During a Pema Khandro drupchen at Lerab Ling, having tirelessly illuminated more than fifteen annual drupchens with practice advice, Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche decided it was time to point out where western Vajrayana practitioners fall short.

Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche is, and always has been, a great patron of the Buddhist arts. Of course, these days, it’s become fashionable either to invest large sums of money in antique, historical artefacts, or to use new technologies to reproduce many images and statues quickly and in large quantities. In spite of both these trends, Rinpoche himself continues to follow in the footsteps of the great lamas of the past, by employing the best artists and craftspeople he can find, then guiding their work based on his own deep knowledge and experience of the teachings.

I was asked to comment on Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche’s Short Practice of Sengé Dongma. It is a practice for averting obstacles associated with Sengé Dongma. I don’t have anything special to say about this particular practice.

One sunny, summer morning in Lerab Ling, Rinpoche – who was, as always, intent on remaining absolutely faithful to the practice methods of the great masters of the past – read the prescribed section of the Drupchen Digest that’s traditionally recited during a drupchen. A Drupchen Digest is a compilation of quotations that have been gathered and categorized according to where they should be read during the ritual practice; and its purpose is to inspire participants at different stages of the practice.

One hot summer’s evening during a Vajrakilaya drupchen at Lerab Ling, Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche spoke about both Vajrakilaya and how to apply the basic principles of kyerim to Vajrakilaya practice. Sogyal Rinpoche was present and Chokyi Nyima (Richard Baron) provided an excellent on-the-spot live translation. This was the teaching that went on to become an integral part of how kyerim is now taught to all Rigpa's Vajrayana students.

During a private interview in Lerab Ling, Rinpoche was asked about the eight great bodhisattvas who are also known as the ‘eight close sons’ of the Buddha.

Rinpoche who was in Paris on his way to India, was requested to go the Rigpa centre there to teach on the Tendrel Nyesel. Even though Rinpoche is not particularly familiar with this particular terma, he gave an extremely accessible teaching, essential for anyone who wishes to do this practice, even if for those who at the beginning of their exploration of the Vajrayana teachings.

Rinpoche recorded this explanation himself during a visit to Paris after Sogyal Rinpoche requested the teaching for a group of practitioners who had gathered in Lerab Ling.

In May 2009, Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche returned to Berlin. During his visit, Rinpoche was touched by the sheer number of people who died there in 1945, and felt it is important to practise for all the spirits of the departed that must still be there. Apart from elaborate sur practices, Rinpoche offered to come back with lamas and monks to do the most elaborate kind of Vajrayana practice in Berlin, a drupchen, which was made possible by the generous support of Sogyal Rinpoche and the Rigpa sangha in the unique Berlin Rigpa Centre. One morning, before doing Gesar practices, Rinpoche said these few words.

An hour after his customary daily “pep talk” during a Chime Phakmé Nyingtik drupchen, Rinpoche seized the opportunity to point out to all the practitioners gathered in Lerab Ling’s majestic temple – Palri Pema Ösel Dargyé Ling – just how important it is for Vajrayana practitioners to perform the mudra that accompanies the Inexpressible Ultimate Confession (Yeshe Kuchok).

One evening during a Padma Khandro drupchen in Lerab Ling, Rinpoche gave this rare and exceptional explanation of the Wangdu prayer, which, he told us, he had received from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche more than fifty years before, but had never shared. Although he wasn’t feeling well, he said, “… I offered this explanation the moment I thought of giving it, because who knows how I’ll feel tomorrow? By then, I might not fancy the idea of sharing these very special instructions with anyone”

In The Life and Times of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche describes how Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche burst into his house in Bir “like a whirlwind” and demanded to be told all the stories that Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche knew about Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö that very minute. Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche immediately settled himself in his big leather chair by the window and began to talk. In the end, after several such visits, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche had recorded more than twelve hours of stories – many of us will have heard at least some of these stories before, but by no means all of them.

First thing in the morning on the day we were to celebrate Buddha’s descent from Tushita heaven where he had been teaching his mother – Lha bab duchen in the Tibetan tradition – Rinpoche decided it was time he played his part in promoting women’s rights. The fact that it was election day in the US might also have had something to do with it. The sadhana called the Three Roots needs to be practised every day in this drupchen, because Padma Khandro from the Seven Cycles is only a branch practice of this sadhana, in other words Padma Khandro is only one deity of this Three Root mandala, and this mantra is part of the Three Root sadhana. So, for whatever reason, during the 6am session of the Seven Profound Cycles of Padma Khandro, Rinpoche offered this very short teaching about the Vajrayogini mantra.

In this teaching, given at the beginning of the third Padma Khandro intensive group practice in Lerab Ling, Rinpoche explains where magnetizing activity fit within the Buddhist path, and shows its basic principles, and how to practise it. He stresses the importance of the view of interdependence and the motivation of bodhichitta for the practice to be effective. Once he was asked, “Rinpoche, should I do Kurukulla to get a job?” Rinpoche replied with his usual down-to-earth directness, “No, you need to do Kurukulla to get enlightened! To get a job, you need to go out there and apply.”

Still on the hill that dominates Lerab Ling offering sang, Rinpoche continues his teaching. After presenting the main principles of sang, he now gives a concise and clear explanation of “wind horse”, or lungta in Tibetan.