The Parinirvana Anniversary of Upper Drukpa Kargyu Forefather:
Gyalwa Gotsangpa
On the 3rd day of the sixth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar is the parinirvana anniversary of Gyalwa Gotsangpa - one of the three main disciples of Tsangpa Gyare, whose transmission line later being known as Upper Drukpa.
The statue of Gyalwa Gotsangpa in the Lama Lhakang (Lineage Masters Temple) of Dechen Choekhor Mahavihara.
Tsangpa Gyare has three main disciples: Sangye Onchen Repa, Godtsangpa Gonpo Dorje, and Lorepa Dharma Wangchuk. Following the transmission lines of these three masters, three branches of the Drukpa Kargyu Lineage came into existence based upon the location of their seats, and later being known as The Middle Drukpa Kargyu, Bar-Druk (བར་འབྲུག།) by Sanggye Onchen Repa (1177-1237) at Ralung; The Upper Drukpa Kargyu, Tod-Druk (སྟོད་འབྲུག) by Gotsangpa Gonpo Dorje (1189-1258) in West Tibet and Ladakh; and The Lower Drukpa Kargyu, Med-Druk (སྨད་འབྲུག) by Lorepa Wangchuk Tsondru (1187-1250) at Uri (དབུ་རི།) and Karpo Choe Lung (དཀར་པོ་ཆོས་ལུང་།).
From these three incomparable great masters, many precious teachings and the profound-and-vast View, Meditation, and Conduct were taught at their respective place of abode. Later, the essence teachings of the Upper and the Lower Drukpa Kargyu merged into the Middle Drukpa Kargyu, and transmitted under the banner of Middle Drukpa Kargyu through a line of extraordinary realized golden rosary masters unbrokenly for centuries until the present day. Today’s Drukpa Kargyu is the direct continuation of the sole lineage of the Bar-Druk.
On this blessed day, Dechen Choekhor will be conducting a special Lama Chodpa (Guru Offering) - The Grand Ganachakra Feast Ritual in accordance with the Drukpa Kargyu Practice of Guru Devotion to commemorate the passing of this great master and to invoke his blessing.
THE IMMENSE BLESSING OF THE ENLIGHTENED MASTERS ON THEIR PARINIRVANA ANNIVERSARIES
Like the anniversary of Lord Buddha's Mahaparinirvana, the parinirvana anniversary of great enlightened masters is regarded as a significant and particularly blessed day for serious Vajrayana practitioners.
The physical body of the gurus may have left this world, but their blessings remain. It is said that the guru's blessings are most powerful at the moment they enter nirvana and on all their parinirvana anniversaries. Therefore, these are the best moments with the highest possibilities for meditators and practitioners to become enlightened or heighten their realization.
On this day, practicing Guru Yoga with fervent devotion, supplicating earnestly, and meditating undistractedly, is akin to merging our ordinary minds with the enlightened mind of the masters. The powers of blessing and merit accumulated are incredible.
All are welcome to participate in this auspicious and beneficial event.
Should you wish to find out more details about this puja, please write to us: web@dechenchoekhor.org
Thank you!