General Information

Teachings in Tibetan with English translation. Simultaneous translation will be available in Portuguese, French, Spanish and Chinese.

An edited transcript of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s Commentary on the Uttaratantra (Centre d’Etudes de Chanteloube in Dordogne, France, 2003-2004) is available for download from Siddharta Intent. 

Contributions:
Partcipation: 150 euros                                
Registration here.
If the fees are a deterrent, please contact us about other options.
Contact: office@songtsen.pt

Organizer:
Songtsen – Casa da Cultura do Tibete 

Support:
União Budista Portuguesa
Stupa – Associação para Paz no Mundo 
Fundação Kangyur Rinpoche

The Words of the Invincible

Ju Mipham’s commentary “The Words of the Invincible” was taught orally around the end of the 19th century, and put into writing only after his death in 1912 by his disciples Khenpo Kunzang Palden and Shechen Gyaltsap Pema Namgyal. The text offers a general interpretation of the Uttaratantra according to the Nyingma tradition, including an important part of the commentary of master Jonangpa Dolpopa (14th century), advocate of the “shen tong” philosophical view, and the commentary of Sakya Rongtönpa (1367-1449), whose philosophical perspective leans towards the “rang tong”.

Ju Mipham Rinpoche or Jamgön Mipham Gyatso (1846-1912) was a great Nyingma master of the last century, disciple of Jamgön Kongtrul, Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo, and Patrul Rinpoche. Blessed by Manjushri, he became one of the greatest scholars of his time, and produced a collection of works in more than thirty volumes. Mipham Rinpoche studied with the great masters of all traditions, and is considered one of the leading figures of the Rimé (non-sectarian) movement of Tibetan Buddhism. His main disciple was Shechen Gyaltsab Pema Namgyal. 

Khenchen Pema Sherab Rinpoche

Born in 1936 in the Dérgé region of Eastern Tibet, Khenchen Rinpoche had a traditional education and at the age of fourteen moved to Lhasa where he studied with masters and scholars from all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1953, he received monastic ordination from Shechen Kongtrul Rinpoche.

While still in Lhasa, he met Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and served as his assistant for ten years. During this time, he received many teachings from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, including Tantra Guhyagarbha and the Treasury of Crucial Instructions of Longchenpa. He spent long periods at Nenang Monastery and Tshurphu Monastery, the seat of the Karmapas, where he was with many great Kagyü masters. On a pilgrimage in Central Tibet, he met Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö in Tsering Jong. Later, in India, he also studied with Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsöndrü.

In 1968, at Kyabje Penor Rinpoche’s request, Khenchen Rinpoche moved to Namdroling Monastery where he taught for several years. When the Monastic University was established at this monastery in 1978, he tirelessly took over its teaching and direction for 25 years. Here he devoted himself to the preservation and dissemination of Buddhist teachings in general and Nyingma doctrine in particular.

Rinpoche visits regularly Portugal and has been giving extensive explanations on Shantideva’s Bodhicharyavatara. He completed in 2019 a three-year cycle of teaching on Bodhicharyavatara Wisdom chapter according Ju Mipham’s commentary “Norbu Ketaka”.

Khenpo Sonam

Serving as khenpo at the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, Namdroling Monastery, India, Khen Sonam also graduated in higher Buddhist studies at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Varanasi. He received the degree of “Lopon” from H.H. Dalai Lama in 2010 and the degree of “Khenpo” in 2011 from H.H. Karma Kuchen Rinpoche. Served on the Rigzod Editorial Committee as editor and translator for over seven years. Founder of the Padma Mani Translation Committee, and founding member of the Ngagyur Nyingma Research Centre where he worked for several years. He has also taught at the Tibetan Buddhist Center Thubten Leksheyling and the Deer Park Institute in India. He is currently a teacher at Abiding Heart Education, Nepal. Khen Sonam has been a translator for H.H. Penor Rinpoche and translates Khenchen Pema Sherab Rinpoche on his travels, from whom he has had the privilege of receiving numerous teachings and empowerments. He has translated and published English books such as “How to Follow a Spiritual Master”, “The All-Pervading Melodious Sound of Thunder: The Outer Liberation Story of Terton Migyur Dorje” and “Drops of Nectar”.

John Canti

John Canti studied medicine and anthropology at Cambridge University and qualified as a medical doctor in 1975. He studied with some of the great Tibetan Buddhist masters, especially Kangyur Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. He completed two three-year retreats in Chanteloube, France. John is a founding member of the Padmakara Translation Group, was a Tsadra Foundation Fellow from 2001-2012,  and was awarded the 2016 Khyentse Foundation Fellowship. In 2009, he was appointed Editorial Chair of the 84000 Project, and in 2020 he became Co-Editorial Director. He is a translator and editor of works such as “The Words of My Perfect Teacher” and “The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones”.