Top: 12th Trungpa Tulku and his older brother Koncho standing in the ruins of Shelabum's castle. Photo by Marvin Ross.

above: 

12th Trungpa Tulku, Chokyi Senge,  October 2004 photo by Khenpo Tsering Gyurme

12th Trungpa Tulku, Chokyi Senge, March 2007 photo by Khenpo Tsering Gyurme

12th Trungpa Tulku, Chokyi Senge, July 2006 photo by Khenpo Tsering Gyurme

12th Trungpa Tulku, Chokyi Senge, March 2007 photo by Khenpo Tsering Gyurme

Chokyi Senge, Trungpa XII   Rinpoche

Recent news

Trungpa Rinpoche is currently 18 years old.  Once the shedra at Surmang Dutsi Til is completed, which includes living quarters for him, he will assume his seat there.  Meanwhile, he has been studying intensively at Surmang Namgyaltse monastery.  He studies traditional dharma topics approximately eleven months a year and travels for a month each summer to visit his family or other teachers.  Konchok Foundation is providing annual financial support for his care and education.  

Sadly, his mother passed away last year. 

He was visited at Surmang Dutsi Til in July of 2007 by Acharya Larry Mermelsien and his party,  and was presented with a formal greeting from Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and the Shambhala Community.

He led the annual Chakrasamvara dances at Surmang Dutsi Til in March (see photo below).

 “Trungpa XII Rinpoche leads the annual Chakrasamvara dance at Surmang Dutsi Til   March 2007

Biography of XII Trungpa Rinpoche

Chokyi Senge, “lion of dharma,” is the 12th Trungpa Rinpoche.  He was born in 1989 in Derge to a nomadic family.  His family herds yak and other animals, and has ties to the royal family of Derge (his grandmother’s father was a minister to the King).  In 1991, during a tour of Tibet, His Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche met his parents and asked them to bring their son to him.  Soon after, they brought the young boy to him and Situ Rinpoche announced “this is the 12th Trungpa Tulku.”  Chokyi Senge was enthroned a year later at Surmang Dudtsi-Til Monastery; Domkar Rinpoche, a high Kagyu lama who is also Chokyi Senge’s uncle, presided over the enthronement.

During his lifetime Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the 11th Trungpa Tulku, made many conflicting statements regarding his future births.  Accordingly, his rebirth in Tibet was unexpected by many of his students – and has been viewed by some as yet another surprise of  the “great vajra trickster.” 

Following his enthronement, Chokyi Senge spent the next twelve years primarily with his parents in Derge, visiting Surmang frequently and beginning his education at the Palpung shedra.  This shedra is part of Palpung monastery, the traditional seat of the Tai Situ Rinpoches in Tibet. 

In the summer of 2001 Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, son of the 11th Trungpa Rinpoche and the head of Shambhala, traveled to Tibet and met Chokyi Senge at Surmang.  The meeting was a powerful experience for both of them, and they quickly became inseparable.  In an especially moving ceremony, Mipham Rinpoche bestowed the Sadhana of Mahamudra empowerment on Chokyi Senge – as well as the other monks and thousands of lay people of Surmang.  Thus, the lineage transmission was returned to its source.

In the summer of 2002 Lady Diana Mukpo, wife of the 11th Trungpa Rinpoche, along with her husband Acharya Mitchell Levy and children, visited Surmang and met Chokyi Senge.  Lady Diana bestowed important Shambhala empowerments and teachings on Trungpa Rinpoche.  At this visit Lady Diana met with the leadership of Surmang and Trungpa Rinpoche’s father to discuss his future education and training.  It was decided that he should take up residence at Surmang Dudtsi-til, the traditional seat of the Trungpa Tulkus, to receive his education there in the same way the previous Trungpa tulkus had done.  One important reason for this is so that he can learn the special traditions of Surmang from the elderly monks.  These traditions are in danger of dying out if they are not transmitted to the next generation. 

In 2003, Trungpa Rinpoche took up residence at Surmang Dutsi Til.  Khenpo Tsering Gyurme hired as his primary tutor Kenla, an elderly monk of Surmang who is extremely knowledgeable in the Surmang traditions.  Selected as his attendants were Tsondru, who had been an attendant to Aten Rinpoche (the regent abbot of Surmang) for five years, and Yeshe Phuntsok, who had been picked by Trungpa Rinpoche’s father to be his attendant.  Trungpa Rinpoche’s living quarters were located on top of the monastery shrine room, as is traditional in Tibet.  Unfortunately, Kenla became sick after a few weeks and later passed away.  The tutor responsibilities were taken over by Nyima lama, an elderly lama who was a student of Karma Norbu Rinpoche, a disciple of the tenth Trungpa Rinpoche.  Nyima lama gave him instructions on ngondro and the study of the view. 

Later that year Trungpa Rinpoche received the abhisheka for Terser, an important terma found by the great Terton Chogyur Lingpa, given by the current Chogyur Lingpa at Terton monastery near Surmang; this terma has special significance for Surmang, where a drupchen and lama dancing are practiced for it every year.  This abhisheka lasted about one and one-half months, after which Trungpa Rinpoche returned to Surmang, where he concentrated on his ngondro practice.  In the spring of 2004 he studyed with Karma Senge Rinpoche, the nephew of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, at his monastery in Kyere.  More recently he has been studying at Surmang Namgyaltse monastery.

Trungpa Rinpoche’s support and education costs at least US $8,000 per year, which the Konchok Foundation is committed to providing.  Donations to help with this cost are gratefully accepted, and may be specifically designated for Trungpa Rinpoche’s support if you wish.