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.

On a sunny summer morning in South France, faithful to a Lerab Ling tradition to offer an elaborate sang when the weather is clear, on top of the hill that overlooks the Pyrenees 300km south, Sogyal Rinpoche and the Rigpa sangha were joined by Chokling Rinpoche, Orgyen Tobgyal and their monks. They offered sang following the Chokling ‘sang ngen’ practice and the Riwo Sangchö. When it came to the latter, Sogyal Rinpoche asked Orgyen Tobgyal to say a few words about what to do when shouting “ki ki so so lha gyalo”, as is traditionally done on such occasion.

As was a custom in Lerab Ling, everyone would gather on the highest hill and offer sang. It was a glorious summer morning, and Rinpoche used the opportunity to present the main principles of sang to help Western practitioners connect with this Tibetan practice, before explaining about “wind horse”, or lungta.

During a visit to California in July 2002, Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche gave a short teaching on the sadhana of the Dakini Guhyajnana from the Treasure Vase of Profound Instructions. This sadhana, which is a terma revealed by Chokgyur Lingpa, is called Fulfillment of All Wishes. The teaching was translated orally by Erik Pema Kunsang who also translated the sadhana inserted here, and transcribed and edited by Steve Gamble, with help and advices from Michael Tweed.

During a Chime Phakme Nyingtik drupchen, Lerab Ling’s chant master, head chopon and few other enthusiastic practitioners took advantage of a pee-break to try to extract information from Rinpoche about the Longchen Nyingtik ritual tradition. Unusually, they made their request quite boldly, which may have been why, much to everyone’s surprise, the moment the break was over, Rinpoche launched into a detailed exposition of the history behind the tradition of practising the Longchen Nyingtik. And this is what he said.

In March 2015, Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche went yet again on pilgrimage around some of the most important sacred sites of India; only this time as a facilitator for Sogyal Rinpoche and a group of Rigpa students.

It was a glorious morning and the last day of the pilgrimage, which we spent at the Anathapindika Grove, the very place where the Enlightened One spent the most time. So, of course, talking about the Dharma is considered to be especially auspicious, and Rinpoche did not miss the precious opportunity. There he tells with his usual directness what it means to actually practise, and how we must make sure we approach Dharma practice. A roving tour of the Dharma, past, present and future.

Late one evening, in the old stone building in Lerab Ling that had been transformed, almost magically, into a Tibetan shrine, Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche gave Rigpa students some advice about how to perform ceremonies. He felt compelled to do this after he witnessed, towards the end of a drupchen, one of the nuns spilling a cup of hot tea all over Sogyal Rinpoche, in full ceremonial regalia. Sadly, none of the translators that day could satisfy Rinpoche, so this is one of the very rare talks Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche has given in English “…because it’s not a teaching, it’s not about Dharma, it’s just about Tibetan traditions” – and the importance of making haste slowly.

Rinpoche was in Paris, his favourite city, with nothing to do for a few days, when suddenly he announced he wanted to take the train to Antwerp. Once we’d arrived in Antwerp he told us he wanted to visit Amsterdam the following day, to take up an invitation from his old friend Ane Jinba, to visit the famous flower market and maybe also drop in on the Rigpa Amsterdam centre.

For the last practice on a pilgrimage that had taken us to Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar, and finally Shravasti, we gathered on a lawn behind the ruins of the house where Buddha Shakyamuni had spent many rainy seasons. We wanted to offer a Yumkha Dechen Gyalmo tsok, but first had to hire some locals to make sure the monkeys didn’t make a mess of the offerings we’d arranged so beautifully! When we came to the accumulation of the dakini tsok prayer called Turning Back the Summon of the Dakinis, Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche gave us some advice about how best to direct our minds as we recited the prayer. And once again, he stressed that ordinary people like us who have no realization, must rely on the power of deity, mantra, mudra and samadhi.