About Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

Chagdud Tulku was a Tibetan teacher of the Nyingma school of Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism. He was known and respected in the West for his teachings, his melodic chanting voice, his artistry as a sculptor and painter, and his skill as a physician. He acted as a spiritual guide for thousands of students worldwide. He was the sixteenth tülku of the Chagdud line.
Pema Lingpa's Visionary Journey to the Copper-Colored Mountain

The Tulku system & the preservation of Dharma lineages

A is a reincarnate custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his or her predecessor. Historically, the tulku system of preserving Dharma lineages operated in Tibet with the first being the . After the first Karmapa died in 1193, a lama had recurrent visions of a particular child as his rebirth. This child (born ca. 1205) was recognized as .
Nyingma Tree Lineage Thangka with Guru Rinpoche and Yeshe Tsogyal in center

Termas & Tertöns – Padmasambhava & Yeshe Tsogyal’s succession

is a term within Tibetan Buddhism meaning a person who is a discoverer of ancient hidden texts or terma. Origin of the Tertöns Many tertöns are considered to be incarnations of the twenty five main disciples of Padmasambhava (Guru ), who foresaw a dark time in Tibet. Padmasambhava and his consort Yeshe Tsogyal hid teachings to be found in the future to benefit beings. According to generally accepted history, the rediscovering of terma began with the first .
Eight Manifestations Of Guru Rinpoche

Nyingma Lamas – The decentralized network of practitioners

Nyingma traditional histories consider their teachings to trace back to the first Buddha Samantabhadra (Güntu Sangpo) and Indian mahasiddhas such as Garab Dorjé, Śrī Siṃha and Jñānasūtra. Traditional sources trace the origin of the Nyingma order in Tibet to figures associated with the initial introduction of Buddhism in the 8th century, such as , Yeshe Tsogyal, , , Buddhaguhya and Shantaraksita. Nyingma teachings are also known for having been passed down through networks of lay practitioners .
Maruyama Ōkyo by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.

Buddhist artists – The creative Buddha Mind

During the Pre-iconic phase (5th–1st century BCE) artists were reluctant to depict the Buddha anthropomorphically, and developed sophisticated aniconic symbols to avoid doing so (even in narrative scenes where other human figures would appear). This tendency remained as late as the 2nd century CE in the southern parts of India, in the of the Amaravati School. In Tibet the vast majority of surviving artworks created before the mid-20th century are dedicated to the depiction .