api key which you can generate here, https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys
  

How to use The AtR AI Chat Bot with your OpenAI API key

To use this bot, you need to have an OpenAI API key and some credit in your account. In this post, we will explain how to get an OpenAI API key and credit, and how to use them with our bot.

Step 1: Sign up for the OpenAI API

To get an OpenAI API key, you need to sign up for the OpenAI API on their official website at https://platform.openai.com/signup. You will need to provide your name, email address, phone number, and a reason for using the API. After you submit your application, you will receive an email with a link to activate your account and create a password. Once you log in to your account, you will see your API key on the dashboard. You can copy and paste it somewhere safe for later use.

Step 2: Get $5 in free credit

As a new user of the OpenAI API, you will get $5 in free credit that can be used during your first 3 months. This credit can be used to make API calls to various models, such as GPT-4, GPT-3.5 Turbo, DALL·E, and Whisper. You can check your credit balance and usage on the billing page of your account. Please note that if you make multiple accounts and verify them with the same phone number, you will not receive credit. Therefore, please use only one account per phone number.

Step 3: Use your OpenAI API key with The AtR AI Chat Bot

To use your OpenAI API key with The AtR AI Chat Bot, you need to enter your API key in the input box in bot.awakeningtoreality.com.

By using this AtR Team's AI Bot, you are essentially paying OpenAI (not to the AtR team) a small amount of money for using the OpenAI API services. Scroll down to find out how much it costs.

 

Soh Wei Yu
Admin
Top contributor

The AtR Team's AI Bot by John Tan

John Tan's The AtR Team's AI Bot was trained by pdfs produced from the Dharmawheel scrapper (a separate project I posted to GitHub in this group earlier) of Acarya Malcolm Smith and Kyle Dixon on Dharmawheel forum (Acarya Malcolm on Dharmawheel: https://www.dharmawheel.net/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=638 , Kyle Dixon [Krodha] on Dharmawheel: https://www.dharmawheel.net/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1597), as well as a few other documents. For the original PDFs generated from the Dharmawheel scrapper, see https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2023/05/table-of-contents-for-malcolm.html

Among the many options you can choose from within the Awakening to Reality AI Chat Bot, John Tan thinks Kyle's one produces best answers (perhaps due to the way the answers are written in his PDF, perhaps the level of details and length of posts among the factors, but also, of course, the very good quality and concise writings that Kyle always make). But there are many other options you can ask questions, including the AtR guide, Acarya Malcolm's writings, and some other sources and articles. John Tan has an option (only for himself/admin) where he can combine all sources, but this is not for public.

Just a note, although when you ask someone on the left column (the chatbot), and the AI bot answers you on the left column, in my experience it is the answer on the right column that is even better.
For example, I asked,

"does kyle agree that rigpa translated as pure awareness is accurate?"

The AI bot replies, "Kyle does not agree that the translation of rigpa as "pure awareness" is accurate. He believes that rigpa encompasses a broader understanding and goes beyond the concept of awareness alone. According to Kyle, rigpa refers to a state of direct perception and non-dual awareness that transcends ordinary consciousness."

Which is ok I guess, but the answer on the right column is even clearer:

"No, Kyle does not agree that rigpa is accurately translated as pure awareness. In his posts, Kyle explains that awareness is vague and not the same as rigpa, which is more accurately a discerning knowledge of primordial wisdom. He explains that the difference between awareness and rigpa is as vast as the distance between sky and earth. Furthermore, he quotes Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche who says that the difference between awareness and the definitive rigpa is as vast as the distance between sky and earth."

Do note that both left and right columns do not show Kyle's original message. It only paraphrases or provides answers that are based on Kyle's original posts.

And there is a red button where you can see Kyle's original posts, called Raw data doc.

In another example, I asked the AI bot,

"what is anatman realization called in dzogchen and what does it do in terms of seer seen, subject and object, and how it relates to recognition of rigpa in appearances etc"

The bot replied me on the left column,

"In Dzogchen, the realization of anatman is referred to as "rangtong" or "empty essence." It is a fundamental aspect of understanding the nature of reality and the self. When one realizes anatman in Dzogchen, it brings about a profound shift in how the seer and the seen are perceived. In terms of the subject and object, the realization of anatman helps dissolve the dualistic perception of self and other. It reveals that there is no inherent, independent self or ego, and everything is interconnected and interdependent. This understanding allows for a more direct and non-conceptual experience of reality. Regarding how it relates to the recognition of rigpa in appearances, the realization of anatman helps to remove the veils of ignorance that obscure the true nature of reality. Rigpa, which is the primordial awareness or pure consciousness, can be recognized when the delusions of a separate self and inherent existence are seen through. The recognition of rigpa in appearances is the direct experience of the unobstructed, luminous nature of phenomena, free from conceptual elaboration. It's important to note that Dzogchen teachings can be complex and multifaceted, and different teachers may have slightly different interpretations. Therefore, it's always beneficial to study under the guidance of a qualified teacher to deepen one's understanding of these profound teachings."

Which again, sounds ok to me (with a bit of errors tho - for instance, nobody really calls it 'rangtong' in Dzogchen), but the answer on the right is I think, closer to what Kyle would express:

"In Dzogchen, anatman realization is called vidyā or rigpa, and it is the direct recognition of the empty nature of the subject-object split. This realization results in the recognition of the seer and seen as inseparable, and the subjective and objective phenomena as ultimately empty. This realization gives rise to the recognition of appearances as being the display of primordial wisdom, or appearance as self-display. This recognition of appearances as self-display is seen as vidyā or the discerning knowledge that results from the understanding of the non-existence of the apprehended and apprehender. This recognition is seen as the gateway to resting in the natural state, and to the discovery of the primordial ground ineffable by words and ideas."

Good stuff. I'm very glad John Tan made this bot.

Of course, to be fully representative of Kyle's posts, always check what he originally said by clicking on Raw data doc. Because what you see on that page by the bot is a paraphrasing or summary of what Kyle (or other authors) said, which may not 100% accurately reflect what the original authors said. Also, you can click Download File to save a copy.
 
 
p.s. There is a small cost involved by using the AI chat bot:
 
 
How to Calculate Costs of Usage

1. Navigate to the OpenAI Pricing page at [this link](https://openai.com/pricing).

2. Note the price per token for the "text-davinci-003" model which is $0.1200 per 1,000 tokens, or $0.00012 per token.

3. Estimate the number of tokens your interaction (both the prompt you send and the response you receive) will use. In English, one token can be as short as one character or as long as one word. A general rule of thumb is that 75 words approximately equals 100 tokens, and 1 token approximately equals 4 characters of text. You can use [this token calculator](https://www.gptcostcalculator.com/open-ai-token-calculator) to help you estimate the token count.

Here's how to estimate your cost:

- If your prompt and response together are estimated to be around 100 tokens, the cost will be 100 tokens * $0.00012 per token = $0.012.
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*What is an OpenAI token?*
A token is the unit of account of OpenAI. It's roughly equivalent to 4 bytes, which is about 4 characters in English text. The number of tokens in your prompt determines the cost of each API call.

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An execution refers to a single interaction with the API, including both the prompt you send to OpenAI and the response it generates. Both the prompt and the response count towards the total number of tokens, which determines the cost of the execution.

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The prompt is the question or instruction you send to OpenAI. For example, if you ask OpenAI "Write a tagline for an ice cream shop", that sentence is the prompt.

*What is an OpenAI response?*
The response is the text that OpenAI generates based on your prompt. For example, a response might be “We serve up smiles with every scoop!”

*Can I set an OpenAI billing limit?*
Yes, you can set a billing limit in the OpenAI billing settings. This can help you control your costs and prevent unexpected charges.

*How to monitor my OpenAI API usage and cost?*
You can review your usage and monitor your costs in the OpenAI dashboard, under the section [Account Usage](https://platform.openai.com/account/usage). This can help you keep track of your spending and ensure you're staying within your budget.

Remember, these costs are estimates and actual usage may vary. Also, keep your API key safe and don't share it with others.
 



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    • Soh Wei YuAuthor
    Admin
    John Tan said earlier yesterday, "Actually I m very satisfied with my this program. It has most of what I want. As admin I have some options. Lol"
    "I found Kyle's answers most readable and understandable. Structured and explanations r good, the openai can generate meaningful answers from it. 👍"
    "I have also included the raw documents that r extracted for the openai to summarized. Users can download the file also. When read with the answers provided by the AI bot, it will refine one's understanding."
    "Try it on ur handphone also. Made it mobile responsive. But per question can take about 30s to answer.🤣"
    "Seems to be quite fine even when outside using 4G and on small screen phone. 👍"
    Reply

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    A Compilation of Some of Kyle Dixon (Krodha)'s Wonderful Reddit Postings Part 4

    Part 4 is now out:

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qr9yfLyl8qpcSNGECVxKGPKNzUBnDWK0g5rJLwLHugo/edit

    A decade ago, John Tan commented on the depth of Kyle's writings, noting they are as insightful as those of Buddhist masters. He advised taking Kyle's insights seriously.

    Note: Text in larger font formatted as a question usually comes from others. Kyle's responses are in smaller font, except when he quotes extensively from the master's text in larger font. Thus, Kyle's replies are typically in smaller font, except for long citations.

    Also see:

    Labels: , 0 comments | | edit post
    Mipham’s Progression of Insight

     Yin Ling shared:


    I really like the progression of insight that Mipam Rinpoche alluded to below: 

    .


    When beginners properly investigate using the reasons that establish emptiness—such as [the reason of] being neither singular nor plural—through contemplating the meaning of the nonestablishment of a pot and so forth, they [mistakenly] think that the abiding reality is nonestablishment itself because, although existing when not analyzed, nothing is found upon investigation. Therefore, through alternating appearance and emptiness, the empty quality dawns.


      At that time, by contemplating that the nonexistence of phenomena also is just a mere imputation not actually established, or by contemplating the manner in which things appear while empty from the beginning, one generates the distinctive certainty that while empty, they appear and while appearing, are empty, like [a reflection of ] the moon in water. When the absence of intrinsic nature and dependent arising dawn without contradiction, one has “the understanding of unity.”


      At that time, certainty is generated in the manner that both—the lack of inherent nature and dependent arising—although different in being expressed by two phrases, are indivisible without the slightest difference in essence. Thereby, the thought that apprehends appearance as the basis of negation, which is affixed to an object of negation that is eliminated, naturally deconstructs. And then “dawn the qualities of a freedom from constructs, such as the ability to remain naturally free from negation and affirmation, adding and removing.


      Through becoming familiar with such a freedom of constructs again and again, all aspects of dualistic phenomena, in which one sets apart particular objects and their distinctive suchness, are purified. Through bringing forth an exceptional certainty in the nature of all phenomena as equality, one reaches completion.


    .


    “The corpus of the doctrines of Maitreya and the scriptures of the great chariot, Asaṅga, both teach with a single intent that a person on the ground of motivated conduct first understands all phenomena to be merely mind, and then experiences that the mind has nothing to perceive. Then, at the time of the supreme quality on the path of joining, one realizes that since the perceived does not exist, neither does the perceiver. Right after this, the truth of suchness, which is free from dualistic fixation, is directly realized. This is said to be the attainment of the first ground.”


    Excerpt From

    Jamgon Mipam: His Life and Teachings

    Jamgon Mipam

    This material may be protected by copyright

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    Infinite Zooming Dreamscapes

     Every weekend and whenever I can, I meditate at the sea side (sit overlooking vast expanse and vast sea, and walking meditation along the beach). And then it occurred to me that presence is just like those infinite zooming AI generated dreamscapes video I’ve seen before… everything feels just like this, a vividly appearing absence




    Labels: 0 comments | | edit post