Kalu Rinpoche
Kalu Rinpoche was born in 1905 during the Female Wood Snake year of the Tibetan lunar calendar. He arrived in the district of Treshö Gang chi Rawa within the Hor region of Kham, Eastern Tibet. At fifteen years old, he traveled to begin higher studies at Palpung monastery. This institution served as the foremost center for the Karma Kagyu school. He remained there for more than a decade while mastering vast philosophical teachings. During this time, he completed two three-year retreats. At about twenty-five years of age, he left Palpung to pursue life as a solitary yogi. He spent nearly fifteen years in the woods of the Khampa countryside perfecting his realization. Villages and nomads came to know him as a representative of the Bodhisattva path.
June Campbell, a former Kagyu nun and feminist scholar, acted as Kalu Rinpoche's translator for several years. She wrote about consenting to what she later realized was an abusive sexual relationship with him. He told her this practice was tantric spiritual practice. She raised these themes in interviews including one with Tricycle magazine in 1996. Since that book published, she received letters from women worldwide with similar experiences. At the end of a talk at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver during fall 2011, a student asked for his perspective on sexual abuse. Kalu disclosed he had been abused at age twelve by older monks from the monastery he attended. He paused then broke down revealing this trauma for the first time publicly. Shortly after that
event, he posted a video on YouTube so the story would not become unsubstantiated gossip.
At 3:00 p.m., Wednesday, the 10th of May 1989, Kalu Rinpoche died at his monastery in Sonada. The location lay within the Darjeeling District in West Bengal, India. On the 17th of September 1990, Rinpoche's tulku was born in Darjeeling, India to Lama Gyaltsen and his wife Drolkar. Lama Gyaltsen had served since youth as his secretary. The Tai Situpa Pema Tönyö Nyinje officially recognized Kalu Rinpoche's yangsi on the 25th of March 1992. He explained receiving definite signs from Kalu Rinpoche himself. Situ Rinpoche sent a letter of recognition with Lama Gyaltsen to
the 14th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama immediately confirmed the recognition. On the 28th of February 1993, Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche was enthroned at Samdrup Tarjayling. The ceremony included hair-cutting performed by the Tai Situpa who bestowed the name Karma Ngedön Tenpay Gyaltsen.
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Common questions
When and where was Kalu Rinpoche born?
Kalu Rinpoche was born in 1905 during the Female Wood Snake year of the Tibetan lunar calendar. He arrived in the district of Treshö Gang chi Rawa within the Hor region of Kham, Eastern Tibet.
What happened when Kalu Rinpoche spoke about sexual abuse at the University of British Columbia in fall 2011?
At the end of a talk at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver during fall 2011, a student asked for his perspective on sexual abuse. Kalu disclosed he had been abused at age twelve by older monks from the monastery he attended and broke down revealing this trauma publicly.
Who is June Campbell and what did she write about her relationship with Kalu Rinpoche?
June Campbell acted as Kalu Rinpoche's translator for several years and wrote about consenting to what she later realized was an abusive sexual relationship with him. She raised these themes in interviews including one with Tricycle magazine in 1996.
When and where did Kalu Rinpoche die?
Kalu Rinpoche died at 3:00 p.m., Wednesday, the 10th of May 1989 at his monastery in Sonada. The location lay within the Darjeeling District in West Bengal, India.
When was Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche enthroned and who bestowed his name?
Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche was enthroned on the 28th of February 1993 at Samdrup Tarjayling. The ceremony included hair-cutting performed by the Tai Situpa who bestowed the name Karma Ngedön Tenpay Gyaltsen.