Khenchen Tsewang Rigdzin
Khenchen Tsewang Rigdzin of Washul Mewa (Wyl. mkhan chen tshe dbang rig 'dzin) (1883-1958) — one of the heart-disciples of Khenpo Yönga who attained rainbow body. He also studied with Lala Sönam Chödrup and many other great masters of his time. One of his principal disciples was his nephew Mewa Khenpo Tupten Özer.
Nyoshul Khenpo writes in A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems:
- During the conflict [which brought great tragedy to Tibet], people of evil intent seized Tsewang Rigdzin and sentenced him to prison. As they escorted him there, he began chanting the Vajra Guru mantra. In a manner reminiscent of the learned Indian Bhuddist master Shantideva, Tsewang Rigdzin rose higher and higher into the air in plain view of everyone, finally dissolving into a mass of light, an event still remembered throughout eastern Tibet. This is reminiscent of the biographical accounts of the master Garab Dorje, Pang Mipham Gönpo, and others, who attained the most sublime siddhi through the path of natural great perfection and faded into space in a mass of light.
Further Reading
- Nyoshul Khenpo, A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage, Padma Publications, 2005, pages 472-474.