Penor Rinpoche
 His
Holiness Pema Norbu was born in 1932,
the year of the Water Monkey, in the Powo region of Kham,
East Tibet. His father's name was Sonam Gyurme and his
mother was called Dzemkyi. It was the twelfth month of
the Tibetan year when he was born -- a bitterly cold,
bleak and dry season when nothing grows.
Yet at the time of Pema Norbu's birth,
sweetly scented flowers burst into blossom all around his
village.
Khenpo Ngaga foresaw the exceptional
destiny of the new incarnation. In 1936, the year of the
Fire Mouse, the young Penor Rinpoche
at the age of four,
the small child was enthroned by Thubten Chökyi Dawa and
Karma Thekchok Nyingpo at the Palyul Monastery.
Where he took refuge with the great and learned Khenpo.
Khenpo Ngaga performed the traditional hair cutting ceremony
and gave him the name Dhongag Shedrup Tenzin. Khenpo Ngaga
then granted him the long life empowerment of Amitayus and
composed the long-life prayer which is still chanted daily
by thousands of Penor Rinpoche's followers all over the
world.
Pema Norbu was formally enthroned by his
master Thubten Chökyi Dawa (1894-1959) the second Choktrul
Rinpoche, and Karma Thekchok Nyingpo (1908-1958) the fourth
Karma Kuchen Rinpoche. In time, Penor Rinpoche would become
the eleventh throne holder of Palyul Monastery with its more
than four hundred branch monasteries. He spent many years at
Palyul, studying and receiving teachings from numerous
masters and scholars, including Karma Kuchen, the tenth
throneholder, who carefully prepared him as his successor.
There are many instances demonstrating
Penor Rinpoche's extraordinary powers even as a young child.
On one occasion he was playing with an old and precious
vajra when it suddenly slipped through his fingers and
dropped to the ground, breaking in two. Fearing a reprimand
from his teacher, he quickly glued it back together with his
own saliva, making the vajra stronger than ever before. A
similar incident occurred later on when, during the Chasum
ceremony, he accidentally dropped his ritual bell onto the
stone floor. Everyone assumed that the bell had shattered,
but when Penor Rinpoche picked it up, it was unbroken and
rang even more sweetly than before. At the age of 15, Penor
Rinpoche left his footprint in stone near Dago retreat
monastery above Palyul where it can still be seen today.
Once while he was still young, Rinpoche
was approached by an old man who insisted that he practice
Phowa for him. Innocently he complied with the request. At
the end of the practice, he shocked to see that the old man
had passed away - the Phowa had worked only too well!
Immediately he started to practice again, to revive the
corpse lying there in front of him. To his immense relief,
the old man came back to life, but instead of thanking him,
he shouted, "For heaven's sake, why did you bring me
back? I was already in the Pure Land of the Buddha Amitabha!"
During the 1950s, H. H.
Pema Norbu Rinpoche made numerous pilgrimages across
Tibet
to all the major holy sites to which he made generous
offerings. He continued to propagate Buddha Doctrine far and
wide through the sponsoring and supporting of a diversified
range of compassionate activities.
In
1959, H. H. Pema Norbu Rinpoche decided to relocate to
India
for the sake of preserving Buddha Doctrine for the sake of
all sentient beings. Accompanied by a small group of monks,
he settled in the region of Bylakuppe in
Mysore,
South India.
In the year of the
Water Rabbit (1963), under the personal supervision of
H. H, the Thekchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling (Namdroling
monastery) commenced its first phase of construction.
From the beginning of a small bamboo temple with a
handful of monks in 1963, the main seat of the third
Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche in India now includes
numerous temples, stupas, primary schools,
dratsang,
shedras, retreat centre, nunnery, guest house,
old people's home and hospitals, it has evolved to
become the largest Tibetan monastery in India with a
ordained sangha of over five thousands monks and nine
hundreds nuns. Apart from propagating Buddha Doctrine in
India and in Tibet, to where he has made return visits
since 1982, the H. H. has established many dharma
centers around the world, including the USA, Canada,
Mexico, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines,
Singapore, Malaysia, Nepal, Bhutan, United Kingdom,
Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, and Portugal.
For example; Now a
days, in India,
to the main monastery Nandrolling(Golden
Temple), there
is visiting a more than two thousands deferent peoples
per day from around the world.
Now
in his over seventies, the H. H. Pema Norbu Rinpoche
continues to promote tirelessly the compassionate
activities of the Buddha for the benefit of all sentient
beings.
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