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Karma
Chagmed Rinpoche was born in 1613, the tenth Tibetan
rabjung year. He was born in the province Nyomtod region
of Zalmo Gang. At the moment he was born, his father,
the Mahasiddha Pedma Wangdrag, bestowed Terton Ratna
Lingpa’s Tsegug and Tsepag Sangdu-kyi Torwang upon the
infant. His father then named him Wangdrag Sung
(Powerful Speech) because he had been introduced to the
dharma, and especially Ratna Lingpa’s revelations, at
the moment he entered into the world.
As a child,
the young Wangdrag Sung would regularly see gods,
spirits and non-human entities. While at play, he would
perform various sadhanas and create materials used in
dharma ceremonies. At the age of six, his father taught
him reading and writing, which he learned without any
difficulty and within a very short time, he was reading
Milarepa’s One Hundred Thousand Songs. On one
occasion, while singing verses from Milarepa’s songs,
he sat in full lotus posture and silencing the eight
states of cognition, entered into peaceful abiding
meditation for an extended period of time.
When
he was eleven years old, Wangdrag Sung once again met
with his karmic guru of many past lifetimes, the great
hidden yogi, Prawashara, from whom Wangdrag received
many important empowerments and transmissions. It was
during this time that he resolved to become a powerful
tantric adept. With this strong determination, from age
eleven to nineteen he wandered in the charnel grounds,
accomplishing the meditational deity, gathering the
dharma protectors as his servants and suppressing the
four demons and harm-doers. It was after this that
Wangdrag Sung began his accomplishment practices with
Kundril Yidshin Norbu practice and then Gur Drag,
Damchen, De Gon Trelmai Gonpa, TadrinNaga Lu Dul and
others. Through the intensity of his enthusiastic
perseverance, he received true signs of accomplishment
for each of the deities he practiced. Maintaining strict
retreat, Wangdrag Sung never allowed the warmth to leave
his meditation seat and, in order to avoid sleep, he
placed his cushion on a small stool where he was forced
to sit up during the night.
When
he was nineteen years old, he took gelong ordination
from the great Khenpo Palden Garwang Chokyi Wangchuk
Choglei Namgyal, receiving the name Karma Chagmed.
Karma
Chagmed often entered into retreat at least one or two
months of each year to accumulate root and
accomplishment mantras. Of the Three Roots and dharma
protectors there was not a single mantra he had not
accomplished. He received many auspicious visions,
dreams, and signs of accomplishment with Samantabhadra,
Padmasambhava and various primordial wisdom deities
exactly in accordance with the scriptures.
At
the age of thirty-seven, in the year of the Bird, Karma
Chagmed began a strict thirteen year retreat,
persevering in the practice of Avalokiteshvara, Gyalwa
Gyatso and the Mahamudra. Between those sessions he
occasionally gave empowerments and commentaries to those
fortunate and persistent disciples through a hole in the
wall of his retreat house.
At
the age of fifty, during the year of the Dog, his
retreat came to an end. Thereafter, wherever he
performed the great accomplishment ceremonies of the
Thugchen Sangdu, Lama Gongdu and others, those present
would see Avalokiteshvara, smell sweet smells and
witness various rainbow-like pitched tents appearing in
space.
When
Karma Chagmed was sixty-six, in the western year of
1678, and the eleventh rabjung year of the Earth Horse,
he spoke of changing realms. His disciples made
persistent requests for him to remain firm and he
actually promised to return to this realm on the
auspicious days of the waxing and waning moon. On the
first day of the sixth month of that year, with
astonishing signs, he condensed his mind into the heart
of Buddha Amitabha.
During the
cremation ceremony, white clouds in the shape of the
eight auspicious symbols appeared in the sky and various
rainbows, like pitched tents, were witnessed by everyone
present. Karma Chagmed’s brain, heart and tongue
remained untouched by the fire and clear images of
Chemchod Heruka, Gurdrag, Drolod and the syllable AH
appeared in his organs. In his precious bone relics, the
eight auspicious symbols were embossed with images of
Avalokiteshvara, Dechog and Phagmo. |
