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B44-Master Tangtong Gyalpo: Another new course at LFBCS

Painting of Master Tangtong (Thangtong) Gyalpo (1361-1485), Tibet and Bhutan.
Master Tangtong (Thangtong) Gyalpo (1361-1485), Tibet and Bhutan.

This Tibetan Patriarch of the Shangpa Kagyu was known as the wild engineer-saint of both Tibet and Bhutan. This heroic mahasiddha was known for his accomplishments in technology (he invented a process for building iron bridges that were amazing structures that lasted until modern times), the arts (he founded the first Tibetan Opera Drama troupe), medicine (some of his cures are still used in Tibetan medicine), and transmission of the highest dharmas of liberation including transmitting the Four-Armed Kuan Yin or Vajra Yoga Perfection Dharma (P03X) .

Photo of Jangtsa Dumtseg Lhakhang, a temple built by Thangtong Gyalpo in Paro in western Bhutan.
Jangtsa Dumtseg Lhakhang, a temple built by Thangtong Gyalpo in Paro in western Bhutan.

Although most unconventional in appearance and methods, he was also the most traveled of the early Tibetan holy men, traveling all over India, Afghanistan, probably Sri Lanka, and visiting the holy Mt. Wu-Tai in China.

Not only did he attain the rainbow body when he left this world, but over 100 of his disciples also achieved that level. In 2005 his current incarnation H.E. Thangtong Gyalpo XVI became a disciple of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III at a Dharma Assembly held at Hua Zang Si in San Francisco.When he heard that G01(A)-H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III: A Treasury of True Buddha-Dharma was about to be published, he organized several rinpoches and disciples to recite the Kuan Yin Dharma many times as an offering to His Holiness. A brief biography of this saint can be found in “Category 30-Saving Lives by Liberating Them” in G01(A).

Tachog Lhakhang, a Buddhist temple established by Thangtong Gyalpo at the foot of the Phurdo mountains.

See also B24-Lady Niguma, One of the Matriarchs of the Shangpa Kagyu tradition who was one of Master Thangtong Gyalpo’s gurus and who taught him certain dharmas. 

CLICK for more information on LFBCS course B44-Master Tangtong (Thangtong) Gyalpo (1361-1485). King of the Empty Plain: The Tibetan Iron-Bridge Builder by Cyrus Stearns will be the text for this course. Hard Copy and Kindle versions are available through Amazon and a free PDF can be downloaded from Namo

This course requires that “G02-Spiritual Autobiography,” “G03(A)-Evolution of Buddhism,” and “D35(A)-The 128 Evil and Erroneous Views” be completed as prerequisites to taking this course.

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Thus Have I Seen (and Heard) on zhaxizhuoma.org is a blog offered by Zhaxi Zhuoma for English-speaking followers and those interested in the teachings and activities of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. Read more about this blog

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Most of the quotes from H.H Dorje Chang Buddha III posted on this blog are from unapproved translations and may contain errors. Likewise the contents of this blog have not been reviewed or approved by the Buddha and should be considered as reference material and not Buddha-dharma.

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