Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche
Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche is the tenth incarnation of the Bhakha Tulku line, and a primary holder of the lineage of Rigdzin Pema Lingpa. He is also the incarnation of Tertön Dorje Lingpa, and an emanation of the eighth century scholar and translator, Vairotsana. Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche was recognized by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö [1], His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa and Dudjom Rinpoche.
The Bhakha monastery is in the Powo region of south-eastern Tibet, but the line has many ties with Bhutan as well, as Pema Lingpa is one of the most revered figures in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in Bhutan. Rinpoche's seat in Bhutan is the Tamshing Gonpa in the Bumthang Valley. He studied at Mindroling in Tibet, and later at the school for young tulkus in Dalhousie, India. He has received many teachings from great masters including Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Dodrupchen Rinpoche.
Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche holds many lineages, including the thirteen cycles of Pema Lingpa termas, which he received from both Dudjom Rinpoche and Tamshing Lama Phuntsok, Bhutan’s main holder of the Pema Lingpa lineage. He also holds the Dzogchen lineage of the Namchö tradition, the Longchen Nyingtik and the Chetsün Nyingtik. He received Dudjom Tersar, Rinchen Terdzö and many other teachings from Dudjom Rinpoche, whom he served for a number of years. He has also served and received transmissions from Penor Rinpoche and Chatral Rinpoche.
He has taught in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Taiwan and the United States, and is the founder of the Vairotsana Foundation in the US.