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Excerpts from an interview with Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche
How does the succession in your lineage work?
Within Bön, there is no such thing as succession according to incarnation; we don’t have the tulku system.
Positions of Lopön or Khenpo are only given on the basis of studies. Traditionally, there also has been a
head of the lineage; the present head is in Dolanji and is the 33rd head of the lineage, and he is
selected by a vote [The present head is Menri Khen Rinpoche].
In exile, are there some changes in training and studies, and what are the advantages respectively the
disadvantages?
Before 1959 we had freedom, and everyone could study as much as he wanted and also what he wanted.
In regards to the actual study, I don’t think a lot has changed between Menri in Tibet and in exile. I was
the Lopön in both monasteries. In Tibet we had dialectics, and so do we in exile. The same counts for
the ten sciences (five minor and five major ), and the study of philosophy. Within these fields, study
has remained the same.
However, the way studies are performed is a little bit different according to the monastic rules. In my
monastery, women are not allowed after a certain hour and also are not admitted to the studies.
In Tibet, the monks had primarily to cook for themselves, and only at special occasions food was
distributed from a central kitchen. Nowadays the monastery gives out food and there is no place to cook
in the lodging quarters.
The Khenpo (administrator) and I have to plan and execute the orders for food and drink. This is done
in a coordinated way. In the earlier days the monastery had an infrastructure that supported the
functioning of the institution. Nowadays the issue of money has become a very important and a difficult
one, so I think this has been one of the major changes. This combination of providing studies, food, as
well as shelter is something I have encountered and found difficult to deal with.
In Tibet the people around the monasteries supported them, and every family supported their member
in the monastery, and the monks had to look after themselves. If there was an opportunity, then food
was eaten together, and also donations were made either for the community or for the construction of
a building. In our monastery in Tibet, there was nobody responsible for organizing an income.
This is a change.
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Importance of lay-practitioners for tradition?
In our college of philosophical studies at the monastery, lay-practitioners are not allowed. But of course
anybody is allowed to study the tenets and meditation: it does not matter if they are men or women,
nuns or monks, since anybody is allowed to practise. Among the lay-practitioners there are some very
accomplished ones; among the ordained community, some are pretty accomplished, some behave badly.
Do some hold lineages?
Yes, there are two kinds of lineage holders: many are lay-practitioners, but more are ordained. Lay
practitioners are considered very important. It all depends on knowledge: if a lay-practitioner has a lot
of experience and positive qualities, then that is very good. It is definitely much better than somebody
ordained who has no virtuous qualities.
What is the importance of Kalachakra and Shambhala within your tradition?
In Bön, the Kalachakra system is different, and it has no special position. Kalachakra as a practice is not
more or less important. Within the Buddhist tantras, Kalachakra is a Highest Yoga Tantra, while in our
tantra system, it is found among the Kriyatantras (Action Tantra). Shambhala is important: Olmo
Lungring and Shambhala are synonyms. Since Olmo Lungring is the place where Lord Tönpa Shenrab
was born, it is considered very important.
Any special advice for Westerners?
There is nothing special I can say. One has to do good activities. We are all human beings, and when
our lifespan is over, we will have to die. Isn’t it? Since all of us are born, we will die. It is very important
to understand that accumulating karma will definitely have results, therefore it is important to distinguish
between good, virtuous actions and negative, non-virtuous actions. It is now that we have to investigate
this very carefully.
Now, in regards to giving an advice for Westerners, it may be obvious that science alone has only limited
benefits. In Asia one can find many places, such as places within Tibet, where there is not even a car.
In America, for example, there is no town without many cars, nearly every person has his or her own car,
and many people exchange their car on a yearly basis. The people in those Asian villages fill their
bellies, sit around, and laugh a lot, and speaking from a non-materialistic point of view, are quite happy.
In the West, many are unhappy and suffer from stress; many are deeply sad, are in a permanent state
of competition, ‘This person has something that I don’t have, I want that too’, and this affects their
happiness. This is not good at all. If I have a special advice for Westerners, it would be along these lines.
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Is sectarianism particularly a Western problem?
No, this is not the case. Of course in Europe there were many struggles between Catholics, Anglicans,
Protestants, and these problems were all between people of the same [Christian] faith. Tibetans have
the same problems: within the Gelugpa, there is the Shugden problem. Also within Kagyü, there is
trouble. These problems are internal, are not caused by an external factor, and are motivated by political
agendas. The causes are afflictive emotions (kleshas). The main source is competition, but as a whole,
the causes are disturbing emotions; it will depend on the person afflicted by these passions. The cause
for these kleshas to arise is ignorance. I don’t think that Westerners make these afflictive emotions,
they are found in every human being.
Do you have protectors?
Many, we have them all. But we do not have any mediums going into trance and channeling them. In the
old days there was a Bön tradition of having spirits entering into mediums. These mediums were also
used as fortune tellers, but this tradition was abandoned by the Bön. Tibetan Buddhists have taken the
technique or idea, without taking the spirits and deities of the Bön pantheon. To this day there are
some Bönpos who use spirits, but we consider this to be bad. Earlier there were spirits who were
beneficial, and also there were many who were harmful. It is difficult to investigate this and make a clear
delineation. Furthermore, there were many impostors who were pretending to be real mediums, and so
the trust in the whole thing of protectors and mediums disappeared. We are not allowed to say ‘you have
to stop’, however ‘one should not have trust’ can be said. And if trust in these protectors is not there,
then problems do not arise.
How to lead a spiritual life within a modern, worldly life? How to combine spiritual life with family?
This depends very much on the individual. It does not matter if somebody has a spouse, has children,
has a family, and so forth. As long as that person has a good heart, has compassion, has taken refuge
and generates bodhicitta, then that is excellent. To think of a family as an obstacle is not correct; I don’t
see family life as something good or as something bad. This is something only the person can decide
on the basis of his or her nature or character. If a person is engaging in a really spiritual practice, then
this is very good, and it also does not depend on the tradition followed.
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