The Passing of His Holiness the 33rd Menri Trizin
Gatherings, Online Prayer Event to Honor His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche
The Bön community throughout the world is saddened by the death on September 14, 2017, of His Holiness the 33rd Menri Trizin, Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche. His Holiness was the worldwide spiritual leader of the Bön tradition and abbot of Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India.
Bönpos throughout the world are being asked to offer candles, incense and prayers for His Holiness. Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, asks that we practice in groups, where possible, at the time of the cremation ceremony or close to it. The cremation is scheduled to begin at 5:30 a.m. on Monday, October 2, India time. This equates to Sunday, October 1, at 8 p.m. New York time. You can look up the time for your time zone on this time conversion website. Rinpoche recommends reciting the four-line prayer to His Holiness, the Prayer of Nyamé Sherap Gyaltsen and the Ma Tri mantra. (See below.)
A special one-hour online prayer session with Geshe Denma Gyaltsen and Marcy Vaughn will be broadcast live on Ligmincha International's Facebook page at 8 p.m. New York time on Sunday, October 1, for those unable to practice in person with local groups.
Learn more
Rinpoche was able to visit with His Holiness on the day of his passing and shared his experience in a letter. Ligmincha International also sent a letter to Menri Monastery paying tribute to His Holiness's life.
Read letter from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Read letter from Ligmincha to Menri Monastery
A living embodiment of wisdom and compassion, His Holiness is considered to be an emanation of Nyamé Sherab Gyaltsen, who in 1405 founded the original Menri Monastery in Tsang Province in central Tibet. Born in Tibet in the eastern province of Amdo in 1929, His Holiness left Tibet for Nepal in 1959. He worked to preserve Bön texts, taught in England and Norway and, at the request of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, founded a school for Tibetan refugee boys in Northern India. He was selected to be the 33rd Menri Trizin—the abbot of Menri Monastery in Dolanji and spiritual leader of Bön—in 1968. Throughout his life, he worked tirelessly to support practitioners and ensure that the teachings of Bön would continue.
View short video of His Holiness in meditation at Serenity Ridge, summer 2013
Read the biography of His Holiness from the Bon Foundation
Read an obituary from the Central Tibetan Administration
Prayers for His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche
We are asked to light candles and incense and to recite prayers to honor His Holiness and the immeasurable love and wisdom that he showed us during his lifetime. Three prayers are below.
The Great Mantra
Prayer to His Holiness
Prayer of Nyamé Sherap Gyaltsen
