Biography of His Eminence Zimwock Rinpoche

His Eminence Zimwock Rinpoche is the 6th reincarnation of a line of Tibetan Buddhist masters that dates back to the time of the famed Mahasiddha Rongton Sheja Kunrig. Since the early 16th century, the lineage of the Zimwock Rinpoches has kept alive a unique combination of practice and scholarship that has kept Tibetan Buddhism fresh and relevant to our modern times.

His Eminence 6th Zimwock Tulku Rinpoche was recognized at a very early age by His Holiness the Sakya Trizin as the next reincarnation of the Zimwock lineage. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, Ling Rinpoche, Trijang Rinpoche and many other high Lamas endorsed and praised the recognition and enthronement of the young Zimwock Tulku.


After his enthronement in 1972, Zimwock Rinpoche completed ten years of intensive individual training with his father, the highly respected Tulku Dzongsar Gang–na Rinpoche, and under the guidance of his own personal tutor Lama Trinle Choedak. In 1983 Zimwock Rinpoche was ordained as a monk by His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche (the head of the Sakya Tsarpa order). For the next eight years he studied at Sakya College, Rajpur, India, under the internationally renowned scholar and teacher the most Venerable Khenpo Appey. In 1992 Rinpoche graduated as Acharya with a Masters Degree in Buddhist Philosophy.


As Zimwock Rinpoche was completing his studies, he faced the unexpected loss of two significant figures in his life – his personal tutor and his mother. This was a difficult time for Rinpoche and he decided to set aside his vows of ordination for a period of time. He moved to Nepal and then to India where he studied and taught Tibetan in Dharamsala under Geshe Dawa. It was during his time in Dharamsala that he met Kelsang Worpa who would become his wife.

Rinpoche emigrated to Switzerland in 1995, where he married Kelsang. Together they settled into a western family lifestyle with their three children, Lhazom, Khandro and Chime. For more than fifteen years Rinpoche worked in Switzerland supporting his family and thinking how he might best fulfill the legacy of his predecessors and his own root guru, His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche.

In 2007 His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche passed away. His passing was an extraordinary event as befits this great yogi, scholar and poet, and His Eminence remained for over three weeks in the state of Samadhi with many auspicious signs appearing as evidence to the great attainments achieved during his lifetime. With the passing of this most senior of Tsarpa lineage holders, Zimwock Rinpoche felt an increasing need to return to his role and responsibilities as a major lineage holder and teacher of the Tsarpa tradition.


It was around this time that Lama Choedak Rinpoche contacted His Eminence Zimwock Tulku. Lama Choedak, a well respected translator and experienced Tibetan Buddhist teacher of the Sakya Tsarpa order located in Canberra Australia, had been a student and disciple of His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche and had known the young Zimwock Rinpoche from his enthronement in Rajpur India. Lama Choedak Rinpoche had established a number of Buddhist Centers around Australasia, and with the increasing number of students attending seminars and requests dharma teachings at these locations, there was an increasing need for senior Buddhist teachers of the Sakya order in Australia.

Lama Choedak Rinpoche contacted His Eminence Zimwock Rinpoche in Switzerland and, raising the need for Senior Sakya Buddhist lineage holders in Australia, suggested that Zimwock Rinpoche consider coming to Australia to resume his role as a Buddhist teacher. One of the Buddhist centers originally established by Lama Choedak had significantly expanded in previous years, and the Jamchen buddhist Center in Melbourne was searching for a resident teacher. With the lack of appropriate Tulku's from the Sakya order in Australia, a formal request was made by this Buddhist centre to HE Zimwock Rinpoche to become their resident teacher. According to Tibetan Buddhist custom and norms, and as a representative of the Tsarpa Sakya Order in Australia, Lama Choedak Rinpoche then formally made this request for a resident teacher.


With encouragement from many Sakya Tulkus and other lineage holders during that same period, His Eminence made the decision in 2008 to re–enter his role as a senior lineage holder in the Sakya Tsarpa tradition and to resume his teaching role. He then accepted an invitation from Jamchen Buddhist Centre and Lama Choedak Rinpoche to take up the position of Resident Teacher at this active and rapidly growing Buddhist Centre located in the Balwyn suburb of Melbourne.

This initial support from Lama Choedak facilitated the relocation of Zimwock Rinpoche and his family to Melbourne in December 2008. During that same period of time the Jamchen Buddhist Centre went into a phase of reorganization because of its increasing size in previous years and the greater number of new students attending. Additionally, the center’s founder and then spiritual director, Lama Choedak Rinpoche (who is based in Canberra) had a significant number of other responsibilities in needing to oversee other centre’s under his direction around Australasia. With his limited availability during  short visits to Melbourne during a year, this made him less able attend to the management and directorship tasks of the expanding Jamchen Buddhist centre in Melbourne. This meant that following Zimwock Rinpoche’s arrival in Melbourne and his resumption of teaching responsibilities, he had to additionally take on many directorial and managerial roles.

Following his arrival in Melbourne, much of Zimwock Rinpoche's time was directed at working closely with the Jamchen Committee to meet the day to day needs of the centre, and creating an expanded teaching program. Aside from his teaching and spiritual role, this involved organizing and hosting a number of new events and functions. For Jamchen Buddhist Centre, the arrival of a senior Tsarpa lineage holder provided a fresh energy to revitalize the teachings available from that location and expand the programs being provided. For Melbourne based students it provided improved access to the personal spiritual guidance they required, increased instruction in  their meditation practices, and greater access to Buddhist teachings. An additional benefit for these students is to now be able to receive the ‘whispering’ direct transmission of teaching (which traditionally in the Tsarpa Sakya school of Buddhism is only conducted directly from teacher to student, or conducted in small groups).


In June 2009, His Holiness Sakya Trizin (the throne-holder of the Sakya tradition) visited Jamchen Buddhist Centre as part of His 50th Jubilee international teaching tour. Understanding the specific needs of this Buddhist Center and with this centre directly under his patronage, he personally appointed HE Zimwock Rinpoche as the new spiritual director of Jamchen Buddhist center. This gave Zimwock Rinpoche increased responsibilities to manage and organize the Center in order to facilitate the dissemination of the Buddha dharma in Melbourne, and allowed him to provide an increased number of services to the wider Buddhist community in Victoria. With the support of Lama Choedak Rinpoche and thanks to the previous hard work from many of the dedicated members of Jamchen in its earlier years, and with the help of its current active committee members, HE Zimwock Rinpoche was then able to expand the teachings and spiritual services provided at the Jamchen Buddhist center.


Thanks to the great blessings of His Holiness Sakya Trizin, His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche and the many other great teachers who visited and blessed Jamchen with their presence, the Jamchen Buddhist Centre is flourishing into a vibrant and active centre for the study and practice of the Buddha Dharma in Melbourne. His Eminence Zimwock Rinpoche gives weekly teachings on fundamental Mahayana Buddhist texts written by important historical scholars such as Shantideva and Nagarjuna, and provides a structured progressive path of learning for Buddhist students under his direction. By offering a number of courses and Buddhist teachings suitable to students of all levels, Jamchen’s spiritual program now includes several different meditation sessions and practices on a weekly basis (under the direct guidance of His Eminence), provides non-sectarian and non-denominational meditation courses available to the wider community, and provides regular public Buddhist teachings in Melbourne which are available to dharma students from a variety of backgrounds, as well as organizing a number of other Tibetan Buddhist cultural events..

Through the presence and direction of HE Zimwock Rinpoche, the Centre has now been able to increase its involvement in the wider Victorian Buddhist Community. Jamchen supports and participates in several multicultural and Pan-Buddhist programs in Melbourne, including events such as VESAK (HE Zimwock Rinpoche was its invited Chairperson for the year 2010). This year Zimwock Rinpoche also hosted the Snow Lion Buddhist Festival, a fundraiser in part for victims of earthquakes and natural disasters in Tibet), and provided spiritual guidance and direct support to traumatized Tibetan refugees newly settled in Australia. His Eminence has taken on an active role in inter-faith events to enhance cooperation and goodwill with other religions, and is helping to promote the understanding and recognition of Buddhism as one of the major religions of Australia.

 



Please visit www.zimwock.org for additional information on HE Zimwock Rinpoche