Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche

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H.E. Chokling Rinpoche and Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche

Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche was born in 1951 in Nangchen region of Kham in Eastern Tibet. He is the son of H.E. the 3rd Neten Chokling Rinpoche. Though he is known as the reincarnation of Taksham Nuden Dorje, he hasn't been formally recognised as a tulku—incarnate lama—in his younger years. This was said to create obstacles to his life. He is the elder brother of Khyentse Yeshe Rinpoche, Jamyang Gyaltsen and Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche and his affectionately called Abu Rinpoche (Abu meaning 'older brother' in the Kham dialect of Tibetan). At the end of the 1950s he left Tibet to Sikkim with his parents where he lived a few years. People say he used to follow his father wherever he went. In 1967 Chokling Rinpoche started the Tibetan settlement of Bir in Himachal Pradesh, North East India. It is on the way from Delhi to Bir that His Eminence died in a car accident in 1973.

After the passing away of his father, Rinpoche took care of his monastery in Bir. He raised his reincarnation until he passed on to him in 2004 the charge of a monastery famed throughout the Tibetan world and particularly among the Nyingma for its expertise in elaborate Vajrayana rituals, Rinpoche's specialty.

Rinpoche also attended Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche for many years. With him, he first went to the West. After he first taught in Dordogne, France, at Pema Wangyal Rinpoche's centre, his mother heard it has been recorded, and asked for the tapes. When she listened to them, she was really surprised at the knowledge of her son, she said she has never really seen study. Rinpoche is well known for his incredible memory, the depth of his knowledge, particularly in the field of Vajrayana practices and rituals, and history.

Between 2004 to 2006 Rinpoche went twice to Tibet to rebuilt the monastery of his father, Neten Gön. Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche is also a Member of the Tibetan Parliament for the region of Kham, first elected in 2000 and reelected in 2005. Nowadays Rinpoche still lives in Bir, and occasionally travels to Europe, America, and Taiwan.