Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche at the Garrison Institute

August 24 – 29, the Venerable Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche returned to the Garrison Institute to lead an extraordinary Dzogchen retreat. The oldest son of the great teacher Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Chökyi is the abbot of one of the largest monasteries in Nepal, where he is responsible for over 400 monks and nuns.  His visit to the Garrison Institute was sponsored by Shedrub Development Fund, www.shedrubfund.org.

Giving two hour talks in the morning, leading discussions in the afternoons and additional teachings at night, Rinpoche gave brilliant and profound expositions of such seminal texts as  “The Sphere of Refined Gold” by the Rimay master Jamgon Kongtrul I (1813-1899). “Rimay” is a Tibetan word meaning “non-sectarian,” “non-exclusive,” or “without boundaries.” The Rimay movement became prominent in eastern Tibet at a time when the religious climate had become sectarian, and it sought to appreciate and re-embrace diverse traditions and teachings. As Jamgon Kongtrul once said, “One must see all the teachings as without contradiction, and consider all the scriptures as instructions.”