His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche explains and performs Chöd
His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche engaging in and demonstrating the Chöd practice on another occasion. His Holiness Zong Rinpoche was a master of sutra and tantra, and highly accomplished in rituals.
Few masters of the 20th century can compare to His Holiness Kyabje Zong Dorje Chang who was truly a practitioner of the highest calibre. An incumbent of Gaden Shartse Monastery, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche was famous not only for his scholarship and learning, but for his intense practice and deep mastery of the teachings. He was widely praised as an accomplished scholar, a formidable debater and an expert in tantra, which you can witness here in this video.
Kyabje Zong Rinpoche explains and performs the Chöd ritual
In 1984, His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche visited Manjushri Meditation Centre in Ulverston, England. After offering the congregation an extensive explanation into the Chöd practice, the ritual master that is Kyabje Zong Rinpoche Rinpoche then performed Chöd for those fortunate enough to be present.
“Chöd” is a Tibetan word meaning ‘to cut off’. A tantric practice associated with the deity Machig Labdron, initiates of the Chöd practice traditionally engaged in their meditations and rituals in cemeteries. Cemeteries in India and Tibet are very different to those in the West. Bodies are chopped up and left exposed to the elements, in order to feed the wild animals as a final act of creating merit for the deceased. Hence these cemeteries can be terrifying places full of violent energy.
(Top to bottom): Padampa Sangye, Tromo Nagmo, Machig Labdron, Dorje Shugden, Chang Shon and Palden Lhamo. Click on the image to download more free high resolution Buddha images.
It is said that during the Chöd ritual, the spirits will come when they are summoned and those with the third eye will be able to perceive their frightening forms or sounds. According to Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, the reason for performing Chöd in such environments “is not only to realize emptiness but also to develop bodhicitta. Having offered our body to the spirits, there is no longer any need to care about it. We should really visualize our blood as an ocean for the spirits to drink, our body as food for the spirits to eat. It is for the sake of all mother sentient beings that we give up our body. “Exchanging self for others” in a graveyard is a very powerful method for developing bodhicitta because all attachment to the body ceases.”
Hence successful Chöd practitioners who engage in the ritual, as well as maintain their tantric vows and commitments, will accomplish the aim of Chöd practice which is to cut off the self-cherishing mind and grasping at a truly existent ‘I’. In doing so, they can develop the mind of bodhicitta which holds others more dear than oneself, as well as correct view of emptiness, which sees reality as it truly is.
We are greatly fortunate to have had in this world the presence of a master such as Zong Rinpoche. Do listen to this video so that you might be blessed by the voice of someone who is said to be none other than Heruka himself, engaging in one of the most powerful practices of Tibetan Buddhism.
Ensa Ear-Whispered Chöd melodies
by His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche Rinpoche
In this rare video, His Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche teaches a group of students the Chöd melodies of the Ensa Ear-Whispered Lineage. Filmed in 1983, the teaching was given at Thubten Dhargye Ling Centre in Los Angeles, USA at the request of the centre’s Spiritual Director Venerable Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen.
The practice of Chöd is a powerful method for developing compassion and cutting away the self-grasping of the non-existent ‘I’. When properly engaged in, Chöd harnesses our fears, teaching us how to transform them into energy to propel us towards enlightenment. According to Venerable Gelek Rinpoche, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche was a foremost master of the Chöd practice “following the passing of the two gurus of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the early 1980s”.
According to Ensa Ear-Whispered Chöd lineage, Chöd melodies are chanted on the basis of liturgies known as:
- Cutting Through Self-Grasping;
- Dedicating the Illusory Body as Ganachakra (Feast Offering)
- Offering Ganachakra in Connection with the Yoga of the Profound Path of Chöd
Kyabje Zong Rinpoche selected the core verses from these three liturgies, which he presents here in this video. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche said that there may come a time in the future when Chöd melodies are learned from this video. Thus, with Zong Rinpoche’s permission, this traditionally secret ritual was filmed and recorded, in order that it might be preserved for the benefit of future generations.
For more about this great master, please click here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/category/kyabje-zong-rinpoche
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With deep devotion to the guru, higher meditational insights will arise. Because of not having higher meditational insights, one will not realize the need to have devotion to the guru in order to gain higher insights. They are interdependent.~Tsem Rinpoche
With deep devotion to the guru, higher meditational insights will arise. If one does not have deep devotion to the guru, it is a clear sign one does not have higher meditational insights.~Tsem Rinpoche
Be loyal to your guru. Be close to your guru. Be honest with your guru. Never give your guru excuses but always accomplish your assignments that your guru has given you. Be loving, devoted and sincere with your guru. If you conduct yourself in this way, you will see positive transformations in your mind. ~ Tsem Rinpoche
This video of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche performing Chod is very rare. And Chod harnesses our fears and teaches us how to transform them into energy to propel us towards enlightenment. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this rare video and sharing this knowledgeable article.
We are fortunate to watch this rare video of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche Rinpoche performing Chöd ritual and an extensive explanation into the Chöd practice. Hearing Kyabje Zong Rinpoche Rinpoche’s powerful voice is truly a blessing , who is said to be none other than Heruka.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.